Although electric bikes share about 95% similarities to a traditional bike, there are a few things that need special attention when handling an ebike. These 5 things are some but not all things to consider when you use your Big Cat Electric bike for both safeties and to prevent damage and voiding your warranty.
1. Leaving ebike powered ON while walking
It is safe to say that when anyone is moving or walking with their bicycle, whether electric or traditional, most will stand on one side of the bike, and grab the handlebars in front of them. This is about the most common and practical way to do so. However, when taking into consideration an ebike, we must remember about the functions of an ebike, one of them, in this case, is the twist throttle.
The twist throttle is located at the handlebar grip, usually on the right-hand side of the handlebar. When powered on, a simple twist of the throttle will propel the rider forward and give assistance in riding uphill or on flats. While walking or moving your bike, either in areas where you're required to walk your bike like high traffic areas in parks or walking your bike into your garage, be cautious and power it off.
Many incidents have occurred where riders accidentally twist the throttle while walking it or moving it and have lunged forward into walls, fallen on the pavement, lunged forward into cars, or even hit pedestrians and have been injured or damaged their ebikes.
2. Lifting Your eBike From The Seat
In any event that may require you to lift your bicycle to move it around, do maintenance, or to simply show your friends how strong you are, the most common procedure is to lift your bike from the handlebars and the seat. The main issue with this is that electric bikes are usually heavier than most traditional bikes and lifting from the seat can cause the seat to be ripped off its bolts.
A more practical and safe way to lift your bike would be to grab it from the handlebars and the seat stays or the bridge of the seat stays. This will give you more grip and won't lead to a broken seat.
3. Sitting On Your Ebike While Propped On Kickstand
It's a very common mistake, on both ebikes and traditional bikes. Yes, there are some very strong kickstands that will support your bike and a person sitting on it as well. However, most kickstands are designed to only prop up your bike only. In the event that you need to sit on your bike while it's on the kickstand, be sure to lift the kickstand off the ground before putting your weight on the bike.
This will prevent your kickstand from breaking, bending, breaking the bolts or even damaging the mounting bracket on the frame. Furthermore, it can prevent your bike from falling over or you falling over yourself.
4. Leaving Your Ebike Outside
Not just ebikes but all bikes are better left indoors. That's because of the metal components on the bicycles, they can form rust over time when exposed to different outdoor conditions. In addition, electric bikes have a battery, a motor and other electrical components that are not waterproof. A little bit of rain won't hurt, but being left in the rain for extended periods of time can damage the electrical components.
The other major reason to not leave your ebike outside is theft. If your bike is left outside, it has a higher chance of being stolen, or its components stolen.
5. Cleaning Your Ebike
You're going to have a ton of adventures on your new Big Cat Ebike, and exploring the great outdoors. We are sure of it. With all that exploring, comes alot of dirt, mud, and grime, and it will need to be cleaned. Sure, the most practical thing to do would be to hose it down right? not necessarily, because your ebike is equipped with electrical components, it would be more ideal to use a bike cleaning solution, water and soap mixed in a bottle or a degreaser.
Apply the cleaning solution to your bike and wipe down with a rag. For those tough muddy areas, be sure to spray water away from electrical components, and never directly onto the motor, battery, LCD display or controller.