Speaker: There are many benefits to commuting by bike. I mean, it's cheaper. You don't have
to pay parking, taxi, bus, or even train fees. It's faster. You could shoot through the traffic
that bit quicker, and it's good for the environment. Today, I thought I'd swap out
my regular bike and take out this. This is a Canyon Grail:On e-bike. I thought I'd show you
some tips and tricks on how to commute by e-bike. Without further ado, we better get on. Otherwise,
I'm going to be late for work. [music]
If you haven't seen or heard of an e-bike before, then let me explain.
It's a bike like this with a neat little motor in. When you push on the pedals, the pedal assist
kicks in, meaning you can zip away uphills and over tough terrain without gassing yourself.
There are loads of different kinds of e-bikes out there.
There's folding ones, meaning you can get on the train easily or put them under your desk.
There's e-mountain bikes for those wanting to go over the rougher terrain. There's even step
through e-bikes for those who don't want to swing their leg over the saddle a bit like my dad. Then
for those speed virgins out there, there's those road e-bikes but I've opted for this, a gravel
bike, a do-it-all bike going over rough terrain, but also keeping speed on those bike paths too.
[music] Now, this might sound really obvious,
but make sure your battery is fully charged. I mean, it sounds daft, but it's easily forgotten.
What I would tend to do is be prepared the night before. Check your battery and then stick on
charge through the night. That way you have full battery in the morning. As an add-in bonus, when
you get to work, you can always just top it up, that way you can have good fun on your way home,
and there's no risk of losing battery. The last thing you want to do is ride your e-bike dead.
It will make it quite hard to ride. Now on the subject of being prepared,
make sure you've got your bag prepared as well. A good thing to do is prepare that the night before
also. That way you get a little bit of a lighting, or you get a little bit more of the riding time.
Luckily, I don't need a bag for today's ride. The battery is fully charged.
I'm fully charged. Ready to go. [music]
Now, depending on how long your commute is, you can either opt for [unintelligible 00:02:25] full
cycling kit. If it's short like mine today, you can opt for more
casual wear. One thing to remember, though, is if you're riding in those winter months,
tend to make sure you're wearing some light vibrant clothing,
something like a fluorescent jacket so you're seen on those dusky or even dark
nights. Don't forget safety is absolutely key, so make sure you wear a helmet too.
Leading on from helmets, we would definitely advise you invest in a good set of lights,
a front and a rear for your safety, especially if you're commuting all year
round when the nights get longer and those days get shorter. Nowadays e-bikes can keep
up with cars. We want to make sure you're being seen whatever speed you're going at.
When it comes to junctions, red lights, or even places with lollipop man, make sure you stop. We
want to give cyclists a good name and you don't need to worry about getting a good acceleration.
You've got an e-bike. It'll do it for you. Be patient and wait your turn. All right. Good to go.
Now, one thing that does really put me off commuting is having to carry around a big,
heavy, rucksack, but there's loads of alternatives. You can use panniers or
saddlebags. That way, you can keep all that heavy weight off your back. It's not a bonus. You won't
get any backache. [music]
Now, security is always key when it comes to commuting, especially if you're leaving your bike
out on the street. What I would advise is getting a good lock. What you could do instead of carrying
a big, heavy lock around with you, is you could leave it at work. That way, you don't have to
take the extra weight. [music]
When it comes to route planning and you're lucky enough to have an e-bike,
you don't need to avoid the 12% climbs that you would on a regular bike. know you could
take the fastest and most direct route, but I wouldn't get stuck in the rut of
doing the same old route day in day out. Mix up. Have a bit of variety in there.
If you get to work on the quickest route possible to get in there, and then on the way back,
if you have a bit more time, you can find a more adventurous route. If you're struggling to look
for routes, then there's loads of different route planning apps like Komoot that you can go onto
to find a really exciting route for your ride back, depending on what kind of bike you have.
Today I'm tackling the hills. [music]
What I definitely recommend you do is avoid these busy main roads. It will lose the fun of cycling.
You'll end up slowing yourself down having to weed through the traffic. Top tip, go for quiet roads.
After all, you want to enjoy your cycling. Now, unfortunately, I've got no one to ride with today
to work, but if you have got a friend or a buddy that goes to the same workplace as you or go
to the same area as you, then I would definitely recommend you buddy up with them. It makes your
commute go that little bit quicker. A bit of company on the bike is absolutely key. I wouldn't
mention you're on an e-bike though because they might not want to ride with you again.
[music] You are going to
save a lot of money while commuting by bike. I mean, it's going to be saving money on parking,
train, taxis, bus fares. You could even use that extra bit of cash to treat yourself to a coffee
or a croissant when you get to work, or if you bank it, you can treat yourself to some cycling
kit, some lights, or even a bike. [music]
Commuting by bike does not need to be weather dependent. I mean, I'm very lucky in the fact
that I've got blue sky today, but here in Britain where you can never be too careful.
If it's a short commute and you still want to wear your casual kit, I'd prepare your bike,
so making sure you've got a set of mudguards. That way, you don't need to worry about that
surface water. As a bonus, you don't need to worry about getting a soggy bum
when you get to work. [music]
If you're the kind of person that on their commute, you've got loads of traffic lights
or loads of junctions, and you're worried about tiring yourself out on those accelerations, well,
the big advantage of an e-bike is it takes all that away. It zips away. It does that
acceleration for you. You might get to traffic lights this time, look either side, see a car,
and you might race them off the line a bit like what am I going to do now.
[music] Finally, made it to work,
but I'm not going to lie. I quite enjoyed that commute. Has it inspired you to get
an e-bike for your commute? Then let me know in the comments section below, but I hope it's
given you some tips if you've already got an e-bike to get to work that little bit easier
and stress-free. All right. I guess I'll see you in the next video. Don't forget, though,
if you enjoyed it, give it a big thumbs up. [00:07:18] [END OF AUDIO]