- If you're new to e-mountain biking,
one of the most essential skills to learn
is how to use your gears and your mode correctly,
and once mastered,
you'll really be able to see your potential
and just what an e-bike can do.
(upbeat music)
And starting off with gearing,
now you need to be able to spin your e-bike
at the right cadence.
Now cadence means
the rate at which you're spinning your pedals,
because most e-bikes operate at their best
at between 80 and 120 revolutions per minute.
Okay, so here's an example of cadence.
I'm now spinning
at between 90 and 100 revolutions per minute,
and my bike is really loving that,
it's working at an optimum rate.
However, knock it down into a higher gear,
I'm not down to 40 to 50 revolutions per minute,
and whilst it's quite a good workout for me,
my bike's not going to like it,
it's not going to be working at it's optimum.
It's a bit like driving a car in the wrong gear.
(upbeat music)
I'm going to start off with some of the basic mistakes
people do on their e-bikes.
First of all, you can actually pedal too quickly.
I'm now doing about 125 revolutions per minute,
which actually means the bike stops giving you support,
and that effort is all your own.
(upbeat music)
Second up, riding in turbo or boost mode,
with all the time in the world.
And why not, if you need to e-mountain bike in,
just remember, you're going to be burning that battery.
(breathes heavily)
Now this next one is probably the most basic error,
and it doesn't matter if you're riding sooth tarmac roads,
or on a single-track technical trail in the hills,
like those above me.
And this is what it's all about,
this not anticipating hills and changing gear
to suit that hill.
Let me show you what happens if I'm in the wrong gear
for the hill above.
This all works fine, but as soon as I get to the hill,
it just simply won't go up there.
Now my gear is fine here, but as soon as that road steepens,
(groans) I really do run out of gear.
Now I'm going to show you the correct way.
I see the hill, I change gear into an easier gear,
it doesn't matter what mode you're in,
that e-bike will get you up there.
Hundred raw RPM.
Woo.
(gentle music)
But remember, the biggest sin of all
is actually to change gear at the wrong time.
Which puts huge amount of stress on you
and especially your gears (groans).
An e-bike then is pretty much like a car.
You keep a car revving, and you keep an e-bike spinning.
Let those revs drop or let the spinning drop,
and it simply comes to a halt.
Now on a traditional mountain bike
you can sometimes grind it out,
and it actually feels pretty good.
But on an e-mountain bike, that simply does not work.
(upbeat music)
Time then to talk about mode.
Now, mode is that button on your handle bar,
which controls eco, trail, or boost mode.
Or that could even be on your display.
Now most of the time on flat or gently uphill terrain,
I'd actually use eco, because after all,
eco's still significantly easier
than our standard mountain bike.
Now, I can see now that my revs,
my cadence is dropping below about 80,
so I'm going to switch from eco, up into trail,
and you can see my cadence rising.
(upbeat music)
What about boost mode?
Well I was doing about 15 kilometers an hour,
but now, I'm doing 35!
So I'm actually going under my own steam!
Why do you need boost?
(upbeat music)
So, if you do find yourself
beyond that 25 kilometer an hour restriction,
going downhill or on the flat in turbo mode,
which you most likely will be,
then simply pop it back into trail or eco mode,
and don't forget to alter the gear and to go with that.
Now, a really good tool to use
if you need to e-mountain bike in,
is actually a display, which shows your cadence,
and also your speed.
And then that way you can match your spinning of the pedals
and also your gearing to suit.
Now I've used the road to show you the basics
of gearing and mode,
but the fundamentals of this applies off-road,
as it does on-road.
I'm going to leave you then with two videos
to show you just what these e-mountain bikes are capable of.
Time to hit the trails, and change gear.
(laughs) Woo!