Riding an E-BIKE as a SHORT RIDER

Alanna here with Sixthreezero, today we're going to go over some tips for riding an electric bike if you are a short rider, stick around. All right, if you're short like me, I'm 5'1, or if you're even shorter, the number one thing you can do when choosing an electric bike is making sure that you get a bike that fits you. Now, we have our BodyFit quiz where you can enter your height and weight and find out which bikes are a good fit for you. We have plenty of videos that show riders of different heights on our different bike models, so check those out. But two important things to look for in an electric bike if you're short are one, a low step-through frame like this, this is the EVRYjourney electric, and two, forward pedaling. Here you can see the pedals are not directly below the seat as they typically are on a bike they're moved forward. That means you can lower your seat as much as you want, while still getting full leg extension while pedaling. So why are these two features key to short bike riders?

Well, as you know, riding an electric bike is fast and it can be scary if you're new to riding. So you want to eliminate all potential for danger as much as possible. Having a low step-through frame means easy mounting and dismounting. You don't have to worry about getting your legs super high if you're short, you don't have to worry about swinging your leg over the back, you can simply step through. Having the forward pedaling means you can lower the seat as much as possible, like so, so that once you are mounted your feet can rest on the ground. So why is having your feet on the ground so important? If you've ever ridden a bike then you know that when you come to a stop your first impulse is to put your feet down. If you're short and you can't find the ground, it can be a little unsettling and you could even fall over. It's really good to be able to put your feet on the ground with a low seat and the forward pedaling, so you don't have to worry about that toppling over.

Especially if you're riding an electric bike, you're going really fast and then you come to a sudden stop, that's the last thing you want to worry about is finding your footing. That is going to be key for short e-bike riders. All right, in addition to that, you want to make sure that your bike is adjusted to fit your body. I prefer to have my handlebar pretty low and the tilt you'll have to play around with and see what feels comfortable for you. But having the handlebars lower means that I can seek clearly above them, and it feels like I have a little more control when they're lower, especially being short it's harder to manage if they're high up. So being able to lower your handlebars is going to give you more control and more security as you're riding, which is super important if you're on an e-bike. When it comes to actually riding the e-bike, I would say start slow. It can be exciting if you get a new e-bike, you want to go fast right away, but just start slow.

All of our e-bikes come with three riding modes. First being ride it manually as a normal bike. Second pedal assist which has five levels. Then the third throttle, which is exactly how it sounds, using the throttle to power you. So if you're short, I would say stick to level one, two for your first few rides, and then adjust as you feel more comfortable. Another thing you want to remember just in general, whether you're short or not is when you mount your bike, you want to keep it off, your electric bike off, and you want to make sure to engage both hand breaks. This is going to make it easier for you to swing your leg through or step through avoiding any falls. Now once you're here on the bike, one trick that I like to do that I think makes it oops, that I think makes it easier as a short rider is to use my throttle to get going.

If you're new to riding you might not want to do this, or if you're nervous about the speed, then I'd say for your first ride just ride it as a manual bike. But using the throttle can really help you gain your balance pretty quickly because the faster you go, the less you have to worry about falling to either side. So let me show you how that looks. One thing you could do too is keep your feet down. If you have the seat as low as possible, then that's going to make it a little more secure. With your feet down, you can just hit the throttle move forward slowly, and just get a feel for your e-bike. Then you can put your feet on the pedals and start pedaling. But I really like the throttle to get going trick, and that's basically how I start all of my rides with the throttle. I do sometimes keep my feet down in case I need to put a foot down, but that is one little hack that I use as a short rider.

But I think even if you're taller it can come in handy too. Lastly, I would just say to play around with your adjustments. I prefer to have my handlebar low, but something else might feel more comfortable to you. You can always adjust the handlebar height here on the stem and the tilt. I feel like I have the most control when my handlebars are low around like just above my belly button because I can see clearly over everything and I feel like I have more control. That makes me feel more secure. When you first assemble your bike, I would say adjust it to the lowest point and then make alterations from there. Start low and then adjust up as you get more comfortable riding.

Those are my tips for short electric bike riders. If you have any other tips, please make sure to leave them in the comments below so we can share them with our community. Thank you so much for watching. If you have any questions about e-bikes, riding tips, anything that you want to see tutorials on, please let us know because we'll definitely do our best to make that video for you. Our job is to get everyone out there on bikes, so however we can help you get out there on a bike feeling more comfortable, riding more, we're going to do it. Thanks so much for watching, don't forget it's your journey, your experience. Enjoy the ride.