What it Takes to Lift a Bike and E-Bike

Hey, everyone. It's Peter and Alana here at Sixthreezero Bicycles and E-bikes. We want to talk about what it takes to lift a bike and an e-bike. Stay tuned.

Okay. So, actually, we do take returns. We are happy to send the bike out, let you try the bike out, and then see if it works for you, see if it fits, see if you like it. And then, of course, you're able to return it. That's one of the benefits that we offer. And of course, if you're buying online, you don't get the chance to try out the bike until you receive it.

So, anyway, one of the main returns we get, actually, surprising to us and maybe to you, is that sometimes people find the bike is too heavy to lift, not to ride. The weight on a bike, riding doesn't matter that much, especially at a recreational level, or if you have an e-bike. But, to actually lift the bike upstairs, up to a curb, or onto a car rack. So, Alana and I are both going to try. We're just going to demonstrate what it looks like for one of us to lift it. And you may want to get familiar with what it takes to lift a certain amount of weight.

A regular recreational hybrid bike like this is going to weigh between about 30 and 35 pounds. So, it's pretty light. It's not a race bike, which a race bike might be about 20 pounds or even less. This one is around 33 pounds.

We all also have an e-bike, which of course is a lot heavier. It has a motor, and a battery, and other components. This one is closer to 65 pounds. So, I'm going to grab it by the stem and the rear rack here, and just lift it like that. So, if you are considering an e-bike, and you need to lift it for any reason, see if you can lift 65 pounds. See if that it's a reasonable thing for you to do. Would you like to try these, Alana?

Yeah, sure.

Alana benches two plates. So-

I bench the bar.

This may not be a fair comparison, but she's going to show you.

I grab usually right here on the-

Yeah, that's fine.

And the stem.

Nothing to it.

The back is heavier. So, sometimes I'll grab here.

The back is heavier. Yeah.

But, not too bad. This one, yeah. Heavy.

Heavy?

Yeah.

Heavy. All right.

Now, we'll lift it onto a curb. Sometimes you're on the street, and you want to get onto the sidewalk. Sometimes as you can find a place to roll it up, like a driveway entrance or something, but sometimes people need to lift it onto a curb. So, I'm going to demonstrate lifting onto a curb. Here we go. Viola. We did have a bike returned one time because a customer was ... They just weren't able to do that. Whatever. Sometimes people have injuries, sometimes they're just not used to that movement, but it wasn't something that they were able to do. So, they returned the bike, which is fine. But, it is something that you should be aware of. Would you like to try it as well, Alana?

Sure. Okay. I'm going to bring it closer to the curb first. And then ... This feels awkward.

It's awkward.

Yeah. So, I kind of lean it against myself and use a little thrust.

That's a good demonstration. Yeah. I think that's a good demonstration. All right, now let's see if we can get the bike onto the car rack over here.

The e-bike?

Ooh, and then we'll take it ... Both.

Okay.

Yeah, Let's try it. Here's a regular bike. Again, these guys are pretty light. I'm going to be in your way, I guess, but anyway. Just hoist it up. Pop it on like that. There you go. You want to try it, Alana?

Yeah.

Alana will do it. I'll bring the e-bike over. How was that?

Easy.

Pretty easy. Okay, now here's the e-bike. Again, closer to 65 pounds. Some e-bikes are even 70 pounds or closer to 80 pounds.

If you want to get a bike, probably the lightest e-bike you could get would be about 40 pounds, but that bike is going to cost you many thousands of dollars. So, that's the difference. Really, most of the cost in a bike is in trying to reduce the weight. So, there we go. Here's the bike in the car rack. Again, this is a pretty low car rack. Some may be higher, something else to think about. Alana will give it a shot.

I don't think I've ever done it solo. Oh. Oh, I don't think I can do it.

So, it can be a struggle. 65, 70 pounds is a lot. So, if you haven't felt that weight in a while and you want to lift your e-bike for some reason, that's something you should think about. Maybe find something that's around that kind of weight and see if that's really something you want to do. Are you going to hurt yourself? Or, is it even possible?

Okay, now let's try running up some stairs. What do you say?

Okay.

We'll do it with the e-bike only, okay? It's the picnic table challenge.

Do we have to run?

We don't have to run. I might run. I'm going to hop. So, I'm going to grab it right here on the seat tube, below the seat stays, and then just probably go like this. But, some people have this idea if they live on a second or third story walkup, and that they want to take their e-bike up into their apartment. That may be possible, it may not. Also, if the stairwell is narrow. So, there you go. That's what that looks like. Alana, would you like to go up to the apartment?

Sure.

Especially if you're carrying your groceries, that might be another trip.

I'm getting a workout. Huh. Any tips?

I would grab it right here, overhand. There you go.

Yeah. These are some steep steps. I don't think I can do it.

No, it's not going to happen.

I think this is a two-person job, in my case.

Maybe regular steps. Or, if you have a buddy. I don't know. But then you need a tandem bicycle, or maybe you have two bikes. Anyway, that's what it looks like, just to give you a realistic view that e-bikes are heavy. Regular bikes, they're lighter, but also may be heavy for some. If you're getting a recreational bike, it's going to weigh between 30 and 40 pounds, which is a lot easier to carry than the e-bike, which is going to be 60, 70, 80 pounds.

So, anyway, I hope that was helpful. Please give it consideration, think about the condition that you're in, think about your health, if you're going to get injured, or if you have any existing injuries. I truly hope that that was helpful for you. If you liked it, please do like it, and hit subscribe. It helps grow our channel. And if you need any help at all, please contact us. You can call us at 310-982-2877, or email us at theteam@sixthreezero.com. Remember, sixthreezero is spelled out, S-I-X-T-H-R-E-E-Z-E-R-O. theteam@sixthreezero.com. Thanks.