How To Choose An Electric Bike For Camping
Camping can be a lot of fun and adventure, but it's even more fun when you take an electric bike along. In addition to giving you that thrilling biking experience, camping with e-bikes can make your transportation easier and more convenient, especially when exploring unknown locations.
You also burn off calories while on your trip that you wouldn't have if you were driving in a car. This article will reveal all you need to know about camping with e-bikes and what kind of electric bikes to take camping.
Ebike Camping Benefits
No Need To Park
Finding a good parking space for your car while camping can be a hassle. For starters, you need to find a space that your car can fit into, and it has to be close to the campsite. Another thing to worry about is whether it's safe from thieves. Some folks sleep in their car while camping because of this issue.
However, with e-bikes, you don't even need to park. You can simply lock your bike and tie it to a nearby tree or keep it right beside your camp bed or tent.
Can Carry A Lot of Supplies
When it comes to cargo, you can carry as many supplies and camping gear as you need by strapping them directly to your bike. When doing this on regular bicycles, you have to minimize loading, so you only take lightweight items. This is because the more load you carry, it will be more difficult to ride.
But with e-bikes, you can load much more as the bike's propulsion power will make it convenient to ride.
Can Reach Remote and Difficult Places
One of the fun things about camping is the opportunity to explore. Whether it's a mountain, the woods, or the deep forest, e-bikes can take you anywhere.
Cars present a barrier in terms of size, motorcycles present a barrier in terms of weight, and traditional bicycles present a barrier in terms of riding difficulty.
None of the above factors limit e-bikes: you can go anywhere comfortably and as fast as you like. Furthermore, your bike is light enough for you to carry it if need be (for instance, when crossing a stream).
What to Look at When Choosing an Electric Bike for Camping
As advantageous as it can be to camp with electric bikes, you can't just pick any bike and take it camping. Well, at least, you shouldn't. It would help if you considered certain things when choosing an e-bike to take camping.
Some important things to consider are the bike's size, tires, motor, and battery. The nature of your trip will highly influence your choices here.
Tire Size
The terrain you'll experience on your trip should influence the type of tires your bike has.
Fat tires are best for traveling on soft, even terrains like snow and sand. So if you're going camping close to the beach, this tire size is what you need. Narrow tires get bogged down in soft sand, so avoid them in this case. Fat tires can also work well on smooth pavements, but they're slower and more difficult to pedal than narrow tires. However, the pedal assist feature can always help with speed and pedaling.
Narrow & Mountain Bike Tires: These are small diameter bike tires, though some mountain bike tires may have a larger diameter than a traditional narrow tire. Narrow tires are best for flat pavements, and mountain bike tires are best for off-road and rough terrain. Mountain bikes are much tougher and less prone to puncture. Their tires are also useful on flat pavement, but they're quite useless on soft surfaces such as sand.
Thin Tire vs. Fat Tire E-bike: How to Choose the Right One for Your Needs?
Battery Range
Battery range refers to how long your bike's battery will last after a full charge. Unless you'll go with a power source to charge your batteries, you seriously need to consider this feature. Manufacturing companies always list ranges for their bikes.
However, these values may not be accurate because they are measured in ideal conditions, and you will be carrying a heavy load when going camping with an electric bike. So, you shouldn't expect to get the full range number advertised by the manufacturer, although they are helpful for comparison. One tip to always remember is that the less you rely on pedal assist or throttle usage, the longer your battery will last. Low temperatures and windy conditions can also reduce your battery range. If you do not want to buy a power source, you can buy an extra battery or use the charging port the campsite provides. Please don't forget to include the return journey in the total mileage. After all, a safe return home is the perfect end of a pleasant trip.
Max Load
The maximum load or weight limit of your bike is another vital thing to consider when choosing a camping e-bike. It's advised to check the maximum load the bike can carry both on its own and when towing a trailer. When going camping with your electric bike, you require a durable model with a strong rear rack that can haul all the supplies and gear you want to take with you.
Different bikes have different weight limits, both for the bike itself and for trailers. Be sure to know your bike's maximum load capacity so you don't overload and ruin it.
Suspension
The suspension of an electric bike has a great impact on its control, traction, and comfort levels. In terms of suspension, e-bikes are classified into two: full suspension or hardtail. Full suspension e-bikes pay more attention to comfort, and hardtail e-bikes are more efficient and lighter(and more affordable). Which one you choose depends entirely on the terrain you want to go. For most terrain, the front fork suspension is enough. But you can always go further and choose a full-suspension electric bike.
The Must-have Accessories For E-bike Camping
Besides your cargo, here are other accessories you must take along when camping with bikes:
Helmet: Safety first. Whether you ride at high speed or not, this will come in handy if an accident happens. It's especially necessary for mountainous or rocky terrains.
Sturdy bike lock: This tool is necessary so no one can steal your bike on campsites. An average of 188,000 bike thefts are reported every year in the U.S. alone. The chances of your bike getting stolen are very high on a camp expedition.
Waterproof bicycle bag: This accessory keeps your personal belongings and sensitive items (like your phone) safe while cycling. The waterproof feature is very important, so your belongings don’t get wet.
Waterproof bicycle cover: You wouldn't want your e-bike to get soaked by the rain; this can ruin some sensitive parts like the battery. Though some e-bikes are water-resistant, the metal parts and LCD instruments won’t last long after soaking in water, it's better to be safe than sorry.