FAQ
General Questions
There are many reasons:
- Get to where you need to go faster and easier than on a regular bike. Depending on how you choose to ride, you can travel without significant effort at up to 20mph on throttle.
- Climbing hills is a breeze... and we aren't talking about the breeze from huffing and puffing.
- No sweat. Even though you can ride much faster, you won't feel like you have to take a shower once you are there.
- Safer. That might seem counter-intuitive, since you can go faster than on a regular bike, but you also get an easier start from stopped positions, allowing you to get through an intersection steadier and quicker. When climbing steep hills with cars nearby you can focus more of your energy on controlling the bike instead of propelling the bike.
- Easier on those joints. Use the electric assist to ease the pressure on your knees and hips.
- Staying together. You may have a riding partner that rides at a different pace than you. An e-bike can even out the pace for both of you.
- Ditch the car. The convenience, the ease and the speed of an electric bike make it an alternative to an automobile more often than a regular bike. A study by Portland State University shows that e-bike owners ride more frequently and farther than when they relied on their traditional bike. This was the case for all age groups.
- It's FUN!!! Just try one and you'll see. Or catch a friend coming back from their first test ride with a big smile on their face.
No.
As long as the e-bike has a motor size of 750 watts or less (1000 watts in Oregon) and is programmed so that it can't go more than 20mph without pedaling, there is no need for a license. FYI – you must be at least 16 years of age to operate an e-bike in public places.
As best as we can determine, e-bikes don't get stolen with any more frequency than non-electric bikes. That's most likely because people tend to lock them up better and because a bike thief needs to get a charger and a battery key to make the bike truly saleable.
The best ways to protect your bike from theft are:
- Get a high-quality bike lock. Cable locks are way too easy to cut. High-quality u-bolts and folding locks are better.
- If you are parking your bike in your garage, lock your garage. It's probably the #1 location we've seen bikes get stolen from.
- When in public, lock your bike in a visible location.
Charging, Batteries & Range
The Safari ebike use a 4A fast charger to get a full charge in 3 hours, while other batteries usually takes around 6 hours, more than 2X faster than 2A normal charger.
The biggest factor contributing to your range is whether you pedal or just use a throttle without pedaling, along with what level of assist you use. With relaxed pedaling expect 26-39 miles on a single charge. In some cases you'll go even farther. Range will also be impacted by the battery capacity, the hills, wind and your size. Many electric bikes pedal easily as regular bikes. So you can extend the range even further by using little or no power on level surfaces and down hill.
The Safari ebike provides a minimum of 500 full charge cycles at which point the battery will hold about 80% of its original capacity. Some batteries can deliver up to 1200 charge cycles. If you recharge the battery when it is only 50% depleted, that counts as only 1/2 of one charge cycle. If you usually use your e-bike in pedal-assist mode, combining both pedal power and electric power, you can expect to go 10,000-20,000 miles before replacing your battery. That is a lot of miles on a bicycle.
Motors, Speed & Performance
BAFANG Motor, 350W (Sustained), 500W (Peak) 36V
The Safari ebike can achieve up to 20 mph on throttle.
Yes. And it is easy to switch back and forth. For example, you might want to use the power only when you are going up hills.
It depends on the bike. Some electric bikes sold in North America allow you to operate by simply turning the throttle without pedaling. Europeans have stricter rules, requiring that you pedal - which we support. If you think you'll get by without pedaling, think again. Even for e-bikes that have a throttle, you'll need to pedal when going up long, steep hills, although you won't have to pedal hard. Pedaling is more fun, extends the range of your battery, extends the life of your motor, and extends your own life too.
Component & Accessories
The Safari ebike comes with a pair of mudguards for free.