25-05-2025
Your E-Bike Questions, Answered By An Expert
Answers to your e-bike questions
Connor Swegle, co-founder and CMO of Priority Bicycles in New York, helped start his company via a 2014 Kickstarter campaign. The brand's selling points were a low-maintenance bike with a belt drive instead of a chain, and selling directly to consumers. The response was overwhelming, in terms of orders and interest in the low-maintenance aspect. The company's been riding smoothly – pun intended – ever since. I've personally owned two of the brand's bikes, and found them to be stellar. So I figured Swegle would be the ideal person to ask common questions people have about e-bikes these days.
What's the latest in e-bike technology?
Because they've made an investment, people with e-bikes are concerned about leaving them outside during the day. It can be life changing if they're able to separate from a car, and speed up the day by having more accessibility with when and where they can go throughout the day. So some of the high-tech security options for people who aren't able to cover their bike in a safe space all the time are really interesting. Another area is the expansion into the e-cargo bike space, where you can take some of the reliance off of cars and still achieve everything you need in your day. The quality of that experience is really life changing. We're also working on some lower-power e-bike models that make the bike lighter and make the ride quality just like a regular bike that you're used to. But instead of riding two or three miles somewhere, you're able to do seven. You could be on your bike the whole day while having support. So if you're out socially, you're not worried about sweating. If you want to just ride a little bit more to get places and be active, you can have the support to just be comfortable doing it all day. They help you be more mobile throughout your day.
What's an e-bike's longevity?
Make sure you're keeping an eye on the bike's safety – air in the tires, properly working gears, and no weird rattles or malfunctioning. If your bike can go 22-to-24 mph, that's a lot of speed that could go south if you're having a mechanical issue. So make sure you're assessing the bike's state every couple of weeks. That means tune-ups, if you feel like your gears are going out. And that could be every two months for a frequent rider or a seasonal thing for infrequent riders. If you take really good care of a low-end, sub-$1,000 e-bike, you'll get two years of good use out of it. There's a reason a higher-end e-bike costs more. The motor is more durable, the support is better, and you could get up to six years of rigorous use with it.
Seems like a big difference between pricier and cheap bikes.
When shopping, it's important to assess how often you're going to use a bike, and how you want it to perform. If you're looking at it as a car replacement, as a daily driver, or if you're taking kids on it, don't shop by price first. Instead, start with features and benefits, and then figure out your price tier and find the best option with those features that you really need. Far too many people buy cheap, and it's a dangerous play. Cheaper bikes are harder to get repaired. Some shops won't work on certain low-cost e-bikes, and you don't want to ride something unsafe.
What to consider when buying a cargo e-bike?
Make sure it can support all of the weight. Cheaper models may only hold 250 pounds. If you're an adult rider, that can be 200 pounds. Add your kid, an extra bike seat for your child, and extra gear or other stuff you're toting, and you're quickly at the bike's weight limit. Also consider balance: Back-heavy models put additional strain on the rear, so the front can get relatively light, which isn't great when your kid's on the back. So look at the battery placement. More towards the middle or middle front helps in the cargo tier. Some models have a double rail in the back, or a rail outside of the kids hands. That's a huge benefit. If kids can put their hands on the outside rail, that concerns me. Also see if they offer kids covers for the rear wheel so that the child's clothing or shoelace doesn't get pulled into the spokes.
Any suggestions about expediting charging speeds?
Never buy a higher-amped aftermarket, off-brand charger. When you hear about battery fires, that's not happening generally with UL tested or high-end, name brand systems. And don't use an aftermarket charger that isn't set up for your system. You can get faster, name brand chargers for the higher-end batteries. When you get your e-bike, look into the charging amperage and see if there are options for higher amps to charge the battery faster. Outside of that, plan to regularly charge it when you get home at the end of the day.
Best way to maximize battery range?
If you have a throttle, don't hammer it down. The best way to maximize battery range is staying in low pedal assist, and letting the motor do its work. If you see a hill coming up, just notch up your pedal assist – rather than hitting the throttle. When you hit that throttle, the battery and motor do all the work. But when you just up that pedal assist and pedal a little bit harder, you'll double that power. It's much more efficient.
