How to Ride a Cargo Bike:
by Jamie Tibbetts
1. Smooth Starts
The key to a smooth start is all about being in a low gear. As you pull up to a stop, downshift through your gears with the lower trigger paddle on your shifter. You’ll want to keep pedaling lightly to make sure your gears are shifting. Third gear is generally a great starting gear, but if you’ve got a heavier load you may want to shift down to 2nd, or even 1st gear.
Typically, power-assist level 1 or 2 is great for casual cruising, and unless you’re climbing big hills or charging down straightaways at top speed, you should be fine sticking with one of these power levels.
2. Braking & Stopping
It’s always best to brake with both your front and rear brakes. It gives you more control and helps your brake pads wear evenly. You can still downshift and pedal lightly as you’re braking if you need to.
As you pull to a stop try putting your non-dominant foot down so your dominant foot is available to pedal again. Of course, if you need to put both feet down that’s perfectly fine – you can hop forward off your seat and plant your feet for more stability.
3. Starting from a Stop
When starting up again, with your dominant foot, backpedal until your foot is in a high position, but not straight up and down. This gives you the best leverage to start pedaling. Thanks to the instant-on torque sensor on your Xtracycle, as you push off you’ll feel the pedal-assist motor kick in right away…and you're off!
4. What if…?
If you’re just about to start your ride and you notice that your bike is in a high gear, you can shift down a couple clicks, and then while standing next to the bike on the left side and holding the front brake, pedal gently while slightly lifting the rear end of the bike from the seat. The rear wheel will spin and the gears will drop to the lower gear so you’ll be in good shape to ride. Of course, you’ll want to do this before you load anyone or anything on the bike.
If you’ve been riding and weren't able to downshift to a low enough gear, you can still help get yourself going again by moving up to a higher power-assist level, and if need be scoot along with your foot on the ground to give yourself enough momentum to start pedaling again.
And if you’re really stuck, due to an incline or some other obstacle, the safest move will likely be to dismount your bike and walk it to a more level area. If needed, use the walk-assist mode to help you move your Xtracycle if you’re already loaded up.
More topics to dig into
Get acquainted with the cargo bike life and start riding with Xtracycle
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