Electric bikes have motors but are not like motorcycles or mopeds. You do have pedals on your electric bike and depending on whether or not you have a throttle, you will need to use them!
Electric bikes have pedals so that you can ride them like regular bikes. The electric motor will assist you by adding extra power to your pedaling, but you still get the health benefits of bike riding without the strain of struggling up hills.
Riding an electric bike is an amazing experience and I highly recommend you try one if you haven’t yet!
You can choose an ebike with a throttle that will allow you to scoot around like a moped or you can just use the pedal assist and pedal like you normally would just with super-powered legs.
The ebikes that do have a throttle only intend for it to be used on occasion to help get you up to speed or help you through an intersection. Not just to be used primarily.
In order to have a street-legal electric bike (class 1, 2, or 3) you will need working pedals that you use to ride the bike like normal.
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Can You Ride an Electric Bike Without Pedaling?
Yes, there are some electric bikes that come with an integrated throttle and require no pedaling. Some of these can be ridden using the throttle only and others will at least require you to be turning the pedals a little for the throttle to work.
Read up carefully about your future ebike purchase so you know exactly what you are getting and if it will do what you want it to do.
From my experience riding a Lectric XP 2.0 with a throttle, you need to start pedaling then you can just use the throttle. But using the throttle alone does not give you a whole lot of power. In order to climb a steep hill, you may need to add some of your own power.
(I’m also 6’4” 220lbs, so smaller riders will feel more power from just throttling)
Keep in mind, when you are just using the throttle you will get substantially less range out of your battery. In order to make sure you get stranded I suggest pedaling and using the assist to help you. Keep the throttling to a minimum.
Can You Ride an Electric Bike Only Pedaling?
This is a great thing about ebikes, you can just ride it like a regular bike if you run out of battery or have an electrical issue. Just know, ebikes are not easy to pedal without any assistance, so you would not want to have to ride far if possible.
I always recommend that new ebike riders try out their electric bike with the motor turned off to get the feel of how it would be to have to ride it with no assistance. Do this while you have plenty of battery left!
This will help you to be sure and keep track of your battery level and range and not get stuck out somewhere and have to ride a long way back with no motor help.
For a whole lot more information about this read – “Can An electric Bike Be Used as a Regular Bike?”
Do You Need Pedals On Your Electric Bike?
In order for your electric bike to be street-legal, you will need to have working pedals on your ebike.
Electric bikes are designed to be pedaled and give you extra help. This extra assistance is limited to 20pmh or 28pmh depending on what class of ebike you choose.
There has to be some kind of classification to separate electric bikes from electric motorcycles or mopeds.
The glory of electric bikes lies in the fact that you don’t need a license, registration, or insurance to enjoy riding them. Anyone that is able, can ride an electric bike! 🙂
Here is an article all about where you can ride an ebike – “Where Can You Ride an Electric Bike?”
Can You Change Your Pedals On Your Ebike?
Yes! The pedals on an electric bike are just like the pedals on a regular and you can change them to suit your needs.
I have bigger feet, so I tend to choose bigger pedals. I also have a folding electric bike that has folding pedals.
Most electric bikes will come with cranks that take the standard 9/16 inch threaded pedal spindle, which is used on the majority of regular bikes these days.
If you are not sure what size your pedal spindle is and want to change your pedals then just your ebike into your bike shop, even if the bike shop doesn’t carry ebikes, and they should be able to help you out.
Also note, if you’re going to be changing your own pedals, you will need a pedal wrench, and depending on which pedals you have or which pedals you are getting you may need either a 6mm or 8mm hex (Allen) wrench.
Your right side or “drive side” pedal will unthread normally (counterclockwise to remove). Your left side or “non-drive side” pedal will unthread in reverse (clockwise to remove).
There are many different pedal options to choose from. You are not stuck with the pedals that came with your bike!
Can You Ride Clipless Pedals On an Electric Bike?
While you totally can use clipless pedals and cycling shoes with electric bikes, the vast majority of folks will not.
Clipless pedals are the kind that takes special shoes that you clip into your pedals. Funny that clip-in pedals are called clipless. They were just designed to replace toe clips, hence clipless.
The whole point of clipless pedals is to reduce your bike weight, give you a boost when sprinting uphills, and keep your feet from slipping out and tangling up other riders in a peloton.
None of these are important when riding an electric bike.
With the motor assistance of an ebike, there is no need for this performance boost. Clipless pedals and the accompanying shoes are expensive and uncomfortable.
Part of the greatness of ebikes is that you can make your bike as comfortable as possible and not sacrifice performance.
What Are the Best Pedals For an Ebike?
The best pedals for an electric bike are the ones that best suit the rider. This may be big flat pedals with grippy replaceable pins, smoother flat pedals that you can ride barefoot with, or just the pedals that come with ebike.
Just know, if you are not a big fan of the stock pedals on your ebike, you can change them to different ones.
As I mentioned before, I have a folding ebike with folding pedals, so keeping these pedals for the folding aspects can be beneficial.
On my full suspension electric mountain bike, I have Shimano Saint pedals which have a large surface and replaceable pins to grip your shoes.
The right set of pedals for the right bike!
Are There Any Pedals That Should Not Be On an Electric Bike?
If you are new to electric bikes or just starting to ride again, I would not get pedals with toe straps or cages.
You will want to be able to easily put your foot down and support the bike if you to. Plus there is no real need for toe cages.
Electric bikes can weigh quite a bit and you will not want to accidentally go down on your ebike because your foot was stuck in the pedal.
Just start off using the pedals that come with your bike and upgrade to different flat or “platform” pedals if you want to.
There are many different sizes, styles, and colors out there to choose from. Make your bike your own!
At the End of the Day
You may find the best pedals for your ebike are the ones you are using right now.
My main point here is to just use your pedals as much as you can. If your ebike has a throttle it can seem easy to use that, but even adding some of your own light pedaling will give you some health benefits.
Also, it makes your ebike seem like it’s more under your control and not just a motorized bike.
Pedaling is a part of bike riding and that’s why we love bikes so much, it’s to ride them, not let them ride you!