Electric Bikes with Pedal Assist for Any Rider

Looking for an electric bike with pedal assist? You’re looking at a ride that will change your world in all the best ways. Before you take the plunge and pick one, however, there are some things you should know about pedal assist and how it transforms biking as you know it.

The Difference Pedal Assist Makes 

Pedal assist is pretty much what it sounds like—a feature that provides assistance with pedaling, which is, of course, the toughest part of biking, particularly when it comes to steep hills. Having some help when the going gets tough or anytime you just want an easier ride elevates biking in so many ways. 

Pedal assist gives you the confidence to go places you may not go on a regular bike and the option to go further and get there faster. It means you don’t have to rule out riding your bike because you don’t want to show up at work or wherever you’re going all sweaty and disheveled. It means biking is easier and more enjoyable, and you can go where you want to go at your own pace. 

Oh, you can still pedal hard when you want and get as much exercise as you like, but it’s up to you to choose how you want to get where you’re going.

In other words, it’s really cool. 

How Pedal Assist Works 

Traditional bikes don’t have pedal assist because they don’t have motors. Electric bikes do, and that’s what powers pedal assist. Like we said, you can pedal just like you can on a regular bike, but on an e-bike, you can kick in that pedal assist at any time. It’s like a boost-in-waiting, ready when you need it in varying levels of intensity. 

At Charge, we make three e-bikes, all of which have several pedal-assist modes. Our City and Comfort bikes both have five pedal-assist modes. The lower the mode, the less of a boost you’ll get, and the higher the mode, the bigger the boost. So, mode one provides the least amount of assistance, for those times you just want a little extra help, while mode five steps things up so you can step your level of effort down significantly. 

These bikes are also equipped with a throttle, so you can kick them into throttle mode anytime to get an even bigger boost—so big you don’t have to pedal at all if you don’t want to. 

Our rugged mountain bike, the Charge XC, has three pedal-assist modes. They include eco, trail and boost, and there’s also a walk-assist mode. 

How Far Can Pedal Assist Take You? 

As we mentioned, pedal assist is powered by a motor, and that motor is powered by a battery. At Charge, our bikes come with weather-proof removable (yet lockable) batteries, which means you don’t have to drag your bike to a power source to charge it up. You can just take out the battery, plug it into an electrical outlet of your choice and recharge it.

How long it takes to recharge the battery depends on how much power is left, but to give you an idea, it takes about 3 hours to get the battery to 80 percent capacity and 7 hours to fully charge the batteries that come with our City and Comfort bikes. For the Charge XC, it takes about 2.5 hours to reach 80 percent capacity and about 5 hours to fully charge. 

As far as how far you can go with pedal, that depends on a few things such as the terrain you’re covering and how much power you choose to use, but in general, you’ll be able to cover about 50 miles on a fully charged battery. 

The bottom line: Pedal assist changes everything about biking… except the good stuff. You still get all two-wheel goodness of a regular bike, including the ability to pedal when you want, but the power of pedal assist gives you so much more. 

It makes biking invigorating rather than exhausting. It lets you choose fun and freedom without fatigue. And it ultimately gives you the best biking experience possible no matter where you want to go and how you want to get there. 

Want to see for yourself the difference pedal assist makes in a bike and how it can change the way you ride? You can schedule a free test ride at one of our centers located across the country. Have questions? We have experts standing by ready to help at (833) 482-3822 Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.