Electric Bicycle Throttle
Your electric bicycle’s throttle is the physical connection between you and your ebike. Through just a few square centimeters of surface area, a magical bond is formed between man and machine that allows the two to feel each other and respond to each others thoughts and desires.
Ok, perhaps I’m romanticizing it just a bit, but the type of throttle on an ebike really does affect the entire riding experience.
There are three main types of throttles: thumb throttles, half twist throttles and full twist throttles. Of course, each type of ebike throttle has its own advantages and disadvantages, and each have their own effect on your riding experience.
Each also have adamant supporters ready to go to blows to defend their throttle choice.
Rarely have I ever seen support for a specific ebike option so evenly distributed among riders, but that is the case when it comes to ebike throttle choice. Many people are quick to claim that one of the three electric bicycle throttles is the superior choice and just as many people are quick to discount that type of ebike throttle, wishing it upon only their most despised of enemies.
So let’s take a detailed look at the main three different types of ebike throttles and figure out what all the fuss is about.
Thumb throttles
The thumb throttle, no surprise here, is designed to be operated by the thumb. It consists of just a small lever that protrudes from the handlebar towards the rider.
Thumb throttles are the least obtrusive of the three types of ebike throttles. One thing I love about the thumb throttle is that it almost never interferes with brake levers or twist shifters. It only occasionally interferes with lever shifters, but this can usually be fixed by slightly rotating the thumb throttle’s own lever up or down to avoid the path of the shifter lever.
Thumb throttles allow the greatest freedom of handle bar accessories, like lights and mirrors, since they take up so little room. They also allow you to use any aftermarket handle bar grips you’d like, since they don’t reach to the end of the handlebar.
Another unexpected advantage of thumb throttles is a slight increase in safety. As we’ll soon see, other throttles have a higher chance of accidental engagement, either by bumping into a wall, doorway or other object – or simply through an inattentive rider.
The main complaint against thumb throttles is thumb exhaustion. It doesn’t sound like such a serious problem, but after long stretches of riding at full throttle many people complain that their thumb simply gets sore and tired from holding the throttle’s lever down the entire time. Unlike other throttle types that spread the load out to the whole hand, thumb throttles focus the entire force of the return spring solely on the thumb.
Another disadvantage of thumb throttles is that they require you to constantly keep one fewer finger on the handlebars. The better grip on the handlebar you have, the better you can handle the ebike, especially in an emergency situation where you may have just milliseconds to think and take evasive action. This situation, while rare, isn’t the best time to have your strongest digit off hanging out by himself.
I personally discovered another unexpected downside of thumb throttles while commuting in the very cold winters of Pittsburgh. While your four fingers are wrapped around the handlebar and help keep each other warm, your lonely thumb protrudes far below the handlebar, hanging out in no man’s land and bearing the full brunt of the chilly air racing by. Combined with extremely cold temperatures and a fast ebike, you’ve got yourself a recipe for a frozen thumb. It sounds silly, but even through thick leather gloves, a 15 minute commute in the middle of winter consistently made my right thumb feel like it was about to fall off. Certainly it’s a problem only relevant to a certain demographic, but now you can’t say I didn’t warn you.
Full twist throttles
Full twist throttles are sort of the antithesis of thumb throttles as they are the largest type of ebike throttle and require the whole hand to operate. The full twist throttle takes up the entire end of the handlebar, completely replacing whatever grip would originally be on the end of handlebar. To operate it, the rider simply grabs a handful of throttle and twist it back towards himself.
