Practical Advice, Not Generic Bike Marketing
Bike Smarts is RideTHISbike's growing library of practical bike and e-bike advice for real people making real-life decisions in Greater New Orleans.
Some people want a better way to carry children. Some want to ride with grandchildren. Some want to replace short car trips, avoid parking hassles, explore local routes, take bikes on RV trips, or choose an e-bike without getting buried in confusing specifications.
Motor wattage, battery size, tire width, frame style, and range all matter, but most people are really asking a bigger question:
Will this actually work for my life?
Bike Smarts is designed to answer that question with plain-English advice, local experience, and practical judgment.
Built for Greater New Orleans Riders
New Orleans and the surrounding communities are mostly flat and rideable year-round, but local riding still requires common sense. Heat, humidity, rough streets, potholes, uneven pavement, distracted drivers, bridges, storage limits, and route choice all matter.
Our advice is written for people in New Orleans, Metairie, Kenner, Harahan, River Ridge, the West Bank, the Northshore, Jefferson Parish, Orleans Parish, and nearby communities.
Featured Advice: Family Riding
We began Bike Smarts with family cycling because families often ask some of the most practical and important questions.
Can we carry kids safely on a bike? What routes are best? What bike works well for grandparents? Could a cargo e-bike replace some short car trips? Are there places in Greater New Orleans where families can ride comfortably together?
These are real questions with real consequences for how families spend time together, get outside, reduce short car trips, and make cycling part of everyday life.
Bike Smarts Categories
This section will grow over time. We are starting with the topics customers ask us about most often, then building each category around practical, local, use-case based advice.
Bike Smarts: Families - Advice for parents, grandparents, caregivers, and families considering cargo bikes, child seats, family routes, passenger behavior, and safe ways to ride together in Greater New Orleans.
Bike Smarts: Commuting & Short Trips - Advice for people who want to replace short car trips, commute locally, reduce dependence on a second car, or make everyday errands easier.
Bike Smarts: Local Routes - New Orleans-area riding guidance focused on useful, enjoyable, and lower-stress routes, including parks, levee paths, greenways, lakefront rides, and neighborhood connections.
Bike Smarts: Older Riders - Advice for riders over 50 or 60 who want comfort, confidence, stability, step-through frames, trikes, e-bikes, and help getting back into riding after years away.
Bike Smarts: For RVers - Folding e-bike and compact transportation advice for RV owners, campers, snowbirds, and travelers who want to explore without moving their vehicle every time.
Bike Smarts: Safety - Practical safety advice for riding in Greater New Orleans, including route selection, visibility, carrying children, bike lanes, streetcar tracks, night riding, and defensive riding.
Current Bike Smarts: Families Articles
Carrying Kids on a Bike in New Orleans - A practical guide to cargo bikes, e-bikes, trikes, trailers, passenger behavior, route selection, and what New Orleans families should consider before carrying children by bike.
Family Bike Safety in New Orleans - Safety guidance for parents, grandparents, and caregivers, including helmets, visibility, stop signs, passenger rules, route choice, and when to end the ride.
Best Family Bike Routes in Greater New Orleans - Local route guidance for family rides in parks, on levee trails, greenways, lakefront paths, and other lower-stress riding areas.
Riding With Grandchildren in Greater New Orleans - Bike choices, safety considerations, route ideas, and practical advice for grandparents who want to create memorable adventures with grandchildren.
Cargo Bike vs a Second Car in New Orleans - A practical family transportation guide for households considering whether a cargo e-bike can replace enough short trips to delay, avoid, or reduce dependence on a second vehicle.
Summer Camp Transportation by Bike in New Orleans - Practical advice for using bikes and cargo e-bikes for camp drop-off, pickup, gear, heat, rain, and everyday family routines.
School Drop-Off by Bike in New Orleans - Practical guidance on routes, backpacks, weather, schedules, school-zone traffic, car lines, and whether biking to school can work for your family.
How Bike Smarts Connects to RideTHISbike and eBikeNOLA
RideTHISbike is our primary site and the home of our broader cycling mission. This is where we explain how bikes and e-bikes fit into real life.
eBikeNOLA is one of our brands and is where we place more detailed content about the e-bikes we sell. When Bike Smarts discusses a specific bike that may be a strong fit, we may link to eBikeNOLA so you can compare models, features, and current availability.
The goal is not to convince everyone to ride a bike. The goal is to help people determine whether cycling, with or without electric assist, could improve their quality of life.
Visit Us for a Real Test Ride
Advice can help you think clearly, but it cannot replace a real test ride.
If you are considering an e-bike, cargo bike, folding bike, trike, comfort bike, or traditional bicycle, visit RideTHISbike. We can talk through your routes, storage, comfort level, passengers, budget, and long-term maintenance needs.