Are you prepared for a mechanical breakdown?

[Connecticut Rider]

AAA will not rescue you, if you are stranded. They don't have the racks for e-bikes, at least not here in Connecticut.
If you have a smart phone, UBER may or may not be available.
The Police are likely to not serve the purpose either.
    It could be an immense problem, depending on the circumstances. You may become desperate enough to stick out your thumb, after locking your bike to a suitable object. Hopefully, it's a damn good lock, and hopefully you can make the bike hard to not be noticed.
   Well...you'd be well advised to have a few phone numbers, and hope that one of those works out. If not....good luck. My friend suggests you call the Police, and request them to summon a "wrecker" to come and get the bike, and just go with them. Well....maybe that would work. It would be worth the small fortune, especially if you were in a state of dehydration.
   Get this....I'm 72, and quite fit. But on one of my 25 mile or so rides, if this happens, I'm likely to be quite challenged in coping with bad timing, in particular. I'd stick out my thumb. It happened once before, on my old non electric mountain bike,  and no one would pick me up. I had to walk a few miles, and it was hot. In that particular event, I had no phone with me. Luckily, home was just a few miles away, but even that was no picnic.
   This is something to very seriously consider, before you buy an e-bike. If its a regular bike, just make sure you don't forget your cell phone. AAA will rescue you. If its an e-bike, lets just say the variables are endless, and can be scary. I don't regret buying mine, but I sure hope a friend of mine answers my call, and is able to pick me up in this type of scenario.

[Altema]

I've never actually had a mechanical breakdown with my Rad, but I did have a severe crash. Strangers helped me limp to a parking lot and carried the bike parts. I called my daughter and she left work to come and get me. Fortunately my bike folds, so an Uber could have taken me with the bike in the trunk.

I recently had a group ride with gas mopeds, and I had two flats due to excessive speed. The follow up vehicle with the trailer could not pick me up because the trailer was full of mopeds which had broken down (5 or 6 of them), so I fixed the second flat and rode solo 20 miles back to my car. I had lots of people offer assistance, including one who offered to put my bike in the back of his truck and drive me home.

[tiwip63754]

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[Connecticut Rider]

Thanks for responding Althema.
I have an EXPAND 5. Though foldable, it might be too bulky to fit in a trunk. Maybe if the Uber driver was willing to drive without shutting the trunk cover. In my case, I have no smart phone, so Uber would not be an option, and in this very rural area might not be available anyway.
Too bad that AAA is not an option.

[Tree]

AAA will not rescue you, if you are stranded. They don't have the racks for e-bikes, at least not here in Connecticut.
If you have a smart phone, UBER may or may not be available.
The Police are likely to not serve the purpose either.
    It could be an immense problem, depending on the circumstances. You may become desperate enough to stick out your thumb, after locking your bike to a suitable object. Hopefully, it's a damn good lock, and hopefully you can make the bike hard to not be noticed.
   Well...you'd be well advised to have a few phone numbers, and hope that one of those works out. If not....good luck. My friend suggests you call the Police, and request them to summon a "wrecker" to come and get the bike, and just go with them. Well....maybe that would work. It would be worth the small fortune, especially if you were in a state of dehydration.
   Get this....I'm 72, and quite fit. But on one of my 25 mile or so rides, if this happens, I'm likely to be quite challenged in coping with bad timing, in particular. I'd stick out my thumb. It happened once before, on my old non electric mountain bike,  and no one would pick me up. I had to walk a few miles, and it was hot. In that particular event, I had no phone with me. Luckily, home was just a few miles away, but even that was no picnic.
   This is something to very seriously consider, before you buy an e-bike. If its a regular bike, just make sure you don't forget your cell phone. AAA will rescue you. If its an e-bike, lets just say the variables are endless, and can be scary. I don't regret buying mine, but I sure hope a friend of mine answers my call, and is able to pick me up in this type of scenario.

i suppose there are some rural areas where Uber may not be available, but I'd imagine in most places where one can stick out a thumb and get a ride, an uber would likely be nearby, and safer, no?

[pnwetc]

There are steps you can take to avoid getting stuck leaving your bike behind. On longer rides, I bring a trunk bag carrying tools that would cover the most common problems (spare tube, patch kit, air pump, tire levers, multitool, adjustable wrench) as well as a U-lock and disc lock. You can fix or change a flat tube in the field, and the other tools are useful to address other common problems that arise.

I'm not saying you can be fully prepared for everything, obviously. But with proper maintenance and decent preparedness, I'd be less worried about mechanical failures (or even electrical failures, since you can still pedal with the electric assist off) and more worried about an accident causing a wheel to bend or something like that. If that happens, I'd try to lock up and either make my way home or call a taxi/Uber (yes, you should have your phone on you, why wouldn't you?). If you can get access to a car, or even a sympathetic Uber driver, most Rad bikes with the front wheel detached can fit into a vehicle with the back row of seats folded down.

[Eric7]

If you get into an accident or a breakdown, it is going to cost money.  That's all.  It is a hobby or a mode of transportation but in either case, you are going to have to spend money unexpectedly sometimes.

There is nothing you can do to avoid spending in a breakdown or accident.  There are no supertool or parts that can save you if you bent your wheel or something similarly catastrophic.  Carry and spend some money and you will be OK.  Super Uber extra large SUV. Give the tow truck driver $300 to move your bike to the gas station. If you have to leave your bike, remove the battery - the most expensive part.  Don't go anywhere where your life is dependent on your bike working.

Call 911 if you are worried about your life.  The police will rescue you - maybe not your bike.  But once you get home, you can go retrieve your bike.

[BBB]

Had the chain come off the front sprocket the other day after riding over some large pot holes on a gravel road. Chain went down into the sprocket bash guards and seized. Could not pull the chain back out by hand to put back on the teeth until I loosened the 5 or 6 Allen bolts holding the sprocket & bash guards to the crank. At least take the tool kit they supplied with the bike...always.