E-Bike Maintenance – How to care for your e-bike

E-Bike Maintenance – How to care for your e-bike

Although e-bikes don’t have as many components as motorised vehicles, they are still very complex machines. Just like motorised vehicles, e-bikes need to be maintained if you want them to run at peak efficiency.

Whilst the maintenance of an e-bike isn’t much different to that of a normal bike, you need to remember that the components of an e-bike are subjected to a lot more stress. The motor generates much more force than your foot. This is why regular maintenance is a must.

In this article, I’ll cover everything you need to know about e-bike maintenance – from how often you should maintain your e-bike to how to do it.

Before I dive into the details of properly maintaining your e-bike, let’s discuss how often it should be maintained.

How often should I maintain my e-bike
E-bikes are similar to cars. After a certain number of miles, you will need to perform some maintenance to make sure everything runs smoothly.

There’s a good rule of thumb you should follow regarding e-bike maintenance. You should service your e-bike at least every six months. Or, more accurately, after every 1,000 miles of riding.

That said, this is just a general rule of thumb. Your maintenance intervals may vary, depending on how much and how hard you ride your e-bike.

But before we go into detail about maintenance procedures, let’s take a look at what a basic bike shop service appointment entails.

A basic service appointment at an e-bike shop usually includes checking and adjusting the derailleur, chain, hubs, wheels, rims, tyres and brakes. Keep in mind that if any of the parts wear out and need to be replaced, the shop will charge you an additional service fee.

In most cases, basic service appointments are fairly affordable, and I recommend scheduling one if you haven’t already. The mechanics there will advise you on how to keep your bike in top condition.

Now that the general information is out of the way – let’s get more specific. Depending on how often you ride, how often you should have your bike serviced.

Daily intense riding
If you use your e-bike for a variety of activities, from going to work to running errands with a heavy-duty pedal assist, you should maintain your bike frequently.

Even budget e-bikes can take a fair amount of riding. However, the parts will eventually wear out. If they are used a lot on a daily basis, they will wear out quickly.

Therefore, I recommend that you thoroughly inspect your motorbike every 100 miles, perform a basic service after 300 miles, and a complete overhaul after 1,000 miles.

You don’t have to follow this rule completely. At the very least, you should have your bike serviced every six months.

Everyday Riding
If you use your e-bike to run errands with some cargo after work, pedal moderately to boost power, and ride intensely on the weekends – your e-bike is still taking a fair amount of wear and tear.

While you don’t need to maintain your e-bike as often as you would with intense riding, you still need to maintain it frequently.

I recommend that you check your e-bike every 150 miles, service it every 300 miles, and have a complete overhaul after 1,200 miles.

Semi-Regular Riding
If you use your e-bike for short rides every few days, then your e-bike won’t experience much wear and tear. This means you won’t need to maintain it as often.

For semi-regular riders, I recommend checking your e-bike every 200 miles, servicing every 300 miles, and a full overhaul after 1,500 miles.

If you don’t ride your e-bike every day, I recommend that you take your e-bike to a repair shop every year and have them tune up all the parts. This saves a lot of time and is not expensive.

How to properly maintain your e-bike
Now you know how often you should maintain your e-bike. Now it’s time to learn how to maintain it properly.

Of course, you can take your e-bike to a shop and have them maintain it, but you can also easily do the maintenance yourself. E-bike maintenance is very simple and doesn’t require any special tools. In most cases, all you need is a set of screwdrivers and a bike spanner.

Let’s start with the simplest task – cleaning your bike – and then move on to more complex issues.

How to properly clean an e-bike

If you want your e-bike to run at peak efficiency, it must always be clean.

Unfortunately, most e-bike newbies think that cleaning an e-bike might damage the electrical components. However, this is not the case. If that were the case, you wouldn’t be able to ride your e-bike when it’s raining outside.

The motor and battery of an e-bike are completely sealed, which means that water won’t get into them. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t recommend that you clean your e-bike with a powerful pressure washer, as the pressure washer will force water through the seals.

To clean your e-bike, all you need is a bucket or garden hose and some soap. For faster removal of dirt and grime, you can use bike-specific cleaning products.

Before you start cleaning your e-bike, make sure all connections are sealed. Leave the battery on the bike, but switch off the system. And of course, unplug the charger if you don’t want to cause a short circuit.

Next, check the charging port for dirt and brush it clean with a dry cloth or brush. Close the port when you’re done, and then continue cleaning.

To clean your bike, simply rinse the bike with water, then use a mildly soapy sponge or cloth to remove dirt and grime from the connectors and holes.

Next, rinse the bike again with a hose to remove soap and wipe with a dry cloth.

Clean the battery contacts every few months. To do this, remove the battery and brush off the contacts.

Finally, if your e-bike has speed sensor magnets on the wheels, you should clean it with a soft cloth. This will ensure that it reads your speed correctly.

How to properly care for your e-bike’s tyres
Tyres are an important part of your e-bike. They work twice as hard as regular bike tyres because they come with motors, batteries and sturdy frames. That’s why it’s important that you look after them properly.

The first step in tyre maintenance is to make sure they are properly inflated. If you are a daily rider, I recommend that you check your tyre pressure levels before every ride. Under-inflated tyres don’t roll as well and this will reduce your mileage.

You should also know how to repair flats. If your bike is equipped with a mid-drive motor, repairing a flat tyre is the same as on a regular bike. However, if you have a rear hub motor, the motor must be disconnected from the rest of the bike and reconnected. If you are uncomfortable with this, you can always take your e-bike to a repair shop and have their mechanics do this for you.

I would also recommend that you purchase tyres made specifically for e-bikes. E-bike tyres have durable sidewalls, provide excellent traction and are often puncture resistant.

How to properly maintain the chain on your e-bike
Chain tensioning on an e-bike
Just like tyres, e-bike chains wear out twice as much as regular bike chains. Thankfully, chains on e-bikes are much more durable than regular chains.

However, that doesn’t mean you don’t need to keep a close eye on your e-bike’s chain. That’s why you should clean and lubricate your chain regularly.

An overly greasy chain can accumulate a lot of dirt and grime, but there is a trick. All you need to lubricate is the inside of the chain. Therefore, lubricate the part of the chain that is in contact with the gears. When you’re done, collect the excess lubricant with a dry cloth and you’re done!

You should also check the chain for wear and tear every so often. If the link starts to fail, you should replace it immediately. The best way to do this is to use a chain wear indicator tool.

How to properly maintain your e-bike’s brakes
E-bikes are quite fast and equally heavy. That’s why they require quite a bit of braking power. Moreover, they play a crucial role in your safety. Stopping in time may even save your life.

Check and adjust your brakes before every ride. Look for problems such as loose components or worn rotors/shaft shingles. I recommend that you also perform a stop test on your brakes.

If the bike doesn’t stop as fast as it should, you will have to tighten the brakes. You can always take the bike to a shop so that if you feel uncomfortable doing it yourself, they can do it for you.

I also recommend that you replace your brake pads and rotors regularly. Most rotor brakes have wear indicators that will tell you when they need to be replaced.

How to properly maintain your e-bike battery

E-bike battery maintenance
Although it is sealed and loses efficiency over time, there are steps you can take to ensure your e-bike battery stays efficient for longer.

Maintaining your battery is very simple and involves doing three things:

Keep your battery as fully charged as possible

Use eco mode as often as possible

Don’t ride your bike against the wind

Let’s discuss these three things in more depth.

Charging
E-bike batteries are designed so that they can be charged tens of thousands of times. Even with frequent daily use, batteries must be replaced after many years of use. Please keep your battery fully charged as often as possible. If you have two chargers, keep one with you at all times so you can charge your bike while you are at work or performing other tasks.

If you plan to store your battery for a long period of time, it is best to store it with a 30 to 60 per cent charge. Remember that cold temperatures can drain batteries, so store them in a suitably warm place.

Riding
If you want to save as much battery as possible, you can ride your e-bike with the first level of pedal assistance. Although you won’t be able to reach top speed as quickly, your battery won’t have to be drained as quickly.

Wind resistance
Even on a windy, sunny day, you may experience wind resistance, usually just because of your forward motion.

The effect of wind resistance is roughly exponential. This means that if you accelerate from 10 mph to 15 mph, wind resistance will increase by 50 per cent. The greater the wind resistance, the harder the motor has to work, which will drain the battery faster.

If you want to save your battery, ride slower.

Be careful when riding
Now that you’re familiar with the details of proper e-bike maintenance, here are some parting tips.

I highly recommend that you pay attention to how your bike behaves during each ride.

When riding, look out for any strange noises such as rattling or screeching.

A properly maintained e-bike should not make too much noise. It’s normal for the motor to make some noise; other sounds should cause concern.

Listen for clunky shifting, gears skipping or slipping, or grinding noises. If your e-bike is making strange noises, there is something wrong with it.

Pay close attention to the barrel shafts. Make sure they are tight. If they’re not, the wheels can wobble, which can affect the brake discs and pads.

If you want to know more about Shuangye electric bikes or have any questions about our electric bikes and their components, please feel free to reach out to our customer service. We are always here to assist you.