How to look after your ebike properly…

Like any other vehicle, an electric bike needs frequent maintenance to keep it in good condition. 

Keeping your expensive ebike in top condition may seem daunting, especially if you are a first-time owner, but don’t worry, ebike maintenance is easy if you get the right advice!

From washing, lubricant application, battery maintenance, and software updates to checking the components, taking good care of your bike will increase its performance and lifespan.

If you’re wondering how to look after your ebike correctly, we have put together this comprehensive ebike maintenance guide to help you keep your ebike looking and performing to its best! 

We will go through easy but effective tips that will go a long way in keeping your ebike in top shape to make sure your new investment is well worth it…

Take Care of the Battery

Although it seems like a no-brainer, battery maintenance is the ultimate tip to keep your ebike running for longer.

How long the battery will keep the bike going depends on several factors, but its capacity is the ultimate factor.

Some tips include charging the battery and storing it in a cool, dry place.

You should also avoid leaving the battery uncharged or fully charged over a prolonged period of time. Ideally if you’re storing the battery away for a while not using it, you should leave around 40 – 60% of battery life.

Always use the right charger type for your battery; chargers may all seem similar, but their ‘conduction’ is different. Therefore, you may use a high-power output charger and damage the battery in the long run.

It is said that you should ride with cadence (how many times the pedals rotate in one minute) of over 50 for maximum battery life, but let’s be realistic if you’re commuting through a city on your ebike, then maintaining a steady cadence of 50 isn’t particularly do-able consistently.

Other crucial tips to extend the battery’s performance include;

• Don’t overload with too much weight – overloading strains the bike and the battery and can damage the bike itself or battery. Make sure you pick the right bike for your bodyweight and avoid carrying luggage that is too heavy for the ebike.
• Ride smooth – try to adopt an effective riding by reducing frequent and unnecessary braking and stopping
• Stay pumped – Maintain the proper tyre pressure for the best grip and rolling 
• Be cool but not too cool – Avoid riding in extremely cold conditions that could place additional strain on the battery

Check your components before you wreck your components

Owning and maintaining an ebike isn’t really that different from maintaining a standard push bike, but there are some new important components you need to get to grips with.

An e-bike’s biggest difference from conventional bikes is the battery component that acts like a car’s fuel tank, as we’ve covered above, but it’s important to keep an eye on other essential parts of your ebike…

Shut up and drivechain

You must lubricate and oil the ebike’s drivechain often to avoid rusting and friction which can lead to tear and wear.

The drive chain consists of the crank shaft, chain and sprockets and these are subject to much more wear and tear on an ebike than a conventional bicycle.

It’s best to keep this clean from mud and dust, you should also lubricate your chain regularly, with a good quality chain lubricant to keep it from meeting it’s maker too early!

You may want to get a friend to help or use a stand so you can move the chain by rotating the pedals to evenly distribute the lubricant and not miss any links.

Pump it up

Keep your tyres inflated to the manufacturers specifications the same way you would your motorbike or car. Ebike tyre pressure recommendations can often be found on the wall of the tyre, if not, consult your user manual.

If you’ve lost that then get in touch with your dealer, ebike dealer that is.

You can also consider increasing this should you need to carry any heavy luggage, carry a pillion / passenger or if you’re of a larger stature.

Spokes, bars, frame and kitchen sink

You should regularly check every other part of your ebike to ensure all parts are in top shape and not showing any signs of wear or slight damage. If not, you’ll need to replace them if they become too damaged to use safely from a lack of maintenance.

Clean me!

Try to clean your ebike regularly as it will collect dust, grime and mud from the roads or paths you ride along. All these may damage it and reduce your bike’s lifeline if not cleaned. 

Your ebike should be waterproof (!) but it’s still best to not use a high pressure washer on your ebike, as the pressure could force the water into some water proof parts.

This waterproofing is designed to not let water in from rain or splashes from puddles not high pressured blasting from a short distance design to move years of grime off of patios!

To prevent this from happening, implement the following tips;

• Keep your bike clean by washing off dirt as soon as possible.
• Use a sponge to clean the body of your ebike and dry it with a towel or cloth after washing it.
• Use mild soap and water to clean certain bike parts, such as brake levers, handlebars, and chain guards. Do not use harsh solvents or chemicals on any part of the bike because they may corrode its metal parts or remove paint from its plastic surfaces. 
• Look for specialist products to clean your bike such as Muc-Off.
• Cover your bike when it’s not in use or parked up (a cover is also known to deter opportunist thieves, out of sight out of mind)

Keep the app and software to to date

No ebike maintenance guide would be complete without the mention of the tech that makes it an electric bike. Ebikes will need software updates from time to time, same as your computer or tech in your car or game console.

It’s important that you keep this software or app that belongs to your ebike manufacturer updated as it will improvement performance or tackle any issues they’ve found since you made your purchase.

If in doubt ask an adult 😉

As an ebike owner, it’s essential to ensure you’re looking after your bike in the best way possible. You don’t want to pay for repairs more than they have to, so keeping your bike in good working order is a must.

If you’re ever in doubt then seek advice from a professional and get your ebike serviced at a dealer or by a professional. You don’t want to start taking things apart if you don’t really know what you’re doing.

If the future of ebike bicycles looks as bright as we expect it will be, then proper maintenance will be even more important as part of their long-term use and enjoyment so we hope our ebike maintenance guide is useful.

Now take a look at our complete guide to ebikes here.