E-Bike Maintenance: A Guide to Taking Care of Your Electric bike

E-bikes give you more freedom to travel further, using technology and engineering to make cycling easier to enjoy than ever before. The best e-bikes are sturdy, exquisitely crafted machines, but to ensure that you get the most of them for as long as you should, you need to treat them right and get to know the joys of e-bike maintenance. Do this, and you’ll be cruising comfortably for years.

Read on for a quick rundown of the ways in which you can keep your e-bike performing at its peak for as long as possible.

Tires

The fact that e-bikes contain a motor and a more robust frame than conventional bicycles mean that their tires are put under even greater strain. There are a few things that you should be doing regularly to make sure they’re in good shape:

1. Clean and inspect your tires regularly.
2. Always check your PSI - tire pressure - to make sure it isn’t too low or too high (the appropriate PSI for your tire is imprinted on the tire itself).
3. Top your tires off with air before riding, as underinflated tires can damage the tires rims.
4. Make sure to check the alignment of your bike tires from time to time by placing downward pressure on the saddle of your bike and engaging your brake, adjusting alignment if the tires aren’t touched by the caliper in unison on both sides.

Replacing the tubes on an e-bike can be a little trickier than on a regular bicycle. If eventually you need to replace your tires and are in any way uncertain about doing it yourself, head to your local Leon Cycle dealer or bike shop to have it taken care of.

Derailleur

A bike’s derailleur moves the bikes chains up and down to change gears. They can easily get dirty and clogged up as they are in the perfect position to get hit with spray coming from the tires, but it’s important to keep them clean and running in good condition. Fortunately, this is pretty simple and can be done by following these steps:

1. Lightly spray your derailleur with degreaser.
2. Clean inside the cages with a brush.
3. Scrape any dirt or gunk from the jockey wheels.
4. Oil your jockey wheels.
5. Oil the derailleur pivots.

Following these steps regularly should mean that you maximize the use that you get out of this important component.

Brakes

We’re sure we don’t need to tell you how important it is that your brakes run correctly. There’s nothing we ought to dread more about riding a bike than not being able to stop it! Here are a few easy ways to run a check:

1.  Regularly check your brake cables for wear and tear, replacing them when they look damaged or aren’t performing (usually they’ll require servicing every one to two years). 
2.  Check the alignment of your brake caliper (as mentioned above as a means of checking your tire alignment). 
3. Regularly clean your brake rotor and brake pad. 
4. Regularly check and tighten your brake bolts. 
5. If your e-bike has hydraulic brakes, change and top off the fluid once a year. 

Chain

Your e-bikes chain is one of its most important components, doing a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to transferring the power of your pedaling to the bikes drive wheel. It’s also easy to overlook. You should clean and lubricate your chain regularly, but also frequently check that it is in good condition. You can check it by following these steps:

1. Place the chain on the largest chain ring.
2. Look for the central point of the chain that is locked onto the chainring.
3. At this point, try to pull the chain away from the chainring.
4. If it pulls away easily, you should look into replacing it.
5. Bonus tip: after completing a ride in wet conditions, wipe off the chain to avoid rusting. 

You could also consider looking into a chain wear indicator tool, which can make this process clearer and easier. It’s inevitable that your bikes chain will suffer from a little wear and tear, but regularly checking can ensure that you catch any issues before they get bad enough to cause real problems.

Battery

Of course, your e-bike wouldn’t be an e-bike without its battery, so it’s super important to keep yours in tip top shape. Good e-bike batteries last a long time, but taking good care of them ensures that they’ll keep going for even longer. You can do this by following these principles:

1. Keep your battery safe from bad weather, making sure to keep it out of rainy or snowy conditions when you aren’t riding.
2. Store your battery in a heated space when the weather is cold, as low temperatures can negatively affect its performance.
3. Keep your battery semi-charged even when not in use, unplugging it once it reaches 100%.
4. Don’t plug your battery in to recharge until around 30 minutes after riding.
    

Take care of your e-bike, and it’ll take care of you. Happy riding!