Bye Bye Winter – Hello E-bike… Which Requires Mystical and Unknown Maintenance

So, you’re ready for spring, glad winter is finally coming to an end.

You’re ready to rock the e-bike for the season, but…

What do you need to do to get it ready? I mean, it was a big investment, and you want it to keep giving you the AMPs worth of thrills for years to come.

Fear not. It’s really not that complicated to maintain, winterize and prep your e-bike.

Let’s go over a list of things you should do.

1.      Get the battery awake, balanced and ready. For more info see our blog post on how to charge and maintain your battery.

2.      CHECK YOUR BRAKES! I can personally speak to the number of times I’ve gotten a bicycle, or motorcycle, ready to ride and forgot to check the brakes. Oops. That never ends well. Stopping is more important than starting if you want to live to tell the story.

·       Check your brakes. Make sure they work.

·        Make sure you have some brake pad left.

·       Make sure they aren’t leaking fluid. Run your fingers along the lever, lines and caliper to be sure.

·       Make sure your brake lines don’t have any cracks, tears, or wear. Done? Good, now the other thing.

3.      BOLTS! Ever ridden down the road and your bars turned sideways while you’re going in a straight-ish line? It sucks. Check them over. With a proper torque wrench if you have it. No torque wrench? No problem. Don’t over-tighten them, especially in aluminum as they can strip, but make sure they’re good and snug.

·       Check your axle bolts.

·       The bolts holding on your brake calipers.

·       The bolts holding on your brake rotors (I actually had one of these fall off at speed).

·       All the bolts on your forks and stem. When they come loose your forks can twist. That sucks.

·       Peg bolts? Seat/sub-frame (depending on what you ride)?

4.      TIRE PRESSURE. It’s amazing how often I STILL forget to do this. And it’s cost me a lot of tubes and a few rims.

What is your suggested pressure? For offroad bikes, it could be anywhere from 13psi to 35psi depending on your weight, riding style, terrain, tire size, etc. But if you’re not sure, put a solid 20 psi in (I run 25 psi on our rental bikes' MTB tires and 15-20 in the rear MX depending on rider weight. Decent offroad traction but won’t flat easily. If you're riding on the road you may need more. It's worth a check. Also, don’t forget to check your pressure again in an hour to see if you have a slow leak.

5.      LUBE ME UP! By that I mean your chain, not me personally. Your chain has been sitting, collecting dust, and seizing up a tiny bit every day. Give it a good lube and wipe off the excess.

BTW, Get good lube like a Motul, Maxima or Finish Line. Lubricants like WD40 can damage your chain over time and actually dry things out.

Did you check your chain tension? Of course you did.

6.      Fire it up and check your electrical. Is it working? Are all your harness connectors (that you can see) connected? Are any wires hanging off that could get snagged while you ride? Dig it.

Now go ride the bike already!