How to Care for Your Electric Bike

Dust and grime not only makes your investment look dirty, it can also compromise performance. Thankfully, all you need to keep the bike looking as good as new is to get a cloth, and use some elbow grease to wipe your electric bike clean.

Updated: Saturday 29 July 2023

How to Care for Your Electric Bike

Of course, you got yourself an electric bike! After all, you probably read our ‘Why Should I Buy an E-Bike?’ post. But seriously, if you did get yourself an e-bike, you should know how to take care of it properly. This handy guide will help you do just that.

Clean it as Often as Possible

Dust and grime not only makes your investment look dirty, it can also compromise performance. Thankfully, all you need to keep the bike looking as good as new is to get a cloth, and use some elbow grease to wipe your bike clean.

Preparation:

Remove the battery before cleaning. Avoid using a jet wash system. You really dont want to wash away axle and motor grease. It would be labour saving if you picked up a kit which included brushes, cloths and cleaning solutions such as the Weldtite Pit Stop Cleaning Kit.

Degrease your chain:

• Avoid applying degreaser around the battery terminals and the motor
• Spray a moderate amount of degreaser onto the piece of cloth
• Wrap the cloth around the chain. Then use your other hand to pedal backwards
• Use another piece of cloth to polish the chain. To do so, repeat steps 1–2, only this time, use your other hand to pedal backwards and forward

Lubricate the Chain

Aside from keeping the chain clean, you will have to lubricate it regularly. Just make sure you choose the one appropriate to the season. For winter, for instance, you will need a heavy-duty lubrication. For summer, a dry lube will be fine. 

Check Your Brakes

Brakes are your safety net when you ride your e-bike, so it is imperative that you maintain them properly. When cleaning the bike is complete, use a specific brake disc cleaner such as the Dirtwash Disc Rotor Wipes

Whatever kind of brake your e-bike has, make sure you replace the bike pads every once in while. The key, here, is not letting them get too worn out, as this will increase the stopping distance. If you are unsure how to do this yourself, take your e-bike to a bike shop to get them changed. 

Keep Your Battery Indoors

When not in use, it is best to keep your bike’s battery indoors, where the temperature is controlled and constant. This is especially important during winter and summer. Very low or high temperatures can adversely affect the performance of your battery causing it to drain faster. Additionally, try not to let it go flat and recharge while there is still 10–20% of battery life.

Invest in a Bike Shed

Your e-bike should be stored in a dry place, and not outside where it is exposed to the weather. Wet weather will cause your bike to rust, and increase the likelihood of damage. A good investment is a bike shed. Depending on your space and budget, you can get one with just enough room to store the bike, or big enough so you can comfortably move about while doing maintenance work on your bike such as cleaning the chain.

Another key reason to buy a bike shed is to protect your e-bike from thieves. As we detailed in ‘Save Money All Round with an E-bike’, a good bike can go for under £700. Many people now see e-bikes as a good investment, and a cheaper alternative to cars. Yet this has also given rise to a spike in bike thefts, reports the Evening Standard. Keeping your bike safe should be of paramount importance. Screwfix features a number of all-metal bike sheds that would be ideal in keeping your bike secure. Many of the all-metal bike sheds are big enough to house 4 bikes at once, which means there is plenty of room to move about too. And lets not forget, a secure bike shed is the best defence against thieves and the bad weather.