Maintaining an electric bike isn’t much more onerous than a non-assisted bike. Bosch
In many senses, electric bicycle maintenance is no different to that of a conventional bike. However, some components, and particularly the drivetrain (cranks, chain and sprockets), are subject to greater forces and increased wear.
Therefore, washing your e-bike regularly and keeping it well maintained is of utmost importance if you want to get the most out of the bike.
First things first, a clean bike is a happy bike. Dirt and mud increase wear on components and, when mixed with water and grease, can form a paste that will, at best, decrease the efficiency of your bike and, at worst, quickly wear through consumable parts.
The smoother your electric bike runs, the more efficient it will be, and the longer your key components will last.
Keep the drivetrain clean and running well: battery life and power output are irrelevant if your gears are grinding and skipping all over the place. Riding a bike with a clean, efficient drivetrain, along with correctly adjusted gears, is ultimately a more pleasurable experience and will help you get the most from the bike in the long run.
If your drivetrain looks excessively dirty (usually an accumulation of black gunk on the chain or, on electric mountain bikes in particular, mud stuck in the jockey wheels of the rear derailleur), you can give it a quick clean with a rag, or a deep clean with degreaser. We’ve got separate guides on how to clean a bike and how to clean a bike chain.
Electric bike chains tend to require more frequent lubrication than non-assisted bicycle chains. Regularly apply a quality lubricant to your chain will ensure the transmission runs efficiently. It’s a good idea to do this after every ride, and certainly after washing and drying the bike.
Otherwise, read our guide on how to choose and apply the best chain lube for your bike.
Applying lubricant to an ebike sometimes isn’t as simple as it seems. You can’t back-pedal most ebikes, so try putting the bike in a workstand (or get a friend to hold the rear wheel off the ground) so you can turn the pedals to let the lube drip onto the chain evenly.
If your bike has a ‘walk’ mode, you can engage it so that the cranks (and rear wheel) spin around slowly, allowing you to lube the chain easily.
You should also regularly check your ebike’s tyre pressures. Under-inflated tyres are not only potentially dangerous, but they can also waste power and reduce efficiency, meaning you’ll get less out of a battery charge. Equally, running tyres at too high a pressure can compromise comfort and grip, especially if you’re riding off-road.
As a starting point, keep your tyres inflated to within the recommended pressures indicated on the tyre’s sidewall but experiment to find the ideal pressure for you, balancing weight, comfort, grip and rolling resistance. Want to know more? We’ve got guides to road bike tyre pressure and mountain bike tyre pressure.
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