Your new e-bike can be a faithful companion on the roads, but as with every other vehicle its performance depends on its condition. Jack Swainston, Service and Product Testing Coordinator at Ecoride, has the answers to all of your questions.

Is there a big difference between maintaining a regular bike and an e-bike?

A common question. There are two extra things that e-bikers need to do: display and battery. They need to recharge the battery and remove the display and/or battery when you park your e-bike. Both the display and battery are at high risk of being stolen and should not be left unsupervised. There are also some extra electrical components in your e-bike that your regular bike doesn’t have. If you regularly hand in your e-bike for maintenance, there should not be any problem with them.

What can I do myself to make my e-bike last in bad weather?

Sun, wind and water (to quote a famous Swedish song) are things you should protect your e-bike from. If the bike stands in the sun for long periods of time, the UV rays can make some surfaces and components fade. Wind, if strong enough, can trip your bike over. Rain can make parts of the e-bike rusty. When possible - park your e-bike under a roof, especially when parked for a longer time. During everyday use it might be hard to protect your e-bike from bad weather, but that is not the end of the world. The e-bike is robust and can handle bad weather. 

How do I take care of the battery?

The battery is the core of your e-bike and should be looked after. We recommend you bring your battery with you if you tend to leave your bike unsupervised, if only for a minute. Batteries are at high risk of being stolen. We on Ecoride have two different types of batteries. We recommend that you charge them horizontally on a flat surface. That will prevent the battery from falling and being damaged. If your battery doesn't come off smoothly when you try to take it off the bike, we recommend Oxide clean or light oil spray on the battery pin. Sometimes a damaged battery pin is the problem and needs to be replaced. We can help you with this in our workshops. If you plan on not using your battery for a long time, for example during winter, we recommend that you keep your battery charged at 60-80%. This will increase longevity.

How warm does it have to be before I can store my e-bike outside?

When possible, always keep your e-bike parked under a roof. That will keep your e-bike safe, clean and in good condition. If you are unable to do that - no panic! Just remember to bring your battery and display with you to prevent theft. The e-bike is robust and can handle bad weather conditions, even extreme cold. The worst thing that could happen is that the shift cable freezes, but it is easily remedied by blowing water out of the shift housing and replacing the shift cable.

Where do I go to get help with maintenance and how often do I have to do it?

For maintenance we recommend you visit one of our retailers, which we have listed on our webpage. On the question of how often, see the replay down below.

How often do I have to maintain my e-bike and what do I have to do?

The answer to the question of how often your e-bike should be maintained depends on how often and how long distances you usually ride. There are two types of maintenance, the ones you can do by yourself and maintenance that you need to visit a workshop. Upkeeping you can do yourself includes regularly oiling the chain and keeping your tires pumped up. A good rule is to check your chain and tires once a month. If you are a winter cyclist, you might need to check on your chain more often because of moisture and salt in the streets. When it comes to professional maintenance in one of our workshops, we recommend the regular commuter a visit from time to time for smaller upkeep and every sixth month for a bigger one. If you don’t bike that often we recommend maintenance once a year.

How important is it to keep your chain oiled during the winter?

You always, even if you usually don't ride your bike in the winter, need to keep an eye on the chain - even an ear! If your chain looks dry, squeaks or sounds more than usual, it’s time for you to oil. Visually your chain is not supposed to look dry, rusty or too dirty. If you have had your beloved bike stored during the winter, it's always a must to oil the chain and pump the tires before you start biking again.

What type of oil can I use?

A good question that we often get. There are plenty of different chain oils on the market today for different seasons and weather conditions. 'Dry lube'-oils are great oils for the summer since they are cleaner and help keep dirt away from the chain. Cons with dry oils are that they don't last long and you need to oil your chain more often. 'Wet oils' work all year around, but the con is that it is not as great at keeping dirt away. With wet oil you need to clean your chain with a cloth from time to time. Avoid using different types of multi sprays, like WD40 and X4, since those will strip your chain from oil and fats. Multi-sprays can be used to clean away old oil from your chain before you apply new. For the best result: use a multi-spray to clean away old oil and fat, use a cloth to get rid of dirt and apply new. Don’t forget to clean away excess oil with a cloth!

My e-bike has started to ride “heavy”, what is causing this and what can I do about it?

So your bike doesn’t feel quite right? Stay calm, this is something that will happen to every person who uses their bike often. The first thing you can do is to see if there is anything stuck between the wheel and the fender. What are the conditions on the chain and tires? Is there enough air in the tires? 4bar/60PSI is usually enough. How does the chain look? Is it oiled or is it dry? Okay so everything looks good, but the motor is not working? See if the motor cable is plugged in and if the display is correctly connected. On the tip of the cables are arrows which need to be in line when connected. If you have checked all these things but are still facing issues, or have a problem with the gears or brakes, it’s time to visit your local bike mechanic.

Before you visit the workshop there are a few things to do to help the mechanic. Firstly the display. Star the display - does it work as usual or not? This will help your mechanic determine if the problem is caused by the battery or the motor. And most important: does your display show any error codes? This information can help us a lot! Secondly, does your bike make sounds when you pedal? Does it stop when you stop? Where does the sound come from? The e-bike's front or rear end? The middle part? Lastly, does your motor work when you use the walking assistant? You would be surprised if you knew how much this information help us with the repair process