- E-mountain biking is a great way of getting out there
and exploring the local trails,
but unfortunately with anything mechanical
you're going to run into a few mechanical problems
along the way, so today's video can take a look
at all those common e-bike problems
and how we're going to rectify them on the side of the trail.
(upbeat music)
Now probably the most common problem that I've had
since I've been riding e-bikes is snapped chains.
Usually, these are caused by either bad maintenance
on your chain or bad technique when you're changing gear
or you've dumped it into turbo mode
and you're not in the right gear so you crunch
through your gears and bang the chain snaps,
and it's lying on the floor, you've got no drive.
This is how we're going to fix it.
So the tools you're going to need to fix a snapped chain
are pretty basic, just a chain tool itself.
You can get one built into a multi-tool
but I tend to favor a proper chain tool.
You just get that little bit more leverage from it,
and then just a quick link, as well,
just these little quick links can make rejoining
a snapped chain a piece of cake,
really quick, really lightweight bit of kit
you should have in your riding bag at all times.
When I snap a chain, I always like to have
a quick inspection of a chain
just to see how it's actually snapped itself
and how many links are damaged.
Usually, it's just pulled a pin out
and it's simply pulled apart,
but sometimes if it's jammed in the frame
or it's jammed around the chain rig,
it can actually twist and damage a few links
meaning that if you were to rejoin
that chain it's going to skip around
and possible jam-up again.
So just a real quick inspection of the chain itself
is really worthwhile.
So before we attempt any work on an e-bike
and its drive chain, it's vitally important
you turn that motor off because if it engages
when you're messing around with it,
you not even going to have any fingers
to do any work on your bike.
So when it comes to replacing a chain on an e-bike
first thing you've got to do is thread
the chain through the derailleur and around the cassette.
Now, a lot of newer school e-bikes
are going to have a one by system on there
so you've just got a clutch derailleur on the back.
Now Shimano have a clutch system on there
which operates just by a lever turning it on and off,
and SRAM actually have a pin that you can push.
You actually move the derailleur cage upward,
push the pin in with a little padlock function on there,
and it will actually hold the derailleur there.
Just make sure you're turning that clutch off
otherwise you're constantly going to be battling against it
when it comes to rejoining the chain.
So nice little tip when it come to mounting
the chain on the front chain ring,
is just to push it on to the teeth itself.
Just get it set in there nice and tight
then you can literally turn
the crank to make sure that chain comes through.
That way, you don't have to adjust your front
chain guard or anything, so chain should just come through
nice and easy and then it's just a simple case
of grabbing the excess of the chain
and pulling it tight and rejoining it.
Now there's a couple of ways we're going to rejoin it.
The best way to repair a snapped chain
is by using a quick link to rejoin it.
Now all I've done is remove the two damaged links
from the chain and created two blunt ends.
Then simply, it's just a case of pushing a quick link
into each opposing side of the chain
making sure it's lined up.
Now most of these can be directional as well,
so just make sure you're actually
installing them in the right way.
So there you go, they're ready to go.
Direction arrows the right way.
And then it's just a simple case of pushing them together.
You just line them up, make sure you push them through.
Now they're lightly held together.
Now it's a simple case of getting that link
to the high point of the drive side of the chain
to click it back together so just wind
it through the mech nice and slowly
then finally at the bottom, give the cranks
a good push down and you hear it engage
that means the quick links already to go.
Flip your bike back over.
And on your way.
Now a little bodge for you.
If you haven't got a quick link,
you can actually rejoin the chain
by pushing the original pin back in to it.
Now it isn't a great way of fixing a chain
and it probably will break,
especially over a period of time.
So it is purely a get out of jail free card.
So when it comes to rejoining a chain
without a quick link, the best way to do it
is to remove the damaged links from the chain
and then have two fresh chain links ready to rejoin.
So when it comes to rejoining the chain
it's best to just get a lot of slack in the system.
Maybe remove it off the front chain ring
or you can even use a third hand,
which is basically a little thing that hooks
in each chain link and pulls the chain together
so you're not constantly battling the strength
of the rear derailleur.
Now we just line it up,
clip it in, and that should hold.
Now what we're doing is just winding that pin through
to the outer plate and when you feel the contact
or the resistance get harder on the handle
it's worth just checking the pin is nicely lined up
because if you push it through it can actually
push that plate apart so just go gentle when you're
doing this 'cause this can really break
the whole rejoining of the chain,
so just go gentle on that and it should
see it rejoin nicely.
So there you go.
I've just replaced that pin,
just give it a quick wiggle to make sure it's not stiff
and going to create a stiff link in the chain.
If it is stiff just apply a little bit of pressure
side to side on that link, and it should see it
running nice and free.
Then it's just a simple case, winding it round,
getting on your way, but you need to go
super careful with this one
'cause it's not a permanent fix.
(upbeat music)
When you're riding e-bikes you tend to shift gear a lot more
than you do on a regular trail bike.
I mean, you're going up and down the gears
for big climbs and descents so snapped gear cable
can be quite a common problem
you're going to experience out on a ride.
Now, it isn't necessarily a game-ender.
It just can mean that your ride can be a little
bit more harder than it would do if you had
your whole spread of gears.
You're going to be stuck in your hardest gear.
Now this little hack is going to make things a bit easier.
Now first up, I'm just going to flip my bike over, upside down.
I've placed some branches underneath the grips
just to give a bit more space to make sure I'm
not scratching up my controls and brake levers,
things like that.
I've also turned the power off as well,
so just make sure that motor isn't going to kick in
whilst I'm working on the drive chain.
Now the only tools you're going to need for this
little hack is going to be a multi-tool
to undo the derailleur clamp bolt
and just a zip tie.
So first up, I need to undo the derailleur clamp bolt.
So I'm just going to undo that.
If you've got a little cable crimp on there,
you just need a set of pliars or sometimes
if you give it a quick, shift pull you're
going to remove that end cap,
so you just need to unthread the cable
all the way out and out of the cable port in the shifter.
Then all we need to do, is remove the outer gear cable
from the rear mech and then thread the inner cable
through where the outer cable was housed.
So just finding that little hole,
feeding the cable through, pull it all the way through.
And then you just need to get this inner cable
into the mech cable clamp bolt as well,
so make sure that's nicely located in there.
Just apply a bit of pressure to there
and you should see the mech move up the cassette.
So we're just applying a bit of pressure.
What you really need to do, just pull that across
till it's in kind of a mid-ranged gear.
So if you're on a ten speed block,
maybe aim for like the fifth cog on the cassette.
And once it's there, what you need to do
is just simply tension in that gear
to make sure it isn't jumping in and out,
you've got enough cable tension on there.
And all you need to do is just nip
that cable tension bolt up
the the mech is going to be held in a nice gear
that's going to make your ride home a lot more
easier that if you're going to be stuck in that harder gear.
Now a lot of people think you can adjust
the stop screws on the derailleur
but if you get lucky with those
you might be able to adjust it one or two gears
up the blocks but you're going to run out of adjustment
pretty quick, so you need to get the inner gear cable
in there and get that mech nice and tight
and pull the gear higher up the block.
Now as you can see with this hack,
there's a lot of excess gear cable flailing around
so I just like to wrap it around my fingers,
just get it somewhere where it's stored out they way.
You know, you could either zip tie it to a frame.
Just make sure it isn't going to go in the wheel
and cause further damage
so just get it nicely wrapped up.
Maybe combine it with zip tying the outer cable
for the gear cable as well.
Just get that nice and tidy to make sure it isn't
going to interfere with anything what so ever.
So there you go.
Really hope you've enjoyed today's video
on all those common trail side mechanicals
and how you can fix them.
Hopefully, not going to see you broken down
at the side of the trails.
But if you want to stick around and checkout
the worst mechanical breakdown ever,
the broken mech hanger,
check this one out down here.
Drop some comments in the box below
about any trail side fixes you guys have got.
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See you in the next one.