- Oh, got it.
We are going to talk about e-bike maintenance.
(laughs)
Wow.
What I want to talk about-
what I-
If your nur-
(sighs)
if your nur-
hamsters are spinning the wheels up there.
I love e-bikes.
And I'm here to talk about
How to main e-bikes.
There are Gravel e-bikes,
Road e-bikes,
Commuter e-bikes,
Cruiser e-bikes.
Virtually everything that you can be on a bike,
You can be "E".
Lots of different reasons to love e-bikes,
and it's really all about having fun
and being healthy.
If you're not sure which e-bike is for you,
Check out my video on
how to choose an e-bike.
What we're going to cover with e-bikes
and taking care of e-bikes today
are three main things.
First,
is what makes an e-bike an e-bike
and that is going to be
the controller,
cables,
battery,
and motor.
We will also talk about
the higher level of importance around
some preventive maintenance,
and that would be around
tires and the drivetrain.
The first thing
that we're going to talk about is
what to be looking for on the controller.
Really two primary things.
The first is
we're going to want to make sure always,
that our cables are connected properly,
that we're not seeing anything fraying
or coming apart
or looking like it's out of place.
The reason this is important too,
is because if cable starts get out of place,
especially if you're moving at higher speeds,
those cables can fray
more quickly
and they are more
difficult to replace.
So the name of the game with this
always is
prevention over cure.
The second thing
you're going to want to do
from time to time is just
update your firmware.
And really you do this
through any shop
and any shop that
you have a good relationship with.
Let's talk about the battery.
To maintain the longevity
of your battery,
it's recommended usually by most manufacturers
that you're going to keep that charge
on the battery
between 30 and 75%.
If you're storing the bike for any length of time.
that also means
you won't have the battery plugged in
while you're storing it.
The other consideration,
when you are taking
care of your battery
is the charging port.
We always want to keep
the charging port clean
and clear of debris.
So you'll want to check that after most rides.
And that would be true,
especially if you're that person
who has a gravel e-bike
or a mountain e-bike,
where there is just more
dirt and debris out there.
When it comes to the motor,
the most important thing you can do is
read and consult your manual,
that in conjunction with
a tried and true bike shop
will be most of what you need
in order to make sure that
that motor continues to function well.
When considering how you take
care of your e-bikes at home,
if you're that person
who likes to work on your own bike,
a couple of other things to consider
are what type of stand that you use
to hold the e-bike
since e-bikes are heavier
than non e-bikes.
And then it's also true for
how you're going to transport an e-bike.
All bike racks are not created equal,
and you'll want to make sure
you do your research
to get yourself
a compatible e-bike rated bike rack.
Because e-bikes have controllers
and other things that are
specific to how an e-bike works,
we always want to make sure that
we are keeping that bike
right side up when we're working on it
and not tipping it upside down
where those parts and pieces could get
cracked or damaged.
Wheels and tires are really important
because they are
what propelled the bike
from point A to point B to point C
and therefore
we want to do everything we can
to make sure that
we keep those tires
inflated and moving smoothly.
What I would say about this is
prevention is the key, right?
We want to make sure that
the tires are staying inflated
and that we're not put into a position
where we have
flats that we need to change.
Flats can be harder to change on e-bikes,
especially depending on
where the motor is located on the bike.
So, ways that you can maintain PSI.
Number one,
first and foremost
is just keep air in the tires.
So whatever the recommended PSI is,
pounds per square inch on that tire,
keep a floor pump at home
and use it
by golly.
Air leaches out of all tires.
So checking air pressure
in your tires
at least once a week
is a good idea.
If you ride more frequently,
obviously you may want to
check it a little bit more.
If you haven't written the bike in a while,
the first thing I would always do
before you head out on a ride
is check the air pressure
in both of your tires.
What happens if you don't
keep enough air in your tires?
What can happen
and frequently will happen
is you can get
something called a pinch flat.
It just means that
that tube doesn't have enough air in it.
So it gets pinched between the rim of the wheel
and the tire.
Super preventable,
and the way to prevent that
is just to make sure that
you've got enough air in your tubes
and tires at all times.
There are ways to help make sure
that you prevent flats.
And those come in the form of tire liners.
There are thorn resistant tubes
where I live in Colorado
Goatheads are a thing,
and I'm sure there are
other things all over the country
that can reach out nab tires.
So anything that you can do to
put a little bit of
prevention between
the tire and the tube
is a great idea.
There's also the option of going tubeless.
It's super helpful because
if you flat with tubeless tires,
you won't necessarily have to
pull a whole wheel off
in order to change a tube.
All you'd have to do is
use a CO2 cartridge
and an inflater
or a pump of some kind,
and you could be back up and running
in a little bit of time.
I think any e-bike
could benefit
from having the tires converted to tubeless
if the bike will support that.
And in particular,
that would be true
if your motor is on your rear hub,
just because
having the motor on that rear hub
does make that whole wheel harder to take off.
So anything that we can do
to reinflate tires without having
to remove wheels is a bonus.
The great thing is that
REI will cover all of these services.
Converting to tubeless,
changing tubes, if you need them.
And all of those services are free
if you're a member
and you only pay for the materials.
Which is awesome.
If you find yourself
in the field
and having to change a tube,
make sure that you always lay
the bike drive side up,
meaning we want to keep
all the important stuff out of the dirt.
If you have any other questions about
how to fix flats,
check out our video on
how to do just that.
Drivetrains need to be cleaned
and they need to be lubed regularly.
That is true
whether it's a non e-bike
or whether it's an e-bike.
The reason for that is
keeping the chain clean
and clear of debris
will keep things from getting into the chain
and prematurely wearing the chain.
Conversely, if the chain is
starting to sound funky,
if you're hearing that squeak,
just means that it needs
more lube and it needs that to
run more smoothly around the drive train.
So either of those two things,
if you're encountering them,
need to be addressed preventatively.
And that is even more important on an e-bike
because we do have this
extra torque,
this motor that is running
that chain around the drive train.
So it's by necessity
going to get a lot more wear and tear on it
naturally than a regular non e-bike will.
Now that we understand
what it is that is important about
having a clean drivetrain
and a good functioning drivetrain,
let's talk specifically about
cleaning the chain.
So really the two ways
we want to clean a chain
is number one,
if it's just lightly dirty
or it looks like it's a little
rough around the edges,
we might want to just take a damp cloth to it,
just to clean off the extra residue.
If you notice there's a lot of
gunk kind of building up
in and amongst the chain
at that point,
you might want to
take it to the next level
and take some degreaser to it.
It is recommended
before you do any work on the drivetrain
that you do take the battery off.
When and how to lube a chain
once it's clean.
The general rule for lubing a chain is
when it starts talking to you,
or you hear that squeak in the chain,
even if it's clean,
it just says that it's not running
maybe as smoothly around that front ring,
in that rear cog,
as you would like it to.
When we go to grab some lube
to lube that chain,
just know that there are lots of lubes
that you can see on any bike shop shelf.
Some of those may not be chain specific.
So do make sure you choose a chain specific lube.
And then from there,
there are also wet and dry lubes
you can choose from,
in my case, I live in Colorado,
which is dry.
So we like to have
dry lube there.
If you're in a wetter environment,
then you might want to do
a wet lube instead
that just helps
balance the lube
against the environment
so that you don't attract
too much grit and grime into the chain,
which can also not good for the chain.
So as we go through the process of
actually putting the lube on the chain,
some people do start at the top.
I prefer to start at the bottom.
If there is
what's called a quick link,
which is kind of a
well-marked specific link on the chain
that connects the whole chain together.
That's a great place to start
so that you can keep track of
which links you're doing.
If not,
you kind of have to just keep track
as you go around.
And what you'll do is
just do a very light drop of lube
on top of each link.
And then you're always going to
wipe the excess off with a
lint-free shop cloth.
And you'll just take that underneath the chain,
just to get the excess off
and keep moving the chain
all the way around
until you've hit
every single link on the chain.
Once you've done that,
you should be able to
spin that crank around
and feel that
that chain feels like
it's nice and smooth
and everything shifts nice and easily.
And then you're good to go
until you feel that chains squeak
or sound off on you again.
Putting too much lube on a chain
or not wiping off the excess lube
on that chain
as you're going around and lubing the chain
can attract
extra grit, grime, and dirt into that chain,
which effectively starts wearing the chain
and the drivetrain down.
Do you make sure that you try to
find that happy balance
of having the chain lubed and clean,
but not over lubed.
We've just covered e-bike maintenance,
which includes
e-bike controllers,
batteries and motors,
as well as prevention and repair for tires,
and finally chain cleaning and lubrication.
If you have any questions about any of these things,
you should always feel free to walk into
any REI bike shop
and they will be happy to help you.
Thanks for watching and we'll see on the trails.
Yeah, here's the thing.
We could make this
the shortest video ever.
Consult your manual,
don't tip the bike upside down,
Don't get flats,
lube your chain once in awhile.