Tools

Maintaining an e-bike

Most e-bike maintenance is ordinary bike maintenance. The drivetrain and brakes simply wear faster, because the bike is heavier and carries more speed into every stop.

Jobs worth doing yourself

• Chain cleaning and lubrication, more often than on an unassisted bike
• Brake pad changes, which come round quickly on a heavier machine
• Tyre and tube work, though the extra weight makes a proper stand worth having
• Keeping the battery contacts clean and dry

Jobs worth leaving alone

Anything inside the battery pack, and most motor internals. A damaged lithium pack is a genuine fire risk rather than an inconvenience, and opening one usually voids both the warranty and your home insurance position.

Torque matters more than it does on a normal bike too. Motor mounting bolts and disc rotor bolts are worth doing with a torque wrench rather than by feel.