Can someone explain to me e-bike maintenance

[alpinegeek]

Hello, I recently got a Specialized turbo Tero 4.0 and I’m very happy with it. I would like to keep it as long as possible and would like to ask other e bike owners to entirely explain to me how to maintain my e bike. Thanks

 

[rob feature]

The electrics don't have any user serviceable parts - assuming you want to keep your warranty. Otherwise just basic bike maintenance. Keep it clean, store it indoors, lube the drivetrain as needed, check and correct spoke tension periodically, tweak the rear mech when the cable stretches, check for drivetrain & brake pad/rotor wear, and check bolt torque once in a while (maybe go in and put blue loctite on everything). After washing, inspect for damage. Some ebike owners who lean hard on the motor find that the rear wheel needs more care than analog bikes. That's about it. If you bought from a shop, they'll probably do most of this for you for some stated period.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

The electrics don't have any user serviceable parts - assuming you want to keep your warranty. Otherwise just basic bike maintenance. Keep it clean, store it indoors, lube the drivetrain as needed, check and correct spoke tension periodically, tweak the rear mech when the cable stretches, check for drivetrain & brake pad/rotor wear, and check bolt torque once in a while (maybe go in and put blue loctite on everything). After washing, inspect for damage. Some ebike owners who lean hard on the motor find that the rear wheel needs more care than analog bikes. That's about it. If you bought from a shop, they'll probably do most of this for you for some stated period.

+ re-inflate the tyres once a week or two. This, and regular chain de-greasing and then applying the lube are the two most important regular maintenance actions.

Battery maintenance: remove the battery between your rides and keep it at the room temperature. Recharge at the room temperature, too. It is a good practice to keep the stored battery between 20 and 80% of charge but I never stick to that rule as I need to be prepared for a long ride at any circumstance.

 

[rob feature]

+ re-inflate the tyres once a week or two. This, and regular chain de-greasing and then applying the lube are the two most important regular maintenance actions.

Battery maintenance: remove the battery between your rides and keep it at the room temperature. Recharge at the room temperature, too. It is a good practice to keep the stored battery between 20 and 80% of charge but I never stick to that rule as I need to be prepared for a long ride at any circumstance.

I understand that some folks use degreaser, but I've never personally found the need & it's a lot more work/mess. That and your chain is going to get dirty almost right away. The only clean chain is the one that doesn't get ridden. I get what I can with a paper towel before each ride. When that mostly stops picking up stains, I lube, wipe, then ride (only lube around every hundred miles). I find White Lightning to be the best lube for my riding conditions. I don't lube a new chain for quite a while - 'till it starts making noise. The stuff that comes on it from the factory is as good as it gets.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Degreasing the chain (I recommend automotive Brake Cleaner) and then wiping it will remove excess of the old lube and a lot of grime. Then I apply the lube a droplet for each roller then wipe the chain again. I ride a lot and I would not believe how clean my chains look, Rob. (Leaving old oil and dirt only attracts more dirt).

Besides, the stock lube is to protect a new chain against corrosion during the storage, not to lube the chain properly.

 

[rob feature]

The reason I don't get that crazy with chain maintenance is time. Chains are cheap. I wouldn't lube them at all if they didn't start squeaking

 

[procreator]

This is from REI:

https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/intro-to-electric-bike-maintenance.html

 

[Stefan Mikes]

The reason I don't get that crazy with chain maintenance is time. Chains are cheap. I wouldn't lube them at all if they didn't start squeaking

Sorry to disagree with you Rob. A long 11-speed chain is never cheap. Dirty chain will also adversely affect an expensive drive-train. Bear in mind we are talking a EUR5,000 e-bike.
@alpinegeek: I have almost forgotten. The European Specialized warranty practice is:

• Visit the Specialized LBS after some 200-300 km ridden but not later than 6 months post purchase. Ask for service/inspection (you pay a small fee for that). Ask for entering that "first service" into the warranty card. Note: The Specialized store will inspect and adjust your Tero (especially the derailleur), and tighten all loose screws. They may apply software updates, too.
• Register your e-bike with Specialized.com
• Keep the Proof of Purchase and of course the warranty card.

The actions as above are required to keep your warranty valid. As I performed those actions timely, my "lifetime frame warranty" was accepted by Specialized distributor when I got in trouble with my Vado.

 

[rob feature]

Sorry to disagree with you Rob. A long 11-speed chain is never cheap. Dirty chain will also adversely affect an expensive drive-train. Bear in mind we are talking a EUR5,000 e-bike.

Getting off topic a bit, but I try to avoid 11/12 speed chains on ebikes. I don't find the extra gear worth the sacrifice in strength to be worth it. The bike has a motor. I can give up a cog or 2. 11/12 speed chains have to be thinner to accommodate the extra gears, and are therefore weaker. Last 9 speed chain I bought for my Allant was $25 at LBS. Got 1200 miles out of it.

And I don't think we disagree. I think I mentioned I clean my chains every ride. I just don't degrease. Doing a thorough job of that requires removing it and soaking and several rinses to get all the gunk out. It's not worth it to me. And I'm not spraying brake parts cleaner anywhere near my bikes. That's nasty stuff.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Well, the Tero of the OP came with 11-speed and it makes sense on a modern e-MTB. I have never regretted having 11-speed on my Vado 6.0 and I had some extreme mountain road rides.

To each their own

 

[TrevorB]

When comes to degreasing best not to do it on bike as degreaser can drip down into motor bearings and degrease them. No problem on manual bike where crank can be serviced.
Get rear wheel spokes checked/tension by shop every 6-12months. Once you start breaking spokes on regular basis then wheel rebuild is on cards. If you do break spoke and plan on replacing it yourself, take good one off wheel from same side and ask shop to match it.
All other maintenance is same as normal bike in which case see youtube.

 

[rich c]

Just watch videos on YouTube about bicycle maintenance. eBikes are no different.

 

[indianajo]

I broke 2 spokes on a Schwinn MTB 30 years ago. None since. The kiddie quality MTB's, diamondback & Pacific, I had to tighten spokes occasionally over the 10 years I rode those. The $200 power wheel I have now, I have to tighten spokes every couple of years. The yuba wheel, no loose spokes in 5 years 10000 miles. I ride on road except the grass driveway at my summer camp .
I get 5000 miles + out of my garden variety KMC chains. 8 speed, no mid-drive. Second one is reading 70% at 5000 miles. I oil the chain biweekly, but never clean them unless I get johnson grass stems in them. The dirt moves to sludge around the derailleur takeup, which I scrape off with a screwdriver when the bike is upside down for tire work. I sometimes clean grass or string out of the the slots between the sprockets with a screwdriver. Oil is 42 SUS (SAE 5w) non-detergent ATF, (type F or A, NOT Dexron) or same SUS hydraulic fluid for Ag equipment (the generic without the detergent, not the kind that meets manufacturers specs). I use a pump oiler and a piece of paper for spillage. I oil all other steel parts same interval.

 

[YoGe]

+ re-inflate the tyres once a week or two. This, and regular chain de-greasing and then applying the lube are the two most important regular maintenance actions.

Battery maintenance: remove the battery between your rides and keep it at the room temperature. Recharge at the room temperature, too. It is a good practice to keep the stored battery between 20 and 80% of charge but I never stick to that rule as I need to be prepared for a long ride at any circumstance.

Yes!! I've several times found myself caught short, scrambling to get charged up before a long ride. And stuffing an extra (partially charged) extender into my pack because I didn't have enough charge in main-plus-one. The compromise may be to keep the extenders topped up at 100% but charge the main battery shortly before you ride. Presumably, replacing an extender will be less of a hassle than replacing the main battery if it gets to the point where it no longer takes a full charge.

 

[gromike]

I've started building ebikes out of orphaned bikes. As such, maintenance is a continuous process on everything.

 

[Urbancowboy]

There is a beautifull Bike Trail like a 40 Km round trip but the Trail is hardpacked Gravel which is quite Dusty during these hot Days depositing lots of Grit on the Chain.

To do preventive Maintenance I clean the Chain after 4 to 500 Km, wash/Brush the Chain in a Gasoline Bath while I rotate it on the Bike. Then let it drip off over plenty of Cardboard & Newspaper overnight and then relube the Chain with new 10/30 Engine Oil. Works very well and fast.

To run the Chain in the Gasoline Bath I use a old Starbucks Coffee Mug Filled with Gasoline and push this up on the Derailleur so the Chain makes a sharp Bent and has to travel trough the Gasoline while a old Toothbrush brushes the Grime off. Its a bit Messy so do it outside and dispose of the soiled Cardboard & Newspaper according to local Bylaws.

Simple, efficient, very cost effective and best of all environmentally responsible.

 

[TrevorB]

There is a beautifull Bike Trail like a 40 Km round trip but the Trail is hardpacked Gravel which is quite Dusty during these hot Days depositing lots of Grit on the Chain.

To do preventive Maintenance I clean the Chain after 4 to 500 Km, wash/Brush the Chain in a Gasoline Bath while I rotate it on the Bike. Then let it drip off over plenty of Cardboard & Newspaper overnight and then relube the Chain with new 10/30 Engine Oil. Works very well and fast.

To run the Chain in the Gasoline Bath I use a old Starbucks Coffee Mug Filled with Gasoline and push this up on the Derailleur so the Chain makes a sharp Bent and has to travel trough the Gasoline while a old Toothbrush brushes the Grime off. Its a bit Messy so do it outside and dispose of the soiled Cardboard & Newspaper according to local Bylaws.

Simple, efficient, very cost effective and best of all environmentally responsible.

Only issue is degreaser can drip onto motor bearings and seals. That is why I remove chain to do it. Could wrap a bit of cloth around shaft between motor and chainring to protect motor from drips.

 

[PSm]

Hello, I recently got a Specialized turbo Tero 4.0 and I’m very happy with it. I would like to keep it as long as possible and would like to ask other e bike owners to entirely explain to me how to maintain my e bike. Thanks

Congrats. Suggest you get a complete book on bike maintainance, and take a class (or watch a lot of YouTube videos. To “entirely explain” is a big request, and you need to put in the time yourself (and no one can do that for you)

 

[Dorkyman]

I rode a turbo'ed Honda 550 (a prototype that was never sold commercially) in L.A. for years as my daily driver. Chains don't "stretch" in the conventional sense; rather, the metal-against-metal bearing surfaces grind themselves away, as they are put under high pressures just as the link begins to pivot while wrapping around the drive sprocket. Eventually, enough material has been ground away that the link spacing is longer than the sprocket spacing, and the sprockets begin to wear down also.

Lubricating the center part of the chain--the rollers--has no effect on wear, as worn rollers don't change the link spacing. To get to the pin/bushing wear point you spray the sides or edges of the chain with a penetrating lubricant that ideally thickens up as it dries so any excess is not flung off onto your clothes as you ride down the freeway.

I can remember that Kawasaki once introduced a beefy chain for their legendary big-bike Z1 that even used tiny o-rings in each link to make sure that the lubrication inside the pin/bushing joint during fabrication stayed there forever.

Not sure that scrubbing down a chain in solvent would have much, if any, beneficial effect. In fact, to the extent that the low-viscosity solvent penetrated those critical pin/bushing wear surfaces and removed lubricant, it would be worse for the chain, though the chain would look nicer.

 

[scottsdalecommuter]

I watch the tire air pressure and throw a little lube on the chain every 100 miles or so. The main thing I do is listen to the bike if there is anything that sounds/feel off during riding. All maintenance I have done by a local bike shop that I've built a good relationship with the owner, they aren't trying to fleece me but just charge fair prices for fair work. I don't really have the time or know-how to maintain the bike at this point and would rather just pay for it. It is always parked indoors between my garage and office. I keep the battery inside during the cold winter.