New to E-Bike and this forum

[PCeBiker]

Welcome to the club!

Well, being as you've joined the ebike mechanics club, I thought I'd give you some pointers about replacing your tires.
I've got the same rear hub fat motors on both my ebikes and getting the rear wheel off and back on can be a PITA.

As @PedalUma mentioned, the axle flats like to get jammed in the dropouts so you'll need a 10 mm wrench to rotate the axle free.

This is what my dropouts looked like,..

When I got the axle unstuck, it still got caught up on the derailleur while lifting the wheel out.
(yeah, do like @PedalUma says and turn your bike upside-down).

The axle likes to hit the part of the derailleur in the top right of the picture, and it's spring loaded to be the most in the way as possible.

The chain is wrapped around both the sprocket on the wheel and the derailleur, and everything gets caught up.
Getting your derailleur and chain on the smallest sprocket first, helps to get a bit more clearance.


You might want to remove your chain beforehand as well.
It will get it outta the way, and its good practice.
You might need a chain breaker to get the chain off and a quick link to get it back on.

Here's a link to me figuring out how to remove my chain,..

Post in thread 'What's You're Plan For Major Breakdown?' https://forums.electricbikereview.com/threads/whats-youre-plan-for-major-breakdown.51750/post-585264



This would be a good time to give your chain a good cleaning and wax job, if your interested.



The axle will have torque washers on both ends and their orientation needs to be correct.
They can be upside-down or backwards or both,..

Even the washers can be backwards.
The washers on my axles are conical washers.

Actually,..
Looking at this picture, it looks like I've got the damn washer backwards ??!!

Both my ebikes have a derailleur gaurd which further complicates things because it's mounted on the axle and it needs to come off to get the wheel out.

Everything is all jammed up in there, and I had to use the box end of an 18 mm combination wrench to loosen it with about 2° of rotation before you hit stuff.
(I didn't want to use the open end, because it only has two flats that grab the nut)

The black cover needs to come off the axle nut and slid down the motor cable and removed at the connector, then I fed the box end up the cable and on to the axle nut.

(I could delete the derailleur gaurd to make life easier, but I "use" it all the time. I had to replace it cuz it was all bent to s*it. )

If you don't have a derailleur gaurd like mine, the best thing to do is leave all the hardware on the axle and just back the nuts off.
You might have enough clearance to get your wheel out without removing anything, which keeps everything in order.

The wheel is kinda heavy, and I had to lift it with one hand while bending the derailleur outta the way with the other.
Getting the wheel back on is even trickier, even with the chain and axle hardware removed.

A third hand is always helpful so maybe you can get your wife to help.

@Jeremy McCreary posted about this stool a while ago. I bought one and I really like it.
I thought with your bad back, it might help.

https://a.co/d/8c2zHkx

 

[GMA52]

Question, my bike has a Shimano Altus 8 gear system. Will a Shimano 11 gear Quick link work on the chain or do I have to find an 8 gear Quick Link?

 

[PCeBiker]

Question, my bike has a Shimano Altus 8 gear system. Will a Shimano 11 gear Quick link work on the chain or do I have to find an 8 gear Quick Link?

No.
The chain gets thinner as the sprocket count goes up so the quick link needs to get thinner too.
It's very speed specific.

Check for a brand name on your chain.
My chains are KMC so I bought KMC Missing Links,..

The Missing Link is good for 6, 7, & 8 speed chains, so it would most likely fit your chain.

KMC calls their Quick Link a Missing Link.
I always thought that this was the Missing Link??,..

I wonder if that ½ ape ½ human is thinking about chain lube ?

 

[PCeBiker]

I found a picture of a gay child Missing Link,...

There's lots of things to learn from the internet.
It's CNN Certified

 

[GMA52]

I found a picture of a gay child Missing Link,...


View attachment 201753


There's lots of things to learn from the internet.
It's CNN Certified

Well if it is CNN certified you know it’s got to be right

 

[Gionnirocket]

Homo erectus always scared me

 

[PCeBiker]

So, anyway,..

Another other thing that I did when I first got my first ebike was to remove all the nuts and bolts and put loctite on the threads as suggested by @Court who used to own this forum.

Then @m@Robertson said that he uses Anti-seize so I switched to that.

Then @Gionnirocket 's alter ego called me a liberal and said that I should just use regular grease.

I've kept using the Anti-seize but I don't use it liberally.
All you need is a little bit.


You need to choose your Anti-seize carefully too. There's many different colors and flavors,..

Looking at the list now, I think I bought the wrong one?
Maybe I shoulda bought the aluminum version?
My frame is aluminum but my bolts are stainless steel.

I don't know what to do??

And the regular Loctite has lots of flavors too.
Blue and red are the most common with the blue being removeable and the red being permanent.

I went with the hybrid orange flavor because I want to be able to work with my nuts without having to heat them up too hot or force them off.

I can use my regular regular hand tools to get off.

 

[PCeBiker]

Ohh no no.... You can not sweat the small stuff. And this is nano_micro

Picking out the right lubes and loctites is no small task !!

I think we should start a discussion on the virtues of All the different types.

Let's make a mountain out of this mole hill.

 

[Gionnirocket]

I try not to keep dozens of products around and use what I have even if it's not the absolute best... unless that is, it's mission critical.
So a light grease works just as well as anti seize for me and I've never had an issue. The dreaded freewheel has never beat me or broken a tool. And when removed the grease was still intact.
Loctite blue on bike has never come loose or been difficult to remove.
ymmv

 

[GMA52]

Well if it is CNN certified you know it’s got to be right

No.
The chain gets thinner as the sprocket count goes up so the quick link needs to get thinner too.
It's very speed specific.

Check for a brand name on your chain.
My chains are KMC so I bought KMC Missing Links,..


View attachment 201750View attachment 201751


The Missing Link is good for 6, 7, & 8 speed chains, so it would most likely fit your chain.

KMC calls their Quick Link a Missing Link.
I always thought that this was the Missing Link??,..

View attachment 201752


I wonder if that ½ ape ½ human is thinking about chain lube ?

It is the same KMC Narrow Z chain as yours.

 

[Gionnirocket]

It is the same KMC Narrow Z chain as yours.

When it's time to replace... The X series is a slight upgrade and usually for just about the same price.
Plus I like the two_tone look of the Silver/Grey version.


I might try one myself even with my now more powerful mid_drive just for that reason
That said the E8 is proving to be indestructible.

 

[PCeBiker]

It is the same KMC Narrow Z chain as yours.

Ten bucks for two in the USA.



Quite a bit more in Canada

KMC 8 Speed Missinglink Joining Link, Silver, 2 Pairs : Amazon.ca: Tools & Home Improvement

KMC 8 Speed Missinglink Joining Link, Silver, 2 Pairs : Amazon.ca: Tools & Home Improvement

a.co

 

[PCeBiker]

When it's time to replace... The X series is a slight upgrade and usually for just about the same price.

That said the E8 is proving to be indestructible.

Here's some of what Amazon.com and Amazon.ca have to offer for KMC 8 speed chains,..

It looks like the e8 is ebike specific, and a better chain than the X8 (based on the price, but it could be a scam. )



@GMA52 keep in mind that we have hub drives, and the chain isn't nearly as important as on a mid-drive.
As long as it doesn't rust out, it should last as long as your ebike.

Chain stretch measurement tools really aren't necessary.
(But it's a fun tool to have. I might get one. )

 

[Gionnirocket]

Here's some of what Amazon.com and Amazon.ca have to offer for KMC 8 speed chains,..

It looks like the e8 is ebike specific, and a better chain than the X8 (based on the price, but it could be a scam. )

No... The E8 is definitely better as I have owned both. That said with a hub drive it may be overkill.

 

[PCeBiker]

I try not to keep dozens of products around and use what I have even if it's not the absolute best... unless that is, it's mission critical.

I spent hundreds of dollars on fancy airplane and jet fighter lubes and sprays.

I like collecting glues and tape too.
I still need to get some helicopter tape.
If it's good enough to build a , then it's good enough for my e-bike.

So a light grease works just as well as anti seize for me and I've never had an issue.
Loctite blue on bike has never come loose or been difficult to remove.
ymmv

I spent $167 CAD on my very special torque wrench that I finally got a chance to use to reassemble my motor, but I couldn't find the damn torque specs for the bolts.

So I ended up using Blue Loctite, Silver Anti-seize, and Black RTV silicone.

None of the bolts fell out, and it looks to be sealed up pretty good.

I still haven't used my fancy torque wrench.
Wanna buy it ??

 

[Gionnirocket]

I spent hundreds of dollars on fancy airplane and jet fighter lubes and sprays.

View attachment 201779

I like collecting glues and tape too.
I still need to get some helicopter tape.
If it's good enough to build a , then it's good enough for my e-bike.





I spent $167 CAD on my very special torque wrench that I finally got a chance to use to reassemble my motor, but I couldn't find the damn torque specs for the bolts.


View attachment 201781


So I ended up using Blue Loctite, Silver Anti-seize, and Black RTV silicone.

None of the bolts fell out, and it looks to be sealed up pretty good.


View attachment 201780


I still haven't used my fancy torque wrench.
Wanna buy it ??

You Lube Whore!