transporting e-bike in inclement weather

[Milosdad]

Hello: I am planning a vehicle trip from the US Pacific NW in the fall, to southern Arizona. I do expect some rain on the route. I will be packing 2 bikes on my rail type hitch mount bike rack, one of which is my new Giant e-mtb. I was considering a bike cover, but it blocks the tail lights of our truck, so I am now considering remove the bike battery and wrapping the connections with a clear plastic film type material and covering that with a water proof type fabric to prevent the plastic film from unwinding.

Any comments or other suggestions?

Thanks
Rick

 

[LimboJim]

I think the battery should always be removed when carrying ebikes on racks. I'm pretty sure I read that in a Haibike manual, too. I also once made the mistake of carrying a bike on a rear hitch mount in snow, and the road salt destroyed my brakes - I'll never do that again!

I got Fahrer handlebar covers (pic below) to protect electronics up there and they work great. For longer trips or severe weather, I use a heavy trash bag secured with duct tape around the battery mount (or "integrated" downtube opening). This does no more to block my rear view, lights or license plate than the bike by itself. It's also tougher than household plastic wrap.

Amazon has the bar cover for $90+ (not a "Prime deal"), but if you can wait 10 days they're $25 + $30 shipping from bike-discount.de. When I buy from them I stock up because other ebike stuff on that site is priced well, too, and it's ~$30 flat rate shipping regardless of what you spend. They can't (or won't), however, ship batteries and SRAM (and some other brands') parts.

 

[christob]

@LimboJim I wonder (just musing out loud here) how effectively you could perhaps ride the bike, with that handlebar cover in place... I got caught in a surprise downpour in an area with no shelter. So I got drenched, even with the partial covering of a tree (no lightning, fortunately). I had a plastic sandwich baggie & rubber band in my pannier - for covering my LCD control panel display -- but everything else on the handlebar (and bike) got thoroughly soaked -- seeing your photo, I'm wondering if I could have put that cover on, and successfully continued to bike (cautiously, in 1 medium gear) and hand-braked as needed...

 

[JimFMB]

I took my two Townie Go’s from SW Florida to NW Indiana last spring using the Saris EX2 Superclamp hitch rack. I covered the battery, and Computer mount by stretching size medium blue nitrile disposable gloves over the connections. They stayed on the entire 1300 mile trip. All other easily removal items were take off the bikes. I ran into some rain, but I had jpreviously applied an aluminum aircraft quality polish on the bikes and cleaned the bikes at the end of the trip. I did encounter rain and was somewhat suprised that the bikes were not as dirty as I thought they would get.

 

[6zfshdb]

According to the folks at Pedego, their bikes are sufficiently waterproofed for bike racks exposed to the elements. When carried in the bed of my pickup however, the bike handlebars stick up above the roof of the cab. Not wanting to take chances, I protect them from water and debris by using a pair of $12 heavy canvas fruit picker sleeves:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Q2MGDHE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Nylon handlebar protectors eventually shred from the force of the slip stream over the roof of the cab.

 

[LimboJim]

@LimboJim I wonder (just musing out loud here) how effectively you could perhaps ride the bike, with that handlebar cover in place... I got caught in a surprise downpour in an area with no shelter. So I got drenched, even with the partial covering of a tree (no lightning, fortunately). I had a plastic sandwich baggie & rubber band in my pannier - for covering my LCD control panel display -- but everything else on the handlebar (and bike) got thoroughly soaked -- seeing your photo, I'm wondering if I could have put that cover on, and successfully continued to bike (cautiously, in 1 medium gear) and hand-braked as needed...

The Fahrer covers are pretty thick and fairly tight. You might be able to squeeze the brake levers enough to slow the bike down a bit, but shifting and changing assist levels would be a real challenge! I don't think it would be safe.

 

[vincent]

There are a few covers that are clear on the sides and supposedly you can see the lights through them

https://www.etrailer.com/Covers/Classic-Accessories/CA80111.html

https://www.etrailer.com/Covers/Lets-Go-Aero/B01571.html

I saw another bike cover with lights that looked better than this one listed above , sure some google searches would show some

I also use a truck bungee over my covers to keep them more secure

 

[vincent]

https://www.amazon.com/Skinz-Protective-Gear-Transport-Cover/dp/B0025UJJ96

 

[PDoz]

Hello: I am planning a vehicle trip from the US Pacific NW in the fall, to southern Arizona. I do expect some rain on the route. I will be packing 2 bikes on my rail type hitch mount bike rack, one of which is my new Giant e-mtb. I was considering a bike cover, but it blocks the tail lights of our truck, so I am now considering remove the bike battery and wrapping the connections with a clear plastic film type material and covering that with a water proof type fabric to prevent the plastic film from unwinding.

Any comments or other suggestions?

Thanks
Rick

I think I'd remove the ridecontrol evo screen from my bars for a long drive, or at least work out a way to waterproof it? I've had mine soaked from riding in wet conditions without any issues , but I've also read scattered posts about condensation under the screenand intermittent faults from the connector corroding.