# General e bike maintenance



## markemark (6 Dec 2021)

We have an ebike in our household. Are there any changes to general maintenance I would normally do, eg chain and cassette replacement?


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## jowwy (6 Dec 2021)

markemark said:


> We have an ebike in our household. Are there any changes to general maintenance I would normally do, eg chain and cassette replacement?


nope thats all i do to my ebikes and then a service to the motor when the service light comes on, but i take it to the local ebike store for that job


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## ebikeerwidnes (6 Dec 2021)

If your ebike has a mid drive then there may be more wear and tear on the chain and gears
Basically there is just more power going through them so wear may increase

Hence they may need replacing more often


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## CXRAndy (6 Dec 2021)

Just keep the chain clean and well lubricated. Check for wear, with a chain guage or steel rule. Measure 6 to 8 inches rivett to rivett. 

Check battery connections are clean and free from corrosion. Tiny amount of WD40 or GT85 to keep them nice and clean. Any unusual motor noises have investigated early


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## markemark (6 Dec 2021)

Thanks. Is the cassette and chain replacement the same process?


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## mustang1 (6 Dec 2021)

jowwy said:


> nope thats all i do to my ebikes and then a service to the motor when the service light comes on, but i take it to the local ebike store for that job


Wait, what? That is news to me. What maintenance does the motor require and how frequently? Genuioasking as I may be in the market for an e-bike.


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## CXRAndy (6 Dec 2021)

mustang1 said:


> Wait, what? That is news to me. What maintenance does the motor require and how frequently? Genuioasking as I may be in the market for an e-bike.



It all depends on how obsessive you're with crank based motors. Some brands are well greased and don't need any attention- until unusual noises occur. 

My Bafang motor was actually getting quieter, but there were quite a number of comments about the lack of grease inside. I took my motor apart noticed that the grease had been applied in one major area but could do with reapplying on all teeth instead of expecting the motion of gears to redistribute the grease. I noticed also a small swarf deposit- I presume this is metal from the bedding in of gears. I spread the grease evenly on all gears, reassembled, and the motor is a bit quieter. Other than checking for water ingress and replacing faulty parts, it just checking there is a good spread of grease. Taking things apart also allows you to check and copper slip nuts and bolts to prevent corrosion.


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## jowwy (6 Dec 2021)

mustang1 said:


> Wait, what? That is news to me. What maintenance does the motor require and how frequently? Genuioasking as I may be in the market for an e-bike.


i think its just a motor service, after a certain amount of miles or time...a service light comes on and with the bosch motor you need the software to reset it and only dealers have that software


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## Pale Rider (6 Dec 2021)

markemark said:


> We have an ebike in our household.



What bike is it?


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## markemark (6 Dec 2021)

Pale Rider said:


> What bike is it?


An older version of this….

https://www.raleigh.co.uk/gb/en/mot...ar/low-step/?attrMarketingColor=Midnight Blue


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## Pale Rider (6 Dec 2021)

markemark said:


> An older version of this….
> 
> https://www.raleigh.co.uk/gb/en/motus-grand-tour-derailleur-gear/low-step/?attrMarketingColor=Midnight Blue



It's an ordinary bike either side of the motor, so you apply ordinary bike care and maintenance to those bits.

There's no service indicator on Bosch bikes, unless it's a brand new feature which won't be on yours anyway.

An annual 'inspection service' would consist of a software update and a download of the various bits of information the bike stores.

As you probably know, the bike is not connected in any way, so there's no reason to think the existing software will stop working.

My main Bosch bike did acquire an intermittent power delivery fault after about three years which was cured by a software update..

The dealer gave what I regard as the sensible advice of getting the software updated 'every year or two'.

My other Bosch bike has not been updated since I bought it 10 years ago - it's still running as it should.

I suspect most owners never bother to update their bikes.


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## markemark (6 Dec 2021)

Thanks. So, normal cassette, normal chain, normal indexing?


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## Pale Rider (6 Dec 2021)

markemark said:


> Thanks. So, normal cassette, normal chain, normal indexing?



Yes.

You can get chains marketed as for ebikes, but any decent branded chain will do.

Too much is made of the extra wear on crank bike drive trains.

Some people seem to think it's like running a bicycle chain on a Honda Fireblade.

I can climb on my ebike at about the same speed or less as a fit road cyclist.

Thus the wear on my chain is similar to the wear on the road cyclist's - well within the components' design parameters.


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## jowwy (6 Dec 2021)

Pale Rider said:


> It's an ordinary bike either side of the motor, so you apply ordinary bike care and maintenance to those bits.
> 
> There's no service indicator on Bosch bikes, unless it's a brand new feature which won't be on yours anyway.
> 
> ...


I thought a little spanner came up in the bottom corner when it was ready to be serviced???


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## richtea (6 Dec 2021)

ebikeerwidnes said:


> If your ebike has a mid drive then there may be more wear and tear on the chain and gears
> Basically there is just more power going through them so wear may increase
> 
> Hence they may need replacing more often


With the extra weight (and higher speeds), I'd also be inclined pay some a little more attention to brake wear then I might for a non-eBike.


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## jowwy (6 Dec 2021)

richtea said:


> With the extra weight (and higher speeds), I'd also be inclined pay some a little more attention to brake wear then I might for a non-eBike.


Higher speeds???


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## ebikeerwidnes (7 Dec 2021)

jowwy said:


> Higher speeds???


Generally I would say yes
but only on the basis that if I was on a normal bike I would go slower than I would on my ebike

especially if I am going to the shops on a cold day and just put the thing into a higher assist level

clearly an old fat bloke on a UK legal ebike doesn;t go as fats as a lycra clad racing snake on a 'proper' road bike


as far as brakes are concerned - I don;t think the extra weight is a major issue 
Yup - it weighs a lot more that Simon Yate's favourite bike for going up Alp D'Huez - but my own weight more than compensates for that
so as long as the brakes are reasonable they should be OK


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## jowwy (7 Dec 2021)

ebikeerwidnes said:


> *Generally I would say yes*
> but only on the basis that if I was on a normal bike I would go slower than I would on my ebike
> 
> especially if I am going to the shops on a cold day and just put the thing into a higher assist level
> ...


i go slower on my ebike to stay within the cut-off and make sure im getting full use of the motor ( unless going downhill of course)

im not sure speeds are higher and it would be hard to calculate if they were. Maybe average speed over a ride maybe higher, cause hill climbing is easier.

i think theres to many outside influences to judge speed, but people assume cause its an ebike there must be ( based on all the illegal ones they have seen out on the roads)...im yet to see an illegal one to be honest. All mates ebikes are all legal


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## Drago (7 Dec 2021)

I believe that you may need to periodically charge the battery.


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## markemark (7 Dec 2021)

Drago said:


> I believe that you may need to periodically charge the battery.


I thought it was proving expensive to keep throwing away the battery and buying a new one.


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## Pale Rider (7 Dec 2021)

jowwy said:


> I thought a little spanner came up in the bottom corner when it was ready to be serviced???



Not as far as I know, and I've been using Bosch bikes for 10 years or so.



richtea said:


> With the extra weight (and higher speeds), I'd also be inclined pay some a little more attention to brake wear then I might for a non-eBike.



Me and my ebike will pick up some momentum on a long decent which might require firmer braking than on a lightweight push bike.

I've done some fairly long descents in the Yorkshire Dales without any problems.

Pad wear must be a little bit higher, but not so as I've noticed.


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## ebikeerwidnes (7 Dec 2021)

Drago said:


> I believe that you may need to periodically charge the battery.


No - totally wrong

you don't have to charge the battery at all - ever
although after the first 50 or so miles the bike does become rather harder to ride


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## jowwy (7 Dec 2021)

Pale Rider said:


> Not as far as I know, and I've been using Bosch bikes for 10 years or so.


new motors and computers???.....ive just seen Purion computers with a spanner on the display and i have the purion displays on both mine







https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/bosch-purion-spanner-icon.262279/


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## Pale Rider (7 Dec 2021)

Mention of an 'optional service interval display' in this link.

Maybe it's something that has to be set in the menus somewhere, but I've never come across it.

It appears to be no more than an elapsed time indicator.

https://www.bosch-ebike.com/en/products/intuvia/


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## fossyant (7 Dec 2021)

How do eMTB's handle almost total submersion ? My pedal MTB required a strip down of the hubs and BB to double check everything after it was properly drowned on an MTB ride. I assume if you do this, you'll need to pop the covers off the motor and dry it out ?


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## jowwy (7 Dec 2021)

fossyant said:


> How do eMTB's handle almost total submersion ? My pedal MTB required a strip down of the hubs and BB to double check everything after it was properly drowned on an MTB ride. I assume if you do this, you'll need to pop the covers off the motor and dry it out ?


Never submerged it, so not really sure


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## ebikeerwidnes (7 Dec 2021)

jowwy said:


> Never submerged it, so not really sure


Probably not a good idea to try!!!

I do wonder at times because I often ride along tow paths and sometimes mud, stones, associated hazards (including dogs and idiots) sometimes make me feel it is only a matter of time
I presume the rules are as for laptops - get the battery off first then dry it out and pray


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## CXRAndy (7 Dec 2021)

Not wise to submerge. Most motors are not IP67 or IP68


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## jowwy (7 Dec 2021)

CXRAndy said:


> Not wise to submerge. Most motors are not IP67 or IP68


Yeh i got the active plus bosch motor, its pretty well sealed up. But no i wont be submerging it anytime soon, if at all…..lol


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## Pale Rider (8 Dec 2021)

Bosch describe their motors as 'splash proof'.

I've ridden mine quite a lot in heavy rain with no problem.

Submerging is not to be recommended, but I did more or less submerge mine in a ford in North Yorkshire which was deeper than expected.

No adverse impact, although I was travelling light on a mini tour and it took the next day to dry the only pair of shoes I had.


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## fossyant (8 Dec 2021)

CXRAndy said:


> Not wise to submerge. Most motors are not IP67 or IP68



Just wondering as we weren't intending to submerge our standard bikes, but Penmachno lived up to it's reputation and some. We ended up in a puddle that was over our knees when on the bike - completely submerged (had to drag the bike out), and other puddles BB deep. Something to be wary of if riding that trail on an eMTB ! It was enough work checking a normal bike over.


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