E-bikes might take less effort to ride than their human-powered cousins, but they can make up for it in extra maintenance. You have to take care of the motor, the battery, and the electronics of course, but brakes and tires will also wear faster, thanks to the higher weight and speed of an electric bike. The good news is, most of this isn’t any harder than keeping a pedal-powered bike ticking along smoothly.

In addition to the e-bike specific tasks, you have all the regular bike maintenance tasks, which we’ll cover first. 

All bikes

Chain and gears

A chain will last a good long time if looked after. Rinse off dirt after off-road rides, and once in a while, completely clean the chain with detergent/degreaser and a brush. The idea is to get all the crud from both the outside and the inside of the chain links. Rinse. 

When dry, lubricate the chain with the correct kind of lube for your weather conditions; wet climates need more protection than dry. In a completely dry climate, you can get away with a light lube or even a wax-based lube that barely seems to wet the chain. In a wetter climate, you’ll want a heavier lube that coats the chain better to protect against rust, but that will attract more dirt while it does. Ask your local bike shop if you’re not sure. Carefully dab drops of lube onto each link, turn the pedals a few times, and wait. Then, after several hours, wipe the excess off the outside, so it doesn’t spray onto the rest of the bike, or attract dirt. You don’t need lube on the outside of the links.

Thanks to the higher torque produced by an e-bike motor compared to human legs, you will need to lube the chain more often, iFixit’s global marketing and growth strategist and e-bike enthusiast Adriana Zwink told me for this article.

Belt drives are a lot easier to clean, as they don’t need lube. But you should check alignment regularly, as belts are less forgiving of this than chains. 

If you ever need a new chain, replace the chain ring(s), and rear cassette or sprockets  at the same time, or the uneven wear may cause the chain to skip on the old gear teeth. 

As for the gearing, this will depend very much on the kind of drive your bike has. Internal gear hubs need little to no ongoing maintenance, other than cleaning and perhaps a spot of oil or grease. Derailleurs need to be kept clean, lubed, and well aligned, and they are especially vulnerable to damage if you crash.

Whatever your drive setup, learn how you should be riding it. A derailleur should only be changed while pedaling, whereas an internal hub gear can be changed at standstill, and you should ease off the pedals while changing gears. 

Cables need the same attention as brake cables, which we’ll cover a little later. 

Tires

Tires are the main consumable on any bike. Keep them inflated to the correct pressure (marked on the tire wall), to avoid pinch flats. Regularly check the treads for thorns, glass, and other debris to avoid punctures, and replace the tires whenever they get worn. 

Don’t forget to keep an eye on the sidewalls for cracking, especially on bikes that have been stored for a while. And make sure that the bead (the edge of the tire) is seated properly in the wheel rim, all the way round. 

Also check on the inner-tube inflation valve. There are several types, but all should exit the hole perpendicular to the rim to avoid wear or tearing. Oh, and if there is a retaining nut, make sure it’s tightened (finger tight is ok), and tighten loose dustcaps, too.

Wheels

Check wheel nuts regularly, lest they loosen and let a wheel escape. This is especially important if you have quick-release levers, as they can get knocked loose. When closed, these levers should always line up with the fork arms, or the tubing of the rear triangle. If you leave the lever sticking out into the air, it can catch on something and get opened up. 

When checking the wheel nuts, also check that the wheels are turning freely when spun. If not, you may need to adjust the inner nuts so they don’t clamp down too hard on the bearings in the hub. Speaking of hubs, the grease inside will need to be renewed very occasionally. For most folks, you can go for years without doing that, though. 

Also poke your spokes. They should be tight, and under an equal amount of tension. Tap them to hear if any are loose, and make sure none are broken or missing. Next time you change a tire or patch an inner tube, check that the rim tape inside the wheel rim is intact, and in place. The rim tape covers the tops of the spokes inside the wheel, so they don’t damage the inner tube. Rim tape can perish or wear over time, and should be replaced. 

E-bikes tend to have disk brakes rather than rim brakes, this puts more stress on the spokes when stopping. Wheels should be built to resist this, but it means that on an e-bike, it’s even more important to check your spokes. 

Bent spokes can mean wobbly wheels, which should be trued immediately. This isn’t hard, but for a novice it can be easier and quicker to get the local bike shop to do it for you. 

Brakes

For rim brakes, the kind where pulling the lever squeezes the wheel rim between two rubber blocks, you should check the blocks for wear, make sure all nuts and bolts are tight, and that the brake cables are not frayed or damaged. All these parts are cheap, and easy to swap, and the price of brake failure is so high that brake maintenance should be a priority.

Also check the sleeves that the cables run through. These aren’t just for keeping dirt out—they’re an integral part of the system, so they need to be intact: If the cable sleeve is damaged, it can bend, squish, or even collapse when you apply the brakes. Check that the ends aren’t frayed, and that there are no kinks or splits along their length. Grease any replacement cables before slipping them into the sleeves.

If the brake blocks are wearing unevenly, they may not be fitted properly. They should each travel the same amount—they shouldn’t have to move too far when you squeeze the lever, nor should they rub the rims when the lever is released. Adjust so they’re as close to the rim as possible without touching. Eventually, rim brakes will wear away the wheel, so watch for that on older bikes. 

With disk brakes, you need to make sure the disk itself doesn’t get damaged or bent, and make sure to keep it clean. Disk brakes may be hydraulic, which adds complexity. In addition to inspecting the hoses for damage, you will have to bleed the system from time to time to remove air. If your braking feels squishy, this could be the cause. 

The brake pads on a disk brake should be equally spaced on either side to prevent uneven wear on the disk. If you have crashed or fallen off the bike, check to see that the braking system has not been damaged, or knocked out of alignment. 

E-bike specific

Now we get to the e-bike-only considerations along e-twists on standard-bike maintenance. Our first tip is to take things easy. An e-bike is faster than a regular bike for most riders, and heavier. This means that potholes cause more damage: popping tires or wrecking wheels and forks. That extra weight and speed also take their toll on brakes, wearing them down faster. So if you want to minimize maintenance, start by minimizing unnecessary wear and tear.

Battery and electronics

The battery is the big difference between an e-bike and a regular bike, obviously. It also requires daily attention, if you are using your bike every day. Like any modern rechargeable battery, you should only charge it to 80% of its total capacity to increase its total life. Also, avoid running it down to 0%.

Li-ion batteries get damaged if you charge them while they’re hot, so avoid doing that. Don’t charge them in the sun, for example. Fortunately, removable batteries are easy to bring inside and charge in a more temperate environment

You should also keep the battery dry. An e-bike’s electronics are sealed against water, a little rain should be fine. The big no-no is submerging the battery and the motor for more than a moment. Don’t ride through floods, or do more than a quick splash through a stream. You should also avoid storing the bike outside if you live in a wet part of the world.

All batteries will need to be replaced eventually, no matter how well you look after them. Check the manufacturer’s recommendation to get an idea of how often you’ll need to do this, but the real-world test is whether or not your battery still holds a useful charge for your regular usage. If it’s barely getting you through your commute, it’s time to replace it.

Most rough guides say that a li-ion battery can last around 500-1,000 cycles before it needs to be replaced, which is not particularly specific. Equally, general advice says that you’ll get somewhere from three to five years from a battery. If you look after it as we recommend, you should make it to the higher end of those estimates.

The rest of the electronics—the control system, motor (see below), and connecting cables—are equally moisture-unfriendly, so mostly all you need to do is not get them wet. Be careful when cleaning your e-bike: don’t blast it with a hose or pressure washer. A bucket of water and a cloth or sponge are all you need. 

Motor

The main advice here is to keep it clean. For general maintenance, you won’t need to open up the motor casing. You just need to keep it free of dirt buildup, keep the electrical connections clean, keep the mounting hardware nice and tight, and check for damage like dents, or cracks that can let in dirt and moisture.

You should also have some sympathy for the machine. Avoid grinding the motor in the wrong gear, and keep the drivetrain well maintained. An un-oiled chain, dirty sprockets, and a misaligned derailleur are annoying on a person-powered bike, but on an electric, they will strain and eventually damage the motor. 

A regular bike is easy to maintain if you ride it often, as you will notice any changes in its feel or sounds, and you can fix things before they go too far. The same goes for e-bikes. If the motor is running quiet and smooth, then all is probably well. 

Ultimately, an e-bike is more work than a regular bike, but not much more. If you care for it, keep it clean, and respect its extra requirements, then it can be just as reliable. Happy riding!