It’s not just you that needs warmth and looking after during the winter months – your e-bike certainly needs a little extra TLC too.
From keeping your battery well-charged before venturing out for a ride, to ensuring your brakes are oiled to prevent them freezing, look after your e-bike and it will do the same for you.
Boosting your e-bike battery
The cold, together with the effort of ploughing through all that snow, will affect your battery – to the extent it just won’t perform as well. All e-bike batteries in the UK use Lithium-Ion and it needs to be stored indoors during low temperatures. That doesn’t mean you have to bring your entire bike in. The frame can be stored in the shed or garage as normal, but do remove the battery and bring it indoors. Like ourselves, batteries prefer room temperature.
Your battery should also be charged in a room where the temperature is at least 40°F. Even if you’re not using your e-bike during the colder, winter months you should still charge your battery every 40 days (just like a car’s engine will seize up if it’s left ideal for too long, the same poor performance goes for your e-bike battery if left for months).
Keeping your battery warm when you’re actually riding is another good idea. You can do this by investing in a neoprene cover and which you can buy from most bike manufacturers.
Keeping on top of e-brakes
Mechanical brakes don’t fare well in cold weather either. Melting snow can get into them and freeze. So, to keep their performance tip-top always squirt a few drops of de-icer into them. That’s prior to a ride and every few weeks. The alternative is to look for an e-bike which has a hydraulic braking system.
Incidentally, wearing gloves to keep your hands warm gives you a better chance of getting your brakes to work well, since your hands won’t be too cold to pull the levers. That also applies to shifters and other control buttons on your e-bike.
Mitt bar attachments are also a great way of keeping your hands warm since they shield your digits from the worst of the winter weather, meaning you can wear thinner gloves for more sensitivity with levels, controls etc.
Lube your battery chain
The same goes for the chain on your e-bike – although you’re using lube instead of de-icer this time. It’s always a good idea to give your chain a squirt of oil regularly, especially if you’re riding on salty roads a lot. That way it won’t rust and you’ll get far longer before having to replace it. And talking of salt on the roads…
Dry your bike after riding
Always wipe your bike dry after a ride to avoid salt rusting your bike frame. The best way is with a hairdryer rather than a towel to make sure you dry out awkward hard-to-reach places too.
After winter storage
If you do decide not to ride your e-bike during the winter then do give it a good check-up before venturing out in the spring. That means ensuring the tyres are well pumped up, the battery charged right up and the brakes tightened.