How to Maintain Your Dirwin Electric Fat Bike

How to Maintain Your Dirwin Electric Fat Bike

E-bikes have been around for a while now and many people already have one. Fat tire E-bikes generally work great as they are built for tough conditions but sometimes you might have a chain that starts squeaking, or maybe you get a flat tire. E-bikes are slightly different from normal bikes, so should you take a different approach to maintenance or stick to your tried and tested methods as normal? This week we’re going to explain a few tricks and tips to make E-bike maintenance a breeze.

Electric bike maintenance

In general, clean your bike often and especially if it gets dirty. I suggest washing your E-bike once a month depending on how hard you ride or where you are riding. You can use the pressure washer to first rinse the whole bike with just water. You should do this first since you don’t want to be using perfectly good bike cleaner solutions to clean off dirt that we can simply rinse away with. Afterward, you can wash the bike with soap or even with specific bike cleaning products and lubricants that are out there.  

Electric Bike Battery Maintenance

The battery is an integral part of the system on your E-bike. It stores all the electricity in it that provides the power to your motor. Battery life is measured in charge cycles. A charge cycle is an amount that you deplete a battery to a full charge of your battery that counts as one cycle. However, how many cycles your battery can last varies a lot depending on the manufacturer. Your method of charging is important too. Most lithium-ion batteries last a lot longer if you charge up to around 80% and not all the way up to 100%. 

When it comes to storing your batteries well, they like a constant temperature. Nothing too hot or nothing too cold, around 20 degrees Celsius. If you go to extreme heat or extreme coldness, the battery simply will not like it, and it is pretty common for us to plug a battery in and leave it on charge up to 100%. The battery management system should take care of this and switch the power off, but a good tip is to use an electric plug-in timer. That's going to turn off the battery and turn off the power to the battery within the 5 or 6 hours that you set it to. Also, if you're going to be storing that battery, Don't store it 100 %. Take it down to around 60%. That is the way it's going to last way longer.

These tips are helpful if you really really want to keep your battery in the best possible condition but in real life, it’s not the end of the world if you charge your battery normally to 100% and it stays on the charger a bit too long, just make sure that you have a good battery like in the Dirwin bike, to begin with.

Bike chain Maintenance

The chain on your E-bike is one of the most important components to look after. Even simple things such as lubricating your chain can make a few mistakes. E-bike is definitely full of the latest tech. The actual chain that powers it has been around since 1869 to propel a bicycle along. Your chain is pretty much friction-free if maintained correctly, meaning you can get the most range from your battery!

 The best idea when it comes to chain maintenance is to keep it all nice and clean. Also, another vital thing is to use the right amount of lubricant and choose the right type of lubricant, depending on the conditions you actually ride in. One is the wet lube. 

The wet lube is designed to be ridden in some of the harshest conditions. Its job is to hang onto that chain even when it goes underwater, or the rain comes down pretty hard. Slightly more viscous and a bit thicker than the dry lube. It creates a protective layer of that chain, keeping the water and all that gunk off of it. If you were to use wet lube in dry conditions, it would do the opposite. It will attract all that dust and stick it to your chain, So you must choose the right lube for the right conditions.

Another one is dry lube. Dry lube is for dry conditions. The dry lube means it’s wet as you apply it but it soon evaporates. It totally makes your chain nice and friction-free. Plus it doesn’t even feel sticky to the touch. And as you would imagine, if you’re using dry lube in wet conditions, it is simply going to be washed off the chain.

A big mistake many people make to their bikes is actually just adding a bit of lube to an already lubed drive chain. If you’ve just washed your bike or been out for a wet ride all this is doing is locking all that moisture in the grime into that chain. You’re also going to accelerate the wear of the chain by a lot by doing this. So clean your chain and make sure it’s dry before you apply the lube.

Now it’s vitally essential how you apply the lubrication. A big mistake many people make is to apply the lube to the top of the chain. All you’re going to do with doing that is actually create an area that contaminants can pretty much stick to. If you’re going to lube it, you need to do it inside the rollers, meaning that lube will penetrate the rollers where the chain lube actually needs to be. That is a part of the chain in contact with everything: Your jockey wheels, cassette, and chains.

Electric Motor Maintenance

Many people choose E-bike instead of cars, as it doesn’t really need maintenance, which is a big advantage of electric motors. Basically just don’t drench it in water and it will be maintenance-free.

Fat Bike Frame Maintenance

Compared with other normal E-bike,it is easy to wash with just water soap and a hose, no special treatment is needed here either.

A quick checklist of e-bike maintenance

Bikers should perform a routine maintenance check from time to time or before you are going for a longer trip. Here is a checklist to keep your e-bike in good condition!

• Check different parts of your bike regularly. 
• Are the brake pads still in good shape? 
• How’s the tire pressure? Fat Bikers often like to change the pressure depending on the surface and riding conditions.
• Are nuts and bolts still tight?

There you go! With these tips we wish you safe and fun rides from the whole Dirwin team!