Looking after your electric mountain bike can often be almost as difficult as pushing the bike up the hills you bought it to tackle. But performing regular maintenance on your e-bike is vital to ensure it remains safe to ride on tricky mountain passes, and it continues to offer top-quality performance for years to come.
Life Hacks for Mountain E-Bikers
With that in mind, we’ve compiled a few “life hacks” to help you simplify and speed up your electric mountain bike setup.
1. Remove the front wheel when straightening your stem
This provides a much easier way to eyeball the stem to the front wheel without worrying about wheel alignment or tire wobble. Use your dominant eye with the other one closed, looking straight down as you straighten it for best results. Then, use the stem-clamp bolts to clamp it in place.
2. Zip-tie your cables together to prevent noise
This tip only works if your cables are cut to the proper length. When the cables are tied together like this, they can’t rattle each other and are less likely to rattle on the frame.
3. Drill holes in your workbench to store your Allen wrenches.
This makes Allen wrenches easy to find and helps you spot a missing wrench when you clean up. For extra style points, drill different-sized holes for each one so they fit snugly and sit straight up.
4. Buy a tackle box with compartments to store extra bolts
Every home mechanic has an old coffee can with a mixture of small parts, from bolts and pocket lint to old lawnmower parts. These boxes are inexpensive to buy but allow quick access to any small emergency part when you really need one. The only bummer is pouring out that can and sorting through all the bits.
5. Keep a multi-tool and spare tube in your glove box
If you’re one of many riders forced to drive to the trailhead, be sure to have a minimum number of tubes and a set of Allen keys to save yourself a drive back to the house.
6. Always carry zip-ties in your pack or on your bike
If you carry a pack, these are easy to throw in and can fix many trailside issues. If you ride sans pack, sneak one or two into the cable guides like this for an emergency.
7. Never store CO2 cartridges or chain lube in your glove box
These might be tempting items to store next to your tube and tools, but they could burst in the heat of a car interior and cause a big mess.
8. Only apply chain lube to the rollers of the chain
Adding lubrication to the outside plates of the chain will not help the drivetrain run smoother and will actually attract dirt and dust.
9. Use a hitch-mount safe to keep your keys secure while riding
Keeping keys and other valuables in a hitchbox, which comes standard on many trucks and SUVs, prevents you not only from losing your keys but also from crashing on them if they were in your pocket.
10. Seek out flea markets and swap meets
Flea markets and swap meets are great places to pick up high-quality used tools. You can often find vintage tools “broken in” but made from the best materials.
11. Move your brake levers in for more control
The lever’s “hook” should line up with the tip of your index finger. This will give you more control and leverage on the brakes.
12. Don’t over-tighten your pedals
Despite what you might think, your pedals simply don’t need to be that tight. Pedals are specifically designed with a reverse thread on one side, which means they actually tighten themselves as you ride.
13. Remove the Presta valve caps
This may sound counterproductive, but the Presta valve caps do nothing. Schrader caps keep dirt from the spring-loaded mechanism, but we’ve never had this problem with Presta valves.
14. Use titanium bolts
Looking for a chic look to perfect your e-bike? Titanium bolts are expensive but a very cool way to shed weight and give your bike a custom look, especially for those with a trained eye.
15. Always run your bar end caps right-side up
Put simply, this approach and paying attention to the small details makes you look like you care about your bike.
16. Use friction paste
Friction paste is crucial to preventing a slipping seatpost, especially when using carbon or a dropper. Over-torquing can crack a carbon post or cause a dropper post to become sticky from clamping the mechanism. Stick to the recommended torque, and apply this miracle paste, which is essentially greased with grit to resist slipping or twisting.
17. Put your smartphone to work
You can use the level app on your smartphone to measure interesting angles like those of the head and seat tubes. Be sure your bike is on a level surface and that the case you’re using is flush to get an accurate number. This head angle measured 24 degrees from 90, which means this bike has a 66-degree head angle.
18. Run your front-wheel QR slightly forward
This approach is useful for achieving speedy wheel changes. It makes it easier to change wheels and remains out of the way, so it won’t snag on trail obstacles.
19. Store your e-bike upright against a wall
Storing your bike in an upright position helps to keep your fork seals lubricated. It allows the internal bath oil to travel up to the top of the fork, which means your seals will be properly lubed right out of the gate rather than waiting for the first few miles of a ride to cycle up there.
20. Always lean your bike by the rear wheel, not the handlebar
Propping your e-bike against another surface only to walk away and hear it crash to the floor is a mortifying experience. Leaning the rear wheel is the most stable way to prevent the bike from falling over.
Discover more e-bike tips in our guides to the top ten benefits of electric mountain bikes and how to choose an electric bike.
