No matter how robustly your bike is constructed – without the right care, even the sturdiest bike will, eventually, suffer from signs of wear and mechanical aging. But how to clean eBikes properly?
The combination of a classic bike and electrical parts such as the battery and display often leads to excessive caution when it comes to eBike maintenance. The fear of damaging one of the precious parts or making mistakes is too great. However, there is actually not much you can do wrong when washing or cleaning your e-bike. We provide you with a few basic instructions.
We’ll show you what to look out for and how you can even clean your e-bike safely with a water hose.
How to Wash an eBike With the Right Tools
Specific cleaning products, usually marketed at very “special” prices, are primarily one thing when cleaning an e-bike: unnecessary.
This is because you often already have the most important tools for optimum eBike maintenance and care in your basement or garage. All you need is a few clean brushes and cloths and a bucket of water. You can also use chain oil and chain cleaner from time to time.
A water hose or a mounting stand will make cleaning easier, but are not absolutely necessary. You only need a little space to easily reach all parts of the bike.
If you are unsure about how to clean eBikes in individual steps, you should consult the manufacturer’s manual.
How to Clean Ebikes Optimally – Five Steps to a Clean Bike
Basically, the following steps can be used to clean any type of bike. However, individual steps may differ, for example if the battery is permanently installed in the bike or your bike has a belt drive instead of a chain drive. You can therefore simply ignore these steps.
Step 1: Pre-wash
How to wash an eBike? It basically works similarly to a car. Ideally, you should use a low-pressure water hose or play it safe with a bucket of water and a cloth.
Work your way carefully from top to bottom so that the dirt can run off. You should avoid sensitive areas such as contacts and connections as much as possible.
If the battery is removable, you should also wipe it with a damp cloth and then allow it to dry sufficiently before reinserting it.
Step 2: Shampooing
This may automatically sound like a beauty routine for your hair, but it also keeps your e-bike in good shape. You don’t necessarily need a special bike cleaner for this, but can use water mixed with a mild detergent.
Spread the latter generously over your e-bike, again avoiding extremely sensitive areas. Leave the cleaner to work for a few minutes and then clean gently with a cloth, sponge, or brush. The bike should then be rinsed again with water.
Step 3: Chain Cleaning
The chain doesn’t have to be part of every single bike cleaning, but you should definitely include it in your bike care routine from time to time.
Ideally, you should use a narrow brush and a conventional cleaning agent to clean the chain and gradually remove the dirt between the individual chain links. You can also use a degreaser to remove old oil residue.
Then simply rinse the chain with water. Don’t forget: You must oil it afterward.
Step 4: Drying
Fortunately, you don’t have to use a standard hairdryer to dry your e-bike immediately after cleaning – patience and a dry cloth are all you need.
First, move your bike a little so that any residual water can roll off onto the ground. Then rub the individual components dry with the cloth. This not only prevents damage caused by residual water later on, but also unsightly water stains.
The electrical parts such as the display or battery should only be replaced once all the components of your bike have dried.
What to Avoid at All Costs When Cleaning Your eBike
Now you know how to clean eBikes reliably and safely by using the previous steps. After all, cleaning is intended to maintain and not damage. You should therefore avoid cleaning your e-bike with a high-pressure cleaner at all costs.
Its power may be tempting and promise extremely effective cleaning results, but the water jet is far too strong and can cause lasting damage to parts of the bike. The electronics, suspension fork and chain are particularly sensitive – and crucial if you want to enjoy your bike for longer.
Moreover, make sure that you only use care products that are suitable for use on e-bikes. They should not be too aggressive or degreasing. Otherwise, they may attack plastic or seals and limit the functionality of your bike.
FAQ
How often do you need to wash an e-bike?
This mainly depends on your usage behavior. Regular forest stages and rides on muddy terrain put much more strain on the cleanliness of your bike than pure city traffic. In the first case, you should clean the bike immediately afterward, or else it is usually sufficient to clean your bike completely every 1 to 2 months.
What should you consider after cleaning?
Once you have cleaned and dried your e-bike, you should first check that all parts are working properly. In particular, check the electronics, brakes, and gears.
What do you need to consider with your brakes?
How to clean eBike brakes: In general, you need to check your brakes regularly for wear and replace worn brake pads. After cleaning your e-bike, you should also check whether there are any residues of cleaning agents or dirt left behind. In this way, you can ensure that the brakes remain fully functional.
Are there alternatives to handwashing?
If you’d like to know how to wash an eBike without having to do much for it, there are now special bike wash systems. In most cases, they are suitable for e-bikes and make cleaning much easier – but there is a charge for this.
Conclusion
We take care of numerous things in our everyday lives. Our hair, the household, or simply friendships. You also need a similar routine for your eBike maintenance and care to ensure that you can enjoy unrestricted riding pleasure in the long term.
How to clean ebikes properly? It is basically no more complicated than washing a conventional bike. You just need to remove sensitive parts in advance (if possible), use suitable cleaning agents and be reasonably careful. Otherwise, the actual work steps are almost identical.
With e-bikes from Ampler, you have decisive advantages when it comes to eBike maintenance. Models such as the sporty Curt have an integrated battery and a permanently installed display – so you don’t have to worry about water getting in, and you don’t have to remove the parts before every cleaning.
In addition, all frame concepts are kept particularly clean and therefore offer easy access to all relevant bike parts, making it super easy to clean your e-bike.