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Ebike Care & Maintenance

With some basic care and regular charging, your ebike will ride trouble free for miles and miles of fun. 


A clean bike is a happy bike.

Like all bikes, your ebike should be cleaned regularly. These bikes require more caution to avoid soaking computers – so a bucket and sponge is best, avoid using pressurized water such as a garden hose jet setting or pressure washer. 

You should clean all dirt off the ebike and then wipe it down with a dry cloth. Check that the battery contacts are clean and dry to prevent corrosion. Finally lube the entire chain, removing any excess. At Mike’s Bike Shop we carry ebike-specific cleaning agent and lubrication product from Finish Line. 

Tire pressure makes a difference.

You should also regularly check your ebike’s tire pressures. Under-inflated tires are not only potentially dangerous, but they can also waste power and reduce efficiency. Equally, running tyres at too high a pressure can compromise comfort and grip, especially if you’re riding off-road. As a starting point, keep your tires inflated to within the recommended pressures indicated on the tire’s sidewall but experiment to find the ideal pressure for you, balancing weight, comfort, grip and rolling resistance.

Safety first. 

Regularly safety check your bike to ensure that all bolts and axles are tightened but not over-tightened, check your tires for anything that might cause a puncture and test for any loose spokes. Watch out for excessive wear, too. If one part wears out, such as the chain, it can have a domino effect on other components – causing premature wear to the chainrings and the cassette. 

The details for charging are important. .

Best practice to avoid a power surge to the bike is to plug the charger into the wall and then into the bike. 

While some battery chargers may seem compatible with several bikes, you should only use the charger specific to yours. Batteries don’t always charge in the same way, so using an incorrect charger could damage your ebike battery.

Ebikes need software and app updates too. 

Most ebike system manufacturers release software and app updates: these firmware updates might help boost torque, extend battery life or provide other useful upgrades. Some firmware updates will be available through connected apps or by visiting the manufacturer’s website. Or stop by the Shop for regular servicing of your bike and we’ll be sure to check for and download all updates. 

Storing your bike and battery.

Electrical devices and components are very sensitive to extreme temperatures. 

Your ebike battery should be stored in a totally dry area, away from combustible material at a temperature of between 0°C and 20°C. Manufacturers agree that the optimum storage temperature is a constant 10°C as the decomposition reactions slow, reducing the battery aging rate. Check the charge level on a monthly basis and make sure that the percentage does not drop under 60% capacity. This will help extend your battery's life.

Lithium ion batteries should never be stored with their charge level completely depleted, as doing so means that they might be unrecoverable after storage.

Let us take out the guesswork. 

If you have a Giant ebike or a Bosch battery our Service department can use their Battery Capacity Tester & Diagnostic Tools to set the battery charge at the optimum storage level. Every bike battery is different; if you're not able to bring your batteries to us, we recommend you refer to the owner’s manual available on the manufacturer’s web site. 

What to do in the spring?

It’s recommended that you perform a full charging cycle once you take your battery out of hibernation. 

It’s also important after winter storage you get your bike ready for the riding season. The best and most convenient way to do this is to bring it into our Shop for a tune-up. We’ll do any necessary software updates, go over all the bike’s components plus check brakes and gear cables, brake pads, lubrication, and shifting to ensure you have a safe and smooth ride when you’re back in the saddle. 

We’re here to help. Stop by the Shop any time to discuss any details of your new ebike.

Access our ebike manufacturers' user manuals:


Trek Ebike User Manual

Giant Ebike User Manual

Rocky Mountain Ebike User Manual

Orbea Ebike User Manual

Opus Ebike User Manual