“How do you handle eBike maintenance if you’re not super handy?

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stephenmakesart@reddit

I do assembly work. I use tools every day. I take my bike to the bike shop. I don't have the specialized tools or an repair stand. I also lack the knowledge and I'm not gonna YouTube it. Take it to your local bike shop.

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wturber@reddit

The OP specifically asking how to avoid taking the bike to the shop. Everybody has personal preferences. Explaining your preferences does not assist the OP.

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stephenmakesart@reddit

I guess he should be ready to be disappointed when he is stranded in the back country with a bike that won't work.

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wturber@reddit

And no understanding of how to fix it since he's been relying on someone else to do that work.

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PhobosMortum@reddit

I've been taking mine to a bike shop for little over three years now. I don't have time to do any of that shit and would rather a pro work on it and get it right the first time.

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sshoihet@reddit

I don't have time to go to a bike shop it's way faster to work on things at home 😆

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wturber@reddit

I have the time and the money. Just not the inclination. Bikes to me have always been about being largely self-sufficient and independent. I enjoy working on bikes.

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wturber@reddit

That someone is a "pro" is far from a guarantee. They don't always get it right the first time either. "Pros" disappoint me fairly regularly.

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wturber@reddit

YouTube videos and practice. None of it is that complex. That's part of the beauty of a bicycle.

The electrical part adds complexity, but even then it really isn't that tough.

I learned how to wrench on my bike when I was a kid becuz I loved my bike and I had little to no money to spend on it.

One way to feel confident about maintaining your ebike is to build your own starting with a basic bike that you purchase used, take apart, clean, grease and reassemble.

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Laserdollarz@reddit

I learned how to.

Park Tool has an excellent YouTube channel that teach you everything you need to know about repairing and maintaining bikes (and a bit you didn't need to know).

When I face a new issue, I literally google "Park Tool YouTube [issue]".

Hasn't let me down, yet. I buy their tools as a thank you when the price makes sense lol.

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Rud1st@reddit

Calvin Jones is a boss

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Tweetle_cock@reddit

Stick to the easy stuff like tire pressure and chain lube, and just schedule annual check-ups with your local eBike shop for the fiddly motor/brake stuff and those tricky software updates.

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Bikermec@reddit

Either learn from YouTube or buy premium brand and have it serviced by a bike shop.

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Rattlingplates@reddit

You really don’t have to do much. Out of 10,000 miles on my e bike I just oiled the chain and other moving parts once a month. Had the bike shop change the pads twice changed tires once and tubes twice. Paid a shop $50 a tire/tube. Just keep it out of water if you can keep it clean and oiled.

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Troubleindc2@reddit

Find a mechanic who will walk you through basic maintenance.

If youre in the DC area and are looking for this, DM me.

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maxs507@reddit

I go to the Rockville Bike Hub pretty regularly and have learned so much about bike repair from them! (They won’t touch the electronics of my e-bike, which is totally fair.) Now I know how to replace and adjust the brakes (pads and rotors), replace a tire and tube, do a derailleur adjustment, swap out the pedals, and change out the parts on my drivetrain.

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Troubleindc2@reddit

That is great. Others in r/bikedc post clinics as well.

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JeremyFromKenosha@reddit

Believe it or not, there is not much maintenance. • Check tire pressure • Check chain wear • Clean and lube chain & sprockets

^ That’s 90% of it. You can learn it on YouTube.

Changing brake pads will eventually need to be done. It’s not hard either. Learn on YouTube or watch your bike tech do it the first time. Software updates are for higher end e-bikes, but your app should walk you through it.

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InvestigatorSenior@reddit

I never liked nor was good with crafts but having my first ebike I quickly discovered that I like to tinker with it. And since we live in wonderful times of youtube picking up such skill is not that hard.

Year later I do all maintenance myself and local Bosch mechanic I need to visit to keep warranty going laugh that I never give him anything to do.

I have one last skill I wan to learn - building my own wheels from scratch. Rims have just arrived, rest of the parts will be here soon. Wish me luck.

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BWWFC@reddit

got an ebike but NOT handy you say... hopfully the LBS you got it from, or start enduring yourself to one or somebody who can. ffs, wtf do you do if your car has an oil change due or problem? learn or pay ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Jbikecommuter@reddit

Find your local bike shop and a good mechanic. Often cities will have a DIY bike shop as well so you can learn. Never mess with the battery or electronics

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swiggyu@reddit

Watch alot of a youtube videos thats what I did. It's good to learn how your bike works for longevity and safety. So happy that I took the time to buy the proper tools to fix my own bike. Saved alot of money and time going to the bike shop. But the learning process is going to take a while but it's totally worth in the long run. If you have no interest or time to do it, then just go to the bike shop.

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alistair1537@reddit

You start learning and gathering tools.

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Fair-Discipline-1005@reddit

I'm handy, but YouTube is a big help...👍

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eurephys@reddit

Learn. Whenever you take yours to the shop, always ask how. If they're a shop worth their salt, they'll tell you how and sell you the equipment.

It's easier to deal with a client who knows what they're doing than one that asks for the full service not knowing what that means.

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Choosemyusername@reddit

There is only one way to get handy. And that is be not handy and get busy doing stuff and looking up what you don’t know along the way.

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davpad12@reddit

I've had three e-bikes and never had to do anything with the electronics. It's only been the garden variety bicycle flats and shifter issues that a local bike shop handles for me along with the occasional seat and handlebar swaps. I can do things myself, I just don't want to. There's something to be said for letting pros do what they do.

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eigenvectrice@reddit

most of your bike

Just read a book or watch yt videos. It's not that hard. But you need to be proactive:

Ignoring cleaning & lubing your chain makes that €70 chain die prematurely. Ignoring changing chain makes €700 cassette die prematurely. And that you cannot ignore.
Tightening that screw before it falls out, you can do in 20 seconds. After it has fallen out, there's a chance some super expensive component will break as a result, and if not, it is a nightmare to get that exact screw, and it will be part of a indivisible €100 set of crap.

suspension elements

Keep them clean and apply some super light oil, but do not maintain yourself. It's super fiddly, requires ridiculously expensive tools & consumables

Software updates & reading out error codes: Here you can truly wait until it breaks, and then let a shop handle it. No urgency.

There used to be pirate copies of the Bosch software flying around, and also the software was written in java, so you could de-dongle it youself if you knew what you were doing, but the new software phones home, and has logic on the bike, so I wouldn't risk it.

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BigRock4389@reddit

Your freidn is youtube (tutorials) and chat GPT.. I learned from scratch to make e-bikes.. I am PRO now :D
So, maintenance is not problem for me..

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funcentric@reddit

For mechanical maintenance common with every other bicycle, Park Tools is your resource. They've been around forever. They sell tools and make videos on how to use them. I've used them for decades. Don't ask mechanical questions in an ebike group. Ebike guys are generally new. The people experienced are tired of repeating themselves which means the people left over to talk are usually the new people who are genuinely excited but often don't have a ton of experience. Just passing hearsay.

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jolard@reddit

I have had my ebike for a year, and just had to replace the brakes. I am NOT a handy guy, but I watched youtube videos, ran to the hardware store for a tool I didn't have, and then followed the instructions online. It wasn't too bad.

I haven't done anything else other than oiling my chain, but I am just hoping any other issue will be able to be solved in a similar fashion.

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JJISIS666@reddit

Park Tool YouTube videos. They have really good tutorials and good camera angles so you always know what you're looking at.

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chuckwolf@reddit

Most ebike maintenance is exactly the same as what we did as kids on our regular bicycles. Changing the occasional tire, changing brake pads etc. It's rare that anything involving the actual electronics of the bike fails and if it does you simply replace the failed part with a new one

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Ultimate_Driving@reddit

If you can learn to do other things, you can learn to use tools and do maintenance. There are videos that tell you how to do anything you want to learn to do.

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mperham@reddit

buy a bike which is designed to be low maintenance: belt drive, internal gears. buy a bike which is supported by your local bike dealer. A $100 annual tuneup is cheap insurance. YouTube videos can teach you a lot.

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arenablanca@reddit

Watch a YouTube clip for your brake pads. If you ride often enough those will need replacing maybe a couple times a year. I find the rest of it lasts so long I’m fine going into a shop to have it done. I could probably learn but not really interested.

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ralphiooo0@reddit

How do you know when they are close to needing to be replaced ?

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arenablanca@reddit

I can feel if I’ve let them go too long… kinda feels scratchy, instead of smooth and grippy.

Visually you can look but it really helps to take them apart at least once so you know what you’re looking at (it’s a tiny confined dirty space full of layers of material).

For yrs I didn’t do it as it just seemed like too much work. Then Covid hit and getting anything done was a huge long hassle. Turns out it’s pretty easy. And I dislike most mechanical stuff.

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Little_Category_8593@reddit

Well you have three options: - wait till it breaks then buy a new one - wait till it breaks then post on reddit - wait till it breaks then give up

take your pick

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Jackalope154@reddit

Go to your LBS. They need the money and you need to be safe. Please trust me when I say a LOT of home mechanics have more confidence than skill.

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hezuschristos@reddit

Other than finding a friend who wants to fix it for you for cheap/free you have two options. Bike shop or YouTube

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Specialist_Ad7798@reddit

I'm like you. Terrible with tools. My local bike shop handles things for me. Usually just a tune up in the spring or whenever I notice shifting/breaking isn't as smooth as normal.

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Asleep-Specialist892@reddit

Never maintained a bike myself until I got an ebike last June.
Now I have enough bike related tools (duplicates and triplicates in some cases) and enough spare parts that I could replace every component on my bike twice over, and still have spare parts.

Learning to repair, maintain, and how to fix things I break has all been part of the process for me.

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Laserdollarz@reddit

I like turning wrenches, so ebike work became a fun (sometimes) thing to do and learn new things.

Less dire consequences than working on a car, too. My dad was a mechanic and taught me nothing lmao.

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blakeley@reddit

I have a guy come out to work on my bike, totally worth it for the time saved.

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Due-Librarian-6165@reddit

By learning to be handy. Unless you want to pay a shop to replace a chain or change brake pads.