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Ebike Care and Maintenance

Ebike Care and Maintenance

Proper care and regular maintenance will help make sure your Beach Bum or Beach Babe run well and last a long time. If these sorts of things are not done, the bike may not run as well as it could, and when you finally do need to bring it in for repair, it could be a hefty bill! The below sections will have the best recommendations on how to keep your Tower ebike rolling well over the years.

Storage

  • You should store your bike someplace cool and away from the elements or direct sunlight. Exposure to the elements can prematurely wear some of your components.
  • If storing your bike somewhere not temperature controlled, like a garage or shed, it is best to remove the battery and store it inside of your home.

Transportation

  • If you plan to use a bike rack to transport your bike on your vehicle, you should be careful about which rack you pick. It is not recommended to use any rear racks that simply strap to the car. You should use either a trailer hitch rack or a rack for a truck bed. We also usually recommend tray style racks as they have more support for the heavy ebike. While you can use hanging racks, pay extra close attention to the weight capacity as it is a lot of weight to hang from skinny support arms. When shopping for any rack, pay close attention to the weight capacity of the rack! Ebikes are heavier than traditional bikes and many bike racks are not designed to carry ebikes.
  • If laying your bike down in a vehicle, be sure to lay the bike down drivetrain side up. This will prevent any damage to the drive train parts like the derailleur.

Wheels/Tires

  • You should always make sure your tires are aired up to good pressure. The recommended pressure range for the Fat Frank tires on your Beach Bum or Beach Babe is 35 PSI - 60 PSI. If you do not stay on top of that tire pressure and ride with it too low, it makes you more prone to flat tires and will prematurely wear your tires down. While running your tire pressure lower may make things feel cushier, the tires will pick up punctures much more easily.
  • Pay attention to any loose spokes. Ebikes put a lot of extra torque on the wheels, so staying on top of the spokes is important. Routinely inspect the spokes and make sure none of them feel loose. If one or multiple feel loose or there are broken spokes, do not ride and repair immediately either yourself or at a local bike shop.

Drivetrain

  • Make sure your drivetrain is clean. A dirty drivetrain, on top of just not looking good, makes the bike run slowly and be less efficient. In addition to those, a dirty drivetrain wears the drivetrain parts down much faster. To properly clean your drivetrain, check out the How to Clean Your Drivetrain section.
  • Make sure your drivetrain is properly lubricated. This goes hand in hand with cleaning the drivetrain. After you have cleaned your drivetrain, you should lubricate your chain. However, do not just keep adding chain lube without cleaning your chain. You can add it a few times in between cleanings, but continued lubrication without cleaning will just add to the dirtiness of the drivetrain after a certain point.
  • Stay on top of your chain wear. As a chain wears, we say that it has stretched. Now, the chain itself has not really stretched, but more the space between the links has grown as the chain links have worn down. Running a chain that is overly stretched for too long will not perform well as the chain will slip in between gears constantly, but it will also prematurely wear down your cranks and cassette rings. But checking your chain stretch is very easy!

All you need is the proper tool. A chain checking tool simply slots into the link spacing of your chain and lets you know how stretched it has gotten. Typically at 0.5 stretch, you usually want to change your chain. At 0.75, you absolutely need to change your chain and may need to inspect your cassette and crank to make sure they are ok. Past 0.75, you need to change all three. For how to replace your chain, check our Chain Install section.

Here is a video walking through how to use a chain check to check your chain wear:





Electric System

  • The best practices for charging are to charge your bike as needed. Many people think that you should run down your battery before recharging it. However, research has shown that this is not the case. What research has found is that just topping off your battery as needed actually helps improve the lifespan of your battery in the long run. However, do not just leave your bike plugged in all the time! Once the bike has been fully charged (a green light on your charger), it is best to unplug and stop charging.
  • Never let your battery drop to “absolute zero” charge level. The Lithium Ion batteries that power your Tower electric bike need a residual charge in them in order to charge up and function properly. If you let your battery sit for too long and the battery drains to nothing, you may have trouble getting it to recharge.
  • Do not let your Tower ebike’s electrical system get wet. Electronics and water do not mix well, and your Tower ebike is no exception! The system is not water tight, so it is best to avoid riding through any sort of water. Salt Water is especially harmful, as the salt is conductive.
  • Always make sure your connections are firmly connected to each other. Ever so often, you should go over the bike and make sure all of the connections are still firm and fully slotted in. If a connection is not fully slotted in, you can have diminished functionality, can cause a short, or foreign substances can get in and cause a fault.

Basic Maintenance Services

There are several services that it is handy that you know how to regularly do that you will use to keep your bike running well and will be used in other more in depth services.

How to Remove The Rear Wheel/Motor

Removing the rear wheel on your Tower electric bike is a critical service that you should know how to do if you plan on servicing your own bike. You will have to remove it for any tire repairs, cassette swaps, spoke replacements, brake bleeds, or even easier storage.

Here is a video walking through the process:





How to Adjust Your Headset

The headset on your Tower ebike is the set of bearings and bearing retainers in the frame that allow the fork to rotate around freely. However, this headset does have to be properly set for the bike to feel right. If it is too tight, you will definitely notice it, as it makes the bike hard to turn. The headset being loose is a bit more subtle. If you feel like your bike has a strange click to it, if it feels rocky or loose, or if you can see the fork/steer tube wiggling, then the headset is loose. Continuous usage of a loose headset can prematurely wear out the headset bearings, but more importantly can cause damage to the frame which is not repairable. But adjusting your headset is very easy and requires minimal tools.

Here is a video walking through the process:





Applying Lube to Your Chain

Lubing your bike chain is a key aspect to help your bike run properly and help the parts last longer. Obviously the chain can operate without any lubrication, but it is much less smooth and efficient. Running a bike with a well lubed chain will feel much different from a bike without a lubed chain. Lubing your chain is also a quick and easy process that should be done periodically. There are many different styles of lube available on the market and which one works best for you will depend on where you live and ride. If you find yourself riding where it is really dry and dusty/sandy, a dry lube would probably work better for you. If you live where it is wet and rainy, a wet lube may work better.

Here is a video that walks through the process:







Everything DIY E-Bike Repairs

Homepage: eBike Repair Guide

eBike Repair Basics & Assembly

eBike Brake System Service Guide

eBike Drivetrain Service Guide

eBike Wheels & Tire Guide

eBike Electric Repair Guide

Miscellaneous eBike Service Guide