Once your E-bike is dirty, you may feel it needs a quick wash. We will discuss how to clean your E-bike and how frequently throughout this article.

It is absolutely a good practice to keep your e-bike clean and polished. Additionally, the battery’s chamber collects dirt and other materials that gradually harm the battery’s function.

Maintaining the condition of your e-bike ensures the lifespan of the E-bike and its components. You only need a little bit of time, space, patience, your favorite music, and some cleaning tools to wash it properly.

If you allow your E-bike to have dirt accumulated in the brakes or the battery compartment, it will result in major accidents. Finally, it contributes to your safety.

How frequently should you clean the E-Bike?

Two common questions raised by the e-bike owners on how to clean an electric bike and how often an e-bike has to be cleaned depending on usage. The owner can find the answer to this considering the following points.

• How regularly do you employ the E-bike? If you are riding daily, then you’ll probably want to clean once a week.
• You only need to clean your e-bike once a month if you only use it on the weekends.
• Weather – If it is summer or rain, in both conditions your E-bike will be dirty.
• Condition of the trail – Whether you are riding long distances and uphill or on regular trails for a shorter period to commute. 

The answers you find on the above points will suggest to you how often you have to undertake general cleaning and maintenance. If you could undertake cleaning and maintenance under a schedule, it will lead ensure better performance of the E-bike.

We suggest you wipe down the E-bike regularly after each ride. Then, you may prevent dirt, and increase the lifespan of the e-bike, and components. It will also make your periodical servicing or cleaning easier.

Every weekend cleaning an electric bike will be boring, But there is a list of advantages for you and the E-bike. 

It will be the best decision to avoid cleaning your bike right away, especially if your trail is muddy or rainy. You’re better off waiting for the e-bike and the dirt to dry before cleaning your e-bike even if you might want to clean the dirt off it as soon as you arrive home. Yes, it does seem a little different from the normal washing and cleaning advice, let dirty water or mud dry and make it simpler to remove.

Cautions before cleaning the E-bike

• You can leave the battery in while you are cleaning the E-bike. The use of a little mild soap will not make any impact on the performance of the battery.  
• Make sure that you have enough room to move around it.  
• Then, you should make sure everything is secured while all parts are well positioned, especially the drivetrain and batteries.
• You are not required to use soap for cleaning. However, if you use soap, do not use detergent with high soap quality. You may dilute dish soap in water. Make sure soap isn’t a strong cleaner.
• You will need a sponge or rag to clean the frame, and a soft-bristled brush to clean the tires. When choosing between a sponge and a rag for cleaning, the rag is considerably nimbler.  
• After you have finished wiping down your e-bike, you will need to apply some chain lubricant to help prevent corrosion.
• We do not recommend you use high-pressure water jets. Using a pressure washer at full force can lead to part damage or cause havoc on your bike’s functioning.
• Additionally, most vehicle soaps include wax that is inappropriate for E-bikes. You should not use specialty car cleaners or soaps on an E-bike.

• Avoid cleaning your e-bike on its side.

If you tip your bike upside down to do maintenance, the handlebars, seat, display, brake, and gear levers will all immediately start to show signs of wear and tear. Many electric bikes incorporate drainage holes in the battery and motor housing. Keep the E-bike in a normal stand to drain water naturally. Therefore, turning it upside down to clean it will only result in water filling the bike. Further, your E-bike will scratch if you turn it upside down. 

• Read the guidelines.

Your E-bike will come with a user manual. This manual provides more instructions on cleaning your E-bike. Therefore, it is important to go through those cautions and instructions in advance even though most manufacturers advise removing the battery before washing. If you are still unsure, it’s preferable to take the batteries out. Cover permanently fixed displays like Purion or remote controls for e-bike systems with a cloth or film.

• Keeping your distance from the brake disks

E-bike comes with relatively high-power disk brakes. This component is very likely to get dirt. Break systems get dirt because of the oily substance of it such as brake fluid and chain lube.

You may notice that when you pull on the lever and hear a loud screaming sound coming from the brakes. This will also reduce the performance of the braking system. When you use a heavy touch on the brakes, it may not even be enough to slow down the E-bike. If it does not work properly, it will secure for you and the bike which might have deadly results. Thus, when your brakes are dirty, you will experience one or both of these symptoms.

You should be more cautious while applying any aerosol-type lubrication on your bike. Further, damaged brake pads are less recoverable when they got dirty. The only method to fix this is to replace the pads. However, there is some instance in which you can fix it with a professional mechanic. Therefore, get the advice of an E-bike mechanic to recover the Break system. 

• Always completely dry your e-bike before storing it in a closed area.

If you do not wipe off wipe or soap liquid after a wash, electrical parts might get harmed. Shake off extra water by giving the bike a couple of quick bounces on the ground. Wipe off the bicycle with a microfiber towel or another extremely absorbent material such as bolts or electrical connections. Remove the battery and check that all connection ports are dry with a clean, dry microfiber towel after cleaning and drying your e-bike.

• Never store an electric bicycle outside. 

Leaving your E-bike outside in the weather for an extended amount of time might harm it. We suggest you not store your bike in a moist garage or basement, it will result to rust your E-bike. Please also put extra consideration into keeping your E-bike in a climate-controlled space if you live in a humid area.

• Don’t remove too much grease!

Make sure that you do not leave no-grease around the E-Bike engine and/or casing when cleaning the chain. 

If you remove more grease when washing, I will danger of losing more grease, especially near the motor region or drive bearings.

The same caution is valid for the hubs, suspension pivot bearings, and headset of an electric bicycle.

• Check the cleanliness of the E-bike periodically

Check how clean your e-bike is in every weekend. Regularly inspect the chain and lube it as needed. Make sure that those components will not completely dry.

Material required to clean the E-bike

Before starting the cleaning procedure, we suggest you keep the following material near you.

• Water
• Hose
• Two buckets
• Soap or bike cleaner
• Sponge and brushes
• Chain lube
• Disc Brake cleaner
• Lithium Lubricant
• E-bike’s user manual
• Poly-film

The procedure of cleaning

First and foremost, you may use a stand to keep the E-bike properly. If your E-bike does not have a stand, you should keep your electric bike against a wall or a fence. Then, you should make sure that you have enough space to move around it. If keeping the kickstand down works best for you, you may also do that. You should do this outside where you may make a better mess.

You can use two buckets. One bucket has to fill with mildly soapy water for cleaning and another with plain water for rinsing. If you are using a garden hose, make sure to adjust the lower volume and pressure as the shower or sprinkle set. We suggest you lube at the rear wheels to avoid access and build-up at the motor end.

Once you finish washing and wiping off the water, apply some chain lubricant to prevent corrosion on the E-bike chain.

Some parts & components should not expose to washing or cleaning with water

Since an e-bike contains sensitive equipment, it is first necessary to examine what should not clean with water. The best method is to wipe down e-bike accessories with a dry towel. However, if you are cleaning water, we suggest you avoid the following areas to get soap or water.

• The wheel bearing (Center of the wheel)
• The hub bearing (Pedals connect through the frame)
• Headphone bearing
• Seat back (where the seat connects to the frame)
• The braking discs and brake pads
• Gears and chains

Clean your E-bike rather than washing

We suggest you use a wet wipe and a brush for cleaning the E-bike. We suggest the below procedure for cleaning your E-bike step by step.

Step 01

• The rims and tires of your bicycles get dirty fast since these components are the closest to the surfaces ride on. We suggest you clean them using a brush. We suggest you be extra vigilant to keep the hub bearing, brake pads, and rotors undamaged. Subsequently, you can clean the pedals at this location.

Step 02

• Then, clean the e-frame bike with a wet cloth or sponge. Make sure you clean the underside of the frame because this place will get easier. Here, you should ensure that some components such as the seat post, headset bearing, and bottom bracket will avoid wiping down.

Step 03.

• You should rinse off all the mild soap and water after cleaning your e-bike. You may use a wet cloth or a garden hose with a gentle sprinkler.

• Once you clean, use a dry towel to wipe the bike dry after cleaning the nasty, soapy residue off of it.

Step 04.

• Check the individual item one by one whether those are not wet and cleaned items such as seat post, headset bearing, and rims last since they can still have some dirt clinging to them that your dry rag will remove. It is the most important practice to make sure that those components are dry.

Step 05.

• After cleaning the bike with a cloth, you should lubricate the chain to keep it from rusting. This will ensure that you have to run your chain through a dry. Therefore, wipe it with a dry towel to manage no water get on it. 

Step 06.

• Spray some lithium grease into all the moving parts after wiping off any extra water. Use a dry cloth to block the spray point. Spraying some lithium grease onto the towel and using it to wipe over the bike. In addition to deterring water and cleaning surfaces, it ensures a beautiful finish and a protective coating.

• Then, slowly and steadily apply lubricants on the chain and inside of the chain while turning the gears until the entire chain is covered. If you are riding in dry weather, you should use dry chain lube. When riding in wet conditions, you should use wet chain lube.

Step 07

• Remove the battery. Then, clean the connections on the battery and the bottom of the battery using a dry cloth. 
• Although these components of your e-bike should be clean. You must avoid using any water on these areas of your e-bike.

Step 08/ Last step

• Pre-ride test – we suggest you ride a shorter distance to notice the issues with the E-bike, once you complete a wash. It is merely to be more confident about the condition of your E-bike. 

Conclusion

Once you complete this article, you will thoroughly understand the components of the E-bike and its function. We advise you to remove the battery from the e-bike before washing it. Then, you may decide how to clean those components. Further, clean the compartment with a dry towel afterward. We have described general instructions to clean an E-bike. You can keep it clean, polish it, and expand its long life with proper servicing. However, it is up to you to decide how to clean your E-bike.  

If you do not need to use a lot of grease to clean your e-bike, you should think about cleaning it more frequently. Then the cleaning procedure will make simpler.

If you experience any difficulty after cleaning the E-bike, contact your E-bike mechanic rather you fix them on your own. Because you need professional support.

Never take off plastic coverings since doing so might harm the internals and void warranties. 

Some E-bikes manufacturers offer onboard diagnostics that will assist skilled mechanics with any problems. Sometimes all that has to turn the E-bike on and off.

If you properly maintain your E-bike, it should not need more maintenance than a regular bike. If you leave every six months without cleaning or inspecting the chain on your electric bicycle. You may have ignored your responsibility as a rider. Even though you do not ride the e-bike regularly, you would keep it clean and performs well.