E-Mountain Bike Maintenance guide: Part 2 Service Schedules
This is part 2 of a 3-part blog post with the purpose of introducing new E-Mountain Bikers to the necessary service procedures to keep their bikes running safe and smooth.
In episode 1, we went over a few pre and post-ride rituals that will help avoid incidents and improve the longevity of your electric mountain bike. In this post, we will be diving deeper into maintenance after longer periods of riding. Staying on top of regular service intervals of the different components of your bike will also help avoid costly repairs, extending the life of wear parts like chains, cassettes, chainrings, headset bearings, brake rotors and other components. These procedures may require more mechanical knowledge and specialty tools, however, more experienced home mechanics may still be able to perform some of these tasks at home.
Every 3 months or 500 km of riding:
Replacing the chain and inspecting the wear of other drivetrain parts.
Measuring brake pad and rotor thickness, to ensure parts are still within the manufacturer’s specs.
Topping up the tire sealant and inspecting rubber for wear or cracks.
Replacing the rear derailleur cable to ensure smooth shifting.
Inspecting suspension seals for leaks or wear.
Every 6 months or every 1000 km of riding.
Doing a full brake bleed and fluid flush on both brakes.
Performing a 50h fork, shock and seatpost service.
Updating the firmware of the bike.
Replacing shifting and seatpost inner cables and outer housing.
Re-greasing the headset assembly.
Truing and tensioning the wheels, inspecting tires and topping up sealant.
Once a year or every 1500-2000 km of riding.
Sending out the suspension parts to the manufacturer for a 200h rebuild.
Servicing or replacing the hub and headset bearings.
Replacing the frame pivot bearings.
Servicing the rear derailleur clutch (if applicable).
An important concept to note is that, in most cases, certain maintenance procedures are best performed when replacing wear parts. For example, it is best practice to replace brake pads (and in some cases rotors) when performing a brake bleed. Therefore, the timelines for maintenance may vary depending on riding habits and durability of the parts, however, the previously presented schedule should give riders a broad idea of how often components will need attention.
