Just hit the 3 month mark with my t1 pro and decided to send it in for its first maintenance. The OBD system didn’t flag anything alarming but I figured it was time for a general tune up anyway. Honestly, I’m still learning the basics. I’ve been good about locking it up properly and charging the battery when required but that’s about it. I only just learned you should oil your chain after riding on wet days….didn’t realize how important that was.
I’ve clocked just over 1200 miles so far. The bike still feels pretty new and smooth, tires still have plenty of tread. The shop guy warned me that I’d probably need to change the chain around 1,500 miles but it still seems fine. Makes me wonder if I’m missing something I should be checking on more regularly. I ride about 75–80 miles a week, mostly school drop offs and grocery runs plus a few weekend trips. Can you recommend some beginner level friendly maintenance practices for my e-cargo bike especially as we head into winter? How often do you take your e-cargo bike for maintenance?
3 months on my e-cargo bike, just dropped it off for its first maintenance
byu/Certain-Highlight949 inbikewrench
by Certain-Highlight949
3 Comments
Chain wear is not something you can see visually. You can measure it with a chain checker tool.
If you wait too long, the chain will stretch as it wears and destroy the cassette and chainrings, and then you’re looking at big dollars. Chains are cheap.
These heavy cargo bikes go through chains REALLY fast. So 1500-2000 miles isn’t unheard of. Best thing you can do for the chain to extend the life is clean it before adding more lubricant. If you just add more lube the dirt and grime starts to act like sand paper wearing the chain out prematurely. And you definitely want to replace the chain once it’s worn or it will wear out the rest of the drive train much faster.
As far as regular trips to the bike shop I usually like to recommend two services a year for bikes that are used regularly year round. One minor cleaning service and one full teardown a year will go really far! If you do some regular cleaning on your own (especially after wet rides) you can avoid bringing the bike in for a minor service and just do one tuneup a year.
There’s a lot of good information on the park tools YouTube channel about basic maintenance and cleaning. Can’t recommend them enough!!
can you play fortnite on that screen?