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If you’re someone who enjoys cycling all year round, and you recently invested in an electric bike, then you may be wondering if there’s anything, in particular, you should concern yourself with when riding your ebike in the winter.
The truth is many of the same ‘rules’ apply as riding a standard pushbike, but there are a few extra things you should consider when it comes to riding electric. Before we start it’s worth mentioning that if you do ride all year round, it’s worth researching the best e-bike for winter when making your initial purchase.
In this article, we’re offering our top tips for riding your ebike in winter.
1. Safety First
As always, considering safety should be everyone’s first priority. In colder months roads can be wet or even icey and lets not forget that the sun tends to disappear much earlier, making the roads much darker.
To ensure the safety of both you and others on the road, it’s essential that you kit your bike out to ensure you remain visible to others. The most important items on your checklist should be lights and reflectors.
Don’t forget Mudguards
You’ll also find that during these months riders will also be tackling mud and snow, so be sure to fit mudguards to protect your brakes and batteries.
2. Keeping Warm
Next up on the list is keeping warm and protecting yourself from the elements. The best way of doing this is by dressing appropriately and wearing some quality winter riding gear.
When wrapping up be sure to go for waterproof and windproof items. We also highly suggest protecting those digits with some gloves. There’s nothing worse than riding with numb fingers!
3. Clean & Maintain
As we previously mentioned, riding in winter brings many challenges including rain, mud, snow, and ice. Much of this can build up in your bike’s tyres, brakes etc. So keeping it clean is essential. This will not only make riding your e-bike safer but it will also prolong the life of your bike.
It’s also important to remember that roads are often covered in grit and salt to prevent freezing, and this can cause long-term erosion if it’s not cleaned away.
Keep it Covered
Another thing to consider when riding your ebike in winter is where you leave your bike at night. If you lock your bike up outside, then be sure to keep it covered. Either store your bike in a shed or grab yourself a waterproof bike cover to keep it protected while it’s stationary.
4. Battery Care
Best practice when charging your e-bike battery is to do so when the battery is at room temperature.
Charging your battery while it’s cold can cause it to charge much slower and can shorten the life of your battery. When riding your ebike in winter, your battery can freeze up due to the cold and pushing an electric current into the frozen battery can kill it.
Be sure to bring your battery indoors and let it warm up before plugging it in and you can rest assured that no damage is caused.
5. Tyre Check
This one goes hand in hand with safety. In order for your electric bike to perform under cold conditions, it is important that you do a thorough check of your tyres.
During the winter months you’ll find that roads are usually wet and there is often more debris on the road. Therefore we would recommend getting puncture-resistant tyres fitted.
Check the Tread
Check that there is a good amount of tread on your tyres and double-check that tyre pressure is optimal.
Ride Your eBike in Winter with Caution
The best tip we can give for riding an ebike in winter is to ride with caution and be prepared for every eventuality. Slow down and ride with care.
It’s easy to get carried away when riding an electric bike, especially one with decent throttle, but during winter, roads are darker, wet and often much busier so please be careful out there!
