Nov 30, 2022
9 THINGS YOU SHOULD HAVE IN YOUR E-BIKE REPAIR KIT
Cycling is fun for some people, exercise for many, and a profession for several young enthusiasts. From childhood to adulthood to older people, cycling has various interests depending upon the age group. Irrespective of the activity that interests people, cyclists one time or the other, have to face some kind of repair issue with the e-bike. The question that all these people often think about is what steps they can take to make their journey or tour a peaceful and steady one.
Fixing a bike is not rocket science, but it requires knowledge of what tools to use for various problems. Similarly, knowledge of the functions of various parts of the bike also serves well when repairing the e-bike. In this article, we shall shed some light on some of the most important and carefully curated tools that you must keep in your tool kits to stay ready for a rainy day. Although we do not discuss the brand or quality of the tool, it’s a good idea to keep an eye out for the knockoffs.
There are various parts of the bike joined together with various types of nuts and bolts. The nut and bolts are used at various key parts of the bike such as the sprocket, seat, handle, and front and back tires. There can be various occasions where you might need to lose or tighten one of these bolts and an adjustable wrench is what you would need to do that. The tool has an adjustable jaw which closes or widens as you move the worm screw at the front end of the tool.
Although dedicated tools should be used for various nuts and bolts of various parts, an Adjustable Wrench is what saves the day for most of the bolts used in the bike. Typical scenarios where you might need to use an Adjustable Wrench are fixing the gear chain to lose it if it is stuck or tightening it if it is making too much noise or when it gets off altogether, adjusting the height of the seat according to your needed posture, or align the wiggly wobbly tire during or after the tour.
Although most bike repairs require some usage of an adjustable wrench, a multi-tool can aid in a lot of additional repairs when your e-bike breaks down. Not only that this tool can be used as a replacement for various other tools, but its handy and cost-effective nature also makes it a must to have tool in the repair kit. This tool can be used as a replacement tool for pliers, and screwdrivers and includes a razor-sharp, thick blade that can be used to pull out small objects such as nails from the tire or tube. Although bike repairing is not as detailed work as watchmaking, there are certain parts in the bike that need small and mini screwdrivers attached with multi-tool. So, a multi-tool is a good investment for your repair kit.
Although duct tape might not seem like something that you would need to use for your e-bike, it can certainly come in handy for a flat tire. Wait, wait! Hear us out. Consider what happens when you have a flat tire. For a flat tire, you need to take out the tube if you do not have a tubeless tire. For a flat tube (or tire), you can use duct tape as a temporary measure. All you need to do is identify where the tire got punctured and slap a piece of duct tape onto it. Just make sure that there are no wrinkles on the tube, tire, or piece of duct tape when you apply the duct tape so that it is stuck on top of the puncture nicely. This will get you covered temporarily until you can properly fix the puncture.
Other than that, many clips hold the e-bike cables which if found broken can be held together by using duct tape. You can use duct tape on broken parts of the bike such as on broken mudguards, or clutches so that they don’t just fall off. Lastly, duct tape can also be used to act as electrical tape to cover the exposed parts of battery wires, electronics, or fuse so that the short circuit does not knock off the electronics of your e-bike.
No matter the kind of bike you use, you would always have some number of bike cables running through various parts of the bike. Typically, these cables are used for bike brakes (front and back), and gears. However, these are one of the most common parts that are affected most by the weather, need lubrication most often, and are most prone to breaking as well. It is not a question of if the e-bike cable will break, but rather when it will break and whether you will be ready for it when it is. If you unfortunately have a broken cable on your e-bike, there is no way you can continue cycling. And unfortunately, it applies to all types of e-bikes, and all types of e-bike riding (tour, exercise, or just for fun). The reason is that if the cable is of brakes, it is extremely dangerous to ride a bike without proper brakes in working condition, and if the cable is of the gears, you are stuck with the same gear until you’re able to change the cable or manually change the gear which can damp the overall speed of your e-bike.
Once you have your e-bike cable broken, your journey ends there. You must replace the cable to continue cycling. It is wise, and a good idea to keep a few pairs of good quality e-bike cables in your e-bike repair kit. The e-bike cable replacement is simple and easy, and you do not want to end up giving up cycling for the day just because you did not have an extra cable. Plus, the cables do not take up much space in the repair kit either and you’re sure to use them any day now.
The flashlight is one of the most important tools that you can have in your repair kit. If you do a longer tour or if you’re expecting nighttime during your tour, or if you’re expecting the track with low light visibility, the flashlight can act as a backup headlamp for your e-bike in case you break it in an accident, or this flashlight can also be used for brightness in the night to ask for help. The flashlight can also be used as a bright tool if you need to repair your bike on a dark road.
When you are riding a bike or going for a tour, one of the bad things that can happen is a flat tire or flat tube of an e-bike. However, the worst thing could be that you don’t have the spare tube when you get a punctured bike at hand. Riding a bike without a proper brake, or no brake at all is unsafe but possible. However, riding a bike with a flat tire is not possible altogether. At the same time, properly fixing a flat tire takes substantial time considering the brief time of bike races or daily bike riding time. Therefore, you should keep at least a pair of spare tubes, or a spare tire (in case of tubeless tires) before leaving for a bike tour.
Most e-bikes use tires or tubes which are inflated with air. A mini pump can be used to pump the air in the spare tube in case you get a punctured tube. Similarly, if you need to check the tire or tube for any punctures, you’ll also need the mini pump to inflate it. Lastly, if you have a tubeless tire, this mini pump can also be used to inflate this tubeless tire.
You must also remember that every bike or e-bike has tires or tubes that lose air over certain travel distances irrespective of the quality of the e-bike tire or tube. So, the mini pump is probably the only tool that is sure to be frequently used and the first thing you must buy for your repair kit, and that will best serve you in the long run at home or on tour.
Most Ebikes contain a headlamp and a small electric horn. The advanced versions of the e-bikes may also contain an electronic speedometer. To power these electronic components, e-bikes most often contain a small battery and a fuse to ensure the electronic components’ safety. However, these components can fail if the fuse blows off or if the battery stops working after a long time of use.
To avoid these issues from happening, a pair of fresh fuses and a spare battery should be kept in a repair kit. The spare fuse and a battery can also help in charging a rechargeable flashlight in case of long tours.
Q 1: Are bike repairs expensive?
Most often the bike repairs don’t require new parts and therefore typically, bike repairs are not expensive. They do, however, require a small amount of time. Although bike repairs are rarely expensive, the repairs might require particular knowledge of the needed tools, or specifically which tools to use for a specific problem. So, to sum up, bike repairs are generally not that expensive and you should focus on how to use the tools and keep those tools in the repair kit that we have mentioned above.
Q 2: Is it worth fixing a bike?
It is worth fixing a bike. First, you’ll be able to save bucks as well as the time that it takes to take the bike to the repair shop. Secondly, fixing a bike is a fulfilling experience, especially knowing how things work in your bike, and why they brake, and once you have fixed something off your bike, you’ll quickly grow an interest in the true genius of fixing things up. Bike fixing is also a good idea to properly get to know the machinery that you own. This makes it easy to buy the needed tools and spare parts when they brake.
Q 3: Should I fix my bike or buy a new one?
Fixing a bike is mostly a good idea rather than buying a new bike. There is a limited type of repairs that your bike may need, and these repairs are almost always more cost-effective than buying a new bike. However, repairing the bike is not always the right answer either. If your bike gets more than just a broken part whether in an accident or due to the wear and tear over time, it is a good idea to move to buy a new bike.
Your bike is a wonderful piece of machinery that needs your proper attention now and then. You may have multiple uses for your e-bikes, and so are the tools that we mentioned in this article above. Whenever your e-bike needs repairs, you’ll find bike repair a fulfilling experience. You get to know more about the types of parts in your e-bike because sometimes the brands use proprietary parts provided only by the company. You’ll also realize the engineering genius of why specific parts are used, and the true extent of how far these parts will accommodate your touring needs when you repair your e-bike.
Once you have a broken part, you truly get to know the aid that the tools we mentioned above provide to you. Most of these tools are available at affordable rates even if you buy genuine tools from brands.
Your repair kit is curated over time when you start using your e-bike anew. However, having the tools that we mentioned above is not only a good start, but these tools are also something that lasts longer and keeps helping you in the longer run.
Last but not the least, the learning never stops, and you would find it beneficial to know more about your e-bike by visiting our blogs at https://nakto.com/pages/nakto-blog.