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How Riding (and caring for) an eMTB is Different from a Mountain Bike

joelzieve

Updated: Dec 26, 2024




Introduction

Are you a brand new to intermediate eMTB rider? If so, and you’ve also ridden non-electric mountain bikes, there are many and drastic differences in riding technique that you’ll want to learn to stay safe and get the most out of your eMTB. This article covers those, along with some of the not-so-obvious differences for care and maintenance of your eMTB. Let the e-Fun begin!


Don't miss this Aging on Dirt podcast episode which covers even more on these topics!


Pre-Ride Checks - Before You Hit the Dirt

In addition to what you do to check over your mountain bike prior to riding it, here are a few things to check over on your eMTB.


  • Battery Level: Ensure your battery is sufficiently charged for the planned ride (distance, climbing you'll do, how long you'll be out). Don't be that rider who shows up and has to ask his riding buddies to cut the route short because you didn't plug in!

  • Wire Connections: Check them all to be sure they are secured and not frayed. You'll find wire connections (depending on your bike) in some/all of these locations: Power mode selection switches, display unit, speed sensor.

  • Wheel Mounted Speed Sensor: If you have one mounted on your rear rotor or one of the spokes, be sure it's clean and aligned correctly.

  • Motor Bearing Check: This one I typically don't do on each ride since it involves removing the chainring's chain guide, so I'll do this each time I clean the chain. Remove the chain from the chainring and spin the cranks forward and backward while listening and feeling for anything unusual. It should spin freely in both directions and there should be no play when putting side-to-side pressure on the crank arms.

Many of these things can and should be checked as part of your post ride check. Including recharging your battery. Review "Care of Your Battery" below for tips on how and when to charge it.


Components Wear Faster - What to Watch

I'm sure it makes sense to you that the drivetrain will wear faster as we will discuss more below, but you can also expect that the added power, weight and miles you're putting on it will affect the life of all other components. Be sure to keep a close eye especially on the rear tire and the brake pads (front and back) as those will wear faster on your eMTB.


Care of Your Battery

Do your own research on this - your best sources are the shop you bought the bike from and the battery manufacture . This is what I've determined are my best practices based on the research that I've done for my bike. Note that some eMTB's batteries can not be removed from the frame.

  • Bring your battery inside when it's cold. When I'm done riding for the season, I bring the battery in the house for the winter. If my eBike had a non-removeable battery, I would store the entire bike inside during the winter.

  • If you won't riding within the next week, charge your battery to the 50-70% level. This is also where I leave it over the winter.

  • If you expect to ride within the next week, charge your battery to 100% after you complete a ride (and after it cools down). Typically the drive home from the trail head is enough to get the temperature down. By the way, this is a great way to be sure you have enough battery life for your next ride (see Pre-Ride Checks above).

Your Bike's App

Yes, your bike and it's motor has an app! Find it and learn how to use it. Here's why:

  • Firmware: I usually check about every three months for new firmware. Typically they aren't critical, so I find this sufficient. Learn how to check and update your firmware (ask your dealer or review your bike's/motor's manual) so you can keep your bike and motor operating as the manufacture intended.

  • Customize: If you're a data/app geek like me, you'll enjoy doing this. If you're not, you'll enjoy the results. Some apps allow you to fine tune how your bike, motor and power act in all the power modes. For example, my bike in eco mode is set up to feel like my analog mountain bike (just enough power so that I don't notice the added weight). Each bike/motor combination is different, so dive into the app and play with the settings to customize the ride the way you'd like.


"With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility"

- Spiderman's Uncle Ben


You'll need to learn how to control the power of your bike so that you have enough when you need it, but not so much that you lose control of the bike. Many more tips are below under Riding Techniques. For now, it's important to learn how the power modes work.

  • Walk Mode Things to Learn:

    • How to enter walk mode, enable it, and exit walk mode. All eMTBs will require you to keep a button pressed when enabled. If you separate from your bike, you don't want that motor, wheel and drivetrain to continue to spin!

    • Note that the harder the gear, the faster the bike will move in walk mode.

    • Pro Tip: To change gears off the bike, select the gear you want with the shifter, enable Walk Mode while lifting the rear wheel. This saves you from trying to lift the bike and turn the cranks manually like on your non-motorized mountain bike.

  • Power Modes Things to Learn:

    • How many do you have?

    • How do you change between them?

    • Practice Drills:

      • On a moderate straight climb, start in your lowest power mode and an easy gear.

      • Change to the next highest power mode and harder gear(s). Continue until you get to the highest power mode.

      • Each time, select a gear that requires the same effort from you.

      • Do the same drills (also on a climb) from highest power setting to lowest.

      • Learn how your bike reacts and how you react to the change in power.


Your eMTB is Heavier - How this Affects Your Riding

  • Since this bike weighs more compared to your analog mountain bike, you'll need to brake earlier and/or more aggressively. Get used to this and practice this on a section of trail with little consequences.

  • If you've coached with me before, you know of the importance of "Selective Braking". 1) Get your speed under control prior to the next "feature" using both brakes, and 2) use the rear brake only (if needed) in the feature. The selective braking technique is even more critical because of the added weight of your eMTB.

  • The added weight and lower center of gravity on your eMTB makes it more stable in the downhill chunk. Take advantage of that stability and control when you're comfortable by riding these trails more often or at higher speeds than you would on your mountain bike.


Helping Your Drivetrain Last Longer

Your drivetrain consists of the following: motor, chainring, chain, cassette, rear wheel hub, freehub, derailleur and the shifter (and its cable/housing). Because of the additional weight and power of an eMTB, the life of each of these will be less than what they are on your acoustic bike. You can still help extend the life of these components by how you apply power to these components.

  • Cadence

    • This is the speed at which you turn your pedals and cranks. Most of my client's will benefit by riding with a faster cadence.

    • Listen to your motor and drivetrain at a slow (high torque) cadence and also at a fast (lower torque) cadence. Hear the difference? I think you'll find that your motor and drivetrain actually sound happier and less stressed at a higher cadence.

    • Change gears often based on the terrain and power needed to keep your drivetrain purring along.

  • Power-Spin-Power (Shifting Drills)

    • How much tension is your drivetrain under when you shift gears? Does it clink and clunk and moan when changing gears, or can you barely hear or feel the change? The latter is what you want in order to extend it's life.

    • This is going to take some practice.

    • The technique: Power-Spin-Power

      • Power: When ready to change gears, push a "little" harder on the pedals - usually 1/2 crank is enough.

      • Spin: Back off on the pedal force and shift (tiny delay with the shift).

      • Power: After the shift is complete, continue with your normal pedal force.

    • You will hear and feel the difference. You'll sound like a professional rider, you won't embarrass your riding buddies, and most importantly, your expensive drivetrain will last a lot longer.

    • Note: Some eBikes come with shifters which only allow shifting into one easier gear at a time. Your non-eBike likely has a shifter that allows you to shift into up to 3 easier gears at a time. The one-at-a-time limit helps protect the drivetrain from riders who don't have this Power-Spin-Power skill.


Riding Techniques Affected

Now to the fun part! More power means more options!


Important: The added speed, weight and power will magnify any imperfections in your riding skills and techniques. Specifically, those that affect your balance and traction. If you don't have the basics skills of position/balance and braking/traction down, you're setting yourself up for even more hurt on your eBike. Click Here to book a coaching session with me to work on these skills.


  • Get those basics down or you'll be sorry

  • You're Climbing Faster

    • This means your now/next scan needs to be faster, and the "next" part of that scan needs to be further ahead.

    • Watch those blind corners and keep your Timberbell turned on during the climbs. (This link will get you a nice discount if you don't have a Timberbell yet).

    • Slow down and reduce power when approaching a blind corner!

  • Too Much Power can be a Bad Thing: Dial it Down! (use a lower power setting)

    • While climbing in (or on) features to help maintain your balance.

    • When you're accelerating, be mindful of your position on the bike so you're not thrown out of balance with the additional power.

    • Instead of dialing down the power, use your rear brake to get better control over the power. Use the brake to reduce the power and let off of the brake to get all of the power back. Climbing switchbacks and short/steep sections are excellent places to use these techniques.

  • Climbing Steep Terrain

    • You'll be climbing terrain that's steeper than you do on your analog mountain bike.

    • Steeper terrain still requires that you maintain equal weight on both of your wheels. Weight on your front wheel provides the directional control while weight on your back wheel ensures the power from you and your motor drives you forward. Have you ever had your rear wheel spin out and lose traction stopping you in your tracks? You moved too much weight from your your rear wheel.

    • Maintain that balance by moving your weight further forward as the pitch of the terrain increases.

    • Climbing positions (in order from not very steep to really steep) are: Hinge, Hinge More, Scooch, Hover, Stand. The execution of these is almost impossible for me to describe here. Click Here to book a coaching session with me to work on these climbing skills.

  • Wheel Lifts While Climbing

    • Assuming you can do these on your non-eMTB, the technique needs to be tweaked on your eMTB.

    • The differences come down to your ability and the terrain.

    • Tools for you to consider include: Power mode, gear selection, speed, terrain (and more).

    • Again, describing the details of these techniques here is tough, so click Here to book a coaching session with me to work on these climbing skills.


Where and How You Ride Will Change

Well, it can change if you'd like it to. You certainly have more options now that you've got more power. Here are just a few things to consider.

  • Seek out new and challenging lines (tech, pitch or both) that you can’t clear with the lack of power on your non-eMTB.

  • Select new routes that were either too long or too steep for you before you got your eMTB.

  • Your rides can become longer, less effort, or both! Go explore and enjoy your new eMTB adventures!

  • Do you have riding buddies that you couldn't keep up before you got your eMTB? They will be thrilled to have you back riding with them! Just go easy on them on those climbs.


Thanks for Riding with Me / Wrap Up

The added power of an eMTB gives you so many great additional riding options. These eMTBs also require additional attention to maintenance and some additional skills. I hope this article has helped you learn about them so you can enjoy your eMTB riding to the fullest!


**Bonus** Get Coached

A shameless plug? Maybe, but I believe that skills coaching is the fastest way to reach your full riding potential. Nothing beats having a qualified coach giving you real-time feedback regardless of your riding ability. If want to ride more safely, have more fun, go a little faster and/or just feel less fear on your bike, let me help you get there. Mountain biking doesn’t need to be extreme or dangerous: learn the fundamentals of safe, confident and fun riding.


Click Here to Book Your Next Lesson


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About the author: Joel Zieve is a Certified PMBI Mountain Bike Skills Coach in the Ogden Utah (Northern Utah) area. He specializes in helping beginner, novice and intermediate riders ride more safely, have more fun, go a little faster and feel less fear on their bikes. He is also the host of the Podcast "Aging on Dirt". Click here for more information about his coaching programs.

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