eBike Owner's Guide
How To Live Your Best eBike Lifestyle
Fly Rides provides premier guidance for purchasing electric bikes. We carry 10 different brands and carefully curate them to make sure our customers have the best buying and riding experience possible. Many new eBike owners have questions: use this guide to source out parts and accessories, and customize your ride to maximize your stoke level!
Tips for eBike Owners
Grab your favorite recovery drink and check out our playlist - or skip ahead to a topic.
Topics
11. Current eBike Rules and Regulations
The eBike Owner's Guide
1. Safety & Assembly
When you order an eBike from Fly Rides, it will arrive 80-90% built, and won't take long to get on the road! That said, those last few tweaks are super important and need to be done correctly for the bike to be roadworthy. That's why Fly Rides offers a $50 rebate for every shipped bike to cover getting your bike inspected locally by a bike professional.
Common issues that your local bike professional can help you with:
- Final assembly
- Derailleur tuning/indexing
- A bent derailleur hanger (this is sometimes an unfortunate result of shipping: we always inspect derailleur hangers before shipping)
- Brake bleeds
- Wheel installation
- Mirror and rack installation
- Fender alignment
- All other basic bike needs
New Bike Day! How to Assemble Your New E-Bike
Some eBikes arrive with clear stickers on black paper. These are frame protectors. You can apply them to places where the chain or cables might rub against the frame, or to the underside of the frame to protect it from debris from the road or trails.
2. Warranty Work & Service
We consider warranty support a crucial key to our success, and we provide our customers with comprehensive support to keep you focused on riding.
To get warranty support, please fill out our Support Request Form and attach photos. Note that warranties are always fast-tracked if you stop by a local dealer for diagnosis first.
If you did not buy from Fly Rides, please contact your own dealer, as we are only able to offer warranty support for bikes that we sold and to their original owners.
See also: Serial number, warranties, and getting the most out of your electric bike manufacturer.
Activate your moving parts warranty (i.e. for anything on the bike other than the frame, motor, battery, and controller) by taking advantage of this rebate - have your bike safety checked before jumping on, and send us the receipt within 30 days of receiving your bike.
Have a qualified tech do the final assembly, and check the following items that can get tweaked during shipping:
- Derailleur tuning/indexing
- Brakes: check alignment of calipers, pads, hanger tab, and rotor
- Wheel installation and axle tightness adjustment
- Handlebar installation and headset adjustment
- Have them use a calibrated torque wrench for these adjustments
Depending on the bike, you may also need:
- Suspension tuned to your weight and riding style
- Installation of mirrors, racks, fenders, etc.
Aim to find a great local bike shop that can help keep your bike in peak condition- other than the motor system, they are all regular bike parts! Depending on how often you ride, you'll want a full tuneup on your bike at least once a year, or as often as once a quarter for heavy use.
For maintenance and urgent needs, your local shop will be your best resource.
3. Parts & Accessories
Our specialty at Fly Rides is eBikes! Unless it's a warranty item or purchased with a bike, we currently do not ship parts or accessories. For non-warranty parts, upgrades, and accessories you can work with your local shop, or check out our online recommendations:
- Jenson USA for bike parts and accessories
- Derailleur Hanger.com for derailleur hanger tabs for all of our models
- Wheels Manufacturing for derailleur hanger tabs and bike parts
- World Wide Cyclery for all things mountain bikes
- Full Speed Ahead for cranks and parts
Don't hesitate to use their support features to find the right parts to fit your electric bike!
The best source for secondary or replacement items like additional chargers is straight from the manufacturer.
4. eBike Computers & Apps
5. Troubleshooting
If your battery is not charging, there may be an issue with the charger. Rarely, a bike will arrive with a faulty charger. Bosch charger problems may be hard to identify because there are no lights on the charger itself.
Use this guide to check if the charger is functioning properly.Required Tools:
- Multimeter set to measure DC voltage
- Keys for your battery
1. The charger has three flat terminals which plug into the battery. One is marked positive (+), another is marked negative (-) and one is unmarked. The negative terminal is the middle one.
Plug the charger into the wall outlet and measure voltage across the unmarked and (+) terminals.
Then measure voltage across the unmarked and (-) terminals.
In each case, you should get a voltage difference of 4.8 to 5 V.
2. If you do not get any voltage reading from step 1, your charger may be bad. Let's check the battery voltage to make sure your multimeter works.
Insert the battery into the bike and turn the bike on.
Open the dust flap (just below the battery on the left side of the bike)
Again there are three terminals: Unlabeled, (+) and (-)
Voltage measured across the (+) and (-) terminals should be around 36 V. A fully charged battery may be as high as 40 V and a depleted battery may be as low as 34 V.
You can also check common batteries such as AAs which should read around 1.5 V.
3. If you believe your charger is faulty, bring it to a e-bike dealer to try a different charger. It is also a good idea to bring your bike and battery in case the issue is not with the charger.
Dropper posts can be a great addition to any eBike, especially eMTBs. Some dropper posts are a little more finicky than others. Regardless of the dropper post manufacturer, it is best to adhere to the seat collar's and manufacturer's torque specifications to prevent damage and maintain a properly functioning seatpost.
For example, the FOX Transfer dropper post has a maximum seat collar torque of 5 Nm. If over-tightened to 5.5 Nm, the dropper post may not return to its "up" position as quickly as it should. Other dropper posts, like the KS LEV or Specialized Command Post IRCC, have higher seat collar torque tolerances, but you still should not exceed 7 Nm of torque.Keeping the dropper post stanchion clean is key to a long-lasting dropper post. After every ride, it is good practice to clean any dirt or grime on the post and around the seal. If you start to see scratches or deep cuts into the post, please bring it in to the shop for service.
6. Cleaning/Maintenance
Proper cleaning and maintenance of your eBike is a great way to keep your e-bike running smoothly and safely so you can enjoy it for a long time.
Most cycling parts and components use the metric system, so if you're using Imperial tools, they will not work properly, and could even damage your bike's parts.
Other basic equipment for basic bike maintenance:
- nitrile or latex gloves
- clean cloths or paper towels
- isopropyl alcohol (for cleaning brake rotors)
- tubeless tire sealant (see below)
Here is a good resource on how to keep your bike clean and in good working order.
You'll need a good bike-specific degreaser for the chain, to be followed up by a good bike chain lube: a dry lube for dry environments, and a wet chain lube for, you guessed it, wet environments.
Use a soft sponge or toothbrush and low-pressure water spray to clean your e-bike: do NOT use a power or pressure washer.
Avoid touching your brake rotors with your bare hands: dirt and oil from your hands can contaminate them. Brake rotors can be cleaned using isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol and a clean paper towel or microfiber cloth. You can clean the pads with warm water and a drop of dish soap. Wait until the pads and rotors are completely dry before re-installing them.
7. Tires and Pressure
There is no one answer - it will depend on your tires' ratings (check the sidewall for the spec - remember that front and back might have different specs), whether they are set up tubeless, and rider preference and terrain. Read more on a good method to test your tire pressure preference.
We recommend between 2-4 oz. (60-120 ml), but check the specs on your tire and on the sealant you're using. Brands we recommend, in order: Orange Seal, Stan's, Muc-Off. Read more about switching to tubeless tires.
Luckily, there are many ways to avoid flats out on the trails on your eMTB. You should always know how to change a flat to be sure just in case, but most of these methods should help you avoid flats at all. Here's a video we put together: Best Ways to Prevent a Flat Tire on an Electric Mountain Bike | Tubeless Tires, Liners & Inserts
0:48 What to carry on a ride to fix a flat
1:15 Going tubeless/setting up tubeless tires with tire sealant
3:16 Tire liners and tire inserts like Cush Core
3:48 Using thorn-resistant tubes
6:24 Preventing flats by running tires at higher end of pressure range
7:15 Choosing a cleaner path
7:36 Inspecting your tires and tubes
Yes! When riding your bike, we recommend always having a way to fix a flat as part of your kit you take along:
- a bike multi-tool for through-axles and everything else
If you're riding tubeless:
- Lezyne CO2 Blaster Inflater and Tubeless Repair Kit with two 20 g Cartridges.
If you're riding tubes:
- spare tubes and tire levers
- CO2 cartridges to re-inflate.
Always use tires and tubes that are e-bike specific or rated for use with eBikes. Ask your local bike shop for advice if you need a recommendation.
8. Bike Security
To protect your bike from theft, you'll need to lock your bike around its frame and wheels. You'll want to lock the front wheel, especially if it's a quick-release axle, with a cable lock or u-lock.
Choose a bike rack or sturdy post to lock your bike, preferably in a well lit area.
Using your U-lock or highest-security rated lock, wrap it through the seat tube, seat stays or chain stays so that you also lock your rear wheel to the bike rack.
For additional security, use a separate cable lock or chain to lock the front wheel to the bike rack or to the bike frame.
Make sure document your bike's serial number when you first get it. This video has more on keeping your new eBike safe:
9. Comfort & Fit
Check out this video "How to Make Your Electric Bike Fit Better:"
Yes! Watch how to make the points of contact (pedals, grips, saddle) more comfortable, or upgrade the ones that came stock on your eBike:
10. The eBike Community
As you start living your best eBike life, you'll find that most acoustic bike riders will have trouble keeping up. Send your friends to us for their eBike, and we'll put a credit on your account toward your next purchase!
To make new friends, join our Facebook group: eBike Life LOUNGE.
We've got members from all over the country, and its a great place for inspiration, tips, and connections.
We also recommend checking out the People for Bikes app: RideSpot
You can post your own rides, check out routes from other locals, and find out about local bike events and group rides.
Get inspired by the Fly Rides playlist "Inspiration & News from the eBike Community:"
11. eBike Rules & Regulations
People for Bikes also has a great website with extensive resources: eBike Policies and Laws
What is People for Bikes?
If you can't find what you need, feel free to submit a service request, and give us 24-48 hours to get back to you with a thoughtful response.
