How To Ride Your Electric Bike in the Winter

ALEXANDRIA, VA – An electric bike can make for a fun way to stay active, travel from place to place, and enjoy the outdoors. While current events have limited how much people can leave their homes, you should be able to cycle as long as you stay mindful of state ordinances and maintain social distancing. However, you may still not know how to ride your electric bike in the winter. The lower temperatures and changing weather can initially hold you back, but with these tips, you can adapt and ride successfully.

Take Care of Your Battery

The battery is arguably the most fragile component of your electric bike when it’s cold outside. To avoid damaging it, you should make sure that you warm it back to a temperature above the freezing point before charging it. Additionally, you should know that the battery will become less powerful and won’t last as long when it is exposed to cold. With this in mind, you should charge it more frequently. You can also mitigate these adverse effects by bringing the battery inside your home when you’re not using your electric bike.

Inspect and Clean Often

The snow, salt, mud, and water that your bike will no doubt come into contact with can harm it over time. Therefore, inspecting and cleaning it often is an element of learning how to ride your electric bike in the winter. You should look for signs of rust and spray protective products on your bike and lubricate it to both remove rust and prevent it from appearing. As you do this, be sure to avoid applying the protective chemicals on the electric parts of the bike, as this can impair them. In addition to this, wiping down the bike with a cloth will remove the debris that might build up and corrode it.

Upgrade With Fat Tires

Since the ground is slippery, wet, and possibly bumpier, your need greater traction during the winter. For this, there are thicker tires, known as fat tires that provide more surface area and aggressive treads to keep you stable on unpaved ground and through rain and snow. If your bike accommodates them, you can simply switch the tires. You may also consider investing in an electric bike with fat tires that the manufacture already includes by default. These will have designs that are sturdier to handle harsher outdoor conditions.