Can You leave An Electric Bike Outside? (Explained)


Can You leave An Electric Bike Outside

The experience of riding an electric bike is one of the most enjoyable things you can do. In order to maintain this fun you should learn how to keep your electric bike in good condition.

The first rule in maintaining an electric bike is to know the places where you can leave your bike, or more precisely, to store your bike.

One of the most frequently asked questions about this topic is can I leave my electric bike outside?

Therefore, in this post, we will discuss this topic based on my personal experience and also after researching this topic on the Internet.

Can You Leave An Electric Bike Outside?

Let’s answer the question directly and then get into the details:

As a general rule, it is not recommended to leave your electric bike outside, even if you have covered it.

Now let me explain to you why we don’t recommend leaving the electric bike outside.

Reasons Why you shouldn’t leave your electric bike outside?

1-Humidity.

The first reason we recommend not leaving an electric bike outside is the moisture.
This is because even if you cover the bike well, the moisture will get into it and it will get into the bike’s interior components.
I know you might say, but the electric bike is sealed and I can ride it in the rain or on the snow and this is actually true, but what moisture does is change the environment around the ebike for a long piriod of time and it affects several parts of the ebike, including the display and the controller.
Therefore, leaving the electric bike outside for long periods and exposing it to moisture will lead to corrosion of the internal parts in the long run, and also in the short term, you will get less performance from the ebike.

2-Hot Weather.

If you live in a high-temperature area, your daily cycling in hot weather will affect the performance of the components of the electric bike.

The most important components that will be severely affected by the heat are the battery, motor, and controller.

But you can imagine if you leave your bike outside in hot weather, the effect will be worse on these parts.

Let me tell you what is the effect of high temperature on these parts.

Battery: Chemical processes occur inside the battery, and these processes need a moderate temperature, if the temperature inside the battery rises, there is a possibility for two things to happen:

First, the battery will not work at all, because the BMS inside the battery senses heat, and if the temperature rises above a certain limit,

it will shut down the battery

The second thing that may happen is the lack of battery performance due to the inability of the battery to complete the output of the appropriate voltage for the controller and motor.

Motor: Inside the motor, there is a copper coil and with the increase in temperature, the performance of the motor decreases significantly.

Controller: When the temperature rises, the internal components of the controller are less efficient because the electric current that passes through the controller releases some heat, and with the rise in the external temperature, the matter is worse.

See also, “How to Solve ebike Controller Overheating?

3-Cold Weather.

Although the cold weather is less severe on an electric bike, it can cause damage to the components of the bike if the cold is severe (zero or less).

The most severely cold component of an electric bike is the battery because if the internal temperature of the battery drops below zero, the BMS will shut down the battery.

In my opinion, leaving the electric bike in moderately cold weather will not harm the bike if you cover it well and remove the battery from it.

4- It May get stolen.

The last reason we recommend not to leave the Outside electric bike is that the possibility of theft is high

And if we take into account that the number of electric bike thefts is increasing dramatically, it is better to leave your electric bike in a safe place.

You can check out this post that explains in detail how to protect your bike from theft.

How Do You Prevent An ebike From Being Stolen?

What you should do if you have to leave your ebike outside?

There are some situations or times when you may have to leave your bike outside.

Therefore, in this part of the post, we will explain some tips that you can do to maintain your electric bike while you leave it Outside.

1- Remove the battery.

The first thing that you should do is to remove the electric bike battery and keep it in a suitable place, and the reason for this is that the battery is one of the most expensive parts of the electric bike, and its damage will be very painful.

On the other hand, the battery is badly affected by heat, humidity, or even cold, as we explained earlier.

2-Cover your ebike.

Of course, you should cover your bike well, and there are many covers for ebikes that are sealed so as to prevent water from entering.

But my advice to you is that if you can pull the air out from the inside of the bike cover to reduce the humidity, that will be much better.

On the other hand, if you have to use an additional cover on the main cover, this will help to protect the bike more.

3- Just choose a good place.

If the electric bike must be left outside, at least try to choose a suitable place so that it is not directly exposed to the sun and also not exposed to water so as to reduce any possibility of damage to the electric bike.

How To Safely Store Your ebike? Best Tips & Tricks

How to choose a good place to store your ebike?

There are several places where you can store your electric bike, such as the garage or inside the house, but in this part of the post we will explain what conditions should be met in the place where you can store your bike.

1- Temperature.

The first condition that should be met in the place where you will store your ebike is that the temperature is appropriate, meaning that it be more than zero Fahrenheit and less than 30 Fahrenheit, and this is to preserve the internal parts of the ebike, the most important of which is the battery

2- Dry place.

You should try to store your bike in a fairly dry place together so that the humidity is moderate in order to reduce any possible damage.

3-Safe & Organized.

The price of an electric bike is not cheap, so it is always preferable to store your bike in a safe and organized place so as to keep it from being stolen, and also the organized place will reduce the possibility of any damage to the bike as a result of anything falling on it.

Conclusion.

As a general rule, it is not preferable to leave the electric bike outside because this will cause damage to the motor, controller, and battery as a result of humidity, heat, or cold.

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