Winter bike care

We have some handy tips for keeping your Blike bike running smoothly throughout the cold months. Looking after your bike and its battery are top priority, so here's our advice for healthy, long-lasting power to keep you riding stress-free through any cold spells.

• You are going to pick up more salt, dirt and grit riding in winter. Try and make a habit to dry wipe your frame, including your drive chain, when you can see wet/dirt. Use a non-lint cloth, which will prevent salt from attacking the metal.
• *TIP* Pre-cut an old bed sheet or t-shirt and cut into manageable squares, use it as your bike drying cloth.
• When you are not using your bike, try and store it somewhere dry, if you can't store it inside invest in a bike cover. 
• *TIP* You can pick up bike and motorbike covers in most UK stores – a plastic coated tablecloth also does the trick. 
• Lower your speed in icy conditions and give yourself enough space when braking and turning corners. Take your time! 
• *TIP*  Go for tyres with more tread/grip and less slick road tyres. You can reach out to our team at Blike for advice or speak to your local trusty bike shop.
• If you are not riding your bike as much through winter, remove the battery if you can and store it somewhere dry at room temperature. Same rule when charging your battery: room temp is best.
• Do not charge your battery when it’s really cold. Give it an hour or two at room temperature before plugging in if it's freezing outside.
• We hope you will keep riding throughout winter, but if storing your Blike for a length of time, try to keep the battery charge between the 30-80% range.
• To reiterate, it's best to avoid storing a fully charged battery, though it's not the end of the world if this does happen, and much better than storing a dead battery.