Know How

How to silence your eMTB

Is your eMTB a menace to society, does nature run for cover as you approach? Kiss goodbye to creaks and rattles by following these top tips to silence your eMTB.

Silence is golden so they say. There is nothing more annoying than strange noises from your machines, whether it’s a creak from the dashboard of your car or a squeak from your eMTB derailleur, during long journeys that small noise can grow in your mind to become as loud as a chainsaw. Modern eMTB’s are relatively simple machines, and besides the gentle hum of the motor they should be near silent. Follow our guide to silence your eMTB and enjoy a more peaceful life.

If your eMTB creaks, rattles and squeaks; it’s time for an intensive noise reduction campaign

Stop eMTB cable tap and chatter

With brakes, gears, dropper post and motor control, your eMTB has many cables running from the cockpit. If left unrestrained, these cables can tap and clatter together annoyingly. This noise is easy to stop, simply wrap any loose cables to their neighbours with electricians insulating tape or cable ties to keep everything under control. After wrapping, be sure to turn your bar fully each way to ensure you have not limited steering movement.

If your cables are tapping together, you can silence them by joining them together with insulating tape or cable ties

Use protection tape where cables hit the frame

To stop that annoying ‘tap, tap, tap’ when your cables drum on the frame you can add protective patches to your frame. Not only will this stop the noise, but it will also protect your frames paintwork. You can buy frame patches from any good bike bike shop. To install simply follow the cables down the bike and look for any points where the cable can tap against the frame, once located add a self adhesive patch for protection and silence.

If you find any contact points between cables or chain and your frame, be it’s best to apply some protection

Stop that chain slap

If you look at your frame you will see how close the chain is running to your chainstays. When the ground is rough the chain will bounce around and can hit your frame, damaging the paint and causing noise. Most bikes have armoured plastic guards that act as a buffer between your chain and the frame, but the chain can still tap in other areas. You can buy chainstay protectors if your bike lacks one, or you can use the pro’s trick, Scotch Mastic 2228 tape to create a buffer.

Scotch Mastic 2228 tape is the pros trick to silence chain slap

Perform a bolt check

Lift your eMTB a few cm’s of the ground then drop it, is it silent? Or do you hear something clunking or rattling? If you hear noise, it is likely that something is loose. Starting from your bar work over your bike, first down to the front axle, back to the seat then down to the motor and finally the rear axle, check every bolt is torqued properly and nothing is loose or has unnecessary play. Waggle the wheels, cranks and rear end of the bike laterally, all should be stiff with minimal lateral play. If you think something is wrong, consult your local bike shop for more assistance.

Check all the bolts on the bike are correctly tightened, use a torque wrench if you are not sure

Check for loose spokes

With the additional power and weight of an eMTB the humble wheel is working harder than ever. If you experience ‘plinking’ or rattling as you ride, especially round corners it’s time to check the spoke tension. While wheel building is a dark art to many, to diagnose a loose spoke is very simple, start at the valve and squeeze every spoke against its neighbour, a loose spoke will be easy to detect. If you are not confident with the repair, pop to a bike shop for more help.

Loose spokes will plink and ping on every corner. They are easy to check for even tension

Noisy chain woes

If you chain is lashing around like a demented snake, you may have a problem with your rear derailleur. First check that the mounting bolt (the bolt that holds the derailleur to the bike) is properly torqued up. Then check the function of the clutch, push the derailleur lower cage towards the front of the bike, it should move, but stiffly. If it swings easily, the clutch may be broken or not engaged properly. Finally shift into the smallest cog on the front and back, if you chain hangs down slackly it is too long, and will cause noise. If you are still getting chain noise, a small aftermarket chain guide can help to reduce chain slap.

Bolts do work loose, especially the derailleur mounting bolt, if you are experiencing poor shifting this is the bolt to check

Lubrication is key

As the factory lubrication on your bike is washed away with rain and repeated washing, all the moving parts on your eMTB will become dry and start to corrode. To avoid this, be sure to stick to a rigorous lubrication schedule, after washing your bike, clean your chain lightly (just soapy water will do) and re-apply a high-quality chain lubricant. Many bike cleaning brands also supply ‘protective’ sprays that disperse water and lubricate surfaces, just be careful not to get any spray on the brake rotors as it will ruin the pads.

Lubrication is key, never let your bike run dry

Don’t let your brakes be a drag

To check the function of the brakes, while off the eMTB lift each wheel in turn and give them a good spin. If you hear rubbing from the brake pads, or the wheel quickly stops, your brake pads are rubbing and the caliper needs resetting. To to this, loosen the two caliper bolts that hold the caliper to your bike by a few turns, just enough to release the caliper. Squeeze the respective brake lever hard and hold it, this will position the caliper in the correct place then re-torque the caliper bolts. Spin the wheel again and see if the caliper is now correctly centered. If the problem persists consult your local bike shop.

Check your brakes for proper function, the caliper should be aligned centrally without drag

Dry surfaces cause creaks

Where ever you have two metal surfaces contacting each other, if they are dry they can creak and groan. This can happen at the bottom bracket, dropper post, pedal axles, bar and stem interface and commonly at the seat rails. If your eMTB is suffering from an annoying creak, once you have diagnosed the area, remove the component, clean the mating surfaces and apply a very thin coating of assembly grease for creak-free riding.

That’s it, hopefully if you follow all these tips, your eMTB will be a model of efficiency and silent progress. We look forward to seeing you on the trails, but not hearing you!


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