This is a work in progress, hopefully we can collect schedules from a few people to build up a recommended schedule.
From Scott Cytacki Note: I've had to do other repairs, but I'm only including repairs of parts that are guaranteed to wear out. - move brake pads in every 200 miles, after a while you can tell when it needs to be done by how far you need pull the brake level. Or you can just wait until the parking brake no longer keeps the ELF from moving.
- lubricate the chains as needed. I typically wait until they start faintly squeaking, but I should do it more often
- simple chain adjustment every 800 miles, move the rear wheel back 0.5 cm or so. The motor chain stretches, so the rear wheel needs to be moved back to keep the chain tight so it doesn't fall off
- replaced the motor freewheel at 1500 miles, I've only done this once so far. I replaced it with the same freewheel that the ELF came with so we'll see how long the second one lasts
- replace front brake pads at 2500 miles. They started clicking and on inspection I could see the lever on the brake pad was hitting the rotor. I've only done this once so far, so we'll see how long the second set last.
- rotate tires, I haven't done this yet, but it recommended by Edward (see below) so the tires wear evenly.
- replace tires, I switched from the Schwalbe tires to the fat tires after 2500 miles, so it will be a while before I know how long they last. Tire wear is heavily influenced by the "toe" of the front tires. If they toed in or toed out they will wear much faster.
- replace the chains, I haven't done this yet, but they have stretch by at least 3cm after 2500 miles. I can remove links to shorten them, but doing this too many times will wear down the gears.
- replace shifter cables, I haven't done this yet, but other owners have had to do it multiple times
- replace the battery, I haven't had to do this yet, but eventually I will
- replace the solar panel, it isn't clear if this is definitely going to wear out, but given the road vibration it seems likely that it will. And several owners have replaced theirs already.
From Edward M - I suggest rotating the front fat tires by taking the tires off the rims and switching sides at 2500 or 3000 miles. I didn't think to do that with the previous set and then one of the the sidewalls tore and I replaced the tires at 4000 miles. I have about 2500 miles on the new front ones and I see noticeable wear on the inside only (expected with the ELF design) that would be evened out if the tires were rotated. So rotating the front tires every 2500 miles 4 times will get 10,000 miles out of the front fat tires. I have not replaced the rear tire and it has 6500 miles but the wear has extended now to the outer edges as the smooth center creaps outward. I am waiting to see cords showing through or my first flat before I replace it.
- I replaced all the chains at 3500 miles. I put on heavy duty BMX chains and now I don't have to adjust the chains as often....once evey 1000 miles instead of every 500 miles as before. Also, I didn't initially realize that the whole chain adjustment scheme was built on loosening and sliding stuff along the frame's channel tubes. It makes sense, now, but I thought for a long time that the tensioners and adjusting the chain length was the expected way to adjust chain tension.
- I've replaced the freewheel frequently as I experimented with different number of teeth to optimize speed. But one size that I liked and had on for a long while eventually froze up ...probably after 3000 miles of use. I'd recommend owners get a replacement freewheel to put in the spare parts box. You'll also need the right tool to remove the old freewheel so pick a freewheel manufacturer and stick with them so you only need one tool and not a different one each time. (Or ask your LBS for help in removing the freewheel.)
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