[Closed] E Bikes why do we put up with it?

This is something I think about every time I see an E-mtb. I think they are great fun, but don't own one.

I do wonder how they cope with real world UK mtb conditions and if the owners think a lot about how to make sure their investment is going to last a long time.

Will the ebike bubble burst in a few years due to this or are there plenty of examples of people using them all year round with no issues? Will watch this post with interest.

'

Haven't got one either but would be interesting to see UK Vs RoW warranty return rates.

TBF I know folk with e-bikes who've had no problems at all. I guess they're just not posting about their lack of issues.

See also;

Tubeless tyre setup

Shimano brakes

Press Fit BB

Your post reflects my view as a non-owner OP.

Waiting for the tech to mature and particularly for reliability to improve.

And for my bank balance to grow.

Im thinking that the technology is still very much in its infancy and has a long way to go in terms of protecting from the mud and slop

You've answered your own question there.

Also when out & about, looking at the general state of some peoples bikes (hanging) it's no wonder they fail.

I think a chunk of people treat them with the mentality of a normal bike as well, and to me that's probably the wrong thing to do. Also it's the same old thing, we're conditioned to talk about and notice 'all' the failures - a bit like Reverbs, they all break too (apart from the hundreds of thousands that don't).

It is however, better than a 2 stroke MX bike which you can end up having to rebuild once a month...

I had a couple of issues with mine, but nothing major like a battery or motor. On to the next one now anyway & wouldn't be without it.

TBF I know folk with e-bikes who’ve had no problems at all. I guess they’re just not posting about their lack of issues

yep, this, but I still think the failure rate is way too high.

Me and a mate bought the same ebike at the same time, and we ride in the same conditions and the same amount of miles. My motor failed at 500 miles, his is still working fine.

An interesting subject. I'm following.
I've been tempted but just bought a regular MTB. But in a couple of years I'll be tempted. I tend to break things so I've been put off the ebike due to the cost and longevity

Same as chakaping
Especially the bank bit 🙂

I still think the failure rate is way too high.

How high is the failure rate?

Will caveat this by saying I know it’s not a mtb however to add to @scotroutes point we are now approaching 3500 miles on our tern GSD ebike with Bosch performance line motor and (I say this trying not to jinx us) have had no electronic issues or failures other than the power bank 300 battery not wanting to work with the factory dual battery system and the headlight switch being tempremental. In those 3500 miles there have definitely been some very wet trips.

Wonder how easy it would be for someone in the industry say Singletrack to access figures for failures? Probably commercially sensitive 🙄.

A mate of mine with a background in electronics thinks it should be relatively easy to waterproof motor,

You also have to teach people not to ride them through a bog and then blast them with a pressure washer. Putting them on a roof-rack and driving at 80 mph through torrential rain is probably going to have the same effect.

From my own viewpoint I can see the attraction in an e-bike  for occasional use. It wouldn't be my only bike though. Far from it. That being the case, the expense of buying and owning one looks like poor vfm. I'd therefore prefer to rent when required - if "the industry" made this affordable. That's when the actual failure rate will become apparent - when fixes and replacements have to be factored into the rental price

Same as suspension tuning being a non LBS thing ,can we expect e bike motor repair shops?
Can't see that there's any component that some clever person can't fix.

I think the warranty coverage is ok for now, with rolling warranties, or 2 year, hopefully 3 year coverage, the reality is that the motor is just another part of the bike, it'll wear, so having to either have it serviced for a few hundred, or replaced for 800 is pretty much a risk of ownership, same as the forks on my bike costing 200 quid to service, or 1000 to replace.

Batteries are consumable though, you just have to factor in buying a new one every so often, but that's down to usage rates, i can see more ebike motor repair shops opening up, there's a place for a TF Tuned of the motor world in the near future, as well as a refurb motor seller taking over the market, i know both are done in small scale just now, but the future really is looking like this could be a good business to get into

You also have to teach people not to ride them through a bog and then blast them with a pressure washer. Putting them on a roof-rack and driving at 80 mph through torrential rain is probably going to have the same effect.

I disagree, especially if it's the MTB variety. Riding through a bog and then seeing 80mph wind and rain might be exactly the conditions it was bought for on a winter day in the hills. If they are too fragile for that, they shouldn't be sold for that purpose. I'm not saying a bike should expect to live outside permanently, but it should expect many a downpoura nd mud to the hubs without a glitch.

It is however, better than a 2 stroke MX bike which you can end up having to rebuild once a month…

Was every week when I was racing Enduros. 😮

From the state of the return pile of motors I once saw in a shop that sells a lot of Ebikes, seems there's a lot of pressure washing shit into them goes on.
On a personal level we've had four ebikes so far and only one motor fail with a snapped input shaft.
Hope that's not cursed it...

There already are several motor repair shops. Performance line Bearings is one, can’t remember the manes of any of the others.

Bosch and Brose motors are well catered for, Shimano are not.

It’s a shame the Bosch rolling warranty seems to have stopped, but the Gen 4 is significantly more reliable than the Gen 2 so I would hope it’s less of an issue.

I know a guy that must've had his bike in being repaired more than he's had it in his possession, a Specialized something or other. He still swears by them as they fix it without question. Madness lol
My boss and his wife have got a Scott and a Trek and they've never missed a beat.
Cool story eh? 😜

Other than not jet washing the motor, there’s nothing a user can do to prolong the life of it in normal use.

it should expect many a downpoura nd mud to the hubs without a glitch.

Being in the rain shouldn't be a problem. Being blasted with water and grit at high pressure is always going to be a problem for bearings and electrics. If you make seals capable of withstanding that, they will be draggy, bulky, and heavy. It's not so much the riding in mud that's the problem, it's the indiscriminate blasting with a pressure washer which will drive water and dirt through the seals.

Other than not jet washing the motor, there’s nothing a user can do to prolong the life of it in normal use.

Posted 1 minute ago

The e bike specific rock shox come with really good mudguard mounts.
I would assume a full length mudguard must help.

It is however, better than a 2 stroke MX bike which you can end up having to rebuild once a month…

Was every week when I was racing Enduros. 😮

Just for balance, and because I'm not Travis "I'm fast" James Stewart, normal folks don't need to do that. 🙂

It is however, better than a 2 stroke MX bike which you can end up having to rebuild once a month…

That's routine maintenance to help prevent failure, not a repair.

Just for balance, and because I’m not Travis “I’m fast” James Stewart, normal folks don’t need to do that. 🙂

Neither Trav or Bubba raced Enduro. 😉
Couple of half hour motos and they were sleeping in their luxury campers.
A two day Enduro gave enough hours run time to need a ring change on a 125.

Just to clarify i dont own a pressure washer wouldnt use one on my bikes even if i did. As for riding through mud etc my 2nd motor failed in my garage when the bike was clean. I checked whether i needed to charge it up or not and a fault code came up. So after the classic 3 pin reset of taking the battery out checking for damp etc all nice and dry, put battery back in switched it back on and the bike shot across the garage floor on its own and landed in a heap after crashing into one of my other bikes! 😱😱😱😱
Bosch and my LBS were understandably very concerned. Apparently 6 seperate faults on the motor which was replaced swiftly and for free. Follow up conversation with Bosch they said they investigated thoroughly and concluded that ( hopefully) it was a one off? A year on and its been ok so far. I think it must have been replaced with a 2020 version because my LBS was able to download the latest software update that gives a Tour Plus mode. Hopefully as well an improvement on the 2019 motor time will tell.
Another point is that its only really my once a week day out bike, the other 6 days are catered for under my own steam.

Neither Trav or Bubba raced Enduro. 😉
Couple of half hour motos and they were sleeping in their luxury campers.
A two day Enduro gave enough hours run time to need a ring change on a 125.

As it happens, Pastrana's done a few enduro events, and as noted above, spending half an hour on popping a fresh ring in is not a rebuild. 😉

spending half an hour on popping a fresh ring in is not a rebuild.

Yep because them clutches, powervalves and everything else look after them selves. I could have given you a list as long as my arm of stuff that needed doing weekly but didn't as quite frankly it is pretty boring even wring it down never mind doing it.

That's the great thing about MTBing. Miminum garage time compared to ride time unlike MX/Enduro.
BTW I never saw Trav at an ISDE. 😉

Yep because them clutches, powervalves and everything else look after them selves.

Every week? 🙂

BTW I never saw Trav at an ISDE. 😉

And that's what you were doing every week? 🙂 There's other enduro events. 😉

Yep every week I'd raced for engine on race bike.
Practice bike used to get less attention.
Obvs ISDE was yearly thankfully...
Expensive enough doing British Championships and a few European rounds.

I take it you've also raced at levels that require that much garage time?

As I said and back on topic.
MTB's even Ebike MTB's when compared to other stuff are pretty easy and cheap to maintain.

I take it you’ve also raced at levels that require that much garage time?

No, that's EXACTLY the point I'm trying to make, people don't generally need to rebuild (or even pop a fresh ring into) a 2 stroke every week, because very, very few people will be riding that hard for that long so frequently. 🙂

As I said and back on topic.
MTB’s even Ebike MTB’s when compared to other stuff are pretty easy and cheap to maintain.

I have never pressure washed mine. The bike has only been washed once with a sponge/bucket and I kept well away from the motor. Failed after 8 months.

I don't think they're up to serious MTBing. It's the knocks and bumps that seem to knacker them. Motors on commuters and cargo bikes etc seem to last better.

I'd be happy if they just made spare parts available, not just bearings but electronics and sensors too. Shimano are particularly bad. If the torque sensor fails it's new motor time!

Even if they get more reliable there's definitely going to be *some* failures, even if only from crashes or pedal strikes.

Unlike MX, it's impossible to rebuild many ebike motors, even at service centres.

I think it must have been replaced with a 2020 version because my LBS was able to download the latest software update that gives a Tour Plus mode.

Mine has Tour+, it's rather good, my main setting.

I assume the lack of waterproofing is down to the cooling required, quite hard to achieve one without the other. I'll never powerwash mine, and the battery cover is easy to pop off and clean out the shite too.

Tour+ is bloody brilliant, way better than EMTB (which was a surprise). I was out yesterday and finished the ride with 3 bars of 5 remaining. The Kenevo with a 504 died as we got back to the cars and the Canyon, also with a 504, had 1 bar of 5 remaining. I was consistently fastest up the climbs too, so I certainly wasn't hanging about.

I was out for a wee hour-ish yesterday, 12 miles and just under 2000' of ascent and had 67% left in Tour+, and that included horsing it into turbo for the last climb as I still hadn't tried it yet! mentally fast!.

I was out yesterday and finished the ride with 3 bars of 5 remaining. The Kenevo with a 504 died as we got back to the cars and the Canyon, also with a 504, had 1 bar of 5 remaining.

Did Nick run out on the third climb? 😂

Be interested to try one with Tour+, always found EMTB was a bit much, although mine got punted on before I could try it. That said to be fair I still mostly rode it in Eco, unless I was restricted for time.

Yesterday was bonkers, rode from home to the trails, did 1400m of vert & 48k in total & still had 81% on the new Levo with the 700Wh battery on an Eco day. Going to go and try a big day out to see just how much this thing will do on one battery. I thought the Bosch was good for some big days out, but this is mad 🙂

Did Nick run out on the third climb?

Nick's off the bike at the moment; fell over riding with his kids and sprained his ankle! 😆

He's also got a cracked rib from when he OTB'd on the fire road...

did 1400m of vert & 48k in total & still had 81% on the new Levo with the 700Wh battery on an Eco day.

Ur doin' it rong 😉

Mine (E8000) has been fine. Ridden in winter too. Occasionally washed with a Hydroshot.

Only failure has been the mode switch that was kind of like a front shifter. Replaced with another one that just has some buttons. Was £30 so not too bad.

To be fair, I have wrapped a couple of old bits of tyre around it as I smacked the motor off some rocks on some steep descents. Might help.

@oldfart - Yikes

(Makes mental note to put any e-bike I might own, in future, on a workstand, before messing with batteries, etc)

He’s also got a cracked rib from when he OTB’d on the fire road

Got to watch those fire roads up here.
They're dangerous.🤣

Ur doin’ it rong 😉

Not when you are out with pedal bikes in the group too!

Premier Icon
doomanic
Full Member

Other than not jet washing the motor, there’s nothing a user can do to prolong the life of it in normal use.

Don't lug high gears and have the motor turning at lower speeds - this pulls more current and increases internal temperature. Better to spin at higher cadence and have the motor running at higher speeds for lower current/temps.

Putting them on a roof-rack and driving at 80 mph through torrential rain is probably going to have the same effect.

Hahaha, you've clearly never tried to lift a full beanz e-mtb onto a car roof. The borrowed Turbo Levo I've been using weights well over 50lbs, which is fine in a compact kettlebell say, but tricky in an ungainly, bike-shaped package.

Anyway, I've never been interested in e-bikes as either a potential buyer or a hater. I simply just don't care either way. But a very kind mate of mine loaned me a 2017 Specialized Turbo Levo to help me get back out after 15 months of long covid and it was great for that. The battery has failed twice while I've had it, the first time I cracked open the battery and cleaned out the water and dried it out, started working again - recognised issue with switch cover, recalled on some models for fix - the second time it went dead, I cracked it open again and sprayed it with Isopropyl alcohol and left it to sit and it started working again.

New batteries are £740. That puts me off for starters.

If the motor dies, people do exist who can rebuild them - if it were my bike I'd get it rebuilt with uprated parts for peace of mind, but it isn't.

Bottom line: if either the motor or the battery dies out of warranty, you're left with either a substantial bill or a near useless heap of parts.

I don't want one anyway, I like riding bikes and as I've recovered, that's what I'm increasingly doing and a I like being fit. I find riding an e-bike a bit like everything happening in fast forward, which isn't really my bag. So for now, no thanks.

Dunno if this supports the OP or
not.

Coming up 3yo Focus Jam2 and motor been fine for 1000 miles and use in all weathers and winter use. Not an avid bike cleaner tho more a let dry and dust off advocate.

On other hand battery cells died about 2.5 years in so a new £500 battery needed.

Part of me agrees with OP and shouldn’t see motor or battery failures so early.

On other hand contrast with say £4-£5k normal bike. What price a new cassette or whatever other components when they fail? Into the high hundreds too.

Morale of story expensive bikes have expensive parts.

On other hand contrast with say £4-£5k normal bike. What price a new cassette or whatever other components when they fail? Into the high hundreds too.

Don't you also need to replace cassette and other components on your eBike too. Presumably the cassette even more often?

E Bikes why do we put up with it?

Let me answer this for you.. because their ****ing brilliant.

I've done 5K miles on my two e-bikes (plenty do much more), and though they been far from trouble free (I own a Levo..) they also had great support from the manufacturer & ridden year round, regardless of the weather (more likely to be ridden in winter than my manual bike ever would have), and I will not be going back to a manual as my main bike.

As for the cost

New batteries are £740. That puts me off for starters.
If the motor dies, people do exist who can rebuild them

... and it will be the same for the batteries, already I've seen non OEM Bosch batteries being advertised. Eurobike had motors from other manufacturers that fitted in shimano mounting.. For the 3rd party manufacturers, I see this as a definitely selling point, to upgrade/replace faulty motors. Were still at the infancy of this industry, but if eurobike is anything to go by, it's huge & not going away

I’m hoping that by the time my kids are big enough to regularly want to ride the whole of a loop (and need towing up hills on their little pedal bikes) ebikes will be reliable enough that I won’t have to worry about them dying prematurely.

Although at the rate they’re progressing I think I’ll just be hoping for something to be in stock.

Although we did the maths and as we’d need one for each of us at the moment that would be £10K+ and as we’d currently average 1 ride a week we’d be better off spending £140 a day hiring them and not needing to worry about longevity and servicing, etc.

We’ll probably bite the billet in a year or so and just keep the Hardtail for days without the kids

Good point from Scotroutes about hiring. Say I went to Swaledale once a month & rented a full Susser from the bike centre it would cost £2880 over 3 years. No warranty or breakage worries, no charging or cleaning either.
Not much good if you're using one all the time though.

I might do that.

Bottom line: if either the motor or the battery dies out of warranty, you’re left with either a substantial bill or a near useless heap of parts.

I'll probably end up getting one when I get too old and broken to ride a normal mtb but the above is the main reason I haven't bought one so far. I've not even tried riding one and being fairly skinny and weighing less than 11 stone I don't think it would be much fun on the type of trails I like riding, no sense in making the climbing easier but the tight steep twisty descents more difficult and tiring

no breakage worries

Read the small print very carefully...

Read the small print very carefully…

Well I meant within reason obsviously.

Eurobike had motors from other manufacturers that fitted in shimano mounting..

I saw one on emtbn metioned... looks like it's really aimed at OEMs though...
https://www.oli-ebike.com/motors/sport/

Also had some lightweight ones from these guys
https://www.maxonbikedrive.com/en/e-bike-system/bikedrive-air
and these
http://www.ananda.com.cn/index.php/index/index.html
which looked like Shimanos commuter/hybrid type mounts

I see the ebike thing as like buying into iPhones at the iPhone - iPhone 5/6 stage. They’re good, but the incremental progression is so fast that now is the wrong time to invest as a better one is always around the corner.

That and the price, but that’s for a different thread!

On my 3rd bosch ebike with no issues, used all year in all conditions. I never wash mine with a hose or jet wash it’s always a wipe clean, always remove covers and on earlier gen ones put waterproof grease around seals. Water or washing is mainly what kills them.
I did have one specialized last year and it did 2 motors in 2 months so I went back to bosch.
But yeah some do appear to have issues but it’s not as bad as it seems

It's a weird one, the motors themselves aren't exactly technically advanced, same old stator/rotor style that's in lots of motors driving everything from a hand held drill to larger industrial kit, these shouldn't be failing any time soon, they should last a hell of a long time.

Same with batteries, this is old technology repackaged for ebikes, again nothing fancy, it should last a predicted amount of time and charges.

It's the controllers and wiring for me that are crap, 5k or more ebikes with wiring looms specs that you'd see on kit that's protected or less prone to water intrusion/ingress, i know it's not an easy job to make that area more watertight, but surely the connectors/looms could be better protected and stored, most ebikes i see have the wiring rammed up in the seat tube or above the mounting, no real dedicated protection, just sat there exposed to any ingress.

E bikes are the new toy for the stupid rich people who couldn’t care less about a battery or motor failure which would cost some people 2 weeks wage to replace as they have more money than sense. The manufacturers must be falling over themselves laughing as they stick a few quids worth of battery and motor into one of their lardy MTBs then mark them up a couple of £k extra. Seriously have you seen the spec of one of these turds?
Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be any impetus to make the things reliable as these folk seem happy to accept failures with a shrug of the shoulders as they can afford to offload them when it gets too much and buy another, yet more e waste and normal waste, as no one else wants to take on something so risky.
A close friend works in one shop as a mechanic for one of the biggest brands and he wouldn’t buy one even at his reduced price he can pay as they as so unreliable. The often used phrase “sold another warranty job today” accompanies e bike purchases. And even years into selling them the manufacturers won’t sort out basic problems with reliability which have been reported to them time and time again. And this is a company with a VERY good warranty and customer service record.
Hang on, I’ve not finished insulting the ebike riders so please read on 😂😂😂 why is every ebike MTB rider so chuffin fat? Enduro top clingfilmed across their man boobs, rucksack straining the suspension with its load of pies and pork scratching, the rider sweating like a whore on sailors payday even on turbo mode as the crappy motor struggles to haul the gargantuan combined weight of the gas piped and tractor tyred monstrosity and it’s equally disturbingly hefty cargo. They must get back home and feel really happy that the extra few miles they rode compared to what their body could actually do and what the electric bariatric scooter has propelled them along, as they mainline another XL mixed kebab and chips for supper.

I’m fat and slow and I could probably stretch to an eMTB if I wanted but seeing the culture around them has instead inspired me to lay off the Gregg’s, lose some weight and enjoy riding an old fashioned bike a bit faster. 😂😂

I’m always hesitant to post on threads like this due to Sod’s law but my Levo has done about 3000 miles in all weathers over the last 3 years and nothing ebike-related has broken (shock blew and fork started creaking though!) It had a few moments of weirdness in the last year but it turned out to be due to the magnetic battery connector and magnetic speed sensor picking up ferrous dust, so now I know to clean that off before it becomes problematic.

I should probably add that I don’t know anyone who avoids cleaning bikes as much as I do, so I’m not sure it’s ever had a hose near it let alone a jet washer!

I do have a problem with how fast it eats chains and cassettes, am curious to hear if that new Shimano range has better durability.

b230ftw you could be on to something though i must most definitely be the exception to your rule.
Not only am i not Mega Rich, im not Mega Fat either, 11st 4 and 6ft, whats Greggs? 🤔 I ride on average 400 us miles a month less than a quarter of that with assistance and yes i do agree i dont need an E Bike but as you well know bringing want and need into a discussion on here isnt going to end well 😎

I've done around 2000 miles on my Overvolt with no issues (just come back from a ride!).

My Liv Intrigue is currently getting fixed at the local Giant dealer, as it suffered sensor issues due to water getting in (which is apparently quite common on Giants).

Both have been ridden in the rain and through water crossings, I think the Overvolt copes with it better. I'm wondering if having an integrated battery can cause more issues.

It isn't just the water (whether weather or washer), but also the riding style. Slow RPM high torque riding is bad for the motor and can damage the sprag clutches used.

I also think that the suspension kinematics - chain growth specifically - can overload the sprag clutch too. I would be interested to see the different failure rates for Levo FSR vs Levo hardtail.

The sprag clutch bearings on the Brose 1.3 and 2.1 motors were rated to 250nm. The motor puts out 90nm. An enthusiastic rider should easily be able to muster another 160nm (Track cyclists have been recorded at 260nm), then add in the extra torque from soem dynamic chain growth and you have failure in a brand new motor, never even exposed to water.

The updates to the Brose 2.2 motor include better sealing, stronger sprags, and software update to cut motor power on g-out, reducing the chain growth risk.

TL:DR There are a number of factors that effect motor reliability.

I'm neither rich nor fat b230ftw mate, and as I don't drink or fritter money on other daft things like cars, motorbikes, expensive clothes or the latest iPhone, I'm quite happy having lots of top quality fun on my ebike. 😁

Best of luck avoiding Greggs.

b230.
I'm unemployed, not rich, not fat, wouldn't touch a Greggs if you paid me and own an Ebike but ride one of my other bikes if I want to go for a long ride.
You OK hun. You seem a bit distressed.
Maybe its because you've only ridden your MTB twice this year...

@b230ftw I was at FOD a few times this summer and was surprised how many young fit kids (kids means under 30 to me now) blasting out runs and laps ebikes, up until then I was of the opinion that they tended to be used by the kind of people you described. Personally we’re considering them because pedalling a loop of Verderers, Cwmbran, Llandegla, etc with a 16kg toddler sitting in front of you on a KRS seat is bloomin’ hard-work and not that fun. An ebike meant we could get a few laps in and then nip up the fire road to just ride best bits. Both my (nearly) 3 year olds absolutely loved the 3 hours of (mainly) blasting downhill (be them easy blues) runs compared to the previous time when they were done after one loop of Verderers.

And we’re not even talking about when they’re too big for the KRS and we need to tow 2 small children uphill.

Yes they’re expensive and I’m not quite convinced on their reliability yet but we’ll probably have to get 2 in next 18 months.

Bikes are bikes, I’m still not sure why bikers rag on all other forms (roadies vs mtb vs ebikes, etc). Remember when people hated disc brakes, front suspension, rear suspension and droppers when each was new. And now they’re all great

there’s nothing a user can do to prolong the life of it in normal use.

What about strain on the motor ?. You've 12 gears(Usually), the motor provides the torque, but I reckon if you dont use the gears as in going up to 8,9,10 etc theres more strain on the motor and possibly that plays a part in it breaking down prematurely.
Im not really doing really steep hills but as such am probably a bit guilty of this only ever using gears 3-6, because the motor really does the work, so its easy to forget about the actual strain on the motor in use.
Also not sure if my style of riding one is going to have a bad effect. I dont select a gear and keep the cadence to a level where im producing pretty much exactly the correct rotation for the set speed, rather I pedal, then freewheel, pedal, allow it to drop slightly below the 15mph, then pedal again to bring it back to the 15/16mph, so the motor is stopping and starting rather than being on all the time.

we’ll probably have to get 2 in next 18 months

Which is a choice you can only make because you can afford to.

My spesh has done a year so far with no issues as did my previous apart from being delivered by a rubbish shop with a dead battery.
No idea on mileage, I don't track that.
It's my only bike and if it was in for repair I would rather do something else rather than have to ride a pedalbike again.
If it fails out of warranty then I'll pay for repair, I see it as just part of ownership.

@scotroutes hopefully if we can get enough overtime in between now and then. I’ll just have to put my dream of a custom Curtis on hold for another few years. Lol.

Whatever maximises the amount of fun the kids get to have.

I’d still be keeping my hardtail for when the kids aren’t around.

@b30ftw
Oh dear 😯

I’m fat and slow

Sorry, but why is this 😕 if you rode more, and put more effort into it, you could live up to your own expectations of others.

See people are getting all defensive now 😂😂

“ Sorry, but why is this 😕 if you rode more, and put more effort into it, you could live up to your own expectations of others.”

😂😂😂😂

@b230ftw

I'm loving this thread!

Don't do it!!! You can get a sausage and bean slice 😉

I'll be tempted in an ebike in a few years, when I'm convinced of the reliability and hopefully the cost drops a bit!

Let's keep the banter going

If there is too much strain on the motor, you'd think the designers would limit the torque in the controller. But the actual electrical motor part of the drive unit rarely fails.

It mostly seems to be bearings, sensors going out of range, or electronics getting damaged from water. It's a load bearing part of the bike and subject to a huge amount of force, knocks and vibration.

I think it'd be a better design to isolate the motor and electronics from this, and just use a normal replaceable bottom bracket and crank axle, maybe driving the chain via an "idler" type pulley, but I'm not an engineer. Maybe it's just too heavy that way.

b230ftw, excellent rant, ha ha! With the odd exception (e-folks on here perhaps) I think you're pretty spot on.

pretty spot on

Slow biffer moans about other slow biffers getting more miles in?. 🙂

You also have to teach people not to ride them through a bog and then blast them with a pressure washer. Putting them on a roof-rack and driving at 80 mph through torrential rain is probably going to have the same effect.

The bike industry could also get some lessons in writing a decent spec sheet before getting their crayons out, working out all the failure modes, the designing and testing the end product to make sure all the failure modes are covered. But alas, that's the proper and expensive way of doing things, the bean counters and marketing/****erteeering departments arnt interested in that, so the end buyer does all the testing and validation, with the warranty team drowning in the fallout and a supply chain run by kids.

I bought a Scott ransom so I could still ride with my mates, it's alright, it hasn't shit itself yet, although it's chewed through a drivetrain in 400 miles (because it's not been designed for an extra 500ish watts).

Going up, ebike all day long (I can do more runs) but on the way down, geometron all the time, the moped just feels dull and in involving.

Quite interested in the keneno sl, except it's carbon and a bit too new, aluminum and a bit more beta testing by the end consumer and I might be tempted.

I think most eBike owners could learn a lot about how to keep their bikes running from Deliveroo riders who:

- wrap the battery in cling film and gorilla tape
- cover the vents on the motors in gorilla tape and what appears to be large quantities of rubber or poly bags

😂😂