You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Sorry, I know it is a bit like the tyre threads but I am rather out of touch here.
What is currently regarded as the most reliable emotor? Looking at "treking" type bikes (daft name) for the wife and, naturally, the choices are vast. I know we are going to accept the idea that this is a fairly fragile consumable but equally why make life hard for ourselves? Two year warranty is standard but this isn't going to be anywhere near the life of a bike so maybe we need to be thinking about after market repairs as well. Dig your crystal ball out and point me in the vaguely correct direction.
Currently thinking Bosch although, annoyingly motor aside, a Shimao Orbea seems a good call.
Ta lots.
Everyone will say Bosch because they're far more likely to be able to be repaired after the warranty runs out.
On the repairability front, take a look at these guys' web site and their YouTube videos:
They do the major stuff bar Shimano and upgraded a tired Specialized Brose motor for me recently. Fwiw I like the Brose for its quietness, but Spesh has historically had reliability issues related to sealing in particular, though these are relatively fixable (see above), but also an excellent reputation for warranty service.
A mate and his missus have Bosch-motored e trekking things and seem happy with them, but it's relatively early days.
Stick with Bosch or Brose (Specialized and some othe brands) the Spesh warranty is pretty good, even when out of warranty they will help with a discounted motor, they are known to have a quick turn around and very little refusals when it comes to warranty claims
Both can be repaired by 3rd parties, you can even buy the repair kit yourself and fit the parts
Stay away from anything Shimano, Shimano dont sell replacement parts so most 3rd party repairers wont touch them, they are also known to be not so good when it comes to replacing motors under warranty and will refuse warranty any chance they get
If a trekking bike then why not look at a bike with a rear hub motor? cheaper bike to buy than mid mounted motor equipped one, cheaper to replace the motor if there are any issues once out of warranty and in the worst case you can swap the wheel out for a normal one whilst your rear wheel motor is being repaired
The link to that company (Performance Bearings I think..) gave me more confidence in Brose motors so thats what we have on our bikes.
Shimano, like some of their brakes, is bin the old and get a new unit.
Also loads of YouTube compare motor stuff too.
My brother recently got a hub motored Trek for commuting as it was much lighter weight than mid motors. Slightly smaller battery but when testing he commented that the cut off seemed less abrupt and if necessary it would be much easier to put on the train due to weather or breakdown. It was bought for a specific commute into London. I guess there is a fair bit of try it and see.
I think it's this model:
https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/bikes/hybrid-bikes/electric-hybrid-bikes/fx/fx-2/p/35840/?colorCode=black
If a trekking bike then why not look at a bike with a rear hub motor? cheaper bike to buy than mid mounted motor equipped one, cheaper to replace the motor if there are any issues once out of warranty and in the worst case you can swap the wheel out for a normal one whilst your rear wheel motor is being repaired
My sister (non driver) was an early adopter, buying a trekking type thing 6-7 years ago for commuting, shopping, etc. Early gen Bosch motor that refused to fire up last week and will shortly be going into a shop for a look. She loves the bike but it's a piece of sh!t £300 BSO jacked up to £2000 to price in the motor and battery.
I anticipate a conversation soon where she asks what she should replace it with and I'm going to advise the hub motor approach myself - lets me spec a bike without all the krap on the current one that she doesn't need (rubbish suspension forks, suspension seatpost that doesn't work, derailleur drivetrain that never gets maintained). She gets a bike that suits her needs, I'm off the maintenance hook, and the bike's not landfill next time the motor fails.
Well I've just added a tongsheng B mid drive to my old hardtail with a big 48v 20amp battery.
Ok it's a bit ugly compared to a specifically built ebike, but easily repairable (spare parts available)! and replaceable (both battery and motor) for a fraction of the cost of an ebike. With that battery I've got over 100km in a charge mainly using 'tourer mode' bikepacking. I'm just using it for road and estate track type stuff; a massive help for my heart and knee issues.
If you've already got a suitable bike it's and easy and much cheaper way to e-bike.
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/njj6nwsJ/IMG-20230415-172443-863.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/njj6nwsJ/IMG-20230415-172443-863.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
As above
Brose, Bosch - and performance bearings, and stay away from shimano.
Montgomery - you can get motors and batteries on eBay now and various other places, so that may be another option.
Thansk all. Current bike is disliked for many a reason so it is a new one although we still may end up hub motored. No experience myself of factory ones, only home brewed bodge jobs.
Hub motor is a much better plan for commuter or trekking bikes, as you don't end up killing the transmission every 5 minutes. My FIL's is fine for dashing round on, despite being a cheapo setup.
I've got a HT with a Bosch motor in and it's been faultless over the 7500 miles I've ridden on it. I've just got anoter bike with the Specialized 1.1 motor and it's very nice - the Mission Control app works really well and has some great features. I can't speak for reliability as I've only done 150 miles on it but the LBS said there were issues with earlier models with seals that have been addressed now. It's got a warranty so we'll see. 🤷♂️
So why might I go for a hub motor over a BB one? Transmission wear of course and I assume it will be easier to replace when knackered.
Anything else?
I can give you reasons why not 🙂
torque sensing even if it has it does not work so well. Inefficient on slow climbs on hills. BB mount is a much nicer riding experience IMO
I recently bought one of these to convert an old Stumpy for local trips rather than use the car.
Geeko
Rear wheel version. Works well, I get about 50 miles from the battery and the (Chinese) company are really quick to reply to any queries. It works well enough for me.
I used to work in a dealer selling Cube (Bosch) and Specialized. We sold more Cubes but did a lot more warranty stuff on Specialized. I’ve got a Moustache Samedi hybrid as my run-around - paid £2k for an ex-demo with 30 miles - Bosch CX, Deore 9 and hydro brakes. For the same money, the other options were generally heavier, cheap hub motors with 7 speed transmission and cable disc brakes
For trekking style bikes I'd say don't stress over the motor too much.
We never see any of the Yamaha or Bosch bikes, we sell, back for any motor problems. They don't take the punishment an MTB does so seem to last.
It's the slop, washing and crank bashing that kills MTB motors.
Transmission wear of course
20 months thus far on my transmission(85nm of power going through it) with no signs its going to give up any time soon. Deore m6000, with xt rear.
Maybe in the ruff tuff world of offroad it will take a battering, stomping on pedals etc, but trekking 😕 i doubt theres the same stresses going through it.
I would say Bosch, because I have Bosch, and those are serviceable, at least the bearings are. Shimano like their brakes it wears out or stops working or needs a service then it must be replaced.
Although I know nothing about Yamaha, I have heard in places that you can buy spare parts like cogs and gears, so is probably more serviceable than any(if this is true)
I'd say stay away from rear hub motors. I have no issue that they are reliable, its only that it puts all the weight into the back of the bike, and if you are trekking, its likely you'll have rack/panniers back there which will increase the weight further. Hills then might give a tendency to lift the front wheel or certainly lighten it. Maybe not such a good idea unless youre into wheelies.
With a mid drive its central motor weight, forward battery, then the luggage weight on the rear is going to balance the bike better overall.
Whats your budget ? Thats the all important part of Ebikes these days, and if its a decent one maybe something by Riese and Muller, maybe something like a SuperDelite. £7k starting, but has 1125wh internal batteries for a serious range. £7.5K for the hub gearing.
Tbh Even Shimano is fine for trekking type stuff. Some of the guys on emtb forums have got 20,000 miles or so out of the motors and they are still going and once you get to the cheaper end a new motor is probably similar cost to getting it serviced.
Ta. Fave at the moment is a Yam motored Haibike. Would have bought it but no size/colour option that we wanted in LBS. Tis either August or mail order. To be decided.