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'The big problem is water': UK ebike owners plagued by failing motors

theguardian.com

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Re: 'The big problem is water': UK ebike owners plagued by failing motors

#291

Post by kjkjadksj »

tacticalturtle wrote: post #89
lostlogin wrote: post #16

I’ve been doing a bit of (non e-bike) riding in poor weather of late, and it’s really surprising just how wet and dirty everything gets. After a wet road ride, every surface is covered in black, greasy dirt. It rots fabric, makes grinding paste in mechanical parts and generally makes everything worse. You need really good seals to keep that crap out.

I never see them in the US outside of city bike share programs, but I feel like most casual bike users would be better served by internal gear hubs and similar closed systems. The maintenance is minimal, outside of dropping some oil in every year. But for some reason, every bike in a bike shop, including the most casual upright bike, has a finicky derailleur. So instead we’re doomed to a life of misaligned derailleur…

You know what bike lasts forever? Friction shift. I first noticed this in college. There would be new bikes and then really old bikes that had friction shifters. Hardly any maybe 10-20 year old bikes interestingly. All you really need to do for friction shift bikes are tires brakes and lube. You don’t really need to fuss with adjusting the derailer since theres no indexing you just move it with your lever until its in gear, wherever that may be. Plus you can get an entire friction shift bike in working order for like $50 sometimes.

Re: 'The big problem is water': UK ebike owners plagued by failing motors

#292

Post by ornornor »

39896880 wrote: post #64
hi-v-rocknroll wrote: post #29

If it's a Chinese e-bike, it's probably lying about being IPX67. OTOH, Riese & Müller $15k USD e-bikes aren't IPX anything because the Bosch components aren't. If you get it wet, just kiss that money goodbye. Absolutely bonkers.

I’m glad you wrote this. I have one of these, and I love it, but haven’t ridden it in the rain. Now I won’t. I thought it might be okay because, as you pointed out, it definitely wasn’t cheap.

Here in Switzerland they rent them out (carvelo2go) and they seem to be doing just fine in (rainy) Switzerland.

Re: 'The big problem is water': UK ebike owners plagued by failing motors

#293

Post by ornornor »

gjadi wrote: post #37
serf wrote: post #11

it's not surprising to me that the bosch mid-drives are failing, they're typically placed at an angle that catches all the run off from every tube at the lowest point on the bike (except on recumbents), and the controller is (usually) integrated. mid-drives are great, the gear advantage rocks; the bosch units suck but unfortunately they had so much industry sway that a lot of ebike frames are coming out built around…

My local bike shop said they are all in Bosch because they had better reliability and less issues with their support compared to other companies and because of the commitment to long term spare parts availability.

> long term spare parts availability.

The article says that you can’t get spares, any service requires sending to the factory for repair?

Re: 'The big problem is water': UK ebike owners plagued by failing motors

#294

Post by IshKebab »

macrolime wrote: post #256
IshKebab wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Can be parked anywhere Jesus I wouldn't park a $15k bike anywhere...

If you're afraid of it getting stolen you can buy insurance.

"Hi, I'd like to insure my $15k ebike. How many times has it been stolen you ask? Oh only a few. Half a dozen at most. Hello? Is anyone there?"

Re: 'The big problem is water': UK ebike owners plagued by failing motors

#295

Post by saagarjha »

abdulhaq wrote: post #264
daliusd wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can attach trailer to bicycle and use it to transport your kids to nursery/school during winter. There I live both things would be illegal with motorcycle.

Sounds very dangerous to me

Why would attaching a trailer to your bike be very dangerous?

Re: 'The big problem is water': UK ebike owners plagued by failing motors

#296

Post by jodleif »

nwatson wrote: post #137
blacksmith_tb wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a lot of range in internally-geared hubs though, from the crazy end with the $1500 Rohloff 14sp to the $80 Sturmey-Archer 3sp. I commute on a Shimano Alfine 11sp that's ~$200 which isn't exactly "a tenner" but if you add up the price of a derailleur, cassette, chainrings, etc. I don't think it's much different?

A bottom bracket mounted Pinion C.12 transmission runs 12 gears (grip shift) and over 600% ratio from gear 1 to gear 12. I bought a reasonably priced Priority 600x mountain bike (now replaced by two newer models) with this system. No derailleur, no chain, no lube. Two cogs/sprockets, one at the pedals, one on the back wheel. A carbon fiber belt drive. Not an e-bike. Easy to maintain. The extra cost is worth it avoidi…

Drawback is of course way worse drivetrain efficiency, but for a all weather bike it seems awesome

Re: 'The big problem is water': UK ebike owners plagued by failing motors

#297

Post by eynsham »

Etheryte wrote: post #95
tacticalturtle wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never see them in the US outside of city bike share programs, but I feel like most casual bike users would be better served by internal gear hubs and similar closed systems. The maintenance is minimal, outside of dropping some oil in every year. But for some reason, every bike in a bike shop, including the most casual upright bike, has a finicky derailleur. So instead we’re doomed to a life of misaligned derailleur…

You're glossing over the fact that internal gear hub transmissions easily cost in the hundreds, whereas you can get a derailleur for a tenner or so. I've owned a number of bikes in my life and all of them have been cheaper than the transmission you suggest everyone should use.

My bike, with a Sturmey Archer three-speed, cost £160 (from a very reputable shop that services pretty much everything for free or only charges for parts). It is perfectly good for commuting and hobby rides up to at least 50 miles—and I say this as someone rather out of shape.

Re: 'The big problem is water': UK ebike owners plagued by failing motors

#298

Post by sswezey »

rjh29 wrote: post #280
ARandomerDude wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Serious question, why would a person spend that kind of money on an ebike? An entry-level motorcycle is less than half that. What benefit does the bike get you that a motorcycle doesn't? One example among many: https://powersports.honda.com/motorcycle/cruiser/rebel-500

or a escooter or one of those things you just stand on and it moves? The main reason to ride a bike nowadays is for pleasure or exercise and a ebike defeats both.

An ebike can be for both pleasure and exercise. Most ebikes are pedelecs - you're still cycling, you're just getting a boost. They aren't loud, you just either get somewhere faster or with less effort. I find an ebike to be more pleasurable than a regular bike 90% of the time.

Just because you're doing less work, doesn't mean you're doing no work. An ebike can provide mobility for people who aren't in perfect shape. Ebikes can also allow you to use your bike for more errands, like getting groceries that people would otherwise not do on a regular bike.

Re: 'The big problem is water': UK ebike owners plagued by failing motors

#299

Post by scheme271 »

tacticalturtle wrote: post #89
lostlogin wrote: post #16

I’ve been doing a bit of (non e-bike) riding in poor weather of late, and it’s really surprising just how wet and dirty everything gets. After a wet road ride, every surface is covered in black, greasy dirt. It rots fabric, makes grinding paste in mechanical parts and generally makes everything worse. You need really good seals to keep that crap out.

I never see them in the US outside of city bike share programs, but I feel like most casual bike users would be better served by internal gear hubs and similar closed systems. The maintenance is minimal, outside of dropping some oil in every year. But for some reason, every bike in a bike shop, including the most casual upright bike, has a finicky derailleur. So instead we’re doomed to a life of misaligned derailleur…

An internal hub and a gates belt really reduces the amount of maintenance needed to keep your bike running well. The belt avoids most of the chain issues and doesn't need a properly lubed chain to function and moving the gears inside reduces the contamination that cogs get exposed to.

Re: 'The big problem is water': UK ebike owners plagued by failing motors

#300

Post by scheme271 »

nox101 wrote: post #158
petre wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What benefit does the bike get you that a motorcycle doesn't? Exercise and silence.

Most bikes are not silent. Worse, it's getting popular to make them loud. I was looking for an e-mtb recently. Tried a Trek ($4.5k down from $7.5k), ridiculously loud hub. Sales person claimed (falsely) that the more pro the hub the louder. Talked to another dealer who gave me the same story.

It's kind of true. If you want the hub to engage right away when you pedal, you'll need the rachet mechanism to have more points of potential contact and those points will all make clicking sounds when you're coasting.
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