Vitus E-Sommet VR

[inwoods]

Damn what a nightmare, this is exactly the kinda thing I worry about, the only thing that could ease the worry is a quick turnaround IF it does go wrong and 2 weeks is way too long already and nothings even been done, even worst the fact that they want the full bike back, having to remove pedals and any other things you have changed, complete joke.

You definitely should be given the option to return just the motor and maybe even straight to shimano yourself and they can pass the bill on to crc preventing silly amounts of downtime, hopefully this is something they look into in the future.

I wonder if you will be compensated for the downtime, I wonder what happens to your warranty after that.

Gutted for you.

 

[Doomanic]

That's a bit crap. I was under the impression CRC customer service was pretty good.

Can't you use a local service agent?

 

[Gary]

having to remove pedals and any other things you have changed, complete joke.

No. I've removed pedals for packaging but not anything else I've changed. I've only changed tyres. grips and dropper. and added a front mudguard and GoPro mount (for lights) everything else was perfect for me

I was under the impression CRC customer service was pretty good

When things are straight forward they are. You fill in a form, send your unwanted/broken stuff back and it gets sorted/replaced/refunded. The main problem with CRC customer service is that being such a large company you rarely get anyone who knows their shit if it's not something straight forward. Add to that the stupid shipping constraints and the fact I can't contact them by telephone, or even via livechat outside office hours. So it's Email ping pong. Which frustratingly just doesn't give quick results.

Can't you use a local service agent?

There is no local service agent. None of Edinburgh's Shimano service centres have any staff qualified to service a E8000 motor. so all they could do is remove it and send off the motor to Shimano. Costing them time and money (labour/shipping) and quite rightly they are not keen to do this for nothing or try to re-coup the costs from CRC. The first customer service guy at CRC I Emailed sent an automated Email advising me to take the bike my LBS and have it repaired if it was less than £30 to repair. This took 3 days. Absolutely clueless. and a huge waste of time when I'd already gone to the trouble of telling/showing them exactly what the problem is. If As I suspect it's just a main bearing needing replaced I'd happily replace it myself but we're not allowed to open the motors or the warranty is invalidated.

It's not the end of the world. I have plenty non-Ebikes to ride. it's just a PITA

 

[Gary]

Bike was finally collected this morning.. .and THROWN into the back of a Tuffnells luton van

haha.

 

[inwoods]

Ugh, did they send you a box to pack it up ? Mine turned up with about 6 fist sized holes in it and all torn so box went straight into recycling.

 

[Gary]

Yeah. CRC sent out a new box. same massive box that the whole assembled bike fits in. It's not the strongest.

 

[R120]

Bike was finally collected this morning.. .and THROWN into the back of a Tuffnells luton van

haha.

Reminds me of how they delivered mine, except it was thrown out the back of the Van!

 

[Gary]

CRC Emailed today.

"Hi Gary,

I have received your warranty claim and passed your item to our workshop for an inspection and testing.
I would normally expect a decision from them within four to five working days depending on the amount of tests that need to take place.
I will contact you once this inspection is complete, in the meantime if you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us.
Kind regards

********"

FFS!

They recieved my warranty claim over 3 weeks ago.
The problem takes any half decent bike mechanic a matter of minutes to diagnose.
I've spoke to a CRC mechanic who has experience with shimano motors and watched the video I sent. He explained it needs to go back to Shimano. Shimano need to test it and make a decision whether to replace it or repair it.
So WhyTF are they pissing me about for yet another 5 (working) days? Or in other words another week.



Ach... I'm just pissed off... ignore my ramblings... it's still a great bike. I just wish there was a Shimano Service centre in the Scottish Central belt who had an E8000 technician/Steps service centre. Eventually hopefully there will be... it''s just the price you have to pay for being an early adopter.

 

[Kiwi in Wales]

CRC Emailed today.





FFS!

They recieved my warranty claim over 3 weeks ago.
The problem takes any half decent bike mechanic a matter of minutes to diagnose.
I've spoke to a CRC mechanic who has experience with shimano motors and watched the video I sent. He explained it needs to go back to Shimano. Shimano need to test it and make a decision whether to replace it or repair it.
So WhyTF are they pissing me about for yet another 5 (working) days? Or in other words another week.



Ach... I'm just pissed off... ignore my ramblings... it's still a great bike. I just wish there was a Shimano Service centre in the Scottish Central belt who had an E8000 technician/Steps service centre. Eventually hopefully there will be... it''s just the price you have to pay for being an early adopter.

Very frustrating for you Gary, hope they pull finger and resolve a bit quicker than they have been.
Is there an escalation point of contact at CRC that you could possibly pass on all your delay issues to?

 

[Gary]

Is there an escalation point of contact at CRC that you could possibly pass on all your delay issues to?

lol

If there was you'd be put in a queue and they'd probably get back to you in 72hrs

with a copy n pasted reply

 

[drjarvis2003]

CRC Emailed today.





FFS!

They recieved my warranty claim over 3 weeks ago.
The problem takes any half decent bike mechanic a matter of minutes to diagnose.
I've spoke to a CRC mechanic who has experience with shimano motors and watched the video I sent. He explained it needs to go back to Shimano. Shimano need to test it and make a decision whether to replace it or repair it.
So WhyTF are they pissing me about for yet another 5 (working) days? Or in other words another week.



Ach... I'm just pissed off... ignore my ramblings... it's still a great bike. I just wish there was a Shimano Service centre in the Scottish Central belt who had an E8000 technician/Steps service centre. Eventually hopefully there will be... it''s just the price you have to pay for being an early adopter.

Sprockets in Kilmarnock are a shimano service centre but they are still not allowed to open the motors.
I asked them last week about it, but they will have diagnostic tool.

 

[Gary]

none of the Shimano service centres in Edinburgh will open an E8000 motor either. I went in to ask in person. They could have unbolted the motor and sent it to Shimano for me but it would have cost considerably more than the £30 the idiot CRC customer service email offered to pay if I took it to my LBS to be fixed.
My actual LBS probably wouldn't have ever seen an E8000 motor in real life. Nevermind have a clue how to fix one.

 

[drjarvis2003]

none of the Shimano service centres in Edinburgh will open an E8000 motor either. I went in to ask in person. They could have unbolted the motor and sent it to Shimano for me but it would have cost considerably more than the £30 the idiot CRC customer service email offered to pay if I took it to my LBS to be fixed.
My actual LBS probably wouldn't have ever seen an E8000 motor in real life. Nevermind have a clue how to fix one.

Would it be possible to just take the motor out yourself and send it to Madison with the ok from chain reaction?

 

[Gary]

Would it be possible to just take the motor out yourself and send it to Madison with the ok from chain reaction?

That is exactly what I asked to do.
but I got a definite no. CRC wanted to test it in their workshop. They wouldn't even accept the without the battery. Hence the massive logistics nightmare that meant it took 2 weeks for them to collect it. apparently there is only one courier that can be used to ship the battery to and from Ireland.

 

[R120]

I have just had my bike in the LBS for its first major service so to speak, was away for two weeks so i thought it was a good opportunity to drop it off and get some proper love shown to her, basically a full strip down and rebuild, replacing anything that needed doing.

She' done about 700 miles, and the wear and tear is as follows:

New pads front and rear, they where pretty much down to the metal. Discs fine. Brakes don't need bleeding either.

• New chain and rear cassette - no problems with them but the Chain was at about 80% wear, and i like to change the cassette when i do the chain as i find they wear in together and i have had shifting problems in the past with new chains on fairly well worn cassettes. I would say the cassette was about 2/3rds of the way though its life. The old chain and cassette where working fine, but i took the opportunity of having the bike in the workshop to get the job done. Chain had blown 2 links in its life, both pretty early on.
• New bearing for rear hub, the old one was shot.
• Needed the usual re adjusting/setting of the drivetrain cabling.
• Headset needed taking out and cleaning down as a fair bit of dirt in there, though surprisingly hardly any crud under the motor covers.

All in all very pleased given the abuse i have put the bike through. Cosmetically i have never cared about a bike getting scratched up, and mine has a fair few scars, but always been pretty good with making sure the vital bit are well maintained, so pleased to see no major issues reared their head.

Mechanic emphasised to me how important keeping the drivetrain clean and lubed is on the e-bikes, he said he had seen a fair few where owners hadn't done any real maintenance and had destoyed the cassettes/chains within a couple of hundred miles.

 

[peteh80]

Is it just me or is it a pain in the arse to mount the front wheel into the fork? My Pikes are so easy but these on my Vitus just don't want to play ball. I always do it with the bike standing upright and jiggle the axle bolt in but lately I'm losing g my patience. Seems like there's no "slot" that the wheel falls Into....
Ps, Ive got the poor man's version here!

 

[ccrdave]

is it rockshox? there is no slot as the later forks are designed to be used with tourque caps, supposed to give a much wider support area and make it stiffer

 

[peteh80]

Yeah Rockshox Yari. Just noticed it after taking my Crush out other day

 

[R120]

Its not just you, you have to line it up, but i have kind of got used to it now and pretty much get in lined up first time

 

[Gary]

DtSwiss torque caps are ridiculously expensive
DT Swiss Front Torque Caps for BOOST

I have Hope torque caps on my proII evo hub on my other bike with 170mm lyrik.
other than being a tiny bit easier to put the wheel in there's no percievable performance improvement over non torque end caps.

 

[Gary]

Finally had good news from CRC. Diagnosis was just as I described. a fucked motor
I should be getting a new E8000 motor fitted tomorrow and hopefully have the bike back sometime next week. They're sending my motor back to Shimano and since I've been waiting so long they're taking a new motor off another Vitus they just recieved delivery of and fitting it to my bike instead of waiting for mine to come back from Shimano..
Just wished they'd actually listened in the first place.

 

[Gary]

Haha... thanks for the shout out @Rob Hancill

How tall are you? Just thinking about your comments on it being a little more difficult to maneouver in the tight stuff than your Levo and couldn't help thinking it's probably as much to do with the length of the XL as the head angle.

 

[ccrdave]

Good news Gary glad you got it sorted mate

 

[R120]

Haha... thanks for the shout out @Rob Hancill

How tall are you? Just thinking about your comments on it being a little more difficult to maneouver in the tight stuff than your Levo and couldn't help thinking it's probably as much to do with the length of the XL as the head angle.

I actually think it’s do with the nature of the bike - I have picked up the same on mine that on tight and twisty single track it’s not as nimble as a trail bike, but then again that’s because it’s an enduro bike, and the benefits the geo and suspension bring on gnarlier terrain are where it excels. It’s a minor thing, it’s not unwieldy but if your used to riding a shorter travel less slack bike you will notice it, but as you get used to the bike you learn how to manhandle it and compensate when things get super tight.

Of course you can do as you have done Gary and size down significantly, as on bike like the Sommett the smaller sizes still have slack geometry.

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Hi @Gary I'm 6'3" so felt the XL was needed. It wasn't too difficult to manoeuvre, I found it just required a bit more effort than a 'trail' bike like the Levo (understandably so).

New 2019 bikes arrive early November,

 

[Gary]

@R120 Hmm... not so sure. My mountain bikes range from as slack as 62.5 to as steep as 69, they're all low, and by todays standards are all short. I'm very used to riding them all. my E-sommet being nice and short is actually really nimble and poppy and no problem at all in tight twisty sections or any more difficult to maneouver. Yes it's slightly different to ride. but that's mainly down to it's weight not the travel or geometry. I honestly find long bikes horrible in this respect, add in the extra weight of a motor and batery and I'd find them horrible to ride. We're all different though and have different riding styles.
I didn't actually size down. I stuck just with older school sizing as it suits my dirt jump/old skool DH background and riding style better. In actual fact my small E-Sommet is the longest bike I own. longest whelbase, longest stays and longest reach. although 15mm longer in both stays and reach it's geometry is pretty close to my Medium 2017 Capra, wheelbase and stays are similar to my DH bikes but they both have significantly shorter reach. My most fun/playful bike has 35mm shorter reach, 44mm shorter stays and 124mm shorter wheelbase than my E-Sommet.

@Rob Hancill Fair enough big man. I hadn't realised you were so tall. And great news on the new bikes. I know they were working with the factory to sort out the seatpost insertion issue, I could see them specing the cheaper shifter you guys seem to like better too and hopefully they'll be nicer colours for 2019

 

[inwoods]

My switch units become temperamental, button presses only work 1 outta 10 times at best.

 

[Gary]

You sure it's not fouling on the dropper remote or brake lever? either from one of the three rotating or the levers bending. (I bent mine in a crash, but it bent back easily)

 

[R120]

Hi @Gary I'm 6'3" so felt the XL was needed. It wasn't too difficult to manoeuvre, I found it just required a bit more effort than a 'trail' bike like the Levo (understandably so).

New 2019 bikes arrive early November,

Any word on whats updated for 2019? Interested to see if they bring out a shorter travel version

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Any word on whats updated for 2019? Interested to see if they bring out a shorter travel version

No, I'm going to try to find out though.