That's one reason I would never buy an eMTB online. With a standard bike, you can do quite a lot without many specialist tools, but with the motors and control systems, you're pretty much buggered. My LBS is about 4.5 Km from homeI think what’s most important to me is the proximity to my LBS, which happens to be Trek. Ive developed a relationship with them and unfortunately most of the reps and mechanics know me by name. However that does have some advantages when it comes to warranties, pricing, info, etc. Competition in this market will likely help improve the product and keep the price down.
My LBS is 4.6Km from home....not as lucky as you.That's one reason I would never buy an eMTB online. With a standard bike, you can do quite a lot without many specialist tools, but with the motors and control systems, you're pretty much buggered. My LBS is about 4.5 Km from home
He does know exactly what motor is best and worse...@Bearing Man might have a good idea on what is the best in terms of build quality.
Makes me think of cars of yesteryear. Alphas that were beautiful, but rusted to bits in a few years. Or Lotus cars from the UK. They used to say the name stood for "Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious". Now that is buying with the heart and not the head!The problem I have with this question, is that a bike should be bought with the hart and not the head. A bike should be bought because of its looks, its feel, its fit, etc...
What a tease!He does know exactly what motor is best and worse...
The problem I have with this question, is that a bike should be bought with the hart and not the head. A bike should be bought because of its looks, its feel, its fit, etc...
If I tell people that one motor is slightly better built or slightly less reliable for some people than another motor, it may put them off buying that dream bike that they fall in love with and run and repair regardless of cost, because they love it so.
I think you can all see from the forums which motors are not doing well. But, don't forget, for every person that's had a problem, there are thousands who have had nothing but fun.
Trust me, if motors were as unreliable as you're lead to believe, I would be retiring soon... And I'm not! ?
We tend to go on numbers so if for example there are 7 million "X" motors out there and 1.5 million "Y" motors out there, and we are repairing 2 "Y" motors to every "X" motor, it does not look good for the "Y" motor.There are far too many variables to 'prove' which is the most reliable motor.
What variables please explain? If one brand of motor can be shown to be more prone to failure that's the only variable required. This number should of course be taken over as many sources as possible but if I was a professional motor repair technician I'm sure I would soon develop a sense of which brand I was seeing more of and which ones I hardly saw at all. It's not scientific data analysis in the strictest sense of the word but it is still a strong indicator.There are far too many variables to 'prove' which is the most reliable motor.
I agree, but they are all pretty good build quality these days, just some are designed better than others.What a tease!
I think knowing something about the build quality is still an important factor when buying something so expensive. Its something I definitely took into consideration when choosing which bike to get.
Exactly! Its like every time you drive up the motorway, if you always see the same make of car at the side of the road with the bonnet up, it gives you a good idea that it maybe a bad idea to by that car!What variables please explain? If one brand of motor can be shown to be more prone to failure that's the only variable required. This number should of course be taken over as many sources as possible but if I was a professional motor repair technician I'm sure I would soon develop a sense of which brand I was seeing more of and which ones I hardly saw at all. It's not scientific data analysis in the strictest sense of the word but it is still a strong indicator.
We tend to go on numbers so if for example there are 7 million "X" motors out there and 1.5 million "Y" motors out there, and we are repairing 2 "Y" motors to every "X" motor, it does not look good for the "Y" motor.
What is interesting, is that we are building up a pretty good picture of different terrains and temperatures now, so we have the usual wet issues from Norway, Finland, Wales etc. But also popular failure spots like California, Australia (Outback), Spain (desert regions) etc. So fine dust is a good leveler.How it's ridden
Where it's ridden
Weather conditions
How it's maintained
Distance covered and how hard it's been working
I'm happy to be proven wrong when this proof comes out
How it's ridden
Where it's ridden
Weather conditions
How it's maintained
Distance covered and how hard it's been working
I'm happy to be proven wrong when this proof comes out
I think you may be waiting a long time for that level of analysis. I'll stick with mine and Bearing Mans method in the meantime.
What would you say the main modes of failures are for the motors? I'm personally interested in the shimano E7000, but would be interesting for the others too.What is interesting, is that we are building up a pretty good picture of different terrains and temperatures now, so we have the usual wet issues from Norway, Finland, Wales etc. But also popular failure spots like California, Australia (Outback), Spain (desert regions) etc. So fine dust is a good leveler.
The how it's ridden does not seem to be an issue apart from pedal strikes.
How its maintained, again, not too much of an issue unless it's cleaned to much or in the case of Bosch Gen 2 motors, the dirt is left to build up behind the sprocket.
Bike design plays a big part, Trek, Haibike, Specialized etc. all have design flaws that can affect the motors.
Yep, and even that only pertains to a bike - nobody (not even Bearing Man, whose contributions I appreciate and respect immensely) can say with any confidence how many of a given motor have failed worldwide, making any attempt meaningfully to quantify relative motor reliability a fool's errand.How it's ridden
Where it's ridden
Weather conditions
How it's maintained
Distance covered and how hard it's been working
When I was in the market for a new bike I asked 12 or so Levo owners what their experience had been. 7 said they had returned their bikes for motor replacements. I believe this was also around the time when Specialised extended their warranty to 4 years but only for a specific batch of bikes which to me seemed to be a tacit acknowledgement that there were issues and it put me off buying one.my e7000 failed (E010) after I had owned the bike (ex demo) for a few weeks, replaced with a new motor.
a mate has a brand new, 1 month old e7000 bike and the speed sensor has failed (not sure how a wire can fail!).
So that's two Shimano motors that I have personally seen with issues. It's kind of why I asked the question.
Brose always get a bad comment re motor reliability.
but, I wonder what % of the ebike owning population post on forums? are we in the minority and hence become aware of the potential issues and worry too much? do the rest of the none forum posting population just crack on without any care? it tends to be a failure followed by a google search that brings people to the forums (certainly did in my case). lol, followed by me reading round most of the sections on this forum and thinking that all eBikes have motor issues !
Every motor has its own Achilles heal or week spot, for a small example:What would you say the main modes of failures are for the motors? I'm personally interested in the shimano E7000, but would be interesting for the others too.
The E8000 is serviceable, less one bearing that still requires manufacture but we won't be supporting this motor I am sorry to say.@Bearing Man Seeing as my Shimano e8000 will soon be out of warranty, how serviceable is it? Apart from the bottom bracket issue, are there other things to look out for?
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