Fazua Ride 60. Yay or Nay? Reliability Improved?

Twisted Fork

Member
Nov 1, 2022
49
70
British Columbia, Canada
If the Heckler SL used the TQ HPR50 motor, I’d have bought one 16 months ago to pair with my Fuel Ex-e. As it is, I just can’t bring myself to gamble on the Fazua. The Slash+ is now looking like the safer option. Too bad because the HSL ticks every box except for the motor system.
 

JP-NZ

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Feb 17, 2022
1,281
1,007
Christchurch - New Zealand
If the Heckler SL used the TQ HPR50 motor, I’d have bought one 16 months ago to pair with my Fuel Ex-e. As it is, I just can’t bring myself to gamble on the Fazua. The Slash+ is now looking like the safer option. Too bad because the HSL ticks every box except for the motor system.
I have the same feelings about the Transition Relay. I refuse to buy a motor system with so many issues, especially here in New Zealand where support and freight times are long.
 

Suns_PSD

Active member
Jul 12, 2022
568
473
Austin
If the Heckler SL used the TQ HPR50 motor, I’d have bought one 16 months ago to pair with my Fuel Ex-e. As it is, I just can’t bring myself to gamble on the Fazua. The Slash+ is now looking like the safer option. Too bad because the HSL ticks every box except for the motor system.

The Slash+ is a true, mountain bikers e-bike. Great executution.

That said, the TQ motors are not very efficient for their rated power usage. It's not a big deal however as Trek provided a 580w battery.
 

Tmae

Member
Nov 5, 2023
47
35
Ger
True it‘s s kind of gamble.
In Germany you have the Fazua motor swaped within a week, in NZ I also would be hesitent.
When it‘s working it‘s a really great motor, have 2700km on mine without issues (2nd motor) but the first one was broken out of the box. Personally I had the feeling when the old ones (production before 2024) were replaced there were much less issues, at least in the fb groups.
 

Twisted Fork

Member
Nov 1, 2022
49
70
British Columbia, Canada
The Slash+ is a true, mountain bikers e-bike. Great executution.

That said, the TQ motors are not very efficient for their rated power usage. It's not a big deal however as Trek provided a 580w battery.
The TQ does appear to be noticeably less efficient in its power usage than a more traditional motor design. If I tell myself that the 360Wh battery in the Ex-e is really just a mislabeled 320Wh, it seems to help me accept it better.

I don’t exactly know why, but all those extra bends in the chainline of the Slash+ messes with my sensibilities a bit. If I can get over that feeling, it’s a pretty sweet rig.
 

cykelk

Well-known member
Subscriber
May 15, 2023
149
199
Cascadia
All I know is he was saying that he seems to be having more issues with the newest replacement motors. He has a small demo fleet of heckler SLs and all but 1 has had the motors replaced multiple times. He said they seem to eat the revision 5 motors a lot faster than the older ones. The climate we ride in could play into that, I couldn’t tell you.
Did you happen to get any insight on the failure modes? I'm curious how many of the replacements are ride-stopping vs predictable. My rev 5 DU is now due after ~2150 miles in all kinds of PNW weather, with a different problem signature than my first. Fortunately lining up the warranty work was again a quick and easy process, and again I can still ride the bike while waiting for my service appointment.
 

Tmae

Member
Nov 5, 2023
47
35
Ger
what you mean by rev 5? Motor F4 revision 5?
Mine is Motor F4 Rev 2, Serial starts with 032, production Oct. 2024.
Whats your serial and production date ?
i got it just recently replaced because i asked fazua if they already fixed the creaking issue of the motor mounts (did the anti seize counter measure but was creaky again after 1000km), they said yes and offered a replacement, i accepted because i anyway had a surgery, but I doubt they changed the HW in this regards, i assume they just apply grease/anti seize from stock on the motor mount bushings.
 

cykelk

Well-known member
Subscriber
May 15, 2023
149
199
Cascadia
I mean F4 rev 5 yes, s/n 033* production Sept 2023. I'll report back on what the next one is.
 

Tmae

Member
Nov 5, 2023
47
35
Ger
That‘s quite strange.
My recent motor (2700km) was still running strong, just creaky bushings was also F4 Rev 2, Serial 041 production Jan 2024.

Regarding serial number: Fazua said 2nd number is year, 3rd number is quarter. This is true for my recent and your current motor, not for my brand new one. I assume they refurbished the housings (the old motors are sent back), that‘s why older serial numbers appear.
What‘s really strange is that your rev is higher then mine.
I know that for the letters (F) they count in reverse. F is newer then G. If this is also the case for the rev number i don‘t know, but would explain it, would also explain why „newer rev 5“ has a higher failure count then lower revs according to Ou812 comment.
Will be interesting what you get next.
 

cykelk

Well-known member
Subscriber
May 15, 2023
149
199
Cascadia
I know that for the letters (F) they count in reverse. F is newer then G. If this is also the case for the rev number i don‘t know, but would explain it, would also explain why „newer rev 5“ has a higher failure count then lower revs according to Ou812 comment.
Will be interesting what you get next.
My original motor was a rev 2 with an earlier production date. I assumed that the "new" rev2s were refurbs flowing in, but 🤷‍♂️
 

whitymon

Active member
Nov 29, 2023
362
188
Europe
The TQ does appear to be noticeably less efficient in its power usage than a more traditional motor design. If I tell myself that the 360Wh battery in the Ex-e is really just a mislabeled 320Wh, it seems to help me accept it better.

I don’t exactly know why, but all those extra bends in the chainline of the Slash+ messes with my sensibilities a bit. If I can get over that feeling, it’s a pretty sweet rig.
Thing is, the range/autonomy of the slash is pretty good I even wish that I would had a smaller battery sometimes.

Bike is just incredible in DH and jump, it is the most plush bike I have ever ridde, for 6.3k it is a steel. That said if I were richer I would go with the Norco range VLT. Bikes are heavy so with a small motor you need to pedal a lot.
 

cykelk

Well-known member
Subscriber
May 15, 2023
149
199
Cascadia
Thing is, the range/autonomy of the slash is pretty good I even wish that I would had a smaller battery sometimes.

Bike is just incredible in DH and jump, it is the most plush bike I have ever ridde, for 6.3k it is a steel. That said if I were richer I would go with the Norco range VLT. Bikes are heavy so with a small motor you need to pedal a lot.
Off topic from reliability but...I rode my Heckler SL with a buddy who was demoing a Slash+ and the two felt well matched in terms of power output. I've read others say TQ tuned things up since the early days and that seemed true to me. Hard to compare battery use given all the variables, and he had the range extender on. We did 16 miles / 3300 ft in high 30°F weather and I used 91%, I think he was somewhere in the 40-50% range left on the main battery.
 

whitymon

Active member
Nov 29, 2023
362
188
Europe
Honestly I am not sure it is as efficient as the Fazua but the Fazua is just IP54 which is not great versus the TQ that is IP67.

Depending on where and what you ride, how you clean your bike :p, IP54 is just not enough, I would never ever buy a motor or controllers that are under IP67
 

cykelk

Well-known member
Subscriber
May 15, 2023
149
199
Cascadia
Didn't know TQ had such high a rating. I think IP66 is acceptable for a bike :p

I ride mine in all kinds of PNW slop. I don't wash it, but I brush mud away from critical areas like the BB and store it in a conditioned space (dehumidified basement).
 

whitymon

Active member
Nov 29, 2023
362
188
Europe
Well how would you clean all the mud? Sponge something like that? Honestly even if a motor is IP good rating connectics are not always that protected so this is always something to care about.
I am careful but water come into the frame even with a sponge, not much but enough I guess so I strip all the time afterward battery and motor cover to clean internal mud and dry … very overwhelming to be honest
 

cykelk

Well-known member
Subscriber
May 15, 2023
149
199
Cascadia
I didn't catch quite what you're asking, but I don't clean all the mud. Never cared about a clean mountain bike and don't ride-wrap my frames. I just care about keeping things running well, which I suppose this is somewhat relevant to the reliability discussion so: my procedure after a sloppy ride (or I guess any ride) is: 1) throw the bike in the stand 2) best effort brush of clumps away from BB / pivots / seals. I use a soft brush, drivetrain brush and lint-free towel 3) wipe down chain, possibly re-lube 4) remove from stand and store.

Basically I free up critical parts so they can dry out efficiently, and service things when needed. I agree with you that a hose wash is introducing unnecessary water exposure to a lot of parts, whether or not a given component in the whole set is IP67 rated.
 

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