Ebike reliability. How often do you break down?

I must have just had some bad luck with quality controls with my set up. The first three months were pretty rough :evil:

Started out with hitting a rock with the rear tire mashing the silly spring in to the phase wires. Opened motor, repaired wires, threw away spring protector and wired wires back and out of harms way:
P1000360.jpg


Bike back up and running and a couple of days later a phase wire breaks in the motor. Motor back apart and repaired:
P1000378.jpg


One week later and snap goes a connecting Phase wire. Was able to get connector apart and re-solder:
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A couple of weeks later the bike wont power up. Controler on/off switch gone bad: Replaced switch:
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A couple of weeks later and my ping is acting all kinds of weird. Opened battery up and re-soldered broken wire:
P1000477.jpg


Multiple broken spokes and tire getting out of round due to a Chinese wheel that is so cheap that wallmart would laugh at it: New rim and spokes on order.

Multiple flat tires, some due to operator error or bad luck some due to cheap wheel . Down hill tube and home made old tube rim strip installed. Better tires on order.

I started with a real old bike so I had several issues that I had/am working on but these problems would probably have existed if I was just peddling. I have been an avid rider all my life so these weren't anything I couldn't handle.

All these were in the first few months, pretty frustrating, but I endeavored to persevere . It's now six months and 1600 or so miles later and I have been relatively trouble free for a a couple of months now. *knocks on wood*
 
miro13car said:
there are ebikes and ebikes, please, write exactely what do you ride when you write about problems with what ebike, what motors?

The majority of failures are cased by operator error. There very few 'common' problems that occur irrespective of use.
 
As to the cause of failure of ebike components on the bikes, one major one would be buying crap junk. I won't name names but you know what I mean. They know damn well you are not in china. So in some cases you get a good enough deal to buy extras, or just feel lucky. But don't start whining later.

Second would be the just plain abuse. Rock hit your wires is hardly the motors fault for example. Or ovelvolting. :twisted: Or crashing. :roll:

Then you have noob stuff. I simply failed to appreciate you needed to bolt that motor on TIGHT. A block from the house, sparks at the axle.

Way down on the list is manufacturers defects or shoddy product from trusted vendors who practice QC between the container shipment and the customer. The ping with the loose wire is in that category, sometimes you just get to be the unlucky buyer. But in such a case, you are real glad you bought from ping instead of Jimmy wu. Remember him, the ebay name of the month guy? If you sent a battery back for a refund, he'd sell it to another sucker. My story with a qualty item gone bad like that was a CA. Plugged in it and ZAP. Grin sent me a new one with no fuss whatsoever, and let me send the old one to Amberwolf along with instructions allowing him to fix it. :shock: Most would want the dead unit back. Anyway I didn't even remember that one as a failure, since it was made good so fast.
 
Echoing what dogman said; my failures have been the result of poor quality products.

Cheap BMS failed. Cheap throttle failed.

Removed the bms. Upgraded the throttle to magura. 10,000 miles and those have been the only problems.


Recently my crowe cycle kick stand broke. They sent me a new one for free :D
 
dogman said:
As to the cause of failure of ebike components on the bikes, one major one would be buying crap junk.
I usually consider that "operator error", too :lol: since many times it's people that know better that do it anyway cuz it was cheap.
 
In two years and around 5000 miles, among other things:
- intermittent, then failed controller (stranded me twice > 5 miles from home - long, slow ride)
- failed throttle (stranded me once 8 miles from home)
- 3 flats and one blowout. Able to buy a new tire as bike shop was 2 blocks away.
- various "limp home" failures such as fender mount break and spoke breakages

I keep an extra tube, bike levers, pump and small "all in one" bike toolkit and a single 9 inch adjustable wrench (so I can remove the e-hub wheel). I think I've fixed more other bikes with my tools than I have my own bike.
 
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