Very Long Review of the 2014 BH Emotion Neo Extrem

This is really long, but I think it would have been really helpful for me had I had a super comprehensive review before I made my first eBike purchase.


(picture not mine, though I added my pictures/video at the bottom of the thread)

TLDR; 2014 Neo Extrem, in my limited experience, can have reliability issues out of the gate. If you do not live near a service retailer, don’t buy one - stick instead with a brand that has strong reliability, quality control, and customer-first support; or, take the advice of the folks on Endless Sphere and consider another brand or DIY.

Well, I did not take the advice of those on Endless-sphere cautioning against buying a premade bike. I didn’t think I had the technical expertise to build my own. As it turns out I ended up learning how to assemble and troubleshoot an ebike shortly after purchasing a premade model. I’ve come to realize that DIY may be the way to go - as you’ll need to learn assembly, part installation, component tuning, and general maintenance anyways.. at least in my case.

I read a great Endless-sphere review on the 2014 Neo Extrem before buying: http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=51772

I agree with the author mostly, in the time I was able to do so, this was a fun bike to ride - looks great, feels really solid and though heavy - rides well for what it is and what you pay. I also had the same experience as him.. only worse, when it comes to reliability, right out of the box. Still, if the bike did work, the value equation (buy v build) would seem balanced to me. I bought mine new from a dealer in the midwest based on a recommendation from a knowledgeable Redditor in the eBike community. This was my first mistake - I live in California. The discount was limited, due to shipping, but the recommendation was that this place was a great a retailer and I tend to trust word of mouth referrals. The mistake wasn't the retailer, it was not buying from a local shop in case something goes wrong.

The box arrived, and the bike was partially assembled but did not include tools. This was one of the reasons why I bought a premade bike, to avoid this situation as I'm not particularly experienced with bikes. I wasn’t aware of this, but not a huge issue. As you’d expect, I was excited so I went out and bought the necessary tools (simple, cheap) and followed the instructions to put the bike together and tune all the various components per the manual. I later found out from the manufacturer the bike had to be assembled by a professional bike mechanic. Was not notified of this fact. Still the bike was finished with little issue over the course of an evening. Premade can still be DIY - surprise #1.

The bike has a twist throttle and pedal assist. It was a lot of fun. That said, if you want to be able to climb even a mild hill on only throttle.. this bike does not have enough torque to do that for you without the pedal assist. The 350W motor is regarded as a very good one from what I understand, and I only weigh 150lbs, but this bike struggled on mild grades for me, but that could be due to a number of reasons (including my inexperience with eBikes). Torque was limited - surprise #2.

Still, I used the bike for 3 days. Mild weather. 3-6 miles a day. Followed the break-in procedures by the book. And then I started to notice a couple issues with the bike on day 3:

• 
  The battery seemed to not fit perfectly flush, but it never fell off. Didn’t impact performance but I just assumed this is how it is intended to work.. not a smooth fit.
  Battery appeared a little banged/chipped up in a couple small spots - once again, assumed this was normal and just shipped from somewhere far or with limited care.
  Sticker material seemed to start flaking early. Not a huge issue, down the line I thought about removing decals anyway.
  Torque seemed unusually limited on the twist throttle for someone that is only 150lbs, but my commute is pretty flat, so that wasn’t a big deal and again I assumed it’s what I was supposed to experience for these bikes (it’s my first one).

To summarize, I assume new bikes to have a certain level of QA, this particular bike didn’t have it - surprise #3.

Regardless of these small issues, by day 4, I was loving the eBike experience and still felt confident enough to take a longer route to work that was more scenic - and, of course, then the error codes (#5 ,#9, #14) started appearing. One indicated foot pressure, when my feet were off the pedals entirely. The second one indicated loose wires. Everything appeared to be connected when I looked at it. Of course, I was many miles from home.. an excellent leg workout ensued. Valuable lesson learned about eBikes - they are quite heavy, and if they fail on you mid-ride, it’s going to be a while before you get home and you won’t need to hit the gym that evening.

So I crafted emails to support and initially received the expected basic guidance:

• Restart the bike
  Don’t pedal when shifting modes
  Check the wires to make sure they are connected, blow on them

The support team at the manufacturer was super responsive, but ultimately has thus far proven unhelpful. They informed me that the bike had to be assembled by a pro - something the retailer did not share with me. Then they deferred to the retailer thousands of miles away for support - also not helpful, but they stepped up (on their own accord) and did their best to troubleshoot. Given the differences in timezones combined with the fact I work during the day, I asked the retailer to work with me via email but I initially received voicemails.. making support challenging. The jist of the voicemails I did receive - don’t pedal when changing modes and then try restarting. If that doesn’t work - check for loose wires. It seems intuitive, but don’t expect Amazon/Zappos type support. If the bike arrives in poor shape, they won't send you a new one and pick up the old one (common now even with mattresses purchased online). While the manufacturer was great and communicative, and they eventually got the product team to do their best to help (without success, but not by lack of effort) they do appear to primarily push support to their retail channel. To summarize.. this model is not necessarily reliable (caveat: for me, and my situation may be unique) and the support strategy in this market is like a car, go to the dealer and hope for the best if you have a lemon - don't buy online - surprise #4.

For someone in my shoes, a first time eBike purchaser with limited tools and bike experience - here is a summary of what I’ve learned (bike manuf/model agnostic):

• Some eBikes purchased online as a full package still require very real assembly (plan a couple hours)
  The torque on a twist throttle setup, at least for this model (with 350W), is not adequate for anything but a perfectly flat hill
  While the total number of parts would seem limited to the untrained eye - be prepared to learn about your bike as it’s probably unrealistic to expect to outsource all support/maintenance
  It’s still very early days and issues like support network for online purchases are just not refined - expect some friction if you have issues
  Consider the guidance from the ES community strongly when making your decision - it may not be what you want to hear, but it seems to be directionally accurate

Summary of my thoughts on the BH Emotion Neo Extrem:

• Great looking bike
  When it ran - it was fun!
  Integrated battery is very convenient
  Bike itself was nice, with the actual bike on par with expectations (weight aside)
  Battery life seemed reasonable
  The 350W motor has limited torque, but you shouldn’t be expecting it to make it up hills for you given the specs - PRW points out in another post an upgraded battery might fix this
  While the bike felt solid as a tank, it wasn’t long until I noticed many small quality issues and within the first week - error codes abounded (still - my experience may be isolated)
  Manufacturer is super responsive, but is not really empowered to actually solve your problems immediately (default to dealer - do not purchase online) - this is critical if you view this machine as a daily commuter and need it to work, or have issues resolved quickly
  Seems to be breakdowns in communications between manufacturer and retailers on commerce guidelines (eg. assembly), but that could be a misinterpretation on my part.. I think my personal experience is a function of all this being early days vs anyone’s specific fault
  If you buy a premade bike, BUY LOCAL for support purposes (there are a couple posts on the forum about issues with their remote support)

PS. Shout out to the support team at BH for trying to help, even though their hands are tied (my lack of technical ebike experience). I think they have top tier people working in product management, fast to help with support, and those type people deserve credit where it is due. The retailer (unnamed here) has tried to the extent possible.. it just seems these things happen. My fingers are crossed that they will find a way to resolve all these issues in the future; but, for now it would appear that I am stuck in warranty/manuf/retailer limbo.

My pictures and videos, for those interested..

The battery - arrived banged up and does not quite fit the frame snugly:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_x6wCVhVDmdY3Vxd3ExeUJjV1E/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_x6wCVhVDmdRnhKa051aWJqNGM/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_x6wCVhVDmdTmxBNElSdnhZUkk/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_x6wCVhVDmdOUgyeTN1ZzY3STQ/view?usp=sharing

Pedal assist and throttle not working:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_x6wCVhVDmdbWNGM1lScjNidnM&authuser=1

Random part that fell off the bike on the first day:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_x6wCVhVDmdbHVPcW80Q3I0ZDQ&authuser=1

Update: Discussing taking the bike to a certified repair technician after remotely working with the product team to troubleshoot. Will share the results. I think this is an important point to note - if you are not able to wrench on this bike yourself, you should consider how close you live to a certified repair shop as part of buying criteria.

Question: Does anyone know if lemon law applies to eBikes?

I am sorry to hear about your issues, hope that you are able to resolve them.

You probably don't want to hear this, but my BH Xtrem bike has been my most reliable to date! I bought it used, about 1 year old, at less than 40% of the price of a new bike. I then changed the 36v battery to a 48v battery, which transformed the bike - I use it as a daily commuter, with occasional off road trips.

Even when you have a local supplier, unless you buy it new, you can have issues - I bought a demo locally (Australia) manufactured bike, that would be the best bike I could get - but I ended up selling it because I no longer trusted that I would get home, and I no longer wanted to deal with the supplier. I looked at the equivalent "lemon laws" in Australia, but it looked as though I would be throwing good money after bad.

So, yes: either a new bike, with a reliable dealer, and decent warranty, or get used to the idea of learning the intricacies of all sorts of weird new stuff!

That's excellent - I'm glad to hear yours has been so reliable.

To clarify, I did buy mine new, with a warranty. There others who have posted on ES, and more across the internet (Google search) that have had something else go wrong with brand new bikes of the same model; but, I do suspect the majority of the bikes they sell result in happy owners that share your experience. I hope to fall into that category in the coming weeks. In the meantime, with my old bike sold already - I will be enjoying a walk into the office vs my usual bike ride (no car).. which is probably good for me

I tried to take care in my post to show a balanced perspective, with appreciation for the fact that my experience is likely that I am one of many outliers (I've read that there are 'bad batches' for this model in other ebike forums - but that is unconfirmed).

To update on progress to date - we've ceased remote troubleshooting as a new error code was shown last night, and yet another this morning. The bike was dropped off with a local dealer. They are estimating a week for the repair and I'll post another update after they hopefully get to the bottom of it.

there is a forum on Whirlpool http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=2192653 - this is the 3rd page, so a huge amount of information on BH bikes. If you post queries, someone may be able to help.

Thank you PRW - a quick skim and I already found a couple others with similar issues and potential resolutions. For example, a blinking battery indicator on startup (which mine had) seems to imply either a torque sensor issue or a faulty battery. My battery, out of the box, was a little banged up and never quite fit the bike perfectly - so that could be one of the issues. Further, when emailing with the manuf - we thought it might be the torque sensor due to other error codes. Very helpful - I'll share with the folks working on my bike.

Thanks for the review, I found it very helpful for all ebikes brands.

Would'nt it be best to just pack the bike and fedex it to the manufacturer for a full warrent service? The shipping will cost, but perhaps they will share it with you.
It will also save you hours on hours of online assistance.

Good luck.

A new bike wasn't presented as an option - but they did recommend a local shop that was authorized to do repairs. The technician (who was excellent) from the nearby bike shop had to replace a couple parts, including the motor. Apparently the loose battery was a result of missing pieces that hold the battery in place. Also, the random part in the box that fell off the bike could not be identified.

No details on the defects, but the bike was returned yesterday. Overall repair time was under two weeks - fast considering all the work that had be done, new parts ordered, etc. Can't say enough good about the bike shop I used in Palo Alto.. if you need a referral and live in NorCal, these guys were great.

So far, the repaired bike has been mostly good.

The scuffed battery (from original purchase shipping) wasn't replaced, so I'm stuck with the cosmetic damage in the pictures. Not a huge deal and not really noticeable. It seems that buying a new bike doesn't really mean new condition (like a car, for example), it just means you are the first owner. Still, I've had so much go wrong on this new purchase that a bike that runs semi-reliably is a win at this point.

Unfortunately, I jumped on the bike the day I got it back and their appears to be a new issue. The new issue is that when I turned on the bike and started riding - the battery showed half full, and in less than 10 minutes of riding on flat terrain - the battery was flashing empty. The manufacturer is sending me a new controller.. hoping that helps. It's been a long time since purchase and I still don't have a 'new' bike, even though I bought new.

It would seem that my circumstances are certainly not typical, but I'm curious if this has happened to others with other manufacturers, or if my case is isolated? I've found reports for the Neo Extrem that included the battery issue, but not the rest of the problems I've had. If these scenarios are extremely uncommon - then it would seem that the right thing to do is just replace the bike; but, again I recognize this is a low margin business with limited experience in customer service.

Without a lemon law to protect the purchase, and given how expensive these bikes are, a premade eBike seems like a high risk purchase - especially if there is nothing to compel the manufacturer to just replace the bike in situations like mine.

My outlay was significantly less, but so far the same result (depending on whether the problem is resolved with a new controller) with a kit. These vendors have no impetus to resolve discrepancies except when the situation is "advertised" as you did.

I haven't shared this post with the vendor yet - I am hoping they will just do the right thing. They've now agreed to send me a new controller kit as well.

Ironically, we are getting to the point where there have been issues with the battery mount, motor, and controller. Add in the dinged up battery and now most of the parts on my Easy Motion BH 2014 Neo Extrem, aside from the frame itself, have had an issue. It just seems like replacing the bike with one that works, or just refunding the money would be the right thing to do in this case.

Whether it's Eddie's issue on his review, or the many other posts, I'm trying to be patient and to reserve final judgement; but, I'm not certain that Easy Motion is the manufacturer I'd recommend for a premade bike at this stage. They've been prompt, but it seems like they'd prefer to replace every part on a broken bike than just give you a replacement. This just forces the customer to wait months to actually have a working bike vs making the customer whole on a very significant cash outlay. One more vote for DIY I suppose.

Eddie's issue, referenced above: http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=51772

What amazes me is the hoops that SOME vendors make us jump through to get replacements for components that are defective. Normally accepted procedure in most industries is viewed as extraordinary customer service. I'm still not riding my kit bike that failed after two weeks while I wait for a replacement part. BH should be going out of their way to assist you considering all the bad publicity they're receiving on ES.

It's possible there are elements of the decision making process that I'm not aware of that would make this all make sense. For example, I was talking to a BH Easy Motion retailer (that was working on my wive's non electric road bike) and they mentioned that BH Easy Motion bikes are basically sold out and they can't get more because the manufacturer is backlogged with business - a good thing for BH and likely indicative that overall, their quality is very high. This is something I could believe - I mean, when I've had the bike in good working condition, I've had an incredible amount of fun on it! That pace of sales and lack of inventory, plus overall enjoyment factor, means they are likely doing brisk business. I'm thinking that type of growth means that sometimes it's harder to do everything well. Trying to be as fair as possible, and patient, about my situation. The people their have been courteous, prompt and are likely doing the best they can with limited resources. At some point, I recall that their senior leadership team was also made aware of my situation - which is good to know they share these types of issues up the chain. As a result - I would assume this will improve in the future for customers..

It's also the case we are outliers - so they may not have a process for supporting customers that have multiple part failures on new bikes. I'm not 100% convinced of this - there are just too many people having problems online across the many forums out there with this bike (Google search). It appears there was a bad batch of this model. My guess is, at some point, they may find that it's less costly to keep current customers happy (making them return buyers) than to acquire new customers to offset the loss of first-time customers (not making follow-up purchases). This is early days still for eBikes - part of buying a premade bike is that you accept that these types of situations can arise.

At this point, I'm somewhat curious to see how many things can go wrong on the bike; and, if almost every part is replaced - whether they will just offer a new bike in exchange or if they'll literally replace the whole thing on the customer's time (all these fixes cost time).

It does strike me as odd that they consider it to be okay to replace all these components (and there be some cosmetic type issues unresolved) and haven't offered any sort of alternative to make up for the hassle. For example, I could see just saying:

hey, you've obviously got a bad bike and we want to make all this hassle (broken down rides, lack of commuter bike, trips to the repair shop - all of which cost time) right by you - how about we send you another one that we know will work.

Click to expand...

I'm not suggesting a better model, or a battery upgrade, just the same model in working condition. Still - it's early days, I think people try their best, and this type of thing is to be expected (and is likely an outlier). I refuse to sour on the whole eBike experience - when I've had mine working it's been a total blast.

Last couple issues have been worked out via warranty. Now that I have a functional bike, I love it. I'm all in on this hobby and I am thoroughly enjoying this bike. Lots of info in this thread, but ultimately this is just my experience with the bike and yours is likely to be different and unique.