Who has the High-Mileage record?

[e-troll]

As I changed the oil on my 250,000 mile SUV I gave it a pat on the hood for being such a reliable machine. Not once have I had to call a tow truck. Any minor problems I have had I've been able to fix in an Autozone parking lot with the basic tools I keep in the trunk.

What I love about e-bikes is the non-proprietary nature of the systems most of us on ES use. However, the beauty of a simple machine (e-bike being very simple compared to what most people use for transportation) is reliability/longevity and ease of repair. So what I'm wondering is who has the record for most miles on:

a) complete bike (only minor mods/repairs along the way)

b) highest trouble-free mileage on a hub motor

The way I see it, a machine can be green, fun, save you money etc, but if it breaks down every 2,000 miles, that is just too unreliable to trust for many of my transportation needs. I live in the city where a breakdown may only cost me 15 min. If I really need to get somewhere I'll just pull off battery/accessories, lock up bike, and take a cab. In the suburbs that I ride to however the amount of time lost and inconvenience could be significant if you don't have someone on call to come pick you up. So...what is a reasonable expectation of an e-bike, and who has the record?

 

[Drunkskunk]

Well over 10,000 miles on my Clyte 408/4012. It had the usual teething problems in it's first year. bearings/spoke issues, but once I upgraded it, I began a life of ignoring it and abusing it. Its been forcefed up to 3500 watts for 7 years, and had no maintance since the upgrades. The bike it's been in for the last 6 years (it out lived it's first bike) has had nothing done to it in several years, other than normal maintance, and I've neglected some of that..

 

[miro13car]

I use my Tidal Force for spring/winter/fall commuting.
USA-designed and manufactured Tidal Force is legendary for quality.
And it is golden standard for quality of ride - zero noise, zero cogging/even at the lowest speed or hardest of accelerations/, wonderfully modulated regen.
Actually original Cateye computer shows 23,856 kilometers on my Tidal Force.
Its DD hub motor/controller I opened at around 10,000 km and found no speckle of rust inside.
DD hub is 100% original.
No modifications at all.

 

[MAGICPIE3FOCUSPOWER]

I am using my bike every day (70 km) that's about 400 km a week.

I have only to change tires, freewheels, chains they wear very fast.
O well those are not design to go fast and many miles traveling

 

[dogman dan]

I think my personal best for one motor was around 4000 miles, maybe more. I stopped keeping logs after the third year.

Lots of motors switched out after 500-2000 miles, just to test another one.

 

[SamTexas]

As I changed the oil on my 250,000 mile SUV I gave it a pat on the hood for being such a reliable machine. Not once have I had to call a tow truck. Any minor problems I have had I've been able to fix in an Autozone parking lot with the basic tools I keep in the trunk.

All minor problems for a 250,000 mile SUV? That's impressive. What's the year, make and model of that SUV? Can you list the problems it has had in the past 250,000 miles?

 

[speedmd]

My home made custom light steel pedal bike had well over fifty thousand miles on the first paint job if that counts as a very conservative bench mark. It just hangs around now staying clean and taken out only on sunny days.

For a good light un-sprung steel frame 250,000 light motored miles should be easily doable as long as too much power is not applied. If it flexes or corrodes too much, you will most likely see cracks start to develop in that distance. This assumes you have the torque arm issues resolved.

 

[e-troll]

All minor problems for a 250,000 mile SUV? That's impressive. What's the year, make and model of that SUV? Can you list the problems it has had in the past 250,000 miles?

Sure...

1997 Toyota 4Runner. 3.4L 5VZ-FE motor with the 5 speed manual transmission. Only problems I ever had were:

Leaking rear axle seals (A common problem, and one I kept an eye out for. Actually the only common problem on these trucks as far as I know). And...to be honest, I'm drawing a blank. Can't think of anything else that I don't consider maintenance. One bearing has proved troublesome due to an accident after which an insurance adjuster deemed it totaled (it still drove all the way home, and to the mechanic though).

Oh yeah...
A coil pack failed me once but they can be changed in minutes if you can find an auto parts store that will tell you which cylinder the error code is from. Now I keep a spare in the back.

 

[corim123]

My home made custom light steel pedal bike had well over fifty thousand miles on the first paint job if that counts as a very conservative bench mark. It just hangs around now staying clean and taken out only on sunny days.

For a good light un-sprung steel frame 250,000 light motored miles should be easily doable as long as too much power is not applied. If it flexes or corrodes too much, you will most likely see cracks start to develop in that distance. This assumes you have the torque arm issues resolved.

I definitely can relate. Had a frame start to crack on me that I had a china girl installed on. Nothing a piece of 1/4" pipe didn't fix. I noticed that about a day after letting a police officer ride it around and realized I was fortunate it didn't end badly. Never seen anything quite like a man in blue riding around a gas powered bicycle.

 

[SamTexas]

1997 Toyota 4Runner. 3.4L 5VZ-FE motor with the 5 speed manual transmission. Only problems I ever had were: ...

Thanks. I'm not too surprised considering it's a Toyota. I assumed the transmission clutch was replaced at least once, but considered as a maintenance item, correct?

 

[e-troll]

Thanks. I'm not too surprised considering it's a Toyota. I assumed the transmission clutch was replaced at least once, but considered as a maintenance item, correct?

Correct. Been changed once so far. I hate to say that the cancer that is rust will probably kill her even though the engine and transmission have a few hundred k left in them. I might just pick up another 4runner from down south with a seized motor or something and do a swap eventually. I grow more attached to machines the longer I own them. Kind of where my curiosity about how long an e-bike can last came from. Wish I had the kind of commute where I could be a contender in the high mileage game...Only once a month or so do I have a 40 mile round trip out to the suburbs.

 

[SamTexas]

None of my ebikes are old enough for me to determine longevity. I don't expect my geared hub to last more 7K miles. Direct drive hubs are supposed to last longer and I would be happy with 20K. I am guessing that the throttle is the first to go followed by the controller.

Back to your 97 4Runner. What about the alternator and the A/C compressor? Have they been replaced?

 

[cal3thousand]

I think that Kingfish might be up there in terms of top mileage.

 

[e-troll]

None of my ebikes are old enough for me to determine longevity. I don't expect my geared hub to last more 7K miles. Direct drive hubs are supposed to last longer and I would be happy with 20K. I am guessing that the throttle is the first to go followed by the controller.

Back to your 97 4Runner. What about the alternator and the A/C compressor? Have they been replaced?

Brushless motors are such simple devices, I feel like they should be able to run almost indefinitely. Assuming the insulation is of decent quality and it is not pushed to extremes the only thing that can really fail are bearings which cost all of $10 to replace.

Original alternator and A/C compressor. Although my compressor doesn't work that hard in the Michigan climate. The next thing I'll probably have to replace are the starter motor contacts (I think the parts should be around $5, and prob take an hour or two of my time). I'm due for a timing belt, but again, that's basic maintenance and not all that difficult to DIY. Also never adjusted the valves which is something I would like to do soon. I still get basically the best MPG these trucks are capable of, and I don't need to top off oil at 8,000-10,000 mile intervals (I usually overfill by about 1/4 qt for an even 6, and always use synthetic). If you want a beater/winter vehicle, pick up a 4Runner or Tacoma with 200,000k on it and decent maintenance records and you should be good to go. I'll stop praising my baby now and mosey on over to the Toyota forums...

 

[MattyCiii]

Perhaps the right question is "who has the low mileage record?", as in "who drives something other than their e-bike the least?"

I go everywhere by e-bike, and yes I've had some mechanical issues but usually not bad enough to drive me to drive. I basically drive only once every 2 weeks to go visit my old mom, about 70 miles away - and if the train sked was robust enough, I would take the e-bike via train to do that, too.

My commute to work is short (15 miles round trip weekdays). I can stop at the grocery store, hardware or 'packie' (liquor store) on the way home. I'm not high mileage, but I'm definitely close to car free.

And this, with less than rock-solid reliable rides. But all told I'd rather ride a bike I spend several hours a week maintaining than drive the turn-key automobile that spends several hours a week in traffic.

 

[full-throttle]

Roughly 46,000km commuting on e-bike

Changed every single component at least once except the front hub :lol:
Some components wear out, some break and some are upgrades

 

[SamTexas]

Roughly 46,000km commuting on e-bike

Changed every single component at least once except the front hub :lol:

That's encouraging! Direct drive or geared? Not even the hub bearings?

 

[full-throttle]

Direct drive or geared?

All 4 motors geared. 1st was too weak, 2nd too slow, 3rd too fast and 4th is just right :lol:
Build thread

Not even the hub bearings?

Nah.
Too $$/time consuming. Service whatever I can and wear the rest to the ground.
Unfortunately (at this workload) everything wears out at different rates:
chain/sprockets 6mth~1yr
brake pads ~1yr
tyres 1~2yrs
bearings 2~3yrs
wheels, front fork 5~10yrs
cromo frame 10~20yrs

So after ~5yrs it's (sadly) more convenient to replace the whole bike and donate the frame
Thinking of building a 29er next..

 

[Toorbough ULL-Zeveigh]

I use my Tidal Force for spring/winter/fall commuting.
USA-designed and manufactured Tidal Force is legendary for quality.
And it is golden standard for quality of ride - zero noise, zero cogging/even at the lowest speed or hardest of accelerations/, wonderfully modulated regen.
Actually original Cateye computer shows 23,856 kilometers on my Tidal Force.
Its DD hub motor/controller I opened at around 10,000 km and found no speckle of rust inside.
DD hub is 100% original.
No modifications at all.

just passed the 20,000 km mark.
wouldn't be possible wthout you man.
thanx again for having found her.

 

[grindz145]

Roughly 46,000km commuting on e-bike

Changed every single component at least once except the front hub :lol:
Some components wear out, some break and some are upgrades

That is freaking amazing....

I thought my 5k Mi was decent.

Realistically I know road cyclists (no battery) who regularly do 4-6k mi per year. There's not a ton of maintenance. One coworker has 40k mi on his road bike. ONE BIKE, even one speedo battery. pretty amazing. So your ebike better last you a while, or else it was ill conceived

 

[MadRhino]

I ride almost 20 000 Km per year.

 

[grindz145]

I ride almost 20 000 Km per year.

Awesome.

 

[electr0n]

I ride almost 20 000 Km per year.

Wow. I thought I rode a lot. I got 5200 km on my cycle analyst since last summer. My reliability has been steadily improving. I've been plagued mostly by broken spokes and flats earlier on. Last winter I ruined my dropouts and partially spun my axle and had to walk several km back home at -10c. I was cursing the ebike that day. I've since replaced the cheap 12g Chinese spokes with Sapim 13g and I've got my axle secured with clamping angle iron and it's not going anywhere now. My bikes are stored outside unsheltered and used year round through snow and rain. I've been car free for about 2 years now.

I've not had good luck with cars. I end up spending a small fortune on repairs and upkeep not to mention insurance and everything else. I prefer the simplicity of the ebike.