11 of the hottest ebike motors available and one with 160 Nm of torque!!

[GregGritton]

If reliability counts Bafang is not at near the top of my list. Yesterday I spoke with the service manager at a LBS that specializes in Ebikes and I asked him what he felt were the most and least reliable in his experience. He said they just returned a bunch of bikes with Bafang motors and put them as the least reliable of the bikes they sell. He also said the Specialized bikes with Brose motors were his personal favorites.

You can get a sense of motor reliability at https://pedelecmonitor.wordpress.com. It is in German but includes a Google translate option on the right. You can sign up on the web site and record your current drive system, motor type, and mileage (in km). The web site tracks the mileage and motor repairs and you can see the data back for those it is tracking. For road applications Bosch seems to do very well (look at the 2nd generation motors in "Trekking" application"), as does Yamaha. Brose is distinctly worse, and Bafang mid-drives worse yet. There aren't enough Bafang hub-motor posters to tell how well they fare (which is a bit surprising as they are very common in the US).

 

[steve mercier]

Interesting, i have had several cheap bafang hub motor bikes and zero issues

Ya I had one and it was the best part of that bike.....it would be nice if Consumer Reports did their thing on Ebike reliability

 

[vincent]

Since i ride conservatively and easily on all my bikes that could be why i have had zero motor issues

But you hear often on other bike forums how dependable the bbshd is....

 

[tomjasz]

Interesting, i have had several cheap bafang hub motor bikes and zero issues

I can’t speak to any motor reliability other than BBSxx series and MAC. Mac are bullet proof and BBS xx are incredibly tough, especially given they are most commonly installed by riders with zero DIY experience. Plenty of room for operator error. But we do worry and already have seen Bafang’s horrible dealer support.

 

[Feliz]

The BBSHD is incredibly robust from what I've seen and experienced, I haven't had my ultra long enough to comment but from looking at it and watching videos of it being dismantled it should surpass the HD for reliability.

The whole BBSXX series of motors are not used to transport elderly women to the clubhouse for Monday morning coffee. Just look on utube and watch all the 300+ pound riders riding up the steepest hills they can find and rarely if ever does a motor fail. When I ride my Biktrix Juggernaut BBSHD I treat it like crap, always seeking out the steepest and longest hills I can find. Several owners of BBSXX powered bikes in the town I live in use them to haul camping gear and pets in trailers. At some point these motors will need servicing and repairs, will that mean they're unreliable?

 

[Feliz]

Ya I had one and it was the best part of that bike.....it would be nice if Consumer Reports did their thing on Ebike reliability

I also have never had a Bafang geared hub drive fail and I've had a few.

I'll just add that I have a 2019 Radrover that came with a 500 watt motor and a weak 20 amp controller, I switched to a 35 amp controller and I'm now running 1680 watts through the motor. I run it hard and the motor has never overheated or missed a beat and runs like the devil. Nothing wrong with Bafang hub drives.

 

[redalexx]

Brose is distinctly worse, and Bafang mid-drives worse yet.

I need to comment that, as I am responsible for the data. The info to Brose is not that correct due to the given infos from the biker. Nearly all motor issues are from Gen. 1 Brose system. At the Eurobike in Friedrichshafen I talked to Brose Marketing. They said, Gen. 1 had issues, but the Brose T, S and C are more robust and reliable.
MY FAULT, SORRY - I'M WORKING TO CORRECT THAT!

Bafang Middrives are also reliable. There are just two bikes in my database - in France I saw a lot MaxDrive bikes and no one had any issues.

Bafang BBS - hard to say, can you offer more information to this motor? (@Feliz) There are just a hand full bikes in the database and it is mixed with BBS01 & BBS02 ...


Last words, I only show the info the bike owners are sharing ... and sometimes there are just people with issues, like at MaxDrive

 

[steve mercier]

I can’t speak to any motor reliability other than BBSxx series and MAC. Mac are bullet proof and BBS xx are incredibly tough, especially given they are most commonly installed by riders with zero DIY experience. Plenty of room for operator error. But we do worry and already have seen Bafang’s horrible dealer support.

Off topic but are you still using the Brooks saddle with springs? How is it working out and what suspension post are you using it in conjunction with?