Blown motor on E3 Dash with 29 miles on it

[HumanitiesHaze]

I.... I can't even begin ...... The sound now coming from my new motor just running around on throttle. because my BBTS needs to be replaced (It's a clunking) It gets louder the faster you go and is embarrassing for my new $3k bike. I tightened all the spokes, used WD-40 around all the spoke connectors onto the hub.. Nothing... the power is still good on throttle mode, but that sound is horrible. Please tell me it's not the motor again. Less than 300 miles on the bike so far. the sound is with and without power.

 

[JoePah]

Rhymes with Yemen. You shouldn't have to deal with this.. If you flip the bike over and hand pedal is the noise still there?... Does it freewheel easily?

 

[James]

Sounds like something has come loose inside the hub. 300 miles... barf

 

[HumanitiesHaze]

Sounds like something has come loose inside the hub. 300 miles... barf

This is my 2nd Motor.

 

[James]

Wow.... it would be my last

 

[CurrieTech]

This is my 2nd Motor.

Just had a meeting about this one and others with wheels with a similar issue. It has become clear to us all that there has been an issue with the glue used to stick the magnets onto the inside of the hub shell. We've been working diligently with our factory to figure it all out, and get us wheels with a far better bond. We do have a new batch of wheels showing up in just a couple days, and I'll be more than happy to send you one, to the shop again, or to you directly.

 

[CurrieTech]

We just posted this onto our Tech Wiki:

• https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B96dkFgH-zxuck0yWTVQQVFxcTQ/edit
• (Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

 

[HumanitiesHaze]

Thanks for the answer. I emailed you about a resolution.

I will say, support has been awesome.

 

[CurrieTech]

This is just an unfortunate situation for everyone. We'll get thru it as quickly and painlessly as we all can.

 

[pcrdude]

Just had a meeting about this one and others with wheels with a similar issue. It has become clear to us all that there has been an issue with the glue used to stick the magnets onto the inside of the hub shell. We've been working diligently with our factory to figure it all out, and get us wheels with a far better bond. We do have a new batch of wheels showing up in just a couple days, and I'll be more than happy to send you one, to the shop again, or to you directly.

As a new owner of the Dash, finding out that there may be a problem with my new bike makes me very nervous. I only have a fraction of the miles on my Dash as HH does. How does one know if their glue will hold up over time? Have there been specific batches of glue that were problematic, or should current owners start to wonder if their magnets are not secured to the hub well enough too ?

 

[Charly Banana]

After looking at the pictures of how the magnets are mounted, what makes this situation hard to understand is that the centrifugal (or centripetal) force actually pushes the magnets to stay in place up against the hub. In other words, the spinning wheel force does not pull the magnets away from the glue.

It's like that ride at the fair where everyone stands up in a spinning wheel and the centrifugal force keeps everyone in place when the wheel goes vertical.

So, if the magnets are not being pulled away from the glue when the wheel spins, the glue they are using must be really, really weak.
If one of my magnets comes loose, I may be tempted to get out my trusty JBWeld!!

 

[Charly Banana]

As a new owner of the Dash, finding out that there may be a problem with my new bike makes me very nervous. I only have a fraction of the miles on my Dash as HH does. How does one know if their glue will hold up over time? Have there been specific batches of glue that were problematic, or should current owners start to wonder if their magnets are not secured to the hub well enough too ?

I know I'm very worried about this!!

 

[HumanitiesHaze]

As a new owner of the Dash, finding out that there may be a problem with my new bike makes me very nervous. I only have a fraction of the miles on my Dash as HH does. How does one know if their glue will hold up over time? Have there been specific batches of glue that were problematic, or should current owners start to wonder if their magnets are not secured to the hub well enough too ?

I only had 29 miles on my first motor failure. I'm now on my second @ 275 miles with issues, and I need to replace the bottom bracket torque sensor as well. Both seem to be manufacturing defect issues.

So, if the magnets are not being pulled away from the glue when the wheel spins, the glue they are using must be really, really weak.

Or can't handle the shock of a road bump @ 30mph... But either way, I broke a cardinal rule of mine. Never buy anything the first model year, so now I'll beta test the new glue and I hope all will be well.

 

[pcrdude]

I only had 29 miles on my first motor failure. I'm now on my second @ 275 miles with issues, and I need to replace the bottom bracket torque sensor as well. Both seem to be manufacturing defect issues.

You have suffered greatly HH!!! Add on to that, your distance to the dealer, and you are much more patient than many of us would have been.

I am disappointed that sub-standard glue made it through R&D, and into production. I would assume the glue strength should have been tested before release from R&D/engineering........

 

[Bike_On]

I suspect the torque produced during acceleration created a horizontal force on the magnets, making them want to move sideways. If the bond is weak, they can come lose. They need to look at the curing process too.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

I only had 29 miles on my first motor failure. I'm now on my second @ 275 miles with issues, and I need to replace the bottom bracket torque sensor as well. Both seem to be manufacturing defect issues.

Many thanks for your selfless work, Humanities.
Humanity needs more patient people like you

Everyone knows where these bikes are manufactured and what happens in industries like Foxconn etc.
Social networks and forums like this are a double edged sword. It is a great tool for marketing but if something goes wrong, the sword comes down pretty quickly too.

I hope Currie [whatever company like Easy Motion, Stromer etc find themselves in situations like this] resolves this. More than keeping a customer happy, it is important for the industry. If you pay $3K and haul yourself between dealers and mechanic shop, next time you will think of leasing an electric car not a troubled ebike.

So keep us updated.

 

[CurrieTech]

You all are spot-on in your discussion. It's just unfortunate, that after months and months of pre-production testing and proving the new bikes, long before production was cranked up, that we're all left to deal with this, rather silly little mistake. We're doing everything we can to hold the factory responsible and really SOLVE this glue issue, and do it quickly. We've had them analyze all the how and why, and they have responded quickly by completely changing the type of glue, and the assembly process, and rush them here, as fast as possible.

Luckily for all of us, past the genuine annoyance of each and every failure, it's nothing dangerous at all. Just, in most cases noise, and in some, a bit of added resistance pushing against the rider. And a swap out, outside shipping times, takes only a couple minutes to fix, and not much different than changing a flat.

On the lighter side, above, the mention of centrifugal force was mentioned. Strong neodymium magnets, AND electro-magnets trump the tiny mass flying around a tiny circle any day of the week!

 

[JoePah]

I only had 29 miles on my first motor failure. I'm now on my second @ 275 miles with issues, and I need to replace the bottom bracket torque sensor as well. Both seem to be manufacturing defect issues.

Or can't handle the shock of a road bump @ 30mph... But either way, I broke a cardinal rule of mine. Never buy anything the first model year, so now I'll beta test the new glue and I hope all will be well.

You have a good attitude about these infant mortality problems.. Went through the same thing 5 years ago... A good company will make your bike right.. It may just take awhile.

Went through at least 4 motors my first year... But once they ironed out their QC issues at Ultramotors Taiwan plant, the motor performed flawlessly.

 

[CurrieTech]

I'm not sure I want to use "Infant Mortality". I like "Random Spontaneous Magnet Self-Relocation" much better!

 

[JoePah]

this is classic infant mortality. "Failures during infant mortality are highly undesirable and are always caused by defects and blunders: material defects, design blunders, errors in assembly, etc."
http://www.weibull.com/hotwire/issue21/hottopics21.htm


As a consumer this is the preferred failure mode, even though it is frustrating to the new owner... Early failures are covered by a warranty!