Bolton 2020 24” Fat Tire Electric Bike

[NancyS]

Yesterday , I put the ebike together to end up with a few spikes rubbing the back disc plastic cover.
1. Took wheel out again.
2. Place it again to make sure it was seating correctly.
3. Tightened both nuts.
4. Noise came back!
Untigten the nut without the disc and noise stopped.
Also check the fork to make sure it wasn’t bent during shipping. Would to post video, but do not which format it accepts.
Thanks for your help,
Nancy

 

[PDXzap]

a few spikes rubbing the back disc plastic cover

I'm not sure what you mean by that? Do you mean spokes???

It seems most people here post to Youtube then post a link but we might be able to figure it out with some photos.

 

[NancyS]

Yes, I meant spokes, but phone autocorrected!!Spokes noise

 

[PDXzap]

Good job with the video!
The wheel looks to be well trued. Does it look like the spokes that rub are bent? To be honest I have no idea what's causing the problem and couldn't find anything online for similar problems.
Have you tried contacting Bolton.

 

[Mtl_Biker]

Yes, I meant spokes, but phone autocorrected!!Spokes noise

Wow! That's quite something! Is this a new bike that you've just unpacked and assembled? Something that you'd been riding for awhile?

Can you pinpoint exactly what is rubbing against what? You say spokes... but if the wheel is "true" and the spokes are not bent or otherwise damaged, they shouldn't of course be rubbing against anything.

Are you able to determine if the wheel is true? When you turn the wheel slowly can you see exactly where the problem is? That's the front wheel?

What exactly did you have to "put together"? Could you have done something wrong? Was the disc brake assembly attached to the fork when you got it?

We need a lot more info to be able to help you.

 

[NancyS]

Yes, I meant spokes, but phone autocorrected!!

Good job with the video!
The wheel looks to be well trued. Does it look like the spokes that rub are bent? To be honest I have no idea what's causing the problem and couldn't find anything online for similar problems.
Have you tried contacting Bolton.

Yes, Kyle is trying to recreate my problem to come up with a solution. I checked the spokes and they look ok. About the video found and app the could convert the video , opened a YouTube account and uploaded it- just for this!

 

[NancyS]

Wow! That's quite something! Is this a new bike that you've just unpacked and assembled? Something that you'd been riding for awhile?

Can you pinpoint exactly what is rubbing against what? You say spokes... but if the wheel is "true" and the spokes are not bent or otherwise damaged, they shouldn't of course be rubbing against anything.

Are you able to determine if the wheel is true? When you turn the wheel slowly can you see exactly where the problem is? That's the front wheel?

What exactly did you have to "put together"? Could you have done something wrong? Was the disc brake assembly attached to the fork when you got it?

We need a lot more info to be able to help you.

Yes, I haven’t been able to use it because wanted to make sure all is well. It looks it is true. When the wheel is turn slowly one can hear a couple of places where the spokes rub the plastic cover where the disc pads are located. Yes, it is the front wheel. All I had to do was put the front wheel in place , handle bar and pedals.Also the front fender which I am waiting until the wheel issue is resolve.
The builder and owner of the company is trying to recreate the problem.
Yes the disc brake assembly was already attached to the fork.
I would be more concerned with the shipping conditions that me doing damage to this ebike.
I took pictures of the box condition when I got it before it entered my house. My husband and I were gentle. That it surprised me to hear the sound.
The packing was great and protected the spokes as far as I could tell.

 

[Mtl_Biker]

Yes, I haven’t been able to use it because wanted to make sure all is well. It looks it is true. When the wheel is turn slowly one can hear a couple of places where the spokes rub the plastic cover where the disc pads are located. Yes, it is the front wheel. All I had to do was put the front wheel in place , handle bar and pedals.Also the front fender which I am waiting until the wheel issue is resolve.
The builder and owner of the company is trying to recreate the problem.
Yes the disc brake assembly was already attached to the fork.
I would be more concerned with the shipping conditions that me doing damage to this ebike.
I took pictures of the box condition when I got it before it entered my house. My husband and I were gentle. That it surprised me to hear the sound.
The packing was great and protected the spokes as far as I could tell.

This is probably unlikely, but is it possible there is some kind of protective cover on the brakes that needed to be removed? I'm asking because you mentioned a couple of times a "plastic cover".

I really hope you get this resolved quickly. We're very curious about what the problem (and solution) might be.

Good luck!

 

[NancyS]

This is probably unlikely, but is it possible there is some kind of protective cover on the brakes that needed to be removed? I'm asking because you mentioned a couple of times a "plastic cover".

I really hope you get this resolved quickly. We're very curious about what the problem (and solution) might be.

Good luck!

Thanks! I am persistent if nothing else. When I do, I will post it. The plastic cover I referred to is the Shimano hydraulic disc break. Don’t know if this is the model, but the area that faces the spokes is made of plastic and a few spokes rub against it.

 

[Mtl_Biker]

Well, absolutely nothing should be rubbing!!! (As you know!) I just wish we'd be able to help you fix this.

Are you in contact with the company? What are they saying/doing?

You say the wheel is true. That no spokes are broken. If the mounting of the disc brake is somehow wrong (missing spacer, shim, etc.) then I doubt you would have been able to get the disc rotor between the pads.

On your video, when you switch to the other side, is the spoke (some of the spokes) hitting the circular piece at the bottom of the brake assembly? Is that what we see? Sure the wheel is properly seated in the fork?

I'm at a loss. Sorry.

 

[NancyS]

Well, absolutely nothing should be rubbing!!! (As you know!) I just wish we'd be able to help you fix this.

Are you in contact with the company? What are they saying/doing?

You say the wheel is true. That no spokes are broken. If the mounting of the disc brake is somehow wrong (missing spacer, shim, etc.) then I doubt you would have been able to get the disc rotor between the pads.

On your video, when you switch to the other side, is the spoke (some of the spokes) hitting the circular piece at the bottom of the brake assembly? Is that what we see? Sure the wheel is properly seated in the fork?

I'm at a loss. Sorry.

yes, the owner of the company is trying to recreate what is happening to me. I would need a scope type of camera to get more details.
I will attempt a third time to install the wheel and see if that changes anything.
Thanks for trying to help me. If the company or someone else resolved it then I will post it in case it happens to other people.

 

[Mtl_Biker]

yes, the owner of the company is trying to recreate what is happening to me. I would need a scope type of camera to get more details.
I will attempt a third time to install the wheel and see if that changes anything.
Thanks for trying to help me. If the company or someone else resolved it then I will post it in case it happens to other people.

I guess you don't have a wheel truing stand... but is it possible that you might be able to support the wheel on the axle (like between two chairs or something) so that you could spin the wheel and see if it's really true. It's very possible that on a new bike someone didn't torque the spokes evenly or that the wheel was somehow hit during transit. I've been trying to think of what could possibly be the problem and the only thing I can think of is that. If you can figure out how to support the wheel... heck, maybe just do like you did by turning the bike upside down and while holding your finger or a pencil against the frame almost touching the rim and then spin the wheel. If it's true the gap between the rim and your finger/pencil won't change. That would be the first test. Please rule this out.

 

[Mtl_Biker]

Any progress?

 

[NancyS]

Any progress?

Not yet! Tested rack spoke . Moved wheel slowly and I think I found the spoke but not sure.

 

[PDXzap]

The video makes it seem like there are 2 spokes that rub. You could hold a piece of paper between the spokes and brake, spin the wheel and possibly narrow the search down to the offending spokes.

 

[Mtl_Biker]

Not yet! Tested rack spoke . Moved wheel slowly and I think I found the spoke but not sure.

Did you try what I suggested? To try to determine whether or not the wheel is true? I want to know if your rim is moving side to side in one (or more) spots.

And if it is, then grasp the spokes in that area about the middle and gently squeeze. Try with several. If the wheel is moving to the right in one area, the spokes on the left side are either too loose or the right ones too tight. The grasping of the spokes is far from precise but it should help figure out if something is grossly out of whack.

This needs to be diagnosed step by step with the first step (in my opinion) being to determine if the wheel is true.

(And if the wheel is not true, I'd suggest you bring it to a good bike shop to have them true it. I doubt you have the tools or experience to do it. The rim not only must not move side to side, but it must be centered over the axle points where they attach to the bike. That takes two tools as well as a spoke wrench. Wheel building and truing is a job that needs to be carefully done.)

 

[PDXzap]

I've watched her video more than a dozen times and even though I can't say for certain, the video shows the wheel to be fairly true. Between her description and the video my bet is a bent spoke or two.

 

[Mtl_Biker]

I've watched her video more than a dozen times and even though I can't say for certain, the video shows the wheel to be fairly true. Between her description and the video my bet is a bent spoke or two.

You could be right, but with a bent spoke... bent so badly that it would hit the brake assembly, it's GOT to be pretty obvious. I didn't watch the video more than a dozen times... only about half a dozen, and I'm just unable to see what's hitting and why.

Too bad one of us isn't close by where she is. I'm sure we'd be able to figure it out pretty quickly.

@NancyS - isn't there a bike shop not too far from you who might be able to look at it?

 

[NancyS]

Can you explain more? Did you remove the disc and untighten the wheel? If yes, does removing the disc and tightening the wheel nuts still produce the noise?

If you have no noise without the disc present (but with the wheel nuts fastened) here’s an idea: it’s not the spokes hitting the outside of the caliper casing. Instead the caliper is badly centered. The disc is slightly warped and hits the caliper (internally) which then resonates through the spokes. It sounds crazy, huh? Well, I have had that on one of my wheels... To fix you’d need to recentre the caliper. But there’s an easier solution you can try: add a thin washer on one side of the dropout. You need to put the washer **inside** of the drop out. After doing it, turn the wheel *very* slowly. If you get any resistance, stop and put the washer on the opposite side of the wheel. Again, spin very slowly and if you get any resistance stop.

For the fix with the washer don’t unscrew any of the bolts on the axle other than the external nuts used to fasten the wheel. Don’t try to unwarp the disc either....

mall I did was place the wheel in place and made sure it was seating correctly before tightening the nuts. Then, I turned the wheel to make sure all was well and that’s when the sound occurred.
So, untigtened a nut a quarter of the way and sound went away.

 

[NancyS]

You could be right, but with a bent spoke... bent so badly that it would hit the brake assembly, it's GOT to be pretty obvious. I didn't watch the video more than a dozen times... only about half a dozen, and I'm just unable to see what's hitting and why.

Too bad one of us isn't close by where she is. I'm sure we'd be able to figure it out pretty quickly.

@NancyS - isn't there a bike shop not too far from you who might be able to look at it?

Yes, 50 miles away! I will need a friend with a pick up or carrier to give me a ride. I am spreading the news in town to find someone who would look at it or take it to a shop for me.