Defunct

[JayVee]

.......

 

[Trail Cruiser]

I'm sorry for your disappointment. Hhmmmmm, it looks like the first 4 are ebike specific issues while the rest are issues that are common to all bicycles (motorized or not).

On mid drives, it is a given that the life of the drive train (chain, chain ring, cassette) suffers due to the extra power coming from the motor. The more frequent you use the highest level of assist, the shorter the drive train life will be.

The extreme example is Court's uncle who uses turbo mode at all stops. As a result, he has to replace his chains every 8 hundred miles (otherwise, the stretched chain will start eating the cassette and chain ring with the unmatched indexing).

See 14:40 of the video.

 

[Dmitri]

As I approach 10,000 kilometers the list of failures is getting longer.

- The plastic fastener on the remote cracked today due to fatigue. Will try to fix with superglue. Not hopeful.
- The fastening joint for the Rubber cache on the battery is torn. Fixed with heavy duty tape.
- Freewheel broke. The entire wheel minus the cassette was replaced under warranty after 6 weeks. Problem: I was given a defective axle/wheel hub which now needs to be replaced (see below).
- Axle/wheel hub is damaged. Ongoing. Will probably take weeks or months to replace given the policy of my both my LBS and Haibike to play the clock when it comes to repairs.
- Magura MT4 brakes leak. More or less no resolution as it’s near impossible to prove.
- Return lever springs for MT4 brakes constantly pop out. Fixed by secruring with zip ties.
- Hydraulic valve on the left lever seems damaged. It won’t screw in properly. Strongly suspect foul play by the LBS.
- Plastic SKS front mud guards wobbles. Fixed by making a rubber dampener from an old inner tube.
- Cranks now wobble. Suspect an incorrect reassembly by LBS.
- Fastening bolts for brakes were tightened to 35NM instead of the recommended 6NM. Had to drill and weld to get them out. Guilty party: LBS.
- Original pedals literally fell to pieces. Replaced by platform pedals.

Maybe I’m just expecting too much...

Some of these are very familiar. The remote fastener cracked on one of my bikes too, but yours is Yamaha and mine is Bosch, different vendors, same results, eh? A freewheel breaking at 10kkm is not normal but then again you must surely be aware how awful the hub parts on stock ebikes are. Magura brakes are terrible generally: we've used MT2s and MT5s on bikes and said "never again"... quality is just rubbish. Not saying other manufacturers is better, had terrible issues with SRAM Guides at high temperatures, for example. Still, Magura is pretty awful generally.

Mud guards... I guess this is why we pay for Pletscher mudguards... sure, each weighs half a kilo but they are metalloplastic and the struts are made of metal. They are bombproof and won't wobble or break.

Wrong tightening is something I meet from time to time by unwholesome bike assemblers. Exceeding the tightness 6x-fold is crazy though.

And yeah, original plastic pedals that come on most ebikes will get annihilated fairly quickly. This is one area where you cannot really blame the manufacturer after 10kkm because this was a disposable item to begin with.

 

[Rakku]

Then apparently the issue is the LBS and not really the bike.
The title indicates otherwise.

Not the bikes fault your LBS is apparently very bad.

 

[J.R.]

I am really shocked at all the failures on this bike. Many would be demanding a new bike. I have friends with Haibikes that are happy to this point. Hopefully the problems are a one-off bike, model or year.

 

[Roxlimn]

In the end it will all be sorted.

But I must say that I won’t adopt the same philosophy next time I buy a bike. There are bikes for recreation and there are bikes for transportation. I’m in the second case, and I was counting on some reasonable metrics of efficiency as far as support goes. But I now realize that it’s up to me to store some parts in case of failures. So I think I’ll buy a second wheel. As for the brakes, I’ll swap them out next year because EU law is changing and the rear brake light is going to become mandatory.

If there is one point to take away from this thread it’s that you need to plan very carefully if you want to use an e-bike as a primary or secondary means of transportation. Overall the bike isn’t bad. It’s just a pity that it’s so difficult to keep running.

I’m coming to terms with the fact that my expectation of relying on others to provide maintenance and support simply isn’t realistic.

It is not. I don't know whether you've been bike commuting before this, but this is actually commonplace among bike commuters because, well because local bike shops aren't places that guarantee maintenance and support, especially on the road. By necessity, most bike commuters are relatively self-sufficient, going mostly to their LBS for parts and some convenience services. Many even bleed their own brakes. So when we receive product, we go over everything with a toothbrush and if there's anything we don't like, we simply do not take possession of the product. Taking possession of the product basically means you're going to be maintaining it going forward, generally on your own.

This could definitely and should definitely be improved going forward, but that's normal for LBSs today, and cyclist self-sufficiency is part of why they can continue to operate without much bad blood.

For my part, I have spare tubes, spare tires, spare entire wheels, and a slush fund for repair in case the braking system goes bad. It's exactly the same for when I was commuting using my road bike. Compared to using the car, the car is relatively more maintenance free, but that's primarily because I'm not doing check the oil and water every time I drive (which I should), and I don't do the basic engine check either (which I ideally also should, but my dealer assures me is not necessary).

Of course, I've also never been badly stranded on my bike. I can always pedal it somewhere, and I'm capable of fixing it on my own enough to limp to a bike shop or a bus line. I have been badly stranded with my car - the battery died in the middle of nowhere and I had to call up a towing service to get home. Pros and cons.