It seems like I'm only getting around 80-100 miles before things are out of whack again. Sometimes it's my highest gear that acts up under load (which is not good for drive train longevity) and others is the lower gears not wanting to go back into the next higher gear. I'm wondering if it's the quality of the components, an overly stretch prone cable or something else? Wanted to see what other Peak owners adjustment frequencies are to get an idea if mine is normal. Btw, 95% of my miles are road. I use the bike to commute to/from work. The other 5% are mild dirt jogging paths so I'm not doing any hard off roading.
E3 Peak owners, how often do you need to adjust your derailleur?
- Thread starter claucXC
- Start date
J.R.
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Piedmont Highlands
Maybe your chain is kaputt? Do you have a chain wear tool? I've seen chains go bad in 800 miles. Most will go bad 1000mi. to 2000mi. If you have 1000 or more miles on your current chain replace it with the best chain you can get. You can get a good chain for $15 to $25 USD. If you cannot keep the derailleur adjusted properly it has to be the other components. Cable, chain, free-wheel cassette or chain-rings. You can tune the entire system for very little cash, get your ride some Christmas presents, time to go shopping!
Thanks for the info. I don't have a chain wear tool but I'll see if the LBS can check it for me. Here is the chain that came with the bike: http://www.kmcchain.com Seems pretty stout but I do have around 1400 miles on it.
J.R.
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Piedmont Highlands
KMC makes very good chains. Chain wear depends on so many factors and there is no way to address them all on a forum. Very easy for your LBS to check. When a chain is worn (stretches) it will start to wear the cogs and freewheel (gears). Good on you for being on top of it.
Bud
Member
Test rode a Peak today and thought about the poor rear derailleur and chain as I 'banged' gear changes. With my Dash I can regulate chain tension during shifts better than I could on the Peak which had both my pedal force and the mid drive motor's torque transferring to the transmission.
Ya, this bike is definitely not for beginners because they'll chew up their drivetrains pretty quickly! I use a technique where I slightly engage the rear brake just enough to activate the motor cut off switch then shift so that I'm not straining the drivetrain. There's a delay of about a half a second after shifting which I wish was a little shorter but overall it's been working pretty well for me. It's a bit tougher on any significant hill as the bike immediately looses speed so I have to try to be super smooth with my technique. Anyway, I don't think prolonged hard shifting is what has caused my issue here as I have minimized it using the method above.
I now have about 750 miles on my Peak and have had the local LBS adjust the rear derailleur once. I thought the adjustment might relate to my increasing the front chain ring from 38t to 44t and now 46t with a 48t chain guard. But now that I think about it, the derailleur worked fine for about a month, so maybe the cable just stretched a little. I agree, their is an 'art' to shifting this bike or maybe its just an issue with mid drive motors. I know some mid drives use the Nuvinci transmission hub in place of the rear derailleur which is reportedly very smooth working like a cvt transmission on a car.
Update: Looks like it was the B-screw. Adjusted it closer to the cassette and haven't had the skipping in the highest gear yet! I think the chain is grabbing more of the few teeth it can when on the 11 tooth cog. Funny thing is I haven't touched the B-screw since I got the bike. Maybe the factory authorized bike shop did the last time they tuned it up? Regardless, looks like the problem's solved!
Hey there gadgetguy, time to start riding again! Would you be so kind as to share how you went about enlarging your front chainring? Wish they would offer options from the factory. Did you use the same chain? What about the factory chain guide/guard, parts used, overall riding experience, etc. Appreciate any info on this. Thought I'd query you first! Thanks!
Rusty
I ride my Peak mainly on paved roads in a hilly neighborhood for exercise. I rarely go off road so I was interested in more speed vrs extreme hill climbing. My goal was to be able to pedal with level one assist at 18 to 20 miles/hr on flat ground. I am 5'10" and weight 190 pounds. A typical 14 mile ride takes me about an hour where I climb about 600 feet, and descend a similar number of feet mixed with flat areas and various smaller hills on the route. My average speed is 12 mph. The steeper hills I climb at 7-9 mph with level 1 assist. My top speed flying down hill is about 36 mph. I only use about half the gears on the rear derailleur and rarely use any assist level other than 1 (exception - one short steep hill I stand on the pedals with level 3 assist). I don't use the twist throttle. The stock front chainring is 38T, BCD 104MM. My first purchase was a 44t (Shimano FC-M530 Deore Chainring (104x44T 9 Speed) ). I installed this chainring with the existing chain guard and existing chain. Results were fine most of the time but not 100%. The chain sometimes wedged itself between the guard and chainring on uphill shifts. It was a very messy experience to pry the chain out of the two rings on a ride. I now think that the Shimano chainring was the wrong model for this application (it was ramped and pinned). I next purchased a larger chain guard (Driveline Chain Guard 48T, BCD 104MM, 126g, Black) which I found on e-bay and I purchased a 46t chainring (Vuelta SE Chainring 104mm x 46t) found on Amazon. This chainring is not ramped or pinned. Not being ramped and pinned combined with the larger chain guard has resulted in the chain staying on the ring at all times. I am satisfied with performance of the larger front chainring. I feel that I have more than an adequate range of gears available for my ride and I typically only use one bar of the battery on my 14 mile ride. I might be tempted to experiment with larger chainring but could not find a larger chain guard and did not want to purchase a new chain.
Ps My rear derailleur now needs adjustment but I don't think it is related to the new chainring. I now have over 1300 miles on my bike and still love it!
Ps My rear derailleur now needs adjustment but I don't think it is related to the new chainring. I now have over 1300 miles on my bike and still love it!
Hey thanks buddy! That is great info and I surely appreciate it! I have just two more questions though - are you still using the stock chain - does it work ok with the 46 t chainring? And are all of the 9 speeds still accessible?
At 1300 miles you must be getting a lot of exercise - how is the bike holding up ? I use mine mostly commuting - at high speed mostly
. I tend to keep it on the smallest (11t) cog and crank, but I know that I could do more with taller gearing. The Peak is a great bike, there are some pretty nice e-mtb's out there, but none come with 48v or at anywhere near the price point that I could find.Hey thanks buddy! That is great info and I surely appreciate it! I have just two more questions though - are you still using the stock chain - does it work ok with the 46 t chainring? And are all of the 9 speeds still accessible?
At 1300 miles you must be getting a lot of exercise - how is the bike holding up ? I use mine mostly commuting - at high speed mostly
I am using the original chain and I have access to all 9 gears. I am confident that you will be very pleased with the larger front chainring and you will wonder why Izip installed the 38t. This modification is a good investment. Suggest that you purchase the one I mentioned above (or another brand with similar specs) and a new chainguard.
Bike is holding up well, my only complaint is the squeal in the disc brake pads.
gadgetguy, could you give more details on installing a larger chainring? I am very tempted by a 46T but unsure if removing the current chainring could affect the motor. In other words, would it entail somewhat disassembleing part of the motor or is it easily removable without tinkering with the motor? Also, does the motor have a harder time providing support because of more torque strain at start up? not sure this is worded clearly.
@franckler , I installed a 44T chainring on my Peak about 5 months ago. So far it has been working well. I get a few more mph top speed and it doesn't feel like it is laboring much more than when I had the stock chainring on. I just try to make sure I'm in a suitable gear when I have to stop or when approaching a hill.
Changing the sprocket was very easy. I didn't even take my chain off. Just removed it from the sprocket, unbolted the nuts holding the sprocket and bashguards, removed the outside bashguard and old sprocket and replaced with the new sprocket and stock bashguard. There are some shims to keep track of that can make assembly a little tricky but overall it was pretty easy. I did notice at one point early on I briefly had the wrench icon (which I think is equivalent to a check engine light) show up while going through a hilly section but I did not notice an error code and it went away in a few seconds when I came to a stop and has not re-appeared. Oh, and one other thing that may or may not be an issue is that my "bashguards", which are primarily used to keep the chain from derailing, are now a little lower than the outside of the chain and sprocket teeth! So if you go even larger than 44T, you'll definitely lose the bash protection and will also be decreasing the effectiveness of these plates as chainguides. I ride primarily on the street but there is a short section of my commute that is on a dirt path that can get somewhat rough. I have not had a chain derail yet since I've been using the 44T chainring.
Hope this helps.
Changing the sprocket was very easy. I didn't even take my chain off. Just removed it from the sprocket, unbolted the nuts holding the sprocket and bashguards, removed the outside bashguard and old sprocket and replaced with the new sprocket and stock bashguard. There are some shims to keep track of that can make assembly a little tricky but overall it was pretty easy. I did notice at one point early on I briefly had the wrench icon (which I think is equivalent to a check engine light) show up while going through a hilly section but I did not notice an error code and it went away in a few seconds when I came to a stop and has not re-appeared. Oh, and one other thing that may or may not be an issue is that my "bashguards", which are primarily used to keep the chain from derailing, are now a little lower than the outside of the chain and sprocket teeth! So if you go even larger than 44T, you'll definitely lose the bash protection and will also be decreasing the effectiveness of these plates as chainguides. I ride primarily on the street but there is a short section of my commute that is on a dirt path that can get somewhat rough. I have not had a chain derail yet since I've been using the 44T chainring.
Hope this helps.
I have not noticed any affect on the motor, but it is definitely more efficient if you are in the proper gear. Do not touch the motor other than removing the battery so that the motor does not accidently start while you are removing the chainring. Do suggest that you buy a larger size chainguard as mentioned in a previous posting. This upgrade is easier than fixing a flat and more rewarding!
Thank you ClaucXC and gadgetguy. I have ordered a 44T chainring. I am looking forward to try it out!
UPDATE: I have installed a 44T chainring and it was very easy. I could not be happier. I can easily maintain 28mph and it seems that the assist keeps up until 30mph, unless it is wishful thinking.
Now, i wish there was a way to update the firmware in the 2014 model to copy mapping from the responsiveness of the 2015 model.
UPDATE: I have installed a 44T chainring and it was very easy. I could not be happier. I can easily maintain 28mph and it seems that the assist keeps up until 30mph, unless it is wishful thinking.
Now, i wish there was a way to update the firmware in the 2014 model to copy mapping from the responsiveness of the 2015 model.
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