Gazelle Arroyo C8 (2018) rack fail

[Wilma]

With 1,850 miles, the rack which supports the battery on my bike completely failed, leaving the battery dangling by it's connection to the bike. The rack appears to be very sturdy, but in fact, the full weight of the battery is supported by one narrow strip of metal, welded to the rack. This weld and metal strip broke in three places! I am awaiting a replacement rack. I plan to ask my bike shop to save the broken rack for me, and have a welder fix the broken part, so that if it ever happens again, I will have a usable spare part.

I am in the habit of removing the battery in the evening, to charge in the house, as my garage gets very cold in the winter, and very warm in the summer. I have never placed anything heavy (or not heavy) on top of the battery. I have hung panniers on the sides of the rack, but that part is holding up just fine. I'm a careful rider, and try not to hit potholes or cracks too hard, but given my community's poor street maintenance, they are often unavoidable.



I welcome sympathy, but am really looking to know if others have had a similar experience, and any advice on how to prevent this happening again.

 

[Cycledoc]

With 1,850 miles, the rack which supports the battery on my bike completely failed, leaving the battery dangling by it's connection to the bike. The rack appears to be very sturdy, but in fact, the full weight of the battery is supported by one narrow strip of metal, welded to the rack. This weld and metal strip broke in three places! I am awaiting a replacement rack. I plan to ask my bike shop to save the broken rack for me, and have a welder fix the broken part, so that if it ever happens again, I will have a usable spare part.

I am in the habit of removing the battery in the evening, to charge in the house, as my garage gets very cold in the winter, and very warm in the summer. I have never placed anything heavy (or not heavy) on top of the battery. I have hung panniers on the sides of the rack, but that part is holding up just fine. I'm a careful rider, and try not to hit potholes or cracks too hard, but given my community's poor street maintenance, they are often unavoidable.

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I welcome sympathy, but am really looking to know if others have had a similar experience, and any advice on how to prevent this happening again.

Was it covered under warranty? Is obviously a design flaw perhaps complicated by a faulty weld.

 

[Wilma]

I expect it to be covered under warranty, but only just, as I purchased the bicycle in July, 2018. That said, I hope that the replacement rack will have a sturdier connection point. I am a very careful rider, doing my best to avoid potholes and banging my way through the bad sections of pavement. This absolutely should not have happened!

 

[AlanDB]

Yikes! This is certainly something for me to keep an eye on. I took a good look at my 2017 Arroyo (bought in 2018), and I don't see any obvious signs of failure (cracks, chipped paint, etc.). I can say I have never carried any cargo on the rear rack other than the battery. But it is supposedly made to carry cargo, so this failure shouldn't have happened without some kind of obvious abuse.

 

[Wilma]

I dropped my bike off for repair, this morning. The new rack has a sturdier connection point to hold the weight of the battery. The shop owner said this is a known issue, and this is the second rack that he has had to repair. This shop started carrying Gazelle in 2018. I wonder why Gazelle hasn't issued a recall, as this is a very serious design flaw, in my opinion. In any case, if you have a bike with the battery in the rear rack, be aware, and maybe be in touch with your dealer to get a proactive fix, or at least have them get a replacement rack in stock, just in case.

 

[AlanDB]

Aaarrrrrggghhh!!! My 2017 Arroyo now has this failure. It has been ridden only on paved trails and has 1500 miles. But even paved trails have bumps which can make the battery bounce pretty hard. The battery rack on this model has a definite design flaw and is under engineered.

I have been able to make a temporary repair with some heavy duty zip ties and a block of wood which allows the plastic battery slide holder to rest on and be supported by the bike frame. I think that will get me through the rest of the season and I will take the bike into the shop this winter to see whether the rack can be repaired or will have to be replaced. I am long out of warranty, but I agree with one of the earlier comments that this is something that should have been a recall by Gazelle. That said, I fully expect that I will have to pay for whatever repairs are required.

I still love my Arroyo and have no desire to change to a different brand or model. Other than this problem, the bike has been perfectly reliable with only routine maintenance and it is a dream to ride.

 

[Matthew X Curry]

With 1,850 miles, the rack which supports the battery on my bike completely failed, leaving the battery dangling by it's connection to the bike. The rack appears to be very sturdy, but in fact, the full weight of the battery is supported by one narrow strip of metal, welded to the rack. This weld and metal strip broke in three places! I am awaiting a replacement rack. I plan to ask my bike shop to save the broken rack for me, and have a welder fix the broken part, so that if it ever happens again, I will have a usable spare part.

I am in the habit of removing the battery in the evening, to charge in the house, as my garage gets very cold in the winter, and very warm in the summer. I have never placed anything heavy (or not heavy) on top of the battery. I have hung panniers on the sides of the rack, but that part is holding up just fine. I'm a careful rider, and try not to hit potholes or cracks too hard, but given my community's poor street maintenance, they are often unavoidable.

View attachment 56127 View attachment 56128 View attachment 56129 View attachment 56130

I welcome sympathy, but am really looking to know if others have had a similar experience, and any advice on how to prevent this happening again.

Yes Wilma, this happened to me earlier this year and while checking the Gazelle pamphlet for the part # I noticed the warranty for the frame says 10 years so they replaced the rack part and labor with no charge! Just had to send in a photo and a copy of the receipt. The replacement rack has the same size tubular stock and weld, so better than the thin flat bar. Gazelle for the win!!!!

 

[AlanDB]

Yes Wilma, this happened to me earlier this year and while checking the Gazelle pamphlet for the part # I noticed the warranty for the frame says 10 years so they replaced the rack part and labor with no charge! Just had to send in a photo and a copy of the receipt. The replacement rack has the same size tubular stock and weld, so better than the thin flat bar. Gazelle for the win!!!!

Thanks for that info. I hope my LBS that I purchased my Arroyo from will pursue that warranty replacement rather than charge me an arm and a leg to repair it.

 

[AlanDB]

I am going to resurrect this old thread. As mentioned in my earlier post, I was able to make a repair that has worked very well (probably stronger and more stable than a new rack), so I have not pursued a warranty claim with Gazelle for the battery rack failure. But I took my bike into my LBS for a general maintenance (cleaning, lube, tightening, adjusting, etc.) and mentioned this thread to the guy who checked me in. I made it clear that it would be interesting to see if Gazelle would cover it under warranty as another user in this thread indicated, but that I was not interested in a chargeable repair because my repair was sufficient and probably better than the original design. The tech agreed with that assessment, but said he was willing to make a claim with Gazelle to see what they will do. I am still waiting to hear the result and will post back here when I find out. I am ready to start my 5th riding season with my Gazelle Arroyo and I still love it!

 

[AlanDB]

Well, the verdict from Gazelle is in. They declined the claim my LBS opened to cover the battery rack failure under their 10 year frame warranty, The regular warranty on my 2017 Arroyo is expired, and unlike the previous poster in this thread, they would not cover it with the longer frame warranty.

In one way, I am glad they didn't replace the battery rack because unless they reengineered it to correct the design flaw, it would have probably just failed again. The LBS tech I was working with agreed that the repair I cobbled up is strong and stable and would last. When the battery is in place the repair is barely noticeable and doesn't spoil the esthetics of the bike or affect the carrying function of the rack.

 

[dahn]

Well, the verdict from Gazelle is in. They declined the claim my LBS opened to cover the battery rack failure under their 10 year frame warranty, The regular warranty on my 2017 Arroyo is expired, and unlike the previous poster in this thread, they would not cover it with the longer frame warranty.

In one way, I am glad they didn't replace the battery rack because unless they reengineered it to correct the design flaw, it would have probably just failed again. The LBS tech I was working with agreed that the repair I cobbled up is strong and stable and would last. When the battery is in place the repair is barely noticeable and doesn't spoil the esthetics of the bike or affect the carrying function of the rack.

Thanks for your valuable posts. Would you be willing to post a couple photos of your repair? My wife's Arroyo just experienced this failure and I would love ideas for wood and zip tie placement in the repair.

 

[AlanDB]

Thanks for your valuable posts. Would you be willing to post a couple photos of your repair? My wife's Arroyo just experienced this failure and I would love ideas for wood and zip tie placement in the repair.

I am not real good at posting pictures, but I'll do my best.

I started out with a T shaped flat repair bar like you can buy at Menards or Home Depot. I cut a couple wood blocks to the right size and thickness to attach to the T bar with 1/2" wood screws. This assembly fits between the plastic battery slide and the battery rack frame and fender so the plastic slide rests firmly on the T. You can see I had to cut and chisel a groove to clear the frame cross member. I also had to drill a couple of holes part way into the bottom to clear the bolt heads where the battery frame is connected to the bike frame.

I attached this assembly to the bike frame on each side of the T strap with a medium weight zip tie shown by the red arrows.

I put a heavy weight zip tie across the top of the battery bracket near the rear. The battery slides under this zip tie and it holds the battery down tight against the battery slide so it doesn't bounce when going over bumps.

I put a heavy weight zip tie across the bottom of the battery rack on each side of the broken frame piece.

The final zip tie is hard to get a picture of. It is a long medium weight tie that secures the broken frame piece near the center (in front of the tail light) to the center battery frame support. It goes under the bike frame and prevents the battery connector and slide from wanting to bounce or drift backward.

And here is how it appears with the battery mounted. This system is hardly noticeable. If I painted the wood piece black I don't think anyone would ever notice it at all. It is very secure and does not interfere at all with installing, removing or locking the battery. I have been running my Arroyo this way for 3 years now and it hasn't failed me. My LBS technician actually admitted that my repair was more stable than if they replaced the battery rack with a new one from the factory.

Good luck in getting your wife's Arroyo repaired.

 

[dahn]

Beautiful! Thank you for posting these.

 

[Kayakguy]

Thanks for that info. I hope my LBS that I purchased my Arroyo from will pursue that warranty replacement rather than charge me an arm and a leg to repair it.

Last time I used that saying I realized I was talking to an amputee. Must stay alert about inserting foot into mouth.