hub motor issues

[Steveo115]

Any known motor failures on the Aventon Pace 500?

 

[rcdanner]

Not that I know of. I have over 2500 miles and still going strong on my 500. Wife's 500 has over 1300 miles and going strong. Aventon warranty service is outstanding if you have a problem.

 

[robrob]

Over 1000 miles on my 500 and no problems at all.

 

[Steveo115]

I have 200 miles on it with a resistance of a cruiser in P- 0. However a grinding sound louder than a coffee bean grinder and very hard pedaling in any P assist levels. (Think of your car suddenly dragging it's muffler) .
It goes away when I use the brakes and will coast. The sound returns after a 1/2 pedal turn.

 

[robrob]

Steveo, that does sound like a motor issue. I have read that there is a washer in the motor that can come loose and cause issues.

 

[Alex M]

Any known motor failures on the Aventon Pace 500?

To early to tell, considering that Pace 500 have been manufactured for only a year so far.

Gears could last more than 10,000 miles but hall sensors and magnets often fail sooner. The word is that Shengyi geared hubs are inferior to Bafang hubs, but a lot depends on how you ride so it's difficult to compare.

"Sounds" like you got a lemon. 200 miles is way too low for even the cheapest no-name hub.

 

[UphillBothWays]

I have 70 miles on my new Pace 500. I don't use the PAS much. It had full battery, probably 90%. Today, while riding, I needed a little assistance, and put it in PAS 1, and nothing happened. Tried PAS 2, and nothing. Then tried the throttle, and nothing. Fooling around with the controls, I see ER message. Turned it off, turned power off. waited a while, and tried again. Although I still got the error message, and PAS didn't work, the throttle did. And after that, it went back to normal. What could have caused the power outage? I was quite far away...I don't know how I would have made it home.

 

[Alex M]

What was the error code?

 

[UphillBothWays]

Happened again today. 25 I think. I go to the beach and back. From my house down to the beach is about 5 miles, and downhill all the way. I engage the brakes that whole time, and don't need the PAS or Throttle. I am thinking the bike is Automatically turning itself off after the 10 minute "non-use" mark, OR the engaged brakes for that long is causing some kind of error.

 

[Alex M]

Aventon have a good manual.

"Error 25: Brake Error.
Loose brake inhibitor sensor or brake has been engaged for more than 5 secs".

I think they do this to prevent brake fluid from boiling.

 

[UphillBothWays]

Yes, I think that was it. I go downhill, and apply the brakes a lot. So, That means I have to be careful to let go of the brakes a bit every few seconds? And, if it is a brake sensor, will the bike shut off??

 

[robrob]

The brakes are hydraulic so they will not shut off but it's a good idea to release the brakes periodically to allow the pads and caliper to cool. For a long downhill I will add extra brake to slow more than normally so I can release the brakes completely while the bike accelerates downhill.

 

[Alex M]

Loose sensor won't prevent brake pads from working.

Now, whether loose sensor would disconnect the motor power forever (until you fix it), or won't disconnect it at all (until you stop pedaling or release the throttle) - I'm not sure. If engineers have done their job right, failed/loose sensor should disconnect motor "forever" rather than keeping the current flowing.

 

[Amishman]

I have a one day old Pace E500 which feels like it grinding as I pedal. I do not hear the noise. I feel it as I pedal. I lubed the chain and still here it. Is this something to be concerned about?

 

[robrob]

Amishman, if your derailleur is properly aligned you should not feel any grinding or vibration when pedaling with the Pace 500. While coasting, turn the pedals slower than the bike is moving (so you put no load on the chain), do you feel the grinding?

You could slip the chain off the chainring (front sprocket) and pedal the bike. If you feel the grinding then the bottom bracket (pedal bearing) is bad. If it is smooth then you know it's coming from the drivetrain.

 

[Amishman]

I gunned it up to PAS 5 and slowly turned the pedals, felt no grinding. I guess it must be the derailleur, but the gear shift is smooth. How does one align a derailleur.

 

[robrob]

An experienced bike friend may be able to help you but I tune it by eye, ear and by how it shifts. The derailleur gears should line up with the cassette gear so I start by setting it by eye. Ride the bike and check shifting all the way and all the way down. Is there any delay going up or down?

Do you have to push the shift lever too much when shifting to a larger sprocket? If yes, then the cable needs more tension by turning the adjuster on the cable at the shifter. While sitting on the bike turn the cable adjuster clockwise to tighten the cable. Keep track of adjustments so you can go back to where you started.

Does the shift happen very quickly when going to a larger sprocket but takes too much time when going to a smaller? If yes, remove some cable slack by turning the adjuster counter-clockwise.

Is there excessive running noise? Keep track of adjustments and try tightening the cable. If the noise gets worse then adjust the cable the other direction until you get the shifts and running as smooth as possible.

 

[Amishman]

In looking at the bike last night, I did not see the bike out of alignment as much as the Chain not fully fitting in, all the way down in between the teeth on the rear derailleur gear sprockets.

 

[Amishman]

Otherwise, no real noise. I will recheck today after tightening the cable. My wife rode the bike today and had none of the issues which I mentioned. Maybe tightening did the job. She has her Aventon 500 coming. I will write back when we receive and assemble it. Thank you for all your advice, the good vibes have worked.

 

[Amishman]

On the grinding issue, I think it relates to derailleur and after fiddling with my wife’s new bike, don’t see it as a problem. A new issue developed in my bike, now up to 113 miles. The PAS and motor cut out in the course of a 15 mile bike run. Then, the motor would try and re-engage for a few seconds and again cut out. This occurred about 10 miles into the bike hike and after I had been running it at 3, 4,5 PAS because the ground was level and supported speed—and using 8th gear. AAR, the battery still shows 3 bars. Since this was after dark, I had been pressing both up/down buttons to look at the PAS. I note that is when this all occurred. I wonder whether at some points after a high speed or high load, such as up hills, the motor overheats and shuts down....any thoughts?