Known Issues & Problems with Haibike Products + Help, Solutions & Fixes

[Guidz]

Again, many thanks. Just ordered up a tube! NE Electric Bike demonstrated immediate competence and followed exactly what was suggested here - either battery or display. Without any prompting from me, they asked me to ship BOTH back immediately for testing. They haven't received the package yet but, again, I'll be sure to report back. With the battery only charging a max of 4/5 despite leaving it plugged in all night off the bike, I can't help but think that a problem is going to be right there. In the meantime? Tube of dialectric grease is on the way. I appreciate the time in taking the screen-shot. It'll be here before the battery / console returns.

Ok, NE Electric Bike tested and, yep, battery tested bad! Warranty exchange. I paid for shipping there and back. Couldn't be helped. Little dab of dielectric grease on the contacts and am happy to announce that all is well. Seems I was one of the "lucky" ones to get one of the few bad batteries that the owner has ever had to send back. Only issue are now the stickers! I am riding a "Haib!" lol Owner said he'd try to have new decals sent out and I did find them online but at least the bike is up and running perfectly again. Even better? I am happy to post he following...just rolled 1000 miles! Thanks again for the help, folks! Much appreciated!
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

 

[Marc Webster]

Anyone ever have a problem with the dropper post? The metal tube portion near the lever pulled out and there is slack in the system and it wont work. I plan to look int o this tonight and see if I can see what the problem is and repair it.

 

[Jan1of1]

About a year ago I wrote about the difficulty trying to mount a handlebar bag because of the control unit. Someone suggested I purchase Ortlieb's E-bike mount #E207 which I did - and it worked perfectly. Update...I bought my wife a Haibike XDuro Trekking bike and guess what Haibike did? That's right they mounted the light in front of the control unit making it impossible to mount a handlebar bag. I think the Haibike folks ought to take a class on design thinking....

 

[Nova Haibike]

I bought my wife a Haibike XDuro Trekking bike and guess what Haibike did? That's right they mounted the light in front of the control unit making it impossible to mount a handlebar bag. I think the Haibike folks ought to take a class on design thinking....

It's because the Lupine light only offers a bar mount, and the upgraded Suntour fork does not offer a light mount either. You could add an accessory mount that would attach to the handlebar and position the light above the handlebar bar, or possibly attach an accessory mount to underneath the fork crown.

 

[rocky289]

About a year ago I wrote about the difficulty trying to mount a handlebar bag because of the control unit. Someone suggested I purchase Ortlieb's E-bike mount #E207 which I did - and it worked perfectly. Update...I bought my wife a Haibike XDuro Trekking bike and guess what Haibike did? That's right they mounted the light in front of the control unit making it impossible to mount a handlebar bag. I think the Haibike folks ought to take a class on design thinking....

If it's a trekking it should have a carrier, so why try and hang something on the bars.

 

[Sweetwater]

That's a bummer...sorry to hear of your troubles. Although it seems that yours may be a battery hardware issue, I'd like to recommend applying dielectric-grease to all the bike's electrical-contacts as a matter of general maintenance. I have been using it for nearly a year in some pretty messy damp environments, and have had ZERO issues.

View attachment 19628

This ^^^^^^ is excellent advice.
Electrical connections benefit tremendously by some petro based lube.
In fact, my retired Aerospace engineer buddy points out that any grease will do.
Spray some chain lube around, it works just as well according to him.

 

[Nick S]

This ^^^^^^ is excellent advice.
Electrical connections benefit tremendously by some petro based lube.
In fact, my retired Aerospace engineer buddy points out that any grease will do.
Spray some chain lube around, it works just as well according to him.

Not to wade into a controversial topic, but applying silicone grease / dielectric grease directly to electrical contacts may actually inhibit electrical signals -- it's an insulator. It does work well to seal electrical connectors and lubricate rubber parts (like the rubber boot around a spark plug, or o-rings inside of connectors) without them swelling. If you need something to apply directly to electrical contacts, you'll want to use a conductive grease instead.

 

[Fitzy]

I had to laugh since the guy who wrote the following used the term "controversial topic" too. I had no idea there was a controversy!

https://www.w8ji.com/dielectric_grease_vs_conductive_grease.htm

That said, I'm stickin' with my dielectric-greese.

 

[Kingfisher]

Deutsche Gründlichkeit?
That is a saying here in Norway about items made in Germany, German thoroughness, a quality stamp.
Maybe it's true for German design, but not for Hungarian assembly.

I bought a Sduro Cross 7.0 two weeks ago from Germany. After my first trip I noticed that 2 of those small black plastic knops covering unused frame holes was gone, and the right side Bosch CX emblem of the motor. Small things but very annoying and hard to get.

After a few km of a 55 km rough forest roads trip I noticed a bad noise from the front hub. I stopped several times on the trip trying to find out what was the cause of the noise. It was the dust cap on the left side that was dry without any grease between it and the hub. But then I noticed that the shaft was hard to turn around and had very much resistance. Then and there I couldn't do anything about it.
When I came home the first thing to do was to find the right size conus wrenches for the shaft. I dismantled the front hub, greased it and made and adjusted the bearings/lock nuts so the shaft was running freely without any slack. And when I was at it I did the same with the rear hub, taking off the cassette first. After a test trip both hubs is smooth and without any noise.

What I have learned from this is to check and double check everything after taking the bike out of the box, those small plastic knobs are pressed in place, emblems and that decals are sticking. (The decals on the battery started loosening).
The Hungarian assembly quality is not the best.

Overall I'm quite happy with my bike, although I was very unsure about the frame size when I took the bike out of the box. It was huge!
I bought L (56 cm) and I'm 1.88 cm with 89 cm inseam. My initial thought was that I had ordered a too large frame. But after a few trips I find it to be the correct size. One thing to do now, maybe, is to change the front spocket to a larger one, from 16 to 18.
One other thing is to find out why this Bosch CX and Intuvia combination didn't come with eMTB-mode and why an upgrade of the firmware at an authorized workshop did give me the latest firmware as stated at the Haibike site but no eMTB-mode. I have sent a request both to Haibike and Bosch a week ago but no response so far.
One other thing I need to find out is where to find the Swalbe Smart Sam tire size, 47-622(28x1,75). That Smart Sam tire size is not mentioned in Swalbe site or elsewhere.
And not to forget, buy a chainstay protector and put it in place before your first trip. I didn't and got a few bad chips on the lacquer from the chain even with the clutch on (XT derailleur).

 

[Manu]

When you are going to go over screws and nuts and you are not going to touch that in a long time use loctite 222 less for the screws of the drive unit where you should use a loctite 240

 

[Kingfisher]

Do you mean behind the drive unit covers, motor mounts etc. or both, motor mounts and covers?
And Loctite 222 has less strength than 240. You probably mean 240 for the drive unit?

 

[Manu]

loctite 240 only if you remove the drive unit and install it again after several years from its manufacture

 

[Nova Haibike]

The honeymoon is over...I was cleaning my four-month-old Trekking RC and discovered cracks in the rear wheel rim. I did not check the tension when I built the bike, but the drive-side spokes measure on the high side at 153 kgf. I do not know if that is within spec for the rim, but it is how I received it from Haibike; I have never touched the wheel with a spoke wrench.

 

[Nova Haibike]

I’m curious to see how fast Haibike USA will react.

It would help if I could submit a warranty claim. The Haibike site's form does not work; when I try to sent it, I get an error message. I left a message through the contact form, and I may call them tomorrow. I also sent a message to the seller.

 

[LimboJim]

It would help if I could submit a warranty claim. The Haibike site's form does not work; when I try to sent it, I get an error message. I left a message through the contact form, and I may call them tomorrow. I also sent a message to the seller.

I'm curious as to your results in reaching out to HaibikeUSA. I own a couple models and have written to them a few times (via site form and email) with questions about specs, service and maintenance, but never once got a reply of any kind.

When I wrote them this past Winter to tell them that a bike shop near me listed Haibikes for sale on their website but weren't on the very hard-to-find Haibike Dealer Locator page, however, they got right back to me seeking more info!

I just now also noticed that you can buy directly from HaibikeUSA on their website, and that the legit dealer nearest me (45 mins) is no longer a dealer (I know he was last year because he had a couple models on his floor). Many other manufacturers have begun selling direct-to-consumer recently, as well, but I always assumed that Haibike wouldn't go that route.

To me, this all adds up to HaibikeUSA keeping their focus sharp on sales, but being neglectful if not derelict about supporting their resellers and customers. Just my opinion...

 

[J.R.]

I'm curious as to your results in reaching out to HaibikeUSA. I own a couple models and have written to them a few times (via site form and email) with questions about specs, service and maintenance, but never once got a reply of any kind.

When I wrote them this past Winter to tell them that a bike shop near me listed Haibikes for sale on their website but weren't on the very hard-to-find Haibike Dealer Locator page, however, they got right back to me seeking more info!

I just now also noticed that you can buy directly from HaibikeUSA on their website, and that the legit dealer nearest me (45 mins) is no longer a dealer (I know he was last year because he had a couple models on his floor). Many other manufacturers have begun selling direct-to-consumer recently, as well, but I always assumed that Haibike wouldn't go that route.

To me, this all adds up to HaibikeUSA keeping their focus sharp on sales, but being neglectful if not derelict about supporting their resellers and customers. Just my opinion...

You can also use your Amazon account to pay at checkout. Very odd. I thought Haibike was strict with their warranty when buying direct online? Something about not covering labor or shipping replacement parts directly to the consumer? I don't own a Haibike, but 3 friends do and they are a consideration for my next bike.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

@LimboJim , @J.R.

A lot has happened with Haibike in 2017. Their parent company is Accell but Haibike itself was started as a standalone German company by Susanne Puello's father several decades ago.

She (Puello) went on to head the Accell's Winora and Haibike brand. In early 2017, because of differences between them and the Accell's team, they left company they had started and built.

https://www.bicycleretailer.com/int...es-accells-winora-group-citing-irreconcilable

http://www.bike-eu.com/home/nieuws/...-susanne-puello-leaving-winora-group-10129443

While Haibike was bringing in lots of revenuw, other brands under the Accell were going bankrupt.
On top of that, Dick's sporting good's contract fell through and this made things worse for Accell.

https://www.bicycleretailer.com/nor...perations-due-lower-sales-through-traditional

Then she joined hands with KTM and launched PEXCO E-bike brand and will be rolling out the famed Husqvarna brand E-bike.
http://www.husqvarnagroup.com/en/node/4077

This had ripple effects in the North American quarters. They had let go of all the Haibike employees early 2018 and amalgamate the brand with Raleigh, Lapierre, Izip etc.

The excess inventory that was left in 2017 had to be liquidated at astonishingly low prices. Every company wants to grow, Kalkhoff wants to grow, BULLS wants to grow, Trek wants to grow, (Juiced, M2S, Rad, FLX) wants to grow, every other manufacturer is going full force ahead. They have to compete with direct to consumer companies, Lunacycles, tons of Chinese import bikes. So, there is a lot of reorganizing thing going on both within the dealer network, and in sales channel etc.

Dealers were not happy with the liquidation process and prices. They were used to good margins and suddenly, they don't want to deal with extra work for less money. It's like parents got their kids hooked on cookies and chocolates and suddenly they are switching to veggies. So, some dealers dropped off and started focusing on different brands.

Anyway, Trek or Specialized has not changed. @LimboJim , you could always get a Trek bike and they will reply back to your messages. It's very rare that you can drive 50 miles without finding a Trek dealer. Haibike may not because the personnel were let go and it's under transition. They do make awesome bikes and they are spearheaded by a team which has very experienced folks like Larry pizzi etc. I think they are in it for the long haul.

Overall, business is bound to change as the market evolves.

 

[irishnutter]

Interesting info Ravi - thanks for sharing.

 

[Nova Haibike]

I’m curious to see how fast Haibike USA will react.

I contacted Haibike USA and the rep initially said, "I’ll work to get you taken care of quickly." But then they asked me to go through the seller. It took a few tries to get a response from Random Bike Parts/Crosslake Sales, but they did eventually respond, saying they have submitted my claim to Haibike/Accell. We'll see how that goes.

My wheel states a spoke tension of 1200N on the rim itself. Not sure exactly what that corresponds to. It’s a Rodi BlackRock.

I have not looked at any of the decals on my rim, but if it is 1200N, then the wheel was over-tensioned from the factory.

 

[Nova Haibike]

I received a message from Random Bike Parts that the warranty replacement wheels are in; they just wanted to know what address to send them to. So perhaps I may have them by the end of the week.