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

We own 2 City Commuters, and find them wonderful bikes overall to use, but quite costly on maintenance, especially at dealership. The main weakness of Pedego bikes is the exposed and easily damaged wiring, which is expensive to replace. The electrical wires (I know of 6 different ones, because they broke at some point) cost between $40 and $60 apiece, and because they are exposed, they are easily damaged, especially at the connection level. Add dealership labor--according to them they are hard to replace, and Scooteretti asks for $73/hour labour, and replacement fees run in the $100 range per damaged wire, parts and labor. Figures in are in Can$

Computers are a bit unreliable too. over 8000 km, I am at my third computer on my bike.
Piero,...Soldering of Wires is fairly Easy to do,...YouTube has many VIDEO TUTORIALS & You Can Save Yourself a lot of Money & Time to Learn How to Do this Yourself. lol,...Give it a Try ! ;-)
 
I purchased Platinum Interceptors for my wife and I back in April, 2018. On the first ride, I noticed an intermittent loss of power. Pedego tech support diagnosed the problem as a bad motor controller and sent a replacement. This fixed the problem but created another. The replacement controller had newer programming which produced higher max speeds for each of the 5 PAS levels. This made it difficult for my wife and I to ride in sync. Pedego was nice enough to send a second matching controller for my wife's bike at no cost. Thanks Pedego!
 
My local bike tech (independent one-man shop that just does repairs, etc.) said that the rear wheel nut is 19mm, and he complimented Pedego for that--he said that lots of ebikes use a lot of non-standard sizes.
 
A very minor issue:

I read in another forum of someone who replaced the plastic battery housing on his Pedego Interceptor because one of the screw holes, used to secure the motor controller cover, stripped when re tightening. This has now happened to me 3 times when working on three different Interceptor bikes.

Since I'm a 3 hour drive from the Pedego dealer where I purchased the bikes, Pedego support offered to send me replacement battery housings. Instead, I discovered the problem can be remedied by simply putting a small washer under the screw.

P1060813a.jpg

The problem is not caused by over torquing the screw. There is a defect in the upper left screw hole of the battery housing.

Again, this is a very minor issue and hardly worth mentioning but if it saves someone the headache of having to take their bike to the shop or replacing a battery housing, it was worth the post.
 
When riding my new Interceptor Platinum my pedals lurch and jump with a metal to metal sound. It's as though a cog skips, it's quite frequent and can usually be eliminated by playing with the gears although it always comes back. I mentioned it to the Pedego dealer and he said they all do it. Its quite irritating and not acceptable to me, I'm 80 years old and ridden bikes and motorcycles all my life, I've raced both having competed in mountain biking in the early years. Could it possibly be my throttle limiter and torque sensor setting in the trip computer which I haven't changed since receiving the bike a few days ago? Thanks for any insight.
 
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I have two Platinum Interceptors and neither show the symptoms you describe regardless of the display option settings. It may be something as simple as a deraileur adjustment. If your dealer won't investigate, try contacting Pedego tech support at: https://pedegogo.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=785908

Please keep us informed of the outcome.
 
It took a while but Murray at Pedego Oyama installed a new part in the hub, freewheel assembly I think, and the bike runs flawlessly. Murray and the Pedego Customer Service staff got on it immediately, even let me have a loner, if it wasn't for a delay receiving a small part (some sort of lock washer) I would have had the bike back in short order. Thanks Murray and Pedego.

Murray, the owner of Pedego Oyama goes the extra mile! The dealership is situated between two beautiful lakes in British Columbia, Canada and right on an awesome rails to trails path, he even lets me leave the bike at his dealership when I'm not riding, he washes the bike every time I return and charges the battery while it's being stored. He includes the larger battery with every bike (at least he did on mine) and puts slime in the tires, he even included a free bell. Kudos to Murray and his family for running a dealership as it should be run, nothing fake here just good old fashioned service. No we're not related and I never met him until I purchased my Interceptor from him a month or so ago.
 
Love to hear stories like this when the manufacturer and bike shop take care of their customers!
 
It took a while but Murray at Pedego Oyama installed a new part in the hub, freewheel assembly I think, and the bike runs flawlessly. Murray and the Pedego Customer Service staff got on it immediately, even let me have a loner, if it wasn't for a delay receiving a small part (some sort of lock washer) I would have had the bike back in short order. Thanks Murray and Pedego.

Murray, the owner of Pedego Oyama goes the extra mile! The dealership is situated between two beautiful lakes in British Columbia, Canada and right on an awesome rails to trails path, he even lets me leave the bike at his dealership when I'm not riding, he washes the bike every time I return and charges the battery while it's being stored. He includes the larger battery with every bike (at least he did on mine) and puts slime in the tires, he even included a free bell. Kudos to Murray and his family for running a dealership as it should be run, nothing fake here just good old fashioned service. No we're not related and I never met him until I purchased my Interceptor from him a month or so ago.

This is the reason I chose to drive nearly 3 hours to get to my nearest Pedego dealership. I could have ordered the ebike online instead and had it delivered for a few $$ less. The LBS is a valuable source of help and information. I only wish there was one closer to home.
 
My husband had some problems with his bike today and our local dealer came over with a loaner for him and took his bike back to the shop. What can I say? It was just lovely of her. We had such an enjoyable outing this afternoon as a result. We ride daily, so really would have missed his bike.
 
I now have 3 identical Platinum Interceptors,. All of them have the same issue. After the battery is roughly half depleted, regardless of the PAS setting, the amount of torque delivered by the motor begins to drop off. It's hardly noticeable at first but at approximately 70% discharge, the torque is down to about half of what a fully charged battery delivers. The throttle function is not affected and I use it to compensate for the torque loss in all the PAS settings until the battery exhausts.

It sounds more serious than it really is, It's more of an annoyance. I'm a heavy rider and usually carry extra gear which may be a contributing factor. As an electrical engineer, I can see the reason for this. As the battery voltage drops, so does the torque output. Apparently, the motor controller does not compensate for voltage variations.

I contacted Pedego tech support about a different problem. I had a controller which would cut out intermittently. I also mentioned the torque loss issue. They promptly sent me a new controller which solved the cut out issue (thank you Pedego) but they did not comment on the gradual torque loss.

This torque loss has now been evident with four different controllers on three different bikes which leads me to believe it is normal. Perhaps it's a weight issue or the conditions under which I ride. Has anyone else noticed this torque loss as the battery depletes?
 
Since I ride more trails than paved surfaces, I decided to swap the OEM Schwalbe Fat Frank tires on my Platinum Interceptor with Schwalbe Marathon Plus MTB's. As a test, I tried using the tool kit supplied with the bike. I discovered two problems:

1. The small crescent wrench in the tool kit will not open wide enough to fit the 19mm rear wheel nuts. Unless you have very strong hands, as mentioned in another post, it is also too short to apply the necessary torque. I own 3 interceptors and all had the same problem.

2. To remove the rear wheel, you have to cut off the zip tie that holds the motor cable to the frame. No tool it provided for this. It can be done with a knife but it's in an awkward position. A small pair of snips is better suited for the task.

Luckily, I discovered this with the bike on a work stand in my heated garage instead of on the trail. I now carry a 19mm wrench (3/4" will do as well) and a pair of mini wire cutters in my tool kit.

No bicycle manufacturer provides the tools necessary to completely dismantle a bike. IMO, the tools necessary to simply change a tire should be included though.

It is possible I received defective crescent wrenches with my 3 bikes and this problem may not be universal. Other Pedego owners may want to test their wrenches to be on the safe side.
 
This torque loss has now been evident with four different controllers on three different bikes which leads me to believe it is normal. Perhaps it's a weight issue or the conditions under which I ride. Has anyone else noticed this torque loss as the battery depletes?
My CC, less than 2 weeks old, displays this problem. In my case I do not believe the battery voltage has any effect. Its intermittent, has happened 3 or 4 times now and my money is on a motor controller. Couple that with the freewheel issue I am having and it's one little demon bike right now.

The throttle function is not affected and I use it to compensate for the torque loss in all the PAS settings until the battery exhausts.

It sounds more serious than it really is, It's more of an annoyance. I'm a heavy rider and usually carry extra gear which may be a contributing factor. As an electrical engineer, I can see the reason for this. As the battery voltage drops, so does the torque output. Apparently, the motor controller does not compensate for voltage variations.

So what battery voltage does the throttle see when you use it to compensate for the loss of power in PAS mode. Does it tell the motor to deliver more torque than the torque sensor in the BB of the bike when using a PAS mode? If you can override the amount of motor power delivered while pedaling in torque sensing modes 1-4 simply by using the throttle then it means the power is there I would think.

So, I am leaning towards some kind of miscue between the sensor in the BB and the motor controller. In the times I have seen the issue happen on my bike I found that by simply switching to cadence mode, PAS 5, all the motor power was available.

So we shall see as mine is going to the dealer tomorrow.
 
My CC, less than 2 weeks old, displays this problem. In my case I do not believe the battery voltage has any effect. Its intermittent, has happened 3 or 4 times now and my money is on a motor controller. Couple that with the freewheel issue I am having and it's one little demon bike right now.



So what battery voltage does the throttle see when you use it to compensate for the loss of power in PAS mode. Does it tell the motor to deliver more torque than the torque sensor in the BB of the bike when using a PAS mode? If you can override the amount of motor power delivered while pedaling in torque sensing modes 1-4 simply by using the throttle then it means the power is there I would think.

So, I am leaning towards some kind of miscue between the sensor in the BB and the motor controller. In the times I have seen the issue happen on my bike I found that by simply switching to cadence mode, PAS 5, all the motor power was available.

So we shall see as mine is going to the dealer tomorrow.

The slow gradual loss of torque I mentioned in my earlier post is barely noticeable until the battery is 70 to 75% depleted. It's mostly a minor inconvenience and easily remedied by using a bit of throttle or increasing the PAS level. I assume this is normal since it occurs on all three of my bikes.

Yes, the throttle overrides and increases the power provided by the PAS torque sensor. The power is most certainly there. The controller seems to reduce the wattage delivered to the motor in a given PAS setting as the battery voltage drops. At least this is the case with all 3 of my Pedego bikes.

I suspect the intermittent torque loss you're having is due to a defective controller. Pedego had issues with some of these units in 2018. Two of my Pedego bikes shipped with these defective controllers which had the intermittent power loss issues. Pedego promptly replaced them under warranty.
 
When I climb a very long and steep hill, my motor stops working but I get no error displays. Do you think my temperature sensor is not working? Or maybe my voltage is getting too low because the battery is depleting?
 
When I climb a very long and steep hill, my motor stops working but I get no error displays. Do you think my temperature sensor is not working? Or maybe my voltage is getting too low because the battery is depleting?

Climbing a long hill with a mostly depleted battery can cause the motor to overheat faster than it would with a full charge. The motor will also cut out when the battery charge drops below 10%. You should get an error on the display when either of these incidents occur though.

I would email Pedego tech support with your symptoms. They are quick to respond with suggestions and solutions.

https://pedegogo.zendesk.com/hc/en-us

If you do, please keep us posted for the benefit of other Pedego owners.
 
Pedego replaced my 2014 City Commuter,(5,000 miles) with a 2019 model because of a cracked frame. The new model's pedal assist is different in that it cuts out power when you hit certain speeds in each level. The 2014 model had even power and did not cut out. This new PAS is terrible and makes for a terrible riding experience. The power is constantly going on and off, as you try to maintain a constant speed. The dealer told me this is how the bikes always performed. I let him drive my other 2014 Interceptor , at which time he admitted that the 2014 had continuous power. He told me the controller perimeters were different and that the new controller was a better system. Can someone verify that newer Pedegos have a differ controller than the 2014 model, or did they give me a lemon.
Pretty sure they changed the controller after 2014. I had (sold) a 2017 Platinum Interceptor had none of the issues you describe. Try a Specialized unless you need a throttle or a Rad City if you do.
 
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