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

[Ann M.]

No ebike is perfect, this is a thread dedicated to sharing known issues or problems with electric bikes from Voltbike as well as any help and solutions you know of. Sometimes that means a DIY fix and other times it can mean a recall, software update or part replacement by a dealer.

Please be respectful and constructive with feedback, this is not a space for hate speech. In many cases, representatives from the company will see feedback and use it to improve their product. In the end, the goal is to enjoy riding and help each other go further and be safer.

 

[Yukon 500]

Thanks, Ann for setting this up.

i have had my Yukon 500 since last November and already put roughly 1,000KM on it. Overall, very happy with it but i would like to share my experience.

i am in Toronto Canada and i mostly used it for commute (25KM one way mostly on bike trail with pretty flat terrain). Yukon 500 is perfect for this purpose and i have not had any major issues/repairs yet. below are just what i want to share with you out there.

• don't be over-confident in tire traction. I fell three times in winter with very little ice/snow on surface. Luckily no injury nor damage to bike. But do be very careful even in rains especially on newly paved surface, wooden or metal bridges. In early spring, you should be mindful that even most places are clear of ice, there could be left-over on trail and sometimes it looks perfectly ok when you survey some stretches during the day, but rain could turn into ice overnight and pose challenges
• get a big horn because this thing can easily go over 35Km and you would want people to hear you when you are zooming along, especially now there are a lot of people wearing headphones and think they own the trail
• four minor issues i had with the bike:

1. the left crank arm got loose around 300KM and i tightened it up myself. but it got loose again a few days later. I took it to a bike shop and the guy helping me used a long wrench to tighten it up and after that no issue. I guess I did not put enough torque when i did it first time.
2. being new to bike, i did a silly thing when i had my monthly check. I noticed a few screws were loose and tightened up. did not know those are limit screws on rear derailleur. after that i realized that i cannot upshift to the highest gear and this went on for a few days until i googled and found out. did an adjustment and it worked like magic. now every gear works perfectly
3. the small cable leading up to the front LED light got loose a few times and it is not easy to put it back on properly. I thought it will not work but i did manage to put it back on. After that, i marked the two wires with colors so i know which side each needs to go if it does fall again
4. the disc brakes are rubbing since day one (cannot tell it is front or rear, maybe both), but this is a known issue for disc brake and it is not bothering me. but i do intend to have it checked when i do a tune-up next time in a shop

 

[Ann M.]

Funny how important those 'silly little screws' are @Yukon 500. Good thing you're a quick study. Glad your overall experience with the Yukon has been good. AirZound horns are 115 db & Hornits are 140 db; you will be heard.

 

[westwood]

Just bought a Mariner and on my first ride, I've noticed that the rear brake doesn't brake in a linear fasion. It's as if something is warped as the brakes do a "wub wub wub" when applied.
Anyone else have this?

 

[Voltbike]

Just bought a Mariner and on my first ride, I've noticed that the rear brake doesn't brake in a linear fasion. It's as if something is warped as the brakes do a "wub wub wub" when applied.
Anyone else have this?

Hi westwood, it is probably matter of adjusting the rear brake on your bike. It looks to me that the brake pads are touching the rotor. The brake calipers on your bike could be adjusted to avoid this. If you can't do by yourself, then you can probably visit some local bike shop. It's usually quick adjustment.

 

[westwood]

Hi westwood, it is probably matter of adjusting the rear brake on your bike. It looks to me that the brake pads are touching the rotor. The brake calipers on your bike could be adjusted to avoid this. If you can't do by yourself, then you can probably visit some local bike shop. It's usually quick adjustment.

Thanks for the suggestion, Voltbike.

I adjusted the caliper mounts but the warp is still there. I tilted the bike on the kickstand to lift the rear wheel off the ground and used the trigger throttle to investigate further.
Initially, I thought the rotor was warped however now I realize a much more serious issue as the whole wheel, hub, rotor, and gear cassette assembly is moving back and forth in the same way.

Is the axle bent??

 

[Voltbike]

Thanks for the suggestion, Voltbike.

I adjusted the caliper mounts but the warp is still there. I tilted the bike on the kickstand to lift the rear wheel off the ground and used the trigger throttle to investigate further.
Initially, I thought the rotor was warped however now I realize a much more serious issue as the whole wheel, hub, rotor, and gear cassette assembly is moving back and forth in the same way.

Is the axle bent??

Hi westwood, I am not sure I understand properly but I would advise you to make short video and email it at support at voltbike dot ca. Then our bike mechanic will take a look and get back to you.

 

[westwood]

Hi westwood, I am not sure I understand properly but I would advise you to make short video and email it at support at voltbike dot ca. Then our bike mechanic will take a look and get back to you.

Thank you for the prompt reply, Voltbike !!

I don't own a cell phone that can shoot a video however, I could try to use a gopro and post it.

Basically, something is out of balance in the back end. If I tilt the bike on it's kickstand and apply the throttle to spin the wheel, the whole bike has a shimmy shake back and forth. Off throttle coast down is the same....shake shake shake.

It's not electrical but mechanically rotational.

 

[Archaeonic]

Thank you so much for putting this thread up! Great resource
Here's my first question as a brand new VB Mariner owner:

• How does one reset the trip odometer on the LCD controller?

I have no problem navigating through the various speed and odometer settings, I just can't figure out how to "zero" the trip odo...
Thanks again!

 

[Jeff McNab]

Voltbike Yukon

At approx 1000km I have lost one of the bolts from my kickstand.

No worries, a M6 10mm from homedepot fixed it. This time I used some blue loctite. It's not a hex head screw anymore but maybe I'll order one off eBay.

I have had to adjust the brakes and fine tune the derrealet a couple of times but now it's smooth and quiet.

Great bike, I would buy it all over again.

 

[westwood]

Thank you so much for putting this thread up! Great resource
Here's my first question as a brand new VB Mariner owner:

• How does one reset the trip odometer on the LCD controller?

I have no problem navigating through the various speed and odometer settings, I just can't figure out how to "zero" the trip odo...
Thanks again!

Data Clean: If you press Up/Down buttons both
together for few seconds, this will reset several
temporary data including AVG Speed, MAX Speed,
Trip and Time.

 

[Archaeonic]

Data Clean: If you press Up/Down buttons both
together for few seconds, this will reset several
temporary data including AVG Speed, MAX Speed,
Trip and Time.

Thanks!

 

[Yukon 500]

Mine is just over 2,000km and I really enjoyed it. There have been no repairs but i do clean/lube chains/derailleur regularly.

I plan to take it to a shop end of the month to do a tune-up. By then, I probably need to replace the rear tire as well and I have no experience at all with fat tires before. Hope a shop in my neighborhood can do it for me and check the brakes too.

The rear tire has significant wear compared with front. My commute is mostly on paved surfaces (asphalt/concrete and a few short stretches on gravels). At first, I thought maybe I use rear brake much more than front. So I started to use the front more often about a month ago but did not notice any difference. I am sure the rear tire wears more because it is the "drive" wheel. Like front-drive cars, the front tires always have more wear but unfortunately it is not worthwhile to rotate the two tires on the bike. I do not think it is possible to rotate the wheels without taking off the tires. If someone knows how to do this, please share.

If anyone here have put more mileage on their bikes than I did, can you share when (what mileage) did you replace your tires (rear and front)? A quick visual check on mine tells me i will have to replace the rear tire at 3,000km at latest. And probably can keep the front one for another 3,000.

 

[Jeff McNab]

Mine is just over 2,000km and I really enjoyed it. There have been no repairs but i do clean/lube chains/derailleur regularly.

I plan to take it to a shop end of the month to do a tune-up. By then, I probably need to replace the rear tire as well and I have no experience at all with fat tires before. Hope a shop in my neighborhood can do it for me and check the brakes too.

The rear tire has significant wear compared with front. My commute is mostly on paved surfaces (asphalt/concrete and a few short stretches on gravels). At first, I thought maybe I use rear brake much more than front. So I started to use the front more often about a month ago but did not notice any difference. I am sure the rear tire wears more because it is the "drive" wheel. Like front-drive cars, the front tires always have more wear but unfortunately it is not worthwhile to rotate the two tires on the bike. I do not think it is possible to rotate the wheels without taking off the tires. If someone knows how to do this, please share.

If anyone here have put more mileage on their bikes than I did, can you share when (what mileage) did you replace your tires (rear and front)? A quick visual check on mine tells me i will have to replace the rear tire at 3,000km at latest. And probably can keep the front one for another 3,000.

I've got 20 years of cycling experience and am an avid road/ MTB rider. This bike is for commuting on night shifts, when I don't always want to pedal my butt off home. I work downtown as a beat cop and get plenty of exercise/ adrenaline on duty - no nead to experience it on my commute. I've ridden this Yukon thru blizzard conditions at 4AM.

Anyways, I can say that riding on ashphalt with these tires will give you maybe 1k - 2k of tread life.

The tires are one of he most popular fat bike tires in my area, so many shops should have them in stock.

I plan on changing the tire myself. When I get near replacement time I'll order the tire and keep it around until I'm feeling keen enough to undergo the task.

Be advised, the wire bead on these tires is very tight. You'll nead three of the plastic tire irons, readily available at bike shops. Make sure to torque the rear wheel nuts snug enough not to slip and loose enough not to strip.

It shouldn't be a big deal for a local bike shop.

 

[westwood]

Hi westwood, I am not sure I understand properly but I would advise you to make short video and email it at support at voltbike dot ca. Then our bike mechanic will take a look and get back to you.

Hi Voltbike,

I was able to make a short video showing my observation in regards to the rear brake issue and the apparent wobble of the rotor, hub and cassette. I sent it to support at voltbike dot ca and will wait to hear back from the mechanic.

Thanks again !!

 

[ShumaBike]

Hi,

I've had a new Voltbike Enduro and have ridden it for about 230 miles now and I have noticed that when the battery is low (but not empty) the motor will start to struggle or intermittently cut out. The LCD display will often show that I have 2 "bars" of power left (out of 10), but the battery itself will display 1 light out of 5 and sometimes even 0. I understand that 1 light and 2 bars are the same with that math, but since the motor is cutting out and sometimes simply ceasing all together the computer displaying 20 percent power (rather than 10%) seems very inaccurate. It has caused me to misjudge my remaining distance, keeping the motor at its highest setting when I should have been much more conservative.

It hasn't been a huge problem for me, as I've just adjusted how often I charge the battery and I'm large enough that I can manage this large bike without the motor, but it's something that could be problematic for some.

 

[Archaeonic]

Hi guys,
So my 12 year old son had a little spill on my new Mariner this afternoon at the local park Unfortunately, his fall caused a slight out and upwards bend in the right brake lever. This seems to be causing a controller error 05E "Brake Error" and the motor will no longer engage.
I wiggled the brake lever a little and it is still fully functional but it is inhibiting the motor
N.b., I'm arguably below average in mechanical aptitude and tool skills so I thought I'd throw out a little SOS call.
I imagine I'll need to take it to the local bike shop but I was wondering if anyone had any other ideas to share keeping my aptitude in mind
Thanks!

 

[Archaeonic]

Hi guys,
...controller error 05E "Brake Error" and the motor will no longer engage
... brake lever... is inhibiting the motor
... need to take it to the local bike shop ... wondering if anyone had any other ideas ... Thanks!

Local bike shop helped bend brake lever back a bit -- just enough to reset internal motor inhibitor switch and we're back in business.
Shop recommends purchasing spare lever assembly in case it goes bad perminantly.
Contacted Voltbike asking about purchasing spare.
Waiting to hear back...

 

[Yukon 500]

Hi,

I've had a new Voltbike Enduro and have ridden it for about 230 miles now and I have noticed that when the battery is low (but not empty) the motor will start to struggle or intermittently cut out. The LCD display will often show that I have 2 "bars" of power left (out of 10), but the battery itself will display 1 light out of 5 and sometimes even 0. I understand that 1 light and 2 bars are the same with that math, but since the motor is cutting out and sometimes simply ceasing all together the computer displaying 20 percent power (rather than 10%) seems very inaccurate. It has caused me to misjudge my remaining distance, keeping the motor at its highest setting when I should have been much more conservative.

It hasn't been a huge problem for me, as I've just adjusted how often I charge the battery and I'm large enough that I can manage this large bike without the motor, but it's something that could be problematic for some.

I have a Yukon 500 and put around 1,300 miles on it. The battery is still working perfectly for me and never experienced any issue. I have a commute of 15 miles each way everyday and and battery is showing 2 lights (4 lights when fully charged) after each ride. But I do charge to full after each ride.

Having said that, I agree the battery indicator on the LCD (handlebar) is not accurate at all, nor does the indicators on the battery itself. 2 lights does not mean there are 50% power left. I noticed for a few times that when I was going uphill or against strong wind, the indicator dropped suddenly from 50% to almost zero and started flashing. It looks like there is no power left at all. But once I reached flat terrain or when the gust is over, the indicator went back to its normal level. The motor never cut off though.

I think you'd better charge the battery after each ride. You do not have to second-guess how much is left then. And I heard that will also extend your batter life by increasing the number of charge cycles significant. I remember seeing a chart somewhere on internet, saying it could even double the number from 350 to 700. I am not sure whether there is any scientific proof to quantify that, but I think the statement is true overall.

 

[gcoop]

I'm at the 600 km mark with my Yukon 750 and just noticed that the throttle is intermittently working. Pedal Assist is working fine but straight throttle works sometimes and other times is completely dead.

It feels like there is a fault connection from throttle to controller to motor? I've written to Volt to see if they have suggestions and am waiting to hear back.

One thing, when PAS is engaged and I'm cruising, if I then engage the throttle it is more likely to work but rarely works from a dead stop?

Any and all suggestions are appreciated.

GC.