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

[ShumaBike]

I only saw one long distance ph. no. on their website: 1 (800) 350-4840. Is that the "sales" one?

Yeah, it seems like the sale and support numbers may have been changed on their site or I'm mixing the numbers and email addresses. That's now the only international number I can find.

 

[ShumaBike]

Got the engine open myself to check the clutch and it definitely is totaled. The teeth broke out and one of them had been grinding around inside the gearing so that's a piece I'll have to replace as well. Getting into the motor was pretty annoying, they used loctite on every single screw so removing them without stripping them wasn't easy. The CAD video for the moto construction was also incomplete and out of order, but it was still pretty helpful.

Now I just have to find a place that can replace these parts. If anyone knows how to contact BAFANG that would be really helpful, my phone calls haven't worked well so far.

 

[Voltman]

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.

Hi,

I'm replacing the back tire on my Voltbike Mariner after 4,400+ kilometers. It's not worn smooth, but the "knobs" are getting there. (I'll save it for a spare.) Over 5 years' riding various ebikes, I've found that knobbies are essential for rough trails. But they wear fairly quickly on pavement. More than half of my riding has been on gravel roads and dirt trails. If you intend to stay on pavement, replace your knobbies with road tires. If trails remain part of your rides, stick with the knobbies. The extra safety is worth it. -VOLTMAN

 

[ebikenewbie]

Has anyone ever had a problem with the hub motor skipping? I've recently noticed this the last few times i've been out. every once in a while when i start off from a complete stop there's a quick knocking sound and the bikes hesitates with each knock. I was going to make a short video, but I cant replicate it every time though. it does it at random intervals. Im thinking there must be some teeth missing off the plastic gears in the hub. Lots of warranty left, and I've emailed voltbike but yeah, no replies as of yet. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this with the bafang hub motors. Is it a pretty big job to change those gears?

 

[Stoker283]

Has anyone ever had a problem with the hub motor skipping? I've recently noticed this the last few times i've been out. every once in a while when i start off from a complete stop there's a quick knocking sound and the bikes hesitates with each knock. I was going to make a short video, but I cant replicate it every time though. it does it at random intervals. Im thinking there must be some teeth missing off the plastic gears in the hub. Lots of warranty left, and I've emailed voltbike but yeah, no replies as of yet. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this with the bafang hub motors. Is it a pretty big job to change those gears?

Hi @ebikenewbie , were you going throttle only or you were peddling? Because if you were peddling, it may be your cassette that slip, it did happen to me and it is usually on startup with a lot of torque. You may want to look at the cassette before opening your motor.
Cheers

 

[ebikenewbie]

Hi @ebikenewbie , were you going throttle only or you were peddling? Because if you were peddling, it may be your cassette that slip, it did happen to me and it is usually on startup with a lot of torque. You may want to look at the cassette before opening your motor.
Cheers

No, this would just be with the throttle only. although I do peddle to get some momentum going. but Ive never had it happen while just peddling. I wont bother doing anything though until I hear from Voltbike. I shall send them another email.

 

[Deleted member 4210]

@gcoop This is what I was able to decipher when I overhauled my 750 limited. I swapped some of my connectors so your stock controller may look a slightly different. I called out the connectors I swapped. Hopefully this helps. Please note that this mapping is from my November 2016 model of the Yukon 750 Limited. Not sure if anything changed but just wanted to make sure this is clear before taking this as absolute Cheers!

View attachment 17136

Yikes. That photo tells you everything you need to know about a Voltbike. No waterproof connections at the controller ??? Seriously ? Looks just like one that comes in a hub motor kit you can buy on Aliexpress for less than $200.

 

[Deleted member 4210]

Got the engine open myself to check the clutch and it definitely is totaled. The teeth broke out and one of them had been grinding around inside the gearing so that's a piece I'll have to replace as well. Getting into the motor was pretty annoying, they used loctite on every single screw so removing them without stripping them wasn't easy. The CAD video for the moto construction was also incomplete and out of order, but it was still pretty helpful.

Now I just have to find a place that can replace these parts. If anyone knows how to contact BAFANG that would be really helpful, my phone calls haven't worked well so far.

bafang does not respond to end users. Only to their distribution, and even then only their very large buyers.

For motor parts for Bafang hub motors, you can try ebay, or a place like this from China.... https://www.greenbikekit.com/accessories/bafang-8fun-spare-parts.html

 

[ShumaBike]

bafang does not respond to end users. Only to their distribution, and even then only their very large buyers.

For motor parts for Bafang hub motors, you can try ebay, or a place like this from China.... https://www.greenbikekit.com/accessories/bafang-8fun-spare-parts.html

That's the impression I was getting from their refusal to every respond to any form of communication. Unfortunately your linked site only sells spare parts for their after market kits, the Max Drive motors seem to be virtually impossible to source parts for. I've only ever seen a single store that sold one, and they don't ship to the US.


I've started to abandon hope, this bike is either scrap or I have to spend 600+ on a new motor in order to replace a single gear.

https://www.fietsunie.nl/Bafang-Max-drive-onderdelen
If anyone in Europe wants to order this clutch part and mail it to me I'd compensate them. Pretty desperate at this point.

 

[Barry S]

It's a long shot, but any chance a machine shop could make the gear for you? All they can tell you is "Can't do it."

 

[ShumaBike]

It's a long shot, but any chance a machine shop could make the gear for you? All they can tell you is "Can't do it."

I thought about that or 3d printing it, but I don't think there's enough left of the original to get an accurate fitting. It'd probably be cheaper to take a plane to hong kong and drive the 30 miles to their factory.

 

[ebikenewbie]

Sorry to interrupt again.
i heard back from voltbike and they say the motor skipping from start is common among there line of bikes because you can start with throttle only,where as there competition makes you peddle first. Which is what they recommend I do from now on.
Can anyone else confirm that there hub motor slips at times, throttle only from a start? I'm not familiar with the hub motors, but where would the slipping come from?

 

[Barry S]

Sorry, but that's bogus. I have a RadRover with the same motor and mine takes off smooth from a dead stop whether I pedal, throttle or both. Have your LBS inspect the rear gearset, rear derailleur hanger, gear indexing and chain for any problems. These components probably wouldn't cause that problem on a throttle only start, but start troubleshooting with the simple stuff and then take up the matter directly with George Krastev at Voltbike.

 

[ebikenewbie]

Sorry, but that's bogus. I have a RadRover with the same motor and mine takes off smooth from a dead stop whether I pedal, throttle or both. Have your LBS inspect the rear gearset, rear derailleur hanger, gear indexing and chain for any problems. These components probably wouldn't cause that problem on a throttle only start, but start troubleshooting with the simple stuff and then take up the matter directly with George Krastev at Voltbike.

yeah that's what i figure as well. there's really nothing in that motor that would skip other then teeth missing off those plastic gears. Only other possibility could be power cutting in and out, but it really knocks when it happens so i doubt it.

 

[Stoker283]

Sorry to interrupt again.
i heard back from voltbike and they say the motor skipping from start is common among there line of bikes because you can start with throttle only,where as there competition makes you peddle first. Which is what they recommend I do from now on.
Can anyone else confirm that there hub motor slips at times, throttle only from a start? I'm not familiar with the hub motors, but where would the slipping come from?

I am with @Barry S on that one, that's bogus! I have a Teo Fat Bike, which it will go from a dead start throttle only and it never skip! But the controller could cut on/off during a current surge if the demand was too much on some dead start, I could see that happening. And I am sure that not all starts are made the same way which could explain the inconsistency of the problem, because broken gears usually will stay broken and it most likely will keep happening. While your controller do have a surge protection and it maybe lower then it should be...

 

[Voltbike]

That's the impression I was getting from their refusal to every respond to any form of communication. Unfortunately your linked site only sells spare parts for their after market kits, the Max Drive motors seem to be virtually impossible to source parts for. I've only ever seen a single store that sold one, and they don't ship to the US.


I've started to abandon hope, this bike is either scrap or I have to spend 600+ on a new motor in order to replace a single goddamn gear.

https://www.fietsunie.nl/Bafang-Max-drive-onderdelen
If anyone in Europe wants to order this clutch part and mail it to me I'd compensate them. Pretty desperate at this point.

Hi ShumaBike, we usually don't monitor 3rd party online forums but your problem got my attention. First of all I want to apologize for the issue you have and the trouble reaching to us. Can you let me know what is the bike you have and what is the issue you are experiencing. What part do you need? I do see your various comments and mixed feelings about our customer service department. In some of your comments you say the issue is resolved but I decided to check back with you regardless. I would have to agree that in the summer season we do have enormous amount of calls in both our sales and service lines. But I can ensure you that If we missed some call or email it's not because we try to ignore you. If the problem needs immediate attention then don't hesitate to call back again or send another email. We reply to all emails even with slight delay. Servicing our electric bikes on the road have always been out number one priority. Please note that we are on the West Coast and there is 3 hours time difference. We constantly increase our team, but can't always predict the demand for the next season. Hopefully we are more accurate for the 2019.

 

[Voltbike]

Yikes. That photo tells you everything you need to know about a Voltbike. No waterproof connections at the controller ??? Seriously ? Looks just like one that comes in a hub motor kit you can buy on Aliexpress for less than $200.

Hi Deleted Member 4210. Thanks for your input and we value your contribution with either your shop in Chicago or posting at the online forums. Your comment above is from thread in 2017 regarding VoltBike Yukon 2016 edition. As you are probably aware VoltBike Yukon has been around for 5 years making it our best selling bike in our line up and the most updated bike to date. Not many companies around have this track record. The bike has been improved over the years based on real feedback from riders across Canada and US. Back in 2016 the controller on Yukon was mounted on the seat post. It was encapsulated in black plastic box which was itself 100% water proof. The picture you see on the photo represents the naked controller unit which itself is also sealed. Waterproof connectors were not needed. In 2017 our design changed and we decided to put the controller inside the frame. With this we accomplished sleek look (no boxes outside) and again good water insulation. In 2018 we redesigned the legend one more time. The controller unit got upgraded to more powerful one and is encapsulated in metal shield which is again 100% waterproof. The connections itself got upgraded to rubber heavy duty water proof connectors. However due to the increased size we had to mount it on the seat post again which is usually preferred location by our bike mechanics. It's easier to get serviced. As you can see the technology evolved since 2016. Improving the reliability and serviceability of our bikes has been always on top of our list. I wish you good luck with your business.

 

[ShumaBike]

Hi ShumaBike, we usually don't monitor 3rd party online forums but your problem got my attention. First of all I want to apologize for the issue you have and the trouble reaching to us. Can you let me know what is the bike you have and what is the issue you are experiencing. What part do you need? I do see your various comments and mixed feelings about our customer service department. In some of your comments you say the issue is resolved but I decided to check back with you regardless. I would have to agree that in the summer season we do have enormous amount of calls in both our sales and service lines. But I can ensure you that If we missed some call or email it's not because we try to ignore you. If the problem needs immediate attention then don't hesitate to call back again or send another email. We reply to all emails even with slight delay. Servicing our electric bikes on the road have always been out number one priority. Please note that we are on the West Coast and there is 3 hours time difference. We constantly increase our team, but can't always predict the demand for the next season. Hopefully we are more accurate for the 2019.

Hey! I genuinely was never expecting to hear from a Voltbike representative again. If you scroll up in this page I posted images of the parts that were damaged. They appear to be the clutch inner and housing gears in the motor. The teeth that control the gears ability to be unidirectional on the clutch broke and ground out the rest of the gearing. The parts themselves and the damage they received should be visible, though I can't give you the parts numbers since I was never able to talk to either Voktbike or BAFANG about the issue despite sending probably a dozen emails and making tons of calls to both. The parts themselves cant be very expensive since theyre just simple metal gears (and I would happily pay) and I can reassemble the motor myself if I could just get the two gears. The bike has been sitting in my kitchen for months.

The bike is a Voltbike Enduro with a BAFANG max drive motor. You still sell the same model.

 

[Voltbike]

Hey! I genuinely was never expecting to hear from a Voltbike representative again. If you scroll up in this page I posted images of the parts that were damaged. They appear to be the clutch inner and housing gears in the motor. The teeth that control the gears ability to be unidirectional on the clutch broke and ground out the rest of the gearing. The parts themselves and the damage they received should be visible, though I can't give you the parts numbers since I was never able to talk to either Voktbike or BAFANG about the issue despite sending probably a dozen emails and making tons of calls to both. The parts themselves cant be very expensive since theyre just simple metal gears (and I would happily pay) and I can reassemble the motor myself if I could just get the two gears. The bike has been sitting in my kitchen for months.

The bike is a Voltbike Enduro with a BAFANG max drive motor. You still sell the same model.

Hi ShumaBike, can you please confirm that those are the parts you need? The first photo is clear and is not a problem. I am not sure of the second photo. Do you need the entire bearing/clutch mechanism or just the gears where you point your finger?

I am also going to need your name or order number so we can find your credentials for warranty support reasons. I already did send you a private message on this forum so you can just reply to that if you want.

 

[ShumaBike]

Hi ShumaBike, can you please confirm that those are the parts you need? The first photo is clear and is not a problem. I am not sure of the second photo. Do you need the entire bearing/clutch mechanism or just the gears where you point your finger?

I am also going to need your name or order number so we can find your credentials for warranty support reasons. I already did send you a private message on this forum so you can just reply to that if you want.

Certainly, I can go take a set of new photos if you need anything specific. The only part of the second photo that is damaged is the inner gear ring (the greasy dark teeth my finger is pointing at), it is what that other gear sits inside of and it ground out both the inner gears movable teeth and the outer gears corresponding fixed teeth. That outer gear is inside of a larger (lighter colored) metal housing that is then secured to the motors case. With the way it was assembled I am unsure it was ever intended to be taken back apart again, its stuck together pretty strongly, and thus captures and contains that inner gear. I might be able to get it apart too, I have never tried and I was uncertain if those parts would even be shipped separately anyway. That multi gear assembly contains no electric parts, its just part of the drive train. To be clear the lighter colored housing is in no way damaged. The only damage is the small gear with teeth in the left photo and the visibly damaged portion of that darker colored inner gear that surrounded it.

I am posting here because I do not see your private message. The only conversation in my inbox is from 2017 and i received no notification abut a PM. Sorry if I was looking in the wrong place.