Mate.bike + serious accident on first ride and the weirdest reaction from the company

[Ana]

I apologize in advance if my directness is taken as a personal insult. I think cherry picking parts of communications without access to complete text is suspicious.

I’ve found that we humans are quite adept at shifting blame and responsibility. We all make mistakes. It’s always possible to overlook a small detail. Besmirching a manufacturer without a complete story is just a pity party, in my opinion.

Having had years of experience in customer service, all eBike related, I know there’s often more to the story. You don’t share your messages and we don’t get a sense of your tone. We have no idea about the scope of you claim either.

Making your first posts a go at a company doesn’t engage my trust.

I was happy to read the accident is long passed and you’ve healed. Hopefully you investigated and are back riding

No insult taken. I totally agree that mistakes happen to everybody. I’ve shared the facts about the accident and the screenshot I sent was of a public conversation on Mate’s Facebook page. If they wouldn’t have deleted the comments you could still read the whole conversation.

However, I’m not searching for pity or even saying that I cannot be faulty. Like you said, we all make mistakes. It’s not about judgment, it’s about trying to understand how can one close the qr in a way that it appears firmly closed and positioned like in the manual, then ride the bike for a long distance and have it suddenly come off.

For our knowledge the qr cannot really appear closed and loose at the same time, so that you could still ride the bike for a long distance without noticing, therefore the comment: it’s either closed or it’s not. Interesting the point of closing it in a wrong position, I will test how this could happen. What other hazards do you mean?

 

[Ana]

You and your partner have posted several places. She wrote “Either it's closed or not.” I don’t think that’s correct. It can be closed and loose. It can be closed in the wrong position. There are actually a number of potential hazards. Was this a Indiegogo purchase? Their ratings are awful. I’m sorry if you were a victim of a crap campaign, a method I’d never use for an eBike purchase.

Me neither again. Unfortunately i was one of the early backers and there were no reviews at the time. Later I also tried to cancel the order because the delivery of the bike was several months delayed, but it wasn't possible... Anyway, you live you learn

 

[tomjasz]

Me neither again. Unfortunately i was one of the early backers and there were no reviews at the time. Later I also tried to cancel the order because the delivery of the bike was several months delayed, but it wasn't possible... Anyway, you live you learn

If you ever need any help sorting a problem myself and others here will certainly help as best we can! No one deserves to be hurt riding!

 

[rich c]

Have you considered getting a new fork and wheel so you have a thru axle? Better than buying a new bike!

 

[Jiri]

Hi!

I wanted to share my experience (first and last) with the foldable Mate e-bike.

During my very first ride with my Mate bike, after 20km of cycling the front wheel suddenly fell off when crossing a small curb. The quick release system had failed and the wheel popped off. I landed on my face and was flown with a helicopter to the nearest hospital.

Mate and their insurance company's conclusion is that it must have been a mistake in installing the quick release system. We had been biking with two Mate bikes, the other one worked fine and both bikes were installed and checked by the same two people: me (an amateur) and by my partner who has worked as a mountain biking guide and is more than familiar with the quick release system. We also followed the manual.

I would not have a problem to say if there was a chance that I hadn't closed it properly I just can't see how that would be possible, considering that the other bike worked fine and also mine was fine for the first 20km. And since it was the first ride we were extra cautious and kept double checking everything. After the accident the policemen found all the parts except the nut of the quick release system, which means it somehow came off. I have a picture of the bike a couple of km before the accident and there everything is still in their place.

I have no clue how this is possible that you can install the system so wrong that it can work fine and after so many km fail so badly. That's why I'm seriously concerned about this bike and won't ride it myself anymore. I have tried to warn other Mate bikers to have their bikes checked but Mate blocked me on Facebook and deleted my comments (after implying I was too stupid to install and ride the bike), see the screenshot

If anyone of you has an idea what might have happened, I'd be happy to hear it! Also if you have or know someone who owns a Mate-bike, please tell them to be carefull!

Safe travels to everyone!

Anna

ps. The same morning of the accident I decided to buy a helmet! Was a good decision!

Hello Anna, my friend have had a very similar accident as yours - front wheel fell off on a railway crossings and he suffered serious injuries. I would be grateful to discuss your case in more detail as we are considering our steps towards Mate. Could I send you my questions via email to “have more privacy”? Mine is [email protected]. Thank you!

 

[rayray]

Interestingly, the first time I took my Trek in for servicing, the service tech removed the quick release levers and replaced them with nuts, so they could be properly torqued. He didn’t even bother to ask, but that was fine because I dislike them myself.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Interestingly, the first time I took my Trek in for servicing, the service tech removed the quick release levers and replaced them with nuts, so they could be properly torqued. He didn’t even bother to ask, but that was fine because I dislike them myself.

I assume your Trek was built with thru-axles, and the QR lever on a thru-axle is an expensive feature. With such a setup, rotating the QR lever to the same position ensures proper tightening torque.

If it was a traditional QR axle though, I might understand your mechanic.

 

[rayray]

I assume your Trek was built with thru-axles, and the QR lever on a thru-axle is an expensive feature. With such a setup, rotating the QR lever to the same position ensures proper tightening torque.

If it was a traditional QR axle though, I might understand your mechanic.

Obviously, I’m pretty much a bike rookie, especially when it comes to maintenance and repair. Maybe the mechanic was too. Or maybe my memory sucks, and he was trying to make theft of wheels more difficult(?). Anyway, thanks for the lesson.

 

[ruffruff]

5 year old zombie thread.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

5 year old zombie thread.

Until Jiri decided to revive it with his fresh experience.