Orbea Gain rear hub noise when freewheeling

[blozza77]

I’m still waiting to hear , really gutted as have been told not to ride the bike, also a D31. I’m not sold on the fact that the whole motor has to be replaced if the freehub has gone. I also been riding in all conditions over the last few months. If there’s anyone out there with more information about replacing the freehub, I and many others would be really appreciative your help.

I took my bike into a Orbea dealer today, they are going to sort it out for me. They suggested this is not a selfservice job because the freehub is part of the motor housing/cover and appears to be a sealed unit with no through axle, bit of a bummer becasue I've only had the bike 8 months and was enjoying riding it on trails in all sorts of conditions, might have to dial that back a bit if I can't get in there and clean/maintain it myself.
I can't find anything online of how to take apart the x35, perhaps there will be as they get older.

I did find a picture (below) of a Q128C motor cover which has a built in freehub, I suspect its something similar.

I'll report back once its been repaired.

 

[pwal1522]

Thanks for the update, the picture looks exactly like the cover of the X35 motor. See if you can get a part number, as you say the older the bike the more information we will get about them. Glad you are getting it sorted. Pete

 

[PedalUma]

I’m still waiting to hear , really gutted as have been told not to ride the bike, also a D31. I’m not sold on the fact that the whole motor has to be replaced if the freehub has gone. I also been riding in all conditions over the last few months. If there’s anyone out there with more information about replacing the freehub, I and many others would be really appreciative your help.

These are propriety and require a dealer for service.
I use torque senor mid-drives to internally geared hubs IGH. These systems are open source and anyone can service them. They are also highly efficient. I service IGHs regularly. The oil needs to be changed and the gears lubed. I use an accelerated maintenance schedule.
As for the discussion of torque on tools I use a tool extender fabricated from PVC.

 

[reed scott]

These are propriety and require a dealer for service.
I use torque senor mid-drives to internally geared hubs IGH. These systems are open source and anyone can service them. They are also highly efficient. I service IGHs regularly. The oil needs to be changed and the gears lubed. I use an accelerated maintenance schedule.
As for the discussion of torque on tools I use a tool extender fabricated from PVC.

Gee, I'd have thought a guy like you would have one of these:

 

[PhilSongy]

Any luck with the freehub removal, the freehub on my gain (D31) is moving freely in both directions (pawls not catching). I've been riding hard this winter in all conditions so guessing its full of muck and needs a clean and service. I've removed the cassette, locknut and washer to expose the top bearing but it does look to me that the freehub is built into the motor casing and not accessible from the other side. It’s in warranty so don't really want to go any further without a manual (can't find one), this is something I'd normally do myself.

I have my wheel booked in to Pure Electric in Nottingham - but not taking it in until they have acquired the "special tool" Orbea supply to assist with the removal of the freehub. I've yet to come across any reports of a service engineer who has actually done this before - so I suspect I'll be a guinea pig! I feel that there's little or no training provided to these so-called official dealers / service centres. I've written to Orbea but only receive set responses. I'll provide an update when I've gotten some action!

 

[blozza77]

I have my wheel booked in to Pure Electric in Nottingham - but not taking it in until they have acquired the "special tool" Orbea supply to assist with the removal of the freehub. I've yet to come across any reports of a service engineer who has actually done this before - so I suspect I'll be a guinea pig! I feel that there's little or no training provided to these so-called official dealers / service centres. I've written to Orbea but only receive set responses. I'll provide an update when I've gotten some action!

Mine's just back from my local Orbea Service centre, all sorted under warranty, the guys at the shop suggested its not a self-service part probably because of the tool required as you suggest.

Now that I've seen the old part (pics below) I can see how it works, the freehub body is attached to the cover (supplied as one unit), take out the 3 silver torx screws, then 'the special tool' unscrews the whole plate (see the thread round the outside of the plate) from the back of the motor housing.
Its still unclear what actually happened to the crawls because they said its too labour intensive to take the freehub apart (inc the bearings) just simpler to switch out the whole thing.

This suggests to me that us gravel riders that chuck the bikes at all sorts need to take a bit more care in cleaning and maintaining using the correct products, muck and grease can work its way in there otherwise.

Can't fault Orbea for sorting this out, I also suspect if this happens out of warranty it's not gonna break the bank.

 

[pwal1522]

Thanks for sharing that, my wheel has been sent off to have the freehub replaced. That’s exactly what I thought will get replaced, but still Pure Electric still said the whole motor needs replacing at £700 plus. It would be like taking your car in for a new starter motor and the garage saying you need a new engine!! Glad you got it sorted.

 

[pwal1522]

Got my freehub done under warranty thanks to Epic cycles. No more noise from the wheel and great to be out on my bike again.

 

[PhilSongy]

I have an update for you. Whilst my freehub still isn't fixed, the Pure Electric store in Nottingham (who have been very helpful) is now ordering the part and will do the fix as soon as the new FH arrives. They showed me the process. 1. Remove the wheel. 2. Remove the rear cassette. 3. Remove rear brake disc. 4. Using special tools supplied by Orbea, undo the motor housing. Basically, the tools attach to both sides of the motor hub / housing using the threaded holes for the brake disc (6no) and 3 holes that are behind the cassette. The tools are effectively long levers allowing you to get some purchase to unscrew the two parts of the motor housing. 5. slip out the motor. 6. Tap the axle and you'll end up with just the freehub and the piece of the motor hub it's attached to.
PE in Nottingham think that the new part might be this whole piece - so the freehub comes ready attached to the motor housing.
Putting it all back together looked more complicated as there are intricate parts of the motor drive unit to set up precisely.
I'd say this is a job a decent DIY mechanic can do if you had the correct tools and the instruction video. We need to try to get that video on YouTube somehow!!!
I reckon it's about an hour's job.
I'll update further once I get the job finally done, hopefully next week.
Interesting stuff!
I also need to try to persuade them that it's a warranty job

 

[PhilSongy]

Here's a quick sketch showing details how to access the motor-housing. Be aware that little knowledge is dangerous! Hammering the axle to remove the motor and replacing splines during re-assembly need careful attention!

 

[André_Orbea]

Hi Phil, did you get the work done? And how much did it cost? As you say I reckon it’s no more than 1-2 hours work with the right tools which are unavailable to us!

 

[MagnusB]

Hope this video can be helpful:

 

[vali]

Replacing the freewheel hub requires Mahle tools. I ordered these and two freewheel hubs (returned the first one) and a socket to remove the cassettes. The first freewheel hub screwed in about a turn, the second one about three turns. The old one screws in by hand very easily. I'm afraid to force it and damage the fine threads. Oiling didn't help. Should I put the wrench to it and take a chance? I did force it using both Mahle wrenches and I'm glad to say the bike runs well.