Recall

[wmason]

Specialized recalls about 2,500 e-bike battery packs

WASHINGTON (BRAIN) — Specialized Bicycle Components is recalling about 2,500 first-generation Turbo Levo and Kenevo electric mountain bike battery packs. Water can penetrate the seal around the LED control pad on the bicycle's lithium-ion battery pack and cause the battery to short circuit...

www.bicycleretailer.com

 

[ActionJackson]

Not surprising given the design. Maybe just periodic maintenance to refresh the seal will work. But it’s good to know Specialized is there to support the customer properly.

 

[Art Deco]

These are 3 to 5 year old first generation ebikes being recalled for a battery issue...those batteries are old by now.

 

[Allan47.7339]

Those are Specialized's first generation of mid-motor e-MTB's and related to the current production motors. Their first generation of ebikes was the hub motor Turbo and Turbo S. Support for the older Turbo models is pretty thin.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Not surprising given the design.

Voltman: Have you ever seen the first generation Levo or Kenevo battery to give the verdict in the first place?

 

[ActionJackson]

Voltman: Have you ever seen the first generation Levo or Kenevo battery to give the verdict in the first place?

Stefan- The battery itself is not the issue. If you look at the article you’ll find the issue is the seal around the LED control panel. Water penetrates into the battery circuit. The panel is mounted on the side of the frame, with natural channeling which can collect water, and obviously the seal was under designed. Photo from the article:

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Good you haven't bought the first generation Levo or Kenevo then.

What's all the matter? Looking for a sensation? The design fault was there. The batteries will be swapped even if some bikes are well past their warranty.

I would say it rather is a good example how it is to go with a respected brand that always stands by you. Yes you pay more but you have insured your e-bike that way. Has anyone ever heard of a "recall" by an online e-bike company?

 

[ActionJackson]

Good you haven't bought the first generation Levo or Kenevo then.

What's all the matter? Looking for a sensation? The design fault was there. The batteries will be swapped even if some bikes are well past their warranty.

I would say it rather is a good example how it is to go with a respected brand that always stands by you. Yes you pay more but you have insured your e-bike that way. Has anyone ever heard of a "recall" by an online e-bike company?

I didn’t say the whole bike or company sucks, and I did say it’s good they’re around to do a recall. But the side panel design of that switch and display is crap. And it’s shown itself to perform like crap. If one of those bikes caught fire, burned down a house, and killed three children, Specialized would be culpable. All because perhaps they didn’t take the time to fully QA the design in a performance lab. I think it’s fitting to have that expectation of quality assurance and safety given the costs of these bikes and the hazardous nature of the technology.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

It is difficult to predict the unpredictable during the design and early years of the production. For one, Specialized Levo have been out there since 2016. Any case of fire? No. I suspect Specialized got a number of complaints related to water ingress into those batteries and reacted appropriately (kudos to them!)

On a bitter note -- you don't need a faulty battery to burn your own house down. I should know better. (No e-bike battery was in the fire zone, luckily...)