Shimano STEPS E6000 - This is a thread with some love but most salt.+ need help and tips

[NADde]

Got the taste of ebikes when a good friend of mine bought a sporty street bike with a mid-range BOSCH engine. I loved it from the start.

I travelled to my local ebike shop,but they did not have a bike eqipped with a BOSCH engine. The seller told me to go for a Shimano STEPS model instead. Well i tried it,and allthough it did not feel so "spiffy" as the BOSCH drive,i liked it enough to buy it. The bike itself is of good quality with hydraulic brakes++

I have since then used my new bike for a couple of hundred KM (around 230)

Here are my experience:

The engine is a Shimano Steps E6000 with a 36V 48wh battery (Manual gear shift)

+Love the relative low noise from the engine. Seems lower then BOSCH and others to me.
+Range is great
+Recharging is easy and charger + battery feels like quality
+Low weight

Here comes the salt:

-When the engine reach its limit @ 25 km/h the engine gets in panic mode and HAVE to engine brake down under the speed limit. This feels horrible and very jerky. I have hated this from day one. The Bosch bike i have tried did this much more gentle + it did not brake - it just did not give more assistance

-After around 100km the crank started to loosen. (I got this fixed at my bike dealer)
-Shortly after this the bike dont even bother to give much assistance on "HIGH" mode. It feels stronger on "NORMAL" even "ECO" the "engine brake" i dont know what else to call it engages on around 12km/h now. And i dont have to use much force for the engine to "give up" and start the panic mode.

Got a new battery,but the problem did not resolve..

Then the dealer changed the engine with a new used one. The bike was like new - for 2 weeks.

Same issues: No "HIGH" mode,and even "NORMAL" and "ECO" mode feels more lazy on this engine than the first. I can live with that,but i cant live with that engine braking.

Do anyone have similar experiences with this? Some say it can be the sensor from the wheel. But would this not give a error code?

My friend with the BOSCH engine has zero issues to this day,and he even got it tuned to give assistance up to 40-50 km/h. It feels even more spiffy now.

I have zero confidence in Shimano at the moment. Is there a solution to this problem? I can get a new bike WITH shimano steps from the bike dealership,but is it worth it?. And is it even a solution to these problems? what can be the cause?

Sorry for the poor English (I am from Norway)

-

 

[slomoshun]

No idea how the bikes in Norway are set up, but my experiences with the US Steps E6000 powered bikes is that the power assist clips at 20mph. At that point it does not apply engine braking, just disengages. The rider can then ride faster with leg power, or free roll at higher speed down a hill. When the power clips on any ebike it is not uncommon to have a momentary sensation like you dropped an anchor.

With the Steps, High is moderately stronger than Normal and Normal is substantially stronger than ECOnomy.

It's difficult to diagnose without hands-on inspection. Seems odd that the same problems occurred with two bikes. Maybe it is a riding style problem? If you are not applying enough pedal effort [spin], or riding in too tall of a gear and lugging the power unit at lower rpm, it can generate heat and cause problems. This can happen with any ebike.

 

[Nova Haibike]

The EU 25 km/h limit is ridiculous: it is lower than what many people can pedal a non-assisted bike. Sorry to hear about the other problems you are experiencing though. Perhaps you should take your bike to a Shimano Service Center?

 

[tompat]

When the engine reach its limit @ 25 km/h the engine gets in panic mode and HAVE to engine brake down under the speed limit.

This is a common misunderstanding.
There is no engine brake on your bike. It simply cuts off assistance and lets you do all the work. Since the assistance can be 3/4 of the total power input the bike requires you to quadruple your pedaling efforts above 25 km/h.

 

[NADde]

This is a common misunderstanding.
There is no engine brake on your bike. It simply cuts off assistance and lets you do all the work. Since the assistance can be 3/4 of the total power input the bike requires you to quadruple your pedaling efforts above 25 km/h.

I can understand that,but this happens even at 12 km/h. I have also seen other complain about Shimano Steps beeing very "on" and "off" in its assist modes. This would produce the feeling of braking.

I perhaps could resolve this with buying a tune kit. (Speedbox or polini) this would allow for assistance up to 50 km/h. Shame about the warranty though. As i see it,it would be a great risk of something going wrong. I feel like Shimano Steps is very prone to get faulty.

I have played around with the sensor on the backwheel,and it makes a huge impact on assistance power - even if its not showing any error codes on the computer. The sensor is also VERY near the magnet on the wheel spoke. So much at it even touches at times (There are scratch marks on the sensor) In the manual it says its is supposed to be a couple of mm apart. (There is no room for that on my bike)

I am thinking of relocate the sensor,but the wire is not very long. Is it possible to buy an aftermarket one? Perhaps the sensor knocks it out of position at high speed,and it somehow bounces back. Seems a little unlogic though (Its bolted in a fixed position)

 

[NADde]

I know the magnet should not hit the sensor,but it "kind of" does. The gap between them is very little. So little that in good running speed the magnet WILL hit the sensor. (Evidently by all the scratches on the sensor) There are very little room for adjustment because of the frame design.

I have tried to extra secure the sensor with zipties,but this will only work for a short while.

I am currently searching for alternative sensors. (smaller) Maybe i just buy the "speedbox" tuning kit with sensor included. If not,just to see if the issues resolve.

The other main issue seem to be that the crank arm on the right side loosen all the time. I dont know how to fix this. The bike dealership used locktite,but this seem not to work for longer periods. I am really scared to tighten that tiny bolt on the crankarm end.

I did not know that Shimano Steps was so cheaply made. I really regret buying a bike with that drive.

 

[Nova Haibike]

The other main issue seem to be that the crank arm on the right side loosen all the time. I dont know how to fix this. The bike dealership used locktite,but this seem not to work for longer periods. I am really scared to tighten that tiny bolt on the crankarm end.

The E6000 motor has a square taper axle made of steel. The crank arm is aluminum. Once the arm got loose, the aluminum flats became rounded off. No amount of tightening will fix it; the only course of action is replacement. I hate to say it, but your dealership is lacking. If they had assembled your bike properly, the arm would never have gotten loose to begin with. Trying to fix it with thread locking fluid tells me they do not have the knowledge necessary to do a proper repair.

 

[NADde]

Got a new bike on warranty (same as before) The new one is great. Not a single problem yet. Looks like my troubles are over. Starting to love it...

 

[Nova Haibike]

Fantastic news! Good luck and wish you many happy and trouble-free kilometers of riding.

 

[JRA]

Don't forget to check your crank bolts! I have assembled many bikes with square taper bb's and my experience is that even if they are tightened to the proper torque spec and even a little beyond the first few rides can one or both to loosen slightly which is the start of something bad. Easy enough to check with the proper tool.

 

[Nova Haibike]

Don't forget to check your crank bolts!

And the pedals as well...cranks can just as easily be damaged from loose pedals.

 

[Bikeerman]

I also get the same sensation of the bike have a resistance in the motor when pedaling and the assistance has cut out. However, the main issue I have with the Shimano Steps E6000 on my Trek Conduit+ is the motor cut out when in High mode. I thought it was only cutting out going under 9 mph but felt it at 14 mpg as well. I've seen others have this same issue. Is Trek or Shimano dealing with this yet?

 

[slomoshun]

I also get the same sensation of the bike have a resistance in the motor when pedaling and the assistance has cut out. However, the main issue I have with the Shimano Steps E6000 on my Trek Conduit+ is the motor cut out when in High mode. I thought it was only cutting out going under 9 mph but felt it at 14 mpg as well.....

When you drive a stick-shift car or ride a motorcycle, it becomes obvious that you need to down-shift when the machine is under load. Just like needing to shift into 1st gear when moving off from a stop, you can't expect an eBike motor to lug at low speeds or in a tall gear. Electric motor systems have burnout protectors that will clip the power if you overload them. Use the bike's rear cluster 'transmission' and choose a ratio for the Conduit's road speed to keep the motor spinning in its happy zone.

eBike riders often comment that there is a "braking sensation" when the peak assisted 20mph point is reached. What is actually happening is that you immediately go from leisure-riding motor power to full leg power. A quick downshift into a gear that you would normally use on a pedal bike at that speed and road incline will normalize the work load.

 

[Bikeerman]

I understand what you are saying, however I get the clipping of power in first gear when going up a steep hill in High. I have no where else to go. I can switch to Normal and just pedal hard to stop the clipping but that kind of defeats the purpose having the power assist to get up the hills. LOL.

 

[Bikeerman]

I also get the same sensation of the bike have a resistance in the motor when pedaling and the assistance has cut out. However, the main issue I have with the Shimano Steps E6000 on my Trek Conduit+ is the motor cut out when in High mode. I thought it was only cutting out going under 9 mph but felt it at 14 mpg as well. I've seen others have this same issue. Is Trek or Shimano dealing with this yet?

Update 6/22/18. Solved. Called Trek. They suggest I take the bike to my local Trek dealer. For $50 they did a diagnostic ( I think it would have been free if I bought the bike from them). After 45 min of software updates, and a test ride, the bike no longer clips out under load in High. So if any of you have this similar problem, or any maybe, it could just be a software update that fixes issues as the manufacturer does their trouble shooting.

 

[fishter]

Update 6/22/18. Solved. Called Trek. They suggest I take the bike to my local Trek dealer. For $50 they did a diagnostic ( I think it would have been free if I bought the bike from them). After 45 min of software updates, and a test ride, the bike no longer clips out under load in High. So if any of you have this similar problem, or any maybe, it could just be a software update that fixes issues as the manufacturer does their trouble shooting.

I get similar on my STEPS equipped BTwin bike. I noticed that the speed reading fluctuates at the same time and it's more likely to happen in HIGH mode than in ECO. It could be I've got a bad connection somewhere on the speed sensor; sometimes it reads low for a fraction of a second and the motor kicks in unexpectedly; sometimes it reads high (like 99.9 kmh, or 50 kmh) and the motor cuts out unexpectedly.

 

[tandilero]

Hello, I have a bicycle that owns the Shimano E6000, I bought it six months ago in Argentina, the country where I live, I say this for the following reasons, consumer protection policies are difficult to enforce and cumbersome, because it probably they have sold few bicycles with this system and because they have no competition (there are no bicycles with Bosch, Brose or another system)

The problem that they described I had from the beginning, and as it is random, they do not always do it is difficult to check. In the store that sold it to me, as it was not representative of Shimano, they suggested that I communicate with Shimano, Shimano referred me to an official agent, The official agent, charged me for diagnosis the 20 uss, which was that I had 3 updates the firmware, as one can not know which firmware is installed I asked you to send me an email with a copy of the screens of the updates, this was on January 17, the problem followed less often, but continued, on March 30 a new update, again improved but the problem persists at some time of the start, on August 10 came a new update that I have not yet installed.

Another problem that I have, is that I could never match the kilometers rolled and the range sumen as an example 85 km in NORM, conclucion the range in NORM is about 70 km when it should be 85 km, traveling in a city that is practically flat .

I wonder ,

Could Shimano update the SC-E6010 to report what firmware it has installed?

When an update comes out, could they put a clarification of "Bug Fixing" means?

And finally, I think that the updates should be free of charge to Shimano, because they are problems that they have about a product that generate a poor experience.

At this moment the bicycle has a little more than 3000 km and I hope to shoot it a few more with less problems

Sorry for my english