The Stromer Experience

Ravi Kempaiah

Well-Known Member
Region
Canada
City
Halifax
Owning a Stromer ST2 E-bike is like working with a colleague who has Asperger's. We know this colleague has exceptional talent but has some limitations.

Most of the complains I see on the Stromer forum arises from two major scenarios.
  1. The rider uses the bike sparingly and runs into electrical gremlins. Or uses the bike in conditions it was not designed for. Like carrying heavy load or off-road.
  2. The rider uses the bike extensively but has no support system to keep the maintenance side of things or is very lazy about maintenance.
I had my fair share of replacements (charger, crank arm due to a fall, motor power cable) but other than that it has been a really nice experience. The bike really excels in urban riding conditions (read: nice roads :).
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I just happened to read this on Strava Electric Bike Club and I thought I would share it here.

https://www.strava.com/clubs/108312/posts/4887804

No idea if people want to share their stats or not, but my 2nd ebike (Stromer ST2) has been pretty solid so far. Since I've put in some decent miles with it, I thought I'd share, in case anyone was curious:

My Stromer ST2 has 15,264 miles according to Strava, and 15,258 miles according to its own odometer. The on-board computer says it has used 290,592WH, at an average of 19.0WH/MI. To give context, this year it has averaged 23.6mph (says Strava), not that I ride it for ave speed, I slow way down for people on sidewalks and things like waiting on lights to change green, otherwise it'd be probably over 26mph.

I'm 200+lbs. All miles are commuting and partial city riding. I always carry two large bags with tools, gear, and work clothes and shoes. I've beat this thing hard with curbs, and often hopping branches and crap in the road (using shoe clips, it's heavy lol). I ride it on the 105 degree summer days and 15 degree winter days. It's been in water plenty deep enough to submerge the bottom of the motor and crank dozens of times (crazy rainstorms). Multiple times I thought I'd be screwed when I realized how deep the water was getting.

The only thing to ever go bad on it is the front wheel bearing. It still runs and rides like the day I pulled it out of the shipping box, straightened the handlebars and tested it. I haven't even ever had to take it in for a derailleur adjustment. I've replaced the chain X3, cassette, chain ring, and brake pads X2, tires X4, and purged the brake fluid once.

My other ebike was a Focus 350W mid-drive that almost made it to 4k miles before needing its 4th motor. They said they'd replace it under warranty yet again, but I was done with dealing with it and gave it away. They (Focus USA reps) said the bike wasn't designed to handle how hard I rode... 20 mile commute each way (at that time, now only 8) in the heat, with constant stop and go at max assist. It was shredding the nylon gear in the motor and causing other issues as well.

Hopefully I'm not jinxing myself and it blow up on my commute home today lol.

Adam Also has this great video about the benefits of commuting on an E-bike.

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Great points Ravi. I’ve had more problems with boats, motorcycles, and even an airplane from lack of use than anything else.
And the guy with 15000 miles- what a stud!!!!!!!
The only chance his bike gets to rest is with the charger plugged into the side!
 
@Ravi Kempaiah , did you mention that the bike isn't meant to carry heavy load? How heavy is heavy? I thought I saw some of your posts mentioning that you do haul grocery and the Burley Travoy?
 
@Ravi Kempaiah , did you mention that the bike isn't meant to carry heavy load? How heavy is heavy? I thought I saw some of your posts mentioning that you do haul grocery and the Burley Travoy?

Yes. The rear rack is not built for heavy loads. The bike itself can haul a 300lbs man easily but the rack is limited to 40lbs. Anything above can lead to loosening of the fenders.
The bike is also not meant for off-road. It truly feels at home in urban conditions.
 
Yes. The rear rack is not built for heavy loads. The bike itself can haul a 300lbs man easily but the rack is limited to 40lbs. Anything above can lead to loosening of the fenders.
The bike is also not meant for off-road. It truly feels at home in urban conditions.
How much weight can it drag if using the Travoy?
 
I'm in camp 2. 2400 miles on my ST2 S since August of 2018 riding around Chicago, and I'm on my second motor cable, and my O ring went out.

Premium priced bike, garage support. It got to the point I needed to reach out to Tomi Viiala via Linkedin to vent my frustration. I wouldn't be able to recommend a Stromer without the including the caveat of minimum to zero support. My bike shop is Kozy's (Stromer dealer), and they don't have the best opinions either.
 
Yes. The rear rack is not built for heavy loads. The bike itself can haul a 300lbs man easily but the rack is limited to 40lbs. Anything above can lead to loosening of the fenders.
The bike is also not meant for off-road. It truly feels at home in urban conditions.
One could put a custom made rack(stronger,beefier) , not sure what company makes something like that , can google...
 
I'm in camp 2. 2400 miles on my ST2 S since August of 2018 riding around Chicago, and I'm on my second motor cable, and my O ring went out.

Premium priced bike, garage support. It got to the point I needed to reach out to Tomi Viiala via Linkedin to vent my frustration. I wouldn't be able to recommend a Stromer without the including the caveat of minimum to zero support. My bike shop is Kozy's (Stromer dealer), and they don't have the best opinions either.

It’s impossible for me to let posts like this go by unchecked. I don’t know who tomi viiala is but did he offer you relief after venting your frustration?
And, more importantly did kozy suggest they had a low opinion of Stromer before you bought bike? Probably not. What’s your opinion of kozy now that you know they have a low opinion of bike mfg After you bought bike?
According to some on forum motor cable has been culprit to gremlins affecting their Stromers. Although I understand it’s not a 5 minute repair, even if motor cable was 100ft. Long, it’s still only a motor cable.
And. “o-ring went out”. What o-ring? Magura hydraulic brake o ring? Front or nback?
Without even thinking about it, I’m pretty sure there are no o rings on a electric bicycle.
And did Kozy offer a better speed pedelec? I doubt it.
And why did they not steer you towards better option before they sold you the Stromer. Did they charge you for (imaginary)o ring that failed?
I’ve yet to see or find a better option to st2 and have owned st2 and st2s for years now trouble free enough to not recall what troubles I have had.
So, I remain in pro Stromer camp because of their robust, powerful, trouble free design.
 
One could put a custom made rack(stronger,beefier) , not sure what company makes something like that , can google...

Rack time does offer a beefier rack, but I think you would lose fender support.
And before discounting 40lbs as light, consider 3 bowling balls. That’s 40lbs +or-.
 
It’s impossible for me to let posts like this go by unchecked. I don’t know who tomi viiala is but did he offer you relief after venting your frustration?
And, more importantly did kozy suggest they had a low opinion of Stromer before you bought bike? Probably not. What’s your opinion of kozy now that you know they have a low opinion of bike mfg After you bought bike?
According to some on forum motor cable has been culprit to gremlins affecting their Stromers. Although I understand it’s not a 5 minute repair, even if motor cable was 100ft. Long, it’s still only a motor cable.
And. “o-ring went out”. What o-ring? Magura hydraulic brake o ring? Front or nback?
Without even thinking about it, I’m pretty sure there are no o rings on a electric bicycle.
And did Kozy offer a better speed pedelec? I doubt it.
And why did they not steer you towards better option before they sold you the Stromer. Did they charge you for (imaginary)o ring that failed?
I’ve yet to see or find a better option to st2 and have owned st2 and st2s for years now trouble free enough to not recall what troubles I have had.
So, I remain in pro Stromer camp because of their robust, powerful, trouble free design.

Wow, bit testy.

Tomi is the SVP of Global Sales for Stromer, and he only directed me towards the dealer for standard warranty coverage. Which fine, but this is the second time I have now been without a working bike for greater than 3 weeks, and that in my opinion is unacceptable considering the price point of the bike.

I didn't purchase the bike through Kozy's, I originally purchased the bike through Crazy Lenny's. And no, Crazy Lenny's did not have a low opinion of Stromer. At least not one they shared with me as I was purchasing the bike. To answer your question with a question, why would my opinion of Kozy's change after learning of their opinion of Stromer? Regardless, I think Kozy's does great work and has a knowledgable group. I've purchased two other bikes from them in the last year. And to make it clear, I would say their sentiment mirrors mine - amazing bike, poor support.

The o-ring is not imaginary as it allows you to select the power assist level and toggle bright on and off. "O-ring" is literally the name on dealer warranty page. Perhaps you should think harder.

And great, I'm actually really happy that you've been fortunate not to experience any issues; however, I have not. I think Stromers are amazing bikes, but as I said if someone were to ask me my recommendation I would have to include the caveat.
 
I think Kozy's does great work and has a knowledgable group. I've purchased two other bikes from them in the last year. And to make it clear, I would say their sentiment mirrors mine - amazing bike, poor support.

If Kozy's is unable to get the motor cable in time, you may want to take it to Lenny's at Madison and they would do it within a day.
@lilrich is the expert mechanic who has worked on many Stromers and if you call them ahead and go up there, it should be resolved within a day.
 
Tomi is the SVP of Global Sales for Stromer, and he only directed me towards the dealer for standard warranty coverage.

The o-ring is not imaginary as it allows you to select the power assist level and toggle bright on and off. "O-ring" is literally the name on dealer warranty page. Perhaps you should think harder.

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Between a dealer who sold a Stromer and a dealer who should do a warranty-covered repair on a Stromer, I see one difference: The sales margin. This tiny gap could have influence of the dealer's motivation. If, however, a Stromer has to go for a repair, its highly recommended to monitor this process closely. Even in Switzerland, there are sporadic reports with Stromer not operational for days or weeks. Often, it goes like this: The dealer accepts a Stromer for repair - but did not understand in detail, what error is present. Then, he addresses the problem to the Stromer-support itself. They get even less information about the error. Finally, they agree to change some parts. Now the dealer did not test the Storm but calls the customer to pick it up...
 
I would agree I should think harder before I post. I just can’t help reply to negative posts on stromers because your post may sway someone away from Stromer, and I think it is unfair to Stromer.
If you wouldn’t recommend Stromer to friend- what bike would you recommend?
 
I guess the question is, how is Stromer's issue rate compared to others? Maybe the world of ebikes is still new enough that the baseline rate is higher than one may expect, especially if one is only used to regular bikes.
 
I would think better than the rest. The motor is solid, I have more than 24000 miles on my ST2. They made some poor choices when it comes to cable management, braking system and rack. I haven't seen anything that comes close Stromer.
 

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Nope, that's not me. I am based in Los Angeles. I don't drive. Uber was getting inconvenient to do all the time. Which I why choose to take the ebike route. It's just easier to get around LA. I regularly go up the canyons no prob. It's just fun.
 
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