What’s the most reliable ebike after 10,000km?

[Cyklefanatic]

Just to eliminate the maintenance portion of the question let me rephrase it. If you do all of the recommended maintenance which ebikes are more reliable after 10,000km?
Original question,
Just wondering which ebikes are the most reliable? There are so many brands with so many component suppliers that seem to concentrate on features rather than longevity.
Personally I like to ride and I want to do the least number of repairs possible. Certainly I don’t want to have to have my bike sitting in the shop when I could be out riding.
So if you have over 10,000 km. on your bike and zero issues let us know. Also if you own a lemon let us know as well.

 

[rich c]

Least maintenance possible and longevity don’t go together.

 

[Marci jo]

Looking forward to 10,000 km on my Vado. Not quite halfway and so far it’s fabulous. Maybe next year if the weather cooperates.

I think it kind of depends on your definition of “issue”. I’m anticipating replacing the chain but that’s more of a preventative situation as opposed to a problem.

 

[Cyklefanatic]

Least maintenance possible and longevity don’t go together.

Maintenance can be reduced or eliminated by better design, materials and new technology. Gates belt eliminates chain problems, maintenance. Internal hub gears eliminate derailleur adjustments. Hydraulic brakes eliminate cable adjustments. Better tire designs eliminate flats. And so on.

 

[Cyklefanatic]

Looking forward to 10,000 km on my Vado. Not quite halfway and so far it’s fabulous. Maybe next year if the weather cooperates.

I think it kind of depends on your definition of “issue”. I’m anticipating replacing the chain but that’s more of a preventative situation as opposed to a problem.

An issue would be something that was working when new and stopped working. Or unexpectedly high routine maintenance. Or something promised or implied by marketing that in reality doesn’t work.

 

[J.R.]

A lot of issues will arise without preventative maintenance. Pivot points of shifters, derailleur (or like with IGH) will need proper lubrication. Bearings (hubs, pedals, bottom bracket, steerer-headtube) will need cleaning, lubrication, replacement. Suspension forks will need service, rear suspension linkage will need service. Wheel truing, spoke adjustment. Checking torque of fasteners with a torque wrench. Brake pad inspection and replacement, brake fluid inspection, bleeding brake system.

Preventative maintenance will keep you moving instead of repairing. A lot of things will stop working properly without maintenance.

 

[Cyklefanatic]

A lot of issues will arise without preventative maintenance. Pivot points of shifters, derailleur (or like with IGH) will need proper lubrication. Bearings (hubs, pedals, bottom bracket, steerer-headtube) will need cleaning, lubrication, replacement. Suspension forks will need service, rear suspension linkage will need service. Wheel truing, spoke adjustment. Checking torque of fasteners with a torque wrench. Brake pad inspection and replacement, brake fluid inspection, bleeding brake system.

Preventative maintenance will keep you moving instead of repairing. A lot of things will stop working properly without maintenance.

But some designs require less maintenance than others so which are more reliable is my question. Wouldn’t you like to do less maintenance and have more reliability?

 

[Cyklefanatic]

Just to eliminate the maintenance portion of the question let me rephrase it. If you do all of the recommended maintenance which ebikes are more reliable after 10,000km?

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Just to eliminate the maintenance portion of the question let me rephrase it. If you do all of the recommended maintenance which ebikes are more reliable after 10,000km?

Mid-drive motor systems made by Yamaha, Bosch and Shimano are fairly reliable.
Brose is a very large company that makes steering drive systems for millions of cars and they are very quickly adopting to the E-bike market. Brose motors are much smoother than Bosch but they have the tendency of occasional glitches because of the belt.

As alluded above, bearings, seals, electronics can malfunction with improper maintenance.
If you ride in cold conditions with lots of snow, salt on the road, you need to more cautious because salt can really corrode a lot of material over time.

Direct drive hub motors take the highest market share for E-bikes in the world-wide ebike+ scooter market. With proper maintenance, they last a very long time because bearings are the only moving parts.
The motor built by Tesla in early 1900's still works but it is kept in museum. There are ceiling fans that are working in large public hospitals even after 40 years of operation.

The key to all is proper maintenance...

 

[Ebiker01]

Any of the BH models made after 2017. But probably you only know of trek and unspecialized ebikes...

 

[Cyklefanatic]

Mid-drive motor systems made by Yamaha, Bosch and Shimano are fairly reliable.
Brose is a very large company that makes steering drive systems for millions of cars and they are very quickly adopting to the E-bike market. Brose motors are much smoother than Bosch but they have the tendency of occasional glitches because of the belt.

As alluded above, bearings, seals, electronics can malfunction with improper maintenance.
If you ride in cold conditions with lots of snow, salt on the road, you need to more cautious because salt can really corrode a lot of material over time.

Direct drive hub motors take the highest market share for E-bikes in the world-wide ebike+ scooter market. With proper maintenance, they last a very long time because bearings are the only moving parts.
The motor built by Tesla in early 1900's still works but it is kept in museum. There are ceiling fans that are working in large public hospitals even after 40 years of operation.
The key to all is proper maintenance...

So what is the proper maintenance for seals, bearings and electronics? The manual doesn’t indicate any maintenance for those items. My car has lots of bearings , seals and electronics and I don’t do any maintenance on them and I can easily expect 100,000km with no problem. To me it seems cyclists are brainwashed into expecting breakdowns that cars and motorcycles do not have. A 100cc motorbike costs less than a good ebike and yet it’s pretty reliable for 20-30k with just oil changes air in the tires.
But let’s ignore maintenance, I want to know who makes the most reliable, long term use ebike? What are riders experiencing out there as the miles pile on?

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

what is the proper maintenance for seals, bearings and electronics?

It's called tune-up at any bicycle store. They clean all the contact points, grease them and repair/replace any damaged item.
Most people are terrible at bike maintenance and any good bicycle can last significantly long time (except the batteries and other worn items).

My car has lots of bearings , seals and electronics and I don’t do any maintenance on them and I can easily expect 100,000km with no problem.

Here is a 82 yr old rider who has done 1 million miles on his bicycle. There are very few cars that can do 1 million miles. His bicycle is 50+ years old and is still running fine.


https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/...rst-person-country-ride-1million-miles-441992

 

[indianajo]

I've got 5000 miles on the bike, 3000 miles electrically powered. So maybe 8000 km bike, 5000 km electrical. Wore out a set of brake rear pads, broke a shifter cable. Had to take the pedals out and drop oil in bearing this summer, squeaking. Squirting sideways not good enough. Oil chain, headstock, seat stem, shifters, controls & cable entries, sprockets & takeup wheels biweekly. Chain is original. Turn over & oil crank bearings through hole annually. New jaquar lubricated SS shifter cable might last longer. Adjust brake pads about every 1000 miles, cable position never. rear SRAM derailleur doesn't require adjusting, IMHO. Front needs stop screws moved about annually. Motor controller battery no maintenance. Throttle needed a hair dryer after 30 miles in a soaking rain (dropped out power). Broke a charger XT60 connector off, my soldering job not adequate. Changed to crimped insulated .250" flag terminals, should last 50 years. Battery connectors Dorman .157" bullett connectors, again should last 50 years.
Been through 3 saddles & 4 rear shifters trying to find something I like. Broke a saddle mount once, upgraded from 5/16"x6" grade 2 bolts to 5/16"x6" rod 110000 psi rating.
Haven't had to tension wheel spokes yet. No flat ones when tapped.

 

[Cyklefanatic]

I've got 5000 miles on the bike, 3000 miles electrically powered. So maybe 8000 km bike, 5000 km electrical. Wore out a set of brake rear pads, broke a shifter cable. Had to take the pedals out and drop oil in bearing this summer, squeaking. Squirting sideways not good enough. Oil chain, headstock, seat stem, shifters, controls & cable entries, sprockets & takeup wheels biweekly. Chain is original. Turn over & oil crank bearings through hole annually. New jaquar lubricated SS shifter cable might last longer. Adjust brake pads about every 1000 miles, cable position never. rear SRAM derailleur doesn't require adjusting, IMHO. Front needs stop screws moved about annually. Motor controller battery no maintenance. Throttle needed a hair dryer after 30 miles in a soaking rain (dropped out power). Broke a charger XT60 connector off, my soldering job not adequate. Changed to crimped insulated .250" flag terminals, should last 50 years. Battery connectors Dorman .157" bullett connectors, again should last 50 years.
Been through 3 saddles & 4 rear shifters trying to find something I like. Broke a saddle mount once, upgraded from 5/16"x6" grade 2 bolts to 5/16"x6" rod 110000 psi rating.
Haven't had to tension wheel spokes yet. No flat ones when tapped.

So what brand are you riding?

 

[christob]

Interestingly, I had my biggest non-maintenance/surprise sort of issues on the ebike well before 10,000km. Got those resolved under warranty, and it has been smooth sailing since then; at 11,700 km today. Given the heftiness of the frame, and a direct drive hub motor, I can’t really foresee much happening over the years beyond wear-outs; tires, brake pads, chain. I sort of don’t think there’s a single valid answer to your original question.

 

[J.R.]

Any of the BH models made after 2017. But probably you only know of trek and unspecialized ebikes...

You throw a lot of shade on a lot of bikes and brands in so many threads here. It's a curiosity. I don't understand why. I've seen this statement from you about BH many times here. BH has a great track record, long before 2017. No systemic issues. Trek has gone all in on ebikes the last 3 years, they certainly make the North American ebike market much better with quality bikes. No widespread issues with their lineup. Trek is a leader. Specialized has been making high quality ebikes since at least 2013. There have been anecdotal reports of frame issues of late, but even that has highlighted their great product support. The future is bright for these brands, built on strong foundations.

I think the best influencers are the ones that judge a product against what it could be or should be. I believe that's the reason Court and EBR are successful. EBR doesn't pick winners and losers. You don't see reviews stating this Trek is better than that Specialized, or that Stromer is crap compared to this BH.

 

[Ebiker01]

You throw a lot of shade on a lot of bikes and brands in so many threads here. It's a curiosity. I don't understand why. I've seen this statement from you about BH many times here. BH has a great track record, long before 2017. No systemic issues. Trek has gone all in on ebikes the last 3 years, they certainly make the North American ebike market much better with quality bikes. No widespread issues with their lineup. Trek is a leader. Specialized has been making high quality ebikes since at least 2013. There have been anecdotal reports of frame issues of late, but even that has highlighted their great product support. The future is bright for these brands, built on strong foundations.

I think the best influencers are the ones that judge a product against what it could be or should be. I believe that's the reason Court and EBR are successful. EBR doesn't pick winners and losers. You don't see reviews stating this Trek is better than that Specialized, or that Stromer is crap compared to this BH.

I agree that Trek is also great. Actually will be the leader soon. BH before 2017 were using some not so great displays and i had a 2015 one that had issues in rain and other issues.

They were also misleading people in the beginning with the range. 60 miles for 320wh pack!! Yea right. Also too high prices . Remember the Neo Jumper 350watts . 20mph, for 4k ?? Now they have it balanced. And great support/warranty.

Many companies are still misleading. 120miles out of that 814wh pack ???
When people ask me - A- i get 20-25miles at 25mph avg., my weight, 604pack.

I’m sure some of the Specialized are also great but some people want reliability, this Op wants a reliable product. OP my BH has 8-9k miles zero issues... i had the display stolen, not aure the exact mileage(lesson- Always remove the display when parting with the ebike!).

Also OHM is very reliable from what i’ve read , but have not had owned one. Evelo may or may not..risky .


Stromers for the US market are Inferior to their EU offerings (they use many chinese components), the StroMers for the SWISS market are different ( higher end circuit boards , and design).

The winner is R&M in the high end spectrum and possibly Trek. Few people know of BH in Us, but that’s fine.
Court has a dual role, he has to be fair in his reviews and not upset the companies like me...
I totally spoked the truth regarding the Bulls 2020 that he reviewed Recently and he more or less agreed With me in the comments section.

Only by being very strict with our needs regarding a great product, companies will notice and take measures.
As a result Trek ALLANTE . Many Dealers /Great warranty/Design/components. BH is withholding their products until feb. . I don’t have that kind of patience. Actually i may get that Bulls mDi2 for 2.9k , down from 6k from Lenny’s. That’s a winning move.

 

[Slowpoke]

Just to eliminate the maintenance portion of the question let me rephrase it. If you do all of the recommended maintenance which ebikes are more reliable after 10,000km?

Seems like a simple enough question.I can't speak from experiance with an e-bike as I now have a little over 2000 miles in 11 months with my 1st e-bike.I have a used SSR Sandviper fat tire bike purchased at an estate sale.However it is holding up great and I have not had any issues at all.So I've tested the waters with a very low initial entry cost,and have studied what bike I'd like to have.So many good choices out there.My favorite thread "Discussions by Brand"has a a ton of info there.

 

[Captain Slow]

I have about 7,000 km's on my Juiced which I've ridden in pouring rain, through winter conditions, etc ….. I had a problem with the display early on and the Canadian distributor got me a replacement right away. The problem was very minor and the bike kind of worked anyways, but he sent me a replacement.

Other than that, no issues and I've had to replace wear items. Brake pads several times, and then chain, cassette once. I have changed the tires, but they could have gone longer. Since changing the rear wheel is such a pain when I changed the cassette, I figured I'd put a new tire on the rear while I was at it.

My experience with Juiced has been good, but I know from reading the forums others have not been so fortunate.

 

[Cyklefanatic]

Any of the BH models made after 2017. But probably you only know of trek and unspecialized ebikes...

Pardon my ignorance but who is BH?