I have pulled the trigger on a new road-oriented eBike several times, but then I dive into the motor review and scare me from buying. The road bike I’m looking at is $2,999 Scott Addict to $5,000 Cervelo Rouvida (yes, I found one in my size at that price). It is between the comparable BMC and Orbea. It all comes down to the motor function and reliability. I don’t want to spend so much $money$ on a bike that is in the store due to motor/electronics issues where no one can figure out the store or manufacturer. There are major technical and complex failure points requiring specialized support in eBikes, and non-electric bikes - no motor and motor electronics. It is now a big game changer - it is not just a frame geometry and metal type, or the Shimano vs Campy vs SRAM component can be worked on by most bike shop mechanics.
So for me it comes down to the MAHLE X20 or X35, or Fazua Ride60. It seems that many frustrated owners are discharging it on the net. That’s why I still don’t have electricity.
I had a Scott Addict Eride with fewer miles but no problems, and I had a Turbo Creo with about 5,000 miles without any problems. Undoubtedly, there are problems, but they can be exaggerated.
Bosch and Shimano motors are very close to reliability. Yamaha and Brose (Specified).
After that, I don’t know anyone else.
The motor problem is very de rare, but it happens. If you really want a bike, go. Worrying about a technical problem is probably a conscience not to spend all that money
I would prefer to add an electronic assist system to my selected bike. If you have work to do at a local store and there is a problem in the future, you will receive local support. Since it is external, it is easier to replace it with the latest lighter system in the future. There are many excellent add-on options with excellent reliability records. I moved the electronic assist system from a garbage bike hit by a car to a new one.
I own three electric bikes and there is no problem. One is Bosch, the other is Mahle/Specailized Mid Drive, and the last is Brose/Specialized. In terms of motor replacement with a 10-year warranty, I have rarely replaced the motor of a luxury bicycle. Perhaps among the bicycles sold in the previous store, we replaced 2-5% of the motor and are generous and have recorded large sales for seven years.
I know some of the early Fazua items are not very exceptional for some people, but I haven’t put in any time yet and no one has sold them on the supplier list. The thing. Although Mahle is better off using Specialized with at least Mid-drive, hub drives are generally known to be more problematic, but not always the same as spokes with broken motor quality and at least high quality products.
I know it’s convenient to ride a well-supported bicycle. Bosch is the best hand there. Shimano, Brose, Specialized… All get excellent support, easy to handle and you can buy old bicycles.
Bikes are durable products that last for decades. If you don’t plan a deal every few years, you can easily purchase electricity with replacement motors, controls, batteries, etc. and buy it at a reasonable cost. For all motors. Over time, the industry hopes to adopt frame interface (mid drive) standards and replace multiple brand motors.
Bike Friday chose Bosch when its previous supplier of motors and batteries was hungry and designed a new electric bike. In the future, we have the least supply problems and have a good reputation. Unfortunately, the Bosch motor cannot be remodeled on an old electric bike Friday and is a completely different mounting and the Bosch is a mid drive. The old bicycle was a hub motor, so I was able to make new wheels. Although the old battery was separated into 3 layers to fly legally, the Bosch battery cannot do this, but BF has debuted a new battery with that feature.
I have been on BBS02 for seven years (and my son for three more years) on the road and have taken the second BBS02 without any maintenance or problems and will have confidence in Bosch or Yamaha system. But Fazua, Mahle or RM is not in the future. JMO! Bafang has not changed the BBS02 for about 10 years (although it is thought to have been removed from stock) and although not necessary almost all parts can be repaired and the battery can be removed thanks to the fact. Bikes are easier to rack.
The ability to remove the entire battery/motor assembly was a major selling feature for me, and the Fazua Ride 50 has operated flawlessly in my Pivot E Vault.
The Fwiw I has a Stromer ST1 slightly over 18K miles and there were no motor problems (burnt in rain, snow and sleet). Due to wrist issues, I switched to Cattrike and due to lack of factory E version locally, I had to replace the motor due to rain damage (crack case) when the dealer put in the aftermarket Ekit. The factory kit is Bosch and it seems like there was a problem (my wife has Haibike with Bosch motor).
Good luc
It’s an extensive question, but I think the quality of the bicycle motor is excellent and it has a 2-year warranty. I don’t know who produces my motor, but I’m sure it will last longer than the warranty period. Over time, a motor that likes bicycles breaks down.
I think there is a problem with all the bicycle motors.
In the case of the original Post, he’s talking about a light road bike with an equally small light motor. When pushed strongly, there is no headroom provided by the mid motor on a less exquisite bicycle. Then, bring the hub motor into the picture, and the hub motor becomes bigger and hardly gets any power. Many of us have more motors than we use, and in such situations, we won’t fail. Still, if you work hard, the nylon gears will be soft and not shredded, the insulation on the motor cables will melt and the motor windings will turn black.
The short answer is “No”.
However, in the original post, I started talking about luxury eBikes such as “bike store brand” Scott, Orbea, BMC and Cervelo. Then wrapped up by saying that he was looking at two cheap things like MAHLE and Fazua.
In my experience, even the inexpensive eBikes has few motor problems and has more than $4k of eBikes from $400 (Amazon junker). (Yamaha Wabash RT) The car is the last thing to worry about.
The cheaper eBikes has less refined firmware to run the motor controller. They don’t spend time to make sure everything works really well. My Yamaha, Bosch, Aventon and Lectrics are all pretty well classified.
My Ride1UP has excellent hardware, but has user-hostile controller programming. However, I was able to fix it in a few emails on Ride1UP.
Today’s Bosch, Yamaha, Lectric and Aventon firmware are very tight against what is allowed, but they are very easy to use and predictable when used within programmed parameters.
The $400 Sailnovo Junker accelerated smoothly but not in a smart way. The bike was a single speed of about 9mph, but the motor operated up to 20mph and stepped on the ghost pedal at 11-20mph.
$1400 heybike Ranger (also sold through Amazon) had numerous user programming options that were limited within legal parameters. The bike couldn’t stop its squeaky brakes.
The bottom line is to spend a little more for a more sophisticated bicycle. It’s not a motor that disappoints you if you don’t buy something completely wrong. (e.g. single speed for hill climbing)