Anyone fixed the Bullit's Elephant in the Room?

Phatboi

Member
Jun 24, 2021
40
32
Cardiff
I am of course referring to the EP8 Motor rattle, only happens when the motor isn't engaged (not pedalling) but i find it very noticeable on the downs. Im hoping some long term owners have founds ways to lessen the noise?
 

Doomanic

🛠️Wrecker🛠️
Patreon
Founding Member
Jan 21, 2018
8,729
10,395
UK
I rode one the other day and it is a nice bike, but it's not £4K nicer than my Rail. Less powerful, less range and less weight. Only one of those is a good thing.
 

Phatboi

Member
Jun 24, 2021
40
32
Cardiff
I love it because of how it handles / rides. it feels like a super agile, mega capable analog mountain bike but with a motor for doing the uplift.

and yes all EMTB’s are stupid expensive and not “worth “ the money but we forget what they cost when they give you so many smiles per mile. ??
 

blueglide

Member
Jan 2, 2021
89
98
Tucson, AZ USA
Am I the only one that doesn't have the rattle noise? Never heard it ?
It's barely noticeable on my Heckler. I had to focus on hearing it when I first got my bike and read about the noise. You would think it was like a gravel truck the way some people fuss about it. The only time it was actually noticeable to me was descending on some chunky stuff and I was paying too much attention to the trail not trying to fall off that the noise was the least of my concerns.
 

fenwick458

Active member
Oct 6, 2020
295
187
Cumbria
also, if you're having problems with your brakes squealing, dip the pads in grease and use WD40 on the disc, works a treat..

true story, I took my mums bike to our local bike shop (the one that's really local, it's not the best but we though they could handle a simple service and didn't fancy the 40 minute drive to the one I normally use) and she told them the gears didn't work properly and the brakes were always squealing and just to do whatever it needed. it came back with a new chain, liberally soaked in oil yet none of the drivetrain had been cleaned so was covered in rust and black grinding paste, and for the breaks there solution was to apply some "graphite spray" to the discs. yeah it stopped the noise alright but the brakes didn't work anymore. and then a few weeks later they started to work as they did before and the squeal returned!!
needless to say, I've never used them again
 

Phatboi

Member
Jun 24, 2021
40
32
Cardiff
If yours is seriously that noisy maybe you should have it looked at. There may be something going on inside the motor that's causing excessive noise.
I'm having too much fun riding it at the moment. If the motors going to go bang i will get it replaced under warranty, my LBS is really good at getting their E Bikes repaired and back on the Trails again. I'm also used to the Brose Motor on my Levo being silent ( new warranty one) so anything would probably sound noisy to me.
 

Richwall

Well-known member
Jan 15, 2021
89
100
Uk
I am of course referring to the EP8 Motor rattle, only happens when the motor isn't engaged (not pedalling) but i find it very noticeable on the downs. Im hoping some long term owners have founds ways to lessen the noise?
Go faster downhill drowns out the noise ?love my Bullit its an amazing bike?
 

Coolcmsc

Well-known member
Oct 29, 2019
526
473
U.K.
Go faster downhill drowns out the noise ?love my Bullit its an amazing bike?
Exactly. Anyway, I can’t hear it on my Bullit. But I try not to hang around and if I focus on trivial things, I fall off — yes, yes, of course I realise there are many explanations for that, just ask my mates ???
 

mehukatti

Active member
Apr 25, 2020
123
154
Finland
For me it's not a problem. In downhill riding noise from tires, full face helmet, and wind noise will completely mask it. In trail riding I don't notice anything either. Not sure if I have mentally tuned out of it, or if I have one of the more silent units, but in my opinion the whole issue has been blown out of proportion.

Last year when EP8 was introduced, Shimano said that they would try to tighten tolerances in the motor internal freehub mechanism to reduce the rattling noise, but not sure if they ever did that. But atleast now they have one clear area to improve with EP9. :)
 
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steve_sordy

Wedding Crasher
Nov 5, 2018
9,008
9,436
Lincolnshire, UK
I only hear the "rattle" when I'm not pedalling.
On my Merida eOne Sixty (ep8) I would call it a "tinkle" not a "rattle".
It does not bother me one bit. :)
 

2WheelsNot4

E*POWAH Master
Oct 17, 2021
918
712
Scotland
I love it because of how it handles / rides. it feels like a super agile, mega capable analog mountain bike but with a motor for doing the uplift.

and yes all EMTB’s are stupid expensive and not “worth “ the money but we forget what they cost when they give you so many smiles per mile. ??
This why it is prudent to go Emtb and not a sus shopper or commuting style. The spec on the mtb is usually better, the commuter puts u with entry level discs and....gahhh ....Suntour forks :eek:
My initial choice for an all rounder was the Scott Axis pro, compared to the Genius 920 I have. They are the same money but the genius has a fox 36 and fox shock, the axis is suntour and maybe you get a rack and lights, but on a sus its the sus bits make the difference to the ride characteristics, not the addition of a rack and some pre fitted lights. Adding up retail component costs, the axis is a really bad deal.
It's worse when you compare commuter Hardtail types costing £5K
 

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