Are ebikes reliable.

[john120165]

After 50 years of riding i had a test ride on a Kona full suspension bike and was very impressed. However I’m concerned about the reliability of the motors especially in the Scottish climate.
I know that Specialized have some issues with their motors and appreciate warranty will take care of that but is it the time to jump in now or should i wait for improvements in all the big manufacturers motors?

 

[The Hodge]

I would jump in now ..the way things are going you might have to wait a couple of years for any bike to be available ..

 

[Pigin]

Great question.

I was interested to hear in Robs Berkshire Cycles interview that the dealer said that he was seeing 6 or 7 % failure if I recall correctly. I surmise that is pretty much an industry standard when you get to a given price point.

Getting an emtb has been great for me and at our age (just guessing by your moniker, perhaps you need to change that) I would recommend just doing it. It was when Bosch decided that their motor was good enough to give it a power update that I decided it was as good a time as any. No doubt the next big thing is just around the corner and that will always be the case.

 

[john120165]

I would jump in now ..the way things are going you might have to wait a couple of years for any bike to be available ..

A valid point, Edinburgh bicycle had some stock last time we were in.

Great question.

I was interested to hear in Robs Berkshire Cycles interview that the dealer said that he was seeing 6 or 7 % failure if I recall correctly. I surmise that is pretty much an industry standard when you get to a given price point.

Getting an emtb has been great for me and at our age (just guessing by your moniker, perhaps you need to change that) I would recommend just doing it. It was when Bosch decided that their motor was good enough to give it a power update that I decided it was as good a time as any. No doubt the next big thing is just around the corner and that will always be the case.

yeah I watched that video at the weekend the Berkshire guy said four steps forward two steps back in relation to Specialized motor though I guess it’s like cars nothing’s perfect. But my concern is that the motor is a basic component you don’t but a car thinking the motor will blow up at some point

 

[Mteam]

This is only my experience, and no doubt loads of people will say the opposite, but my ebike has not been reliable.

Bought an orbea wild fs in August 2020,it uses the bosch system, so bosch cx gen 4 the latest motor.

Within about 200 miles the kiox display failed which rendered the bike unusable.

Then at about 550 miles just last week the motor started throwing 550 errors, it's in the shop being sorted, but I expect it'll need a new motor.

So, on my sample size of one I'd say not reliable.

I think it also depends where in the world you are and what sort of riding you do as to your chances of having trouble with the motor.

Dry climate or just riding to work on it-much higher chance of having no issues.

Wet muddy climate, proper off roading - more likely to have issues

 

[Zimmerframe]

yeah I watched that video at the weekend the Berkshire guy said four steps forward two steps back in relation to Specialized motor though I guess it’s like cars nothing’s perfect. But my concern is that the motor is a basic component you don’t but a car thinking the motor will blow up at some point

True .... but if you went on the nissan/renault/audi forum, you'd be 99% sure you car was about to fall apart this week ... it's all relative.

People often goto a forum when they have a problem .. ultimately, most people don't have a problem .

My Kenevo's been hammered way more than any bike ever should have been. Crashed more times than if Richard Hammond Rode it, submerged on several occasions - to the point that there's no way I could ever make a warranty claim as they'd find caviar in the motor - and yet, by some miracle .. it still works.

E-bikes are fun. They turn a fun but hard experience into a fun/fun experience.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Then at about 550 miles just last week the motor started throwing 550 errors,

Not the old 550 mile 550 bug ! Unlucky !

But really, that is unlucky, the gen4 seems pretty reliable.

 

[Mteam]

Not the old 550 mile 550 bug ! Unlucky !

But really, that is unlucky, the gen4 seems pretty reliable.

Yeah hopefully just a one off, the bloke in the shop reckoned the Gen4 is normally pretty solid and reliable.

 

[Gary]

You should have jumped in 3 or 4 years ago really.
That's right around the time E mountain bikes became good enough to rival normal mtbs through decent intuitive motors, good geometry, suspension characteristics and a decent weight.
They'll never be as reliable as normal bikes. So I'd stop waiting for that.
I'm in the same part of the country as you BTW and have ridden around 10000 emtb miles over the last 3 years, 3 different bikes (many motor replacements) .

 

[Stihldog]

Bosch Gen 4 motor since October 2019.
Submerged multiple times, ride in the rain and snow, sooo many crashes, wash the bike 5-7 times a week, like riding uphill on marbles (not really), and it’s still quiet.
Had an error code in the first month. 85nm update at the LBS. Dropped the skid plate and pushed in a 2wire that had wiggled loose. So far so good (knock-on-wood).

 

[HikerDave]

After 50 years of riding i had a test ride on a Kona full suspension bike and was very impressed. However I’m concerned about the reliability of the motors especially in the Scottish climate.
I know that Specialized have some issues with their motors and appreciate warranty will take care of that but is it the time to jump in now or should i wait for improvements in all the big manufacturers motors?

Perhaps I have been lucky. My Haibike powered by Yamaha PW-SE has been reliable over 4500 miles; probably 1/4 of that rocky Phoenix Trails. The only minor problem has been wear on the rear hub which I inadvertently disassembled because I didn’t understand how it was put together when attempting to add preload. The pawls in the Haibike “the hub” are ginormous compared to a normal bike, by the way.

I don’t think that I’ve washed the bike yet - I just wipe off the fork stanchions but disassembled and refilled the oil in my Fox 36 / Avalanche fork once and have replaced the chain and cassette once. (The dry dusty desert is apparently not that bad for chains).

Basically the bike is a tank. I went OTB a couple of months ago and only had to loosen the stem bolts to straighten out the handlebars to get going again.

 

[Marley]

When you add components, you add failures but what's it worth?
At my age, the failures outweigh the ....... the failures. Lol

 

[TPEHAK]

Within the big brands Yamaha makes the most durable and reliable e-bike motors on the market by popular opinion and as long as I can tell looking on those surveys on the forum. But some complaints pop on the forum time to time even about the Yamaha motors. The rule of thumb is if your Yamaha motor survived first 1000 miles without issues it will likely serve you within multiple batteries lifespans while most another motors live less than one battery lifespan.