Grannyjones
Member
My first "very wet" ride yesterday on the Levo after doing mostly dry rides so far on it. The trails, puddles and river crossings were Winter-like. Hope this is not where the problems start
Levo Gen 2 have brose fixed the motor issues yet ?
- Thread starter nobbyq
- Start date
I had a very wet start to my Ebike career I would say out of first 50 rides it had to be washed 46 times it was covered in mud a lot to do with the size of the tyres. Few times it wouldn't start up so disconnected Tcu cable and dried out overnight once I did same with battery cable. Whether it was me with too much washing we will never know. At Xmas got a new battery cable as it had crack in housing been ok till.motor last week. Worth taping up Tcu connection. Top Headset bearing was filthy and goosed after February bottom one spotless. Never had any problems on trails with puddles or rain though or dare I say that . Happy riding
Murch
Active member
There is not a single cause of the failures. It is not an Aluminum vs Carbon frame, it isn't the length of climbs, etc. Only Specialized and Brose know the exact causes and what different failure points there are. If you read enough from people who have had failed motors or multiple failed motors you will see it's all over the place on when they failed and why they think they failed. Since no shop can open the motors without having to void the warranty no one can say for sure what has failed, it's just a best guess. @Bearing Man has the most knowledge as he does open up and service motors from multiple manufactures.
You're definitely right! It has nothing to do with rider weight or riding style, what mode you run in, what hills/mountains you climb etc. etc. etc.
We are currently working very hard on solutions for some of the issues.
Yes i agree I'm 15 .5 stone and heavy used in all weather's. As I said 2600 miles just over a year old l have done well some would say
There are hundreds of thousands of others just like you out there too
That's good to hear . If my new motor lasts the same or breaks before it's out of warranty I would be calling you for a chat.There are hundreds of thousands of others just like you out there too
Struggle today on old bike only used it about 4 times in past year . Made it to top of Bin hill though.
Just enjoy it you could be same as me 1 year 2600 miles on first motor
It would be extremely interesting to know what factors contribute. No doubt about one major contributor - riding in the wet is undeniably one of those factors. I'd be impressed if Spesh would take the simple step of providing solutions for water ingress around the crankshaft bearings.
I know Spesh are stumping up for the problems, but it's not their motor so not really their responsibility. That's why people like us are on the case.
J200George
Member
We know that the belts previously were turning to jello, this may or may not have been a heat related issue. We have also seen internet chatter about belt tensioners cracking, not sure if the two are related or independent faults.
It seems the belt has been beefed up with Kevlar so that’s got to be better, but equally and with no empirical evidence to back it up the tensioners that cracked may have been down to a materials issue. Who knows.
Personally I’d doubt that the motors would internally turn to dust if there was water ingress. Of course if the vents are being blocked with trail gunge then it could lead to a heating/ cooling issue.
One can only hope that Brose have analysed all failure returns and have a good statistical analysis on the failures, root cause and suitable fixes.
The oldest motor I have heard of failing catastrophically had a build date of jan 2020.
Also, I should imagine that any dealer would struggle to get approval to swap out any motor unless it actually had failed in flight. Therefore I think it’s a case of you pays your money, blasts it for dear life, enjoy it whilst you can with the confidence that it’ll be sorted free of charge if it fails in warranty period, or you wait until the current hookey batch of motors is out of the system.
I’m choosing the latter, don’t really have much choice right now anyway as covid has screwed supply and demand.
It seems the belt has been beefed up with Kevlar so that’s got to be better, but equally and with no empirical evidence to back it up the tensioners that cracked may have been down to a materials issue. Who knows.
Personally I’d doubt that the motors would internally turn to dust if there was water ingress. Of course if the vents are being blocked with trail gunge then it could lead to a heating/ cooling issue.
One can only hope that Brose have analysed all failure returns and have a good statistical analysis on the failures, root cause and suitable fixes.
The oldest motor I have heard of failing catastrophically had a build date of jan 2020.
Also, I should imagine that any dealer would struggle to get approval to swap out any motor unless it actually had failed in flight. Therefore I think it’s a case of you pays your money, blasts it for dear life, enjoy it whilst you can with the confidence that it’ll be sorted free of charge if it fails in warranty period, or you wait until the current hookey batch of motors is out of the system.
I’m choosing the latter, don’t really have much choice right now anyway as covid has screwed supply and demand.
not a great deal of water ingress in Australia , dust yes , too much grinding not enough spinning is what were getting told, 4 motors down , still love my Levo and Specialized 's rider support here ...outstanding !
Yes I have to say it looks like Specialized are paying attention and working on solutions and I’m sure many would agree that people like you and Berkshire Cycles are leading the way in the provision of quality service.
While your international shipping of parts is extremely helpful for people outside of the UK, there are relatively few bike motor specialists like yourself, especially outside of large cities elsewhere.
Also for owners of bikes still under warranty, I’d argue it’s still Specialized’s responsibility - also Brose’s - to provide what seems like a reasonably straight forward fix - the Brose MudStop.
Very nice work on the Bosch MudStop BTW
There's been a fair bit of rain up this way and knowing that my bike - which should be impervious but isn't - I choose not to ride it. That's not ideal. I'll take your trusted word ( and countless others) on Specialized service - I haven't needed any service to date - that's also outstanding !
One thing I notice about the mag s vs my '18 levo is the motor seems to build a lot more heat.
I’m too busy riding to go on the app and see wots wot
RebornRider
Well-known member
Update to my post #56 in this thread (video of noisy motor). About 10 days after contacting my lbs about the problem, I have a warranty replacement motor. The new motor is quieter than the original motor ever was. It's nearly silent at a moderate pace on level ground and only a produces moan/whir on steep climbs in Turbo.
Grannyjones
Member
Mine is the same, the original motor on my 2020 Turbo Levo, almost silent on the flat and can only hear it on hard climbs. It has not failed yet but it has only done 700 miles which is nothing.
That's an interesting point which I've only heard briefly mentioned. The Mag S' lower mass & magnesium construction has thermal (and acoustic) implications. Also, anecdotally, almost all of the reports of more sudden short term issues that I recall are Mag S related. The Alu S issues that I recall seem to be longer term issues resulting from water ingress and corrosion. Of course reality might differ.
roccobarocco
Active member
Today, my Levo Comp 2020 had its first motor failure at 940km. Perfect timing, just in my holydays away from any bike dealer! ))))-: The belt snapped, no assistance anymore, can't push my bike backwards anymore, it blocks almost immidiatly.
Not happy at all....
Not happy at all....
Murch
Active member
Sorry to have you join the club
roccobarocco
Active member
I am not eager to join the club ....
It`s a real pain in the butt....
It`s a real pain in the butt....
Murch
Active member
The new motor will be better, it seems to have more power and it’s quieter
roccobarocco
Active member
Let's hope its going to be the last Motor swap...being now on holidays without a bike for the next 10 days...Thank You Spezialized!
Murch
Active member
How many miles did you have on it?
There are hundreds of thousands of others just like you out there too
Hundreds of thousands are out there riding Brose motors? I find that unlikely. A few tens maybe.
roccobarocco
Active member
940 km, not much at all!
Murch
Active member
I’m in my 3rd motor and none have made it over 1100 km. 3rd one is at 650 km and is making a popping noise when I put in over 600 watts of my power.
Ridgeway Rider
Member
Yes
My 2020 Levo Comp (Aug 2019) has a friction nose when turning the crank backwards. Sounds like a rough bearing. Done 1100 miles and been through a very wet winter Back to the LBS methinks.
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