If you BUY an EBIKE because you Need it, read this first.

[Richiefromboston]

I bought an Ebike a $10000.00 Ebike at that, from Trek. I bought it because I travel the USA in a land cruiser and the bike allows me to get much needed exercise in areas where Mountains are the norm, I looked and tried out several bikes before landing on the 21 trek rail 9.8 XT. Now heres the rub after only 500 miles of what would be considered very mild riding for what this bike was designed for the 4 small bolts(self tapping into magnesium casing) sheared off. Went back and forth with trek, then back and forth with guys that sold me bike(600miles from my house) and the ONLY thing that can be done is hand bike over for who knows how long so they can pull motor and ship it of to Bosch wait for new motor to be shipped back. then the bike will be usable again. I said to trek dealer screw the waranty just sell me a motor Ill put it in and all will be well. And sadly that isnt an option. So the bike of the year has a problem. And after posting pics of my motor mount issues I discovered I wasnt the only one. I build things big things, that go where other things don't go, and Ill tell you I wouldn't use self tapping bolts that can shear off, Maybe bosch shouldnt either. I shouldnt have to pay 10K and within 5 months give it back because they built it poorly. If the bike breaks and the customer wants to buy the parts to FIX IT, they should be allowed. To me its a lot better than handing off bike until who knows long.

 

[OldBean]

please put up some pics so we can see which bolts you are talking about.
We all need to keep an eye on them.
Is this a Trek design fault or inherent in all Bosch motors.? Guess it is the latest CX motor as fitted to my Ries & Muller Delight Mountain.
Hope you get it fixed.
BTW what bolts would you replace them with now you know the problem?

 

[Doomanic]

Is this a Trek design fault or inherent in all Bosch motors.?

It's a Bosch issue.

 

[OldBean]

Quite a lot about this on another forum , seems to be more than an isolated case .
Anybody know if Bosch has addressed the issue?

 

[Doomanic]

What other forum?

 

[Neeko DeVinchi]

Sorry to hear about your experience @Richiefromboston.

I was of the belief that Bosch usually just send out replacement motors in the circumstances you've just raised with little delay.

Perhaps the issue as to what you've encountered will enable Bosch or Trek to update any issues to ensure that it doesn't happen to others in the future.

By no means am I condoning or justifying Trek/Bosch or anyone. But as you said, you don't expect this type of thing after spending the big money you did.

I hope they'll turn it around for you dude

 

[RustyIron]

Hey, Ritchie. Is there a Trek dealer close to you that can do the work? It's possible that the turn-around might be quicker than you think.

 

[maynard]

So one time. I bought a woman. Some call it marriage. I got ride assist for about 2 years. Then it was manual. Then the motor died.
Quit bitching. This is cheap as fuck.

There's your problem bam . Never start a relationship with a working woman . Haven't you studied the crazy/hot graph .

 

[maynard]

 

[maynard]

I've been too all ends of this matrix.

 

[maynard]

Rohipnol is a bitch .

 

[Huw169]

Really keen to see what self tapers your talking about.
And where is the link to this other forum talking about this?
Ta

 

[Zimmerframe]

This was the original thread which identifies the problem (and bolts) in more detail/images ..

Anyone else with a rail Carbon frame notice this..

JUst swapped out carbon wheels, and whilst test riding in backyard notice the chianstay was moving a bit while pedaling, then I notice the entire bosch motor was too. not massively but not rock solid. Not sure if its always done this but I dont believe so.

www.emtbforums.com

 

[OldBean]

What other forum?

https://www.mtbr.com/threads/broken-bosch-motor-mount-bolts.1174943/

 

[dixie600mhz]

I dated a hair dresser called Tiffany. She was crazy. Believe the chart.

 

[1oldfart]

That is why i prefer old and reliable over new.

 

[Bomble]

Is there such a thing as an old and reliable emtb?

 

[1oldfart]

Is there such a thing as an old and reliable emtb?

Since 2016 that Yamaha has a very good record.
My first Ebike was a 2017 Yamaha/Haibike but in Canada there is no more distribution
so i switched to Yamaha/Giant.

 

[2WheelsNot4]

Is there such a thing as a reliable emtb?

FIFY

 

[Bobj183]

It might be a good idea to replace the screws with something like 8.8 grade before the original ones break. If they break that easily they must be something like 4.8 grade although it's difficult to see how Bosch would use something that soft. I see someone on the MBR forum used 10.4s but they could be a little brittle for this application. I'm going to change mine. The screws are M5 BTW.....not self tappers. Checking the main motor mount bolts (M8?) might be wothwhile as well. If they are loose the bracket might be fretting it's way through the M5 screws.

 

[dixie600mhz]

Can somebody post pics of the actual assembly. I know there's a drawing but it would be cool to see what this looks like off the bike.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Can somebody post pics of the actual assembly. I know there's a drawing but it would be cool to see what this looks like off the bike.

 

[Slapbassmunky]

I replied in the other thread, but I'll add in here as well. I had a creak I COULD NOT get rid of. I've got the same bike as the OP, a 9.8XT, 4 months old. As the shop is 150 miles and a ferry ride away I dived into it myself.

One M8 bolt was cross threaded, all M5 Bolts were loose enough to allow the mounting plates to move around. When fixings are that loose things creak and bolts shear. Blue loctite and torquing up properly fixed the issue. No problems since in 8 months.

Treks response in the other thread means my current bike will be my first and last Trek

 

[1oldfart]

I replied in the other thread, but I'll add in here as well. I had a creak I COULD NOT get rid of. I've got the same bike as the OP, a 9.8XT, 4 months old. As the shop is 150 miles and a ferry ride away I dived into it myself.

One M8 bolt was cross threaded, all M5 Bolts were loose enough to allow the mounting plates to move around. When fixings are that loose things creak and bolts shear. Blue loctite and torquing up properly fixed the issue. No problems since in 8 months.

Treks response in the other thread means my current bike will be my first and last Trek

I kind of think like you. For 6 years i am happy with my local shop. They carry Trek and Giant plus a few
smaller brands. Trek is charging a big ticket for their sticker. I am happy with Giant wich is more affordable
and seems more reliable with the Yamaha system. I wish they would offer an Efat but if they offer an Ebike
i am interested in for sure my next is a Giant/Yamaha and i plan to stay away from Trek.

 

[Don_Singer]

did the bolts shear off or did the threads strip? if the bolts broke just back out the remaining piece in the motor and buy new bolts. If the threads are stripped....then you have a problem. I assume you bought the bike new and no previous owner over-torqued the bolts, because their spec it surprisingly low for the size of the bolt.

 

[TPEHAK]

Since 2016 that Yamaha has a very good record.
My first Ebike was a 2017 Yamaha/Haibike but in Canada there is no more distribution
so i switched to Yamaha/Giant.

There is a reason they distribute only Haibike and Giant with Yamaha motors. They don't want their business to be bankrupted due to the issues with another brands motors.

 

[Slapbassmunky]

I assume you bought the bike new and no previous owner over-torqued the bolts, because their spec it surprisingly low for the size of the bolt.

The torque value is rediculousy low, especially when you consider the plates are drilled with large clearance holes, the screws have flanged heads, and no locking washers. It's almost as if they're inviting movement and loosening. If replacing the screws make sure to use ones that are the same length, the casting is pretty thin in places and the steel screws probably help strengthen the area up.

 

[Doomanic]

If the bolts are M5 (which the MTBR thread seem to indicate) about right.

M5 is a bit weedy for the application though.

 

[Zimmerframe]

There is a reason they distribute only Haibike and Giant with Yamaha motors. They don't want their business to be bankrupted due to the issues with another brands motors.

I'm a big fan of Yamaha, but I wish you would stop living in a world of denial and dreams that their motors are somehow miraculously more reliable than everyone else's and repeatedly sprout off about it as if we live in some parallel universe which has no bearing on reality - it just makes you sound like you work for Yamaha. They're about on par with Shimano, which are far from being the most reliable motors.

Haibike also ship bikes with motors from Bosch, TQ and Yamaha. Likewise, Giant use motors from several suppliers which they re-work under their syncdrive program.

Here's just one users experience of Giant ownership/yamaha motors and he's certainly not alone so please stop being unrealistic. Hopefully the new PW-X3 will be a huge improvement over the X2.

Collected brand new: Feb 7th 2020.
This bike was a trade up for my rejected MY19 E+3Pro Which had a hub, a motor, a fork, 3 controllers and was generally nothing but trouble.

5th March = Ride One Controller failure (FLED28-10)
Had to wait a week for a new one to come

New one fitted and lost auto mode and ANT+ as they installed controller for a 2019 bike. (FLED28-07)
Had to wait again for a 2nd one to arrive.

25th March. = Speed sensor failure.
(Cracked plug due to placement in casing)
2 weeks wait. New one fitted 10th April.

15th June = Battery failure.
3 weeks wait until 6th July for a new one so bought a spare at same time.
That came faster than the warranty unit.

20th July = Motor bearings failure. (1st motor failure)
4 weeks wait until 21st August for her 2nd motor to be fitted.

20th July = Dropper post changed under warranty whilst it was in.

6th September = Ride One Controller failure
1 week wait until new one arrived 14th September (FLED28-10)

22nd November = Motor failure (2nd Motor failure)
26th November, her 3rd motor was installed.

14th December = Ride One Controller failure
1 week wait until 20th December. (FLED28-15 this time.)

18th January 21 = Dropper post failure again. (twists)
Shop said it needs to be sent to Giant for inspection which I wasn’t willing to do as I would have no bike.
I found a service kit for sale in USA so bought it and fixed it myself. Why cant these be available in UK?

19th May 21 = Motor bearings failure again. (3rd Motor failure)
Claim initialised by the shop and told week 29. Week 29 arrived and then told week 33. (16th Aug week)

18th Aug 2021 = her 4th Motor installed.
This time it was installed with brand new RCone (FLED28-15) new upgraded loom, new UPGRADED battery discharge connector and identical but new charging port plus the battery shim mod for good measure. Then it was all waterproofed with liquid insulator for good measure as always.

GIANT Traumas. Are they BATTERY firmware related?

Here is something to ponder over. Could our power down issues be battery firmware related? A few hundred miles ago I fitted to my MY20 Trance E+2Pro. New motor. New loom. (Latest 21 version) New discharge connector. (Latest 21 version) Shim mod.(1x) New charging port. New ride control one...

www.emtbforums.com