Motor off problem

[MikeL_mtb]

I finally got to confirm my M10 isn't as easy to pedal as my friends M20 with the motor off, in fact, it feels like something is actively dragging, but the odd part it seems to be worse once the bike points uphill. We both swapped bikes and agreed there was a pretty big difference, when you first take off it feels fine, but if you get to higher cadence, or more noticeably when you start going up a grade, it feels like something is grabbing (but consistently, not like an on/off) and it just gets harder to spin the pedals, on my friends bike the resistance felt consistent, yes you needed to pedal a little harder to compensate for the hill, but more like a regular bike feels. I've tried with the system on and off and it's same in mode0, so I don't think it's electrical. I did buy the bike as a demo from a shop very far away, so getting it to them to eval is a task, has anyone contacted Orbea directly? I do in general get less range than my friend, sometimes as much as 10% (displayed remaining), so maybe it is impacting while I ride as well, but it's covered up by the motor working. No error codes in e-tube though, I'd like to have a more substantial argument before reaching out to them.

 

[Rod B.]

I finally got to confirm my M10 isn't as easy to pedal as my friends M20 with the motor off, in fact, it feels like something is actively dragging, but the odd part it seems to be worse once the bike points uphill. We both swapped bikes and agreed there was a pretty big difference, when you first take off it feels fine, but if you get to higher cadence, or more noticeably when you start going up a grade, it feels like something is grabbing (but consistently, not like an on/off) and it just gets harder to spin the pedals, on my friends bike the resistance felt consistent, yes you needed to pedal a little harder to compensate for the hill, but more like a regular bike feels. I've tried with the system on and off and it's same in mode0, so I don't think it's electrical. I did buy the bike as a demo from a shop very far away, so getting it to them to eval is a task, has anyone contacted Orbea directly? I do in general get less range than my friend, sometimes as much as 10% (displayed remaining), so maybe it is impacting while I ride as well, but it's covered up by the motor working. No error codes in e-tube though, I'd like to have a more substantial argument before reaching out to them.

Mike,

My Rise pedals like an absolute pig when going uphill with the motor turned off. There's an efficiency loss because you have to pedal through a gear box as opposed to a traditional bike where the crank arms are mounted on a set of bottom bracket bearings. I find that the steeper the downhill slope, the better the Rise pedals. Gravity is a good thing. It's interesting about the disparity in pedaling effort between your bike and your friend's bike. Because your bike is used, I would confirm your chainring hasn't been swapped out for a larger chainring. The Rise in stock form comes with a 32T chainring. It's a longshot, but a larger chainring might be a cause for the difference in pedaling effort.

I've yet to disassemble an EP8 motor and don't know much about the actual internals. I do know the EP8 motor has a one way clutch which allows engagement when cranking and disengagement when not cranking. This allows less motor drag when pedaling through the gear case. It's possible your bike's clutch may be hanging up and not always disengaging. When my Rise was new, it would do this on occasion and would not coast, even going downhill. It sometimes helps to spin the cranks backwards a few revolutions to help the clutch disengage. My bike doesn't do it anymore with 1,800 miles on it.

As a side note, the backwards spinning technique also helps when you switch to a lesser mode, i.e. Boost and you drop down to Trail mode, Trail down to Eco mode, but nothing happens. My bike will do this on occasion. When you back pedal, this will reset the motor's torque sensor and the mode switch will occur.

Regarding the difference in range that you mention "Sometimes as much as 10%." It may be attributed to several things. One is pride...as an example, my buddy will ask me if I'm in Boost mode when riding together. If I'm sweating my balls off and trying to keep up, "Man Code" allows me to casually say I'm in Eco mode, but secretly I'm in Boost mode and therefore I use more battery power than my buddy, i.e. 10% difference. Another useful technique is to tell your buddy he won't need his range extender on a ride and you show up with yours. You can now Boost the whole ride and let your buddy sweat his balls off for a little payback. This trick only works a few times, use it sparingly.

Another reason for the 10% variance may be the miles on your bike. After numerous charges, your battery will slowly lose efficiency. Have you checked how many miles your demo bike has? The motor keeps track of this number, however you will need a Shimano display , i.e. SC-E7000, SC-EM800, or other device, i.e. Garmin, to read the mileage number. I bought my Rise in September last year, it has a little over 1,800 miles on it. It's just now starting to loose a slight bit of battery capacity.

Be safe,
Rod

 

[MikeL_mtb]

I've thought about the one way bearing (or clutch, whatever they call it) since it does kinda feel like turning the stator against the magnets, you feel it in the crank, it doesn't feel like, say a dragging brake. I'm going to see my local shop can find anything.
I know the range variation can be just that, I raced r/c cars for a long time, and batteries are very variable, it's most of an observation that may or may not be related.

 

[Longfellow78]

I finally got to confirm my M10 isn't as easy to pedal as my friends M20 with the motor off, in fact, it feels like something is actively dragging, but the odd part it seems to be worse once the bike points uphill. We both swapped bikes and agreed there was a pretty big difference, when you first take off it feels fine, but if you get to higher cadence, or more noticeably when you start going up a grade, it feels like something is grabbing (but consistently, not like an on/off) and it just gets harder to spin the pedals, on my friends bike the resistance felt consistent, yes you needed to pedal a little harder to compensate for the hill, but more like a regular bike feels. I've tried with the system on and off and it's same in mode0, so I don't think it's electrical. I did buy the bike as a demo from a shop very far away, so getting it to them to eval is a task, has anyone contacted Orbea directly? I do in general get less range than my friend, sometimes as much as 10% (displayed remaining), so maybe it is impacting while I ride as well, but it's covered up by the motor working. No error codes in e-tube though, I'd like to have a more substantial argument before reaching out to them.

I have seen several reports of this where it was simply due to the alignment of the rear mech or jockey wheels causing drag. Several people adjusted (I assume bent it) this and it fixed the problem. The motor should not do this as is notorious for having easy motor off pedalling.

 

[MikeL_mtb]

I have seen several reports of this where it was simply due to the alignment of the rear mech or jockey wheels causing drag. Several people adjusted (I assume bent it) this and it fixed the problem. The motor should not do this as is notorious for having easy motor off pedalling.

I'm gonna need some more details on that, I've never had a mis aligned derailleur give THAT much drag.

 

[Longfellow78]

I'm gonna need some more details on that, I've never had a mis aligned derailleur give THAT much drag.

That's what the people who had the problem said.