Newbie intro,a shimano motor question and a wee moan!

[Craig27]

Hello all...I've been reading this forum on and off for ages now,it seems like a great place for some informed advice and a laugh or two so I've just registered today,im Craig,I live in the north of Scotland and enjoy most aspects of cycling.
I'll start with a wee moan......I bought a vitus e-sommet vr in February this year from CRC,my first Ebike,I absolutely loved it,I did around 800 miles in the first two months I had it....a bit of everything,the locally built trails,forest roads,trail centres,mountains and some general exploring. The bike wasn't perfect when it arrived but thanks to the experiences of the people on here I had a good idea what to check over before I went out on it. It worked flawlessly to begin with but after 800 miles or so the motor would not start. A torque sensor fault,intermittent to start with then permanent after a few days. I had to return the bike to CRC for repair,it took over 10 weeks and I could drone on about the hassles involved forever but I won't as you might be getting bored with my rant already!
I've had the bike back about 5 weeks now and it has failed again,this time it's the general fault code E010. I've tried all the suggestions to fix it....check n clean the connections,check the cables,tighten the battery etc etc but all to no avail so i recon it'll have to go on its incredible journey around the country again!
Does anyone know if these motor are for sale to 'normal punters' like myself? I have looked but all I could find was an American version on the us eBay.

Cheers..

 

[Pukmeister]

His Craig and welcome. Sorry to hear about your issues, I hope they are soon fixed.

Not trying to be smug or a "told you so" kind of Schadenfreude but you aren't the first example I've seen on the web of folk buying a Vitus (or one of the other direct-to-consumer brand) then having issues and delays in getting them sorted when a fault occurs.

This is the only thing that put me off the e-sommet VR, on paper it looks a fantastic machine and gets rave reviews and I was tempted myself, it is a lot of bike for the money. A shame that even a minor problem can result in a headache arranging repairs and time spent without your bike.

Can CRC/Wiggle pay for it under warranty to be looked at professionally by a Shimano service centre closest to you ?? (why not ask them if you haven't already done so ?)

 

[Craig27]

Hi Pukmeister...yes,you are right....if I knew then what I know now I would not have bought the bike. At the time I didn't consider the difference between buying direct or buying locally. Not having the bike for 10 weeks was the most difficult thing to accept. For buying a normal bike I'd still be happy with the direct to consumer route..if something breaks I'll just fix it but if/when I buy my next Ebike I'll be off down to my Lbs!

CRC will want to inspect the bike then decide if it's to be fixed under warranty which means a trip from here to Belfast I think,then on to Milton Keynes for repair. If it goes similarly to last time I will have only have had the bike for 5 out of 25 weeks! I've always liked to cycle but e mountain biking is so much more enjoyable not having one is that bit more vexing! Oh well,back to pedalling for real for a while!

Cheers...

 

[Jamsxr]

His Craig and welcome. Sorry to hear about your issues, I hope they are soon fixed.

Not trying to be smug or a "told you so" kind of Schadenfreude but you aren't the first example I've seen on the web of folk buying a Vitus (or one of the other direct-to-consumer brand) then having issues and delays in getting them sorted when a fault occurs.

This is the only thing that put me off the e-sommet VR, on paper it looks a fantastic machine and gets rave reviews and I was tempted myself, it is a lot of bike for the money. A shame that even a minor problem can result in a headache arranging repairs and time spent without your bike.

Can CRC/Wiggle pay for it under warranty to be looked at professionally by a Shimano service centre closest to you ?? (why not ask them if you haven't already done so ?)

Same could be said about shop brands, eBikes have problems, MTBs have problems. Having bought from Shop and Direct to consumer brands I personally wouldn’t say one is better than the other. I think Vitus/CRC are the problem here, in my experience YT and Commencal are just as effective as any shop brand.

 

[R120]

You can warranty the emoter direct with Shimano, via Madison, who are the UK distributors. You have to do it via a friendly LBS who have an account with Madison, and may well have to pay them fo labour of taking out the motor, but it tends to be the case that CRC will reimburse you for this.

 

[Craig27]

R120....thanks,that seems like an easier option than sending the whole bike. Removing the motor seems fairly straightforward,6 bolts and 3 connectors.

Cheers

 

[Pukmeister]

........that seems like an easier option than sending the whole bike. Removing the motor seems fairly straightforward,6 bolts and 3 connectors.

Cheers

*************** STOP !!! ***************

Craig, before you touch your bike with a spanner, check your warranty terms closely. I'm pretty sure I read on other forums about some brands invalidating the warranty if you touch the motor when researching my ebike purchase decision.

Maybe discuss with CRC via email first for approval, you then have proof if they try to Wiggle out of it (see what I did there ).

I read something a while back about a Vitus repair via a local Shimano agent and an 80% contribution via refunding payment from CRC, might be in the Vitus section on here ?

Good luck mate.

 

[Craig27]

I think it's fine to drop the motor out of the way as I have done as I wanted to check the small cable that goes between motor and the display over its whole length. I was hoping it might be kinked and damaged but it looks fine. Dropping the motor gives me a bit more room to move and get a better look at everything and a fair bit of crud gets in about it so it's also a chance to clean up the area.

I think that opening up the motor would be what invalidates the warranty?

I have contacted CRC but they haven't got back to me yet.

Cheers..

 

[Gary]

Throw it in the sea. I'm seriously considering ditching Emtb for good and just getting back to the fitness level I was before buying bikes with weak, unreliable piece of shit motors.

 

[Craig27]

Hi Gary...yeah,that's exactly how I feel now. My first 8 weeks on it were superb,no thoughts of it breaking down but since it failed every time I'm out I'm waiting for it to pack in! Unfortunately it broke in the middle of nowhere(I was trying to suss out a coast to coast route for again) and it was tough getting back to the van,no real problem on the flat but any hills and a headwind and I was pushing!

From reading a few of your posts over time I can see that you like to jump the bike a lot. I do to,my local loop has loads of jumps and drops and with the Ebike I tend to go round and round many times,maybe the stress going through the pedals,cranks and motor so many times is what is damaging these motors....who knows!

I really fancied a Jeffsy or a Capra but kinda bought the vitus after a tough climbing day on a bit of a whim!

 

[Pukmeister]

I think no matter how 'tough' these bikes are advertised as, the electrics and electronics are going to be given a pretty hard time if you are a keen rider/thrill seeker. I'm not implying that you abuse your bikes but they are sold as off-road machinery and should be able to withstand hard treatment. Its seemingly not the MTB parts that are failing, its the EMTB electrickery such as cabling and controllers, or crank bearings within the motor assembly.

Reading about the woes with the Vitus bikes/Shimano motors, I'm kind of glad now that I chose to buy a different bike, just on the off chance that even I might be able to easily break one but I feel really sorry for you guys that have problems with your bikes. Having said that, I ride like a pensioner most of the time.

It appears that CRC need to improve their dealer support if they are to stand by their products and grow confidence in them. If not then eventually word will spread via forums and social media and people will start looking elsewhere rather than being bitten with a flash looking bike that is too fragile or likely to leave them stranded on a trail or even long-term bikeless.

 

[Zimmerframe]

unreliable piece of shit motors.

Don't suppose you've got peed off enough yet to strip a motor yourself and see if you can upgrade the bearings ?

Has anyone stripped an e8000 yet ? I guess they're all still in warranty.

Maybe @Bearing Man ?

 

[MattyB]

Throw it in the sea. I'm seriously considering ditching Emtb for good and just getting back to the fitness level I was before buying bikes with weak, unreliable piece of shit motors.

Hi Gary...yeah,that's exactly how I feel now. My first 8 weeks on it were superb,no thoughts of it breaking down but since it failed every time I'm out I'm waiting for it to pack in! Unfortunately it broke in the middle of nowhere(I was trying to suss out a coast to coast route for again) and it was tough getting back to the van,no real problem on the flat but any hills and a headwind and I was pushing!

From reading a few of your posts over time I can see that you like to jump the bike a lot. I do to,my local loop has loads of jumps and drops and with the Ebike I tend to go round and round many times,maybe the stress going through the pedals,cranks and motor so many times is what is damaging these motors....who knows!

I really fancied a Jeffsy or a Capra but kinda bought the vitus after a tough climbing day on a bit of a whim!

Part of the problem is that the vast majority of manufacturer R&D has been aimed at the (far less demanding) commuter market - road going ebikes still outsell EMTBs hugely. As a result EMTB motors have largely been adapted from those commuter models rather than being designed from the ground up for off road use. That seems to be leading to far more regular failures in EMTBs, particularly for more accomplished riders who put large additional loads through the BB.

I am not saying this is a trivial problem to solve - making a truly reliable off road capable motor will not be easy, especially without gaining additional weight and cost - but I am sure it can be done if they start from a clean(ish) piece of paper. The question is whether manufacturers believe there will be sufficient returns for chasing reliability instead of increasing torque and reducing weight, volume and cost. That may be a difficult pitch at Bosch given their dominance of the commuter market, but maybe Shimano or Brose will take up the challenge if they think they could be losing market share? Let’s cross our fingers. Even so, I personally can’t see Brose powering the next generation of Spec bikes given the collaboration they have started with Mahle.

 

[BornAgain]

I bought a Vitus E-Sommet from Wiggle a few months back. I had a few problems and Wiggle encouraged me to take the bike to a local Shimano service center rather than send it back to them.

You can find your nearest center here:
Find a Shimano Service Centre near you | Shimano Service Centre

I sent the bike back in the end as I decided I needed better local support and now have a Levo on order which should arrive in a couple of days.

 

[Pukmeister]

Out of the frying pan, into the fire.