Shimano vs brose reliability

Savan

Member
Dec 16, 2021
44
6
Iowa
I have a levo to be delivered in March, plenty of time to over analyze. I’m concerned with the brose motor.

i can fix a lot of things but don’t want to be waiting on or tearing into ebike motors. I just want to ride. Am I just seeing more“brose failed” threads than any because I’m in the spesh forums?
 
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Doug Stampfer

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2018
737
756
NZ
Ha! And I've got a bike ordered with a shimano motor & am worried about the inability to service the motor....
And I'm worried about the noise from my Bosch motor....
Will my battery be crap if I keep charging it after I ride...
The interwebs will do your head in but when I put on the headphones & ride it all melts away & I smile...
 

lightning

Well-known member
Apr 5, 2021
715
410
UK
As above

There are always going to be "horror stories" with any motor, but what you don't hear are stories from people who (like me) have done thousands of miles on and off road on their ebike in all weathers, washed it many times with a hose, and the motor has been fine.
 

Rich-EMTB-UK

E*POWAH Master
Aug 11, 2019
369
283
UK
Hi, had a Levo since 2019 1,000 miles zero motor or battery issues. Well apart from when I left it lying in the sun and it overheated but colder down after around 15 mins riding with no battery, lesson learnt :)
 

maynard

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Not if but when . The brose motor is a grenade . Only has no pin . Seriously though. I think alot of motors go bang due to rider error . Riding up hills in hard gears . Starting of in turbo on low gears .rest assured spesh warranty is very good . I'm second owner of my levo and my motor replacement was pain free . And pretty quick . And i was happy to pay 100 $ aus labour . Luckily I had been doing a fair bit if riding with motor of so wasn't to much of a shock riding home without motor. Although I didn't have to ride to far .
 

NULevo

Well-known member
Nov 7, 2019
539
341
Nottingham
Congrats on your new bike @Savan :)

I got my gen 2 Levo in Dec 2019 and didn't know anything about the issues with the motors until I found this forum, at which point I got paranoid. I expected to motor to go at any point after reading the stories and Spesh extended the warranty on the motor.

After more than 2 years and 4400 miles, I have not had any problems with mine. Its easy to focus on the the number of posts on the forum, but bare in mind the numbers of Levos sold.

Just enjoy your bike, Spesh have a good reputation when things go wrong, You'll love the bike :)
 

High Rock Ruti

Active member
May 13, 2019
432
336
Massachusetts
High Rock Ruti

As the undisputed king of Brose failures (6 motors across three bikes since 2016) the motor is a POS. All of the failures happen exactly the same symptom, no assistance along with the motor free wheeling, the system is telling the motor to turn, but it's not driving the bike forward. I was convinced it was the drive belt failing until I wasn't. The Bearing Man re-conviced me it was the Sprague clutch loosing a pawl if memory serves (at 67 service can be sketchy) So the obvious question is why do I now own a $13,000 Levo Pro? There's two reasons. 1 It's one of the best riding bikes I've ever ridden and, 2 Specialized is a fantastic company, they stand behind their bikes 100% that includes the six motors and 2 full refunds, one after 27 months and one after the fourth motor failed. The new bike a 2022 is a year old in March, lost its first motor at 600 miles. I own 4 emtb's, if you're going to ride daily you have to have spares. If it sounds boastful I'm sorry, I have more money than years left to ride, if money is for anything; clearly it's bikes! I don't know what I'm doing that could kill motors, frankly I don't care, if Brose can't fix the problem they can give me new motors. The hardest problem is to overcome is getting upset about it.

The last opinion I'll share is that the 2020 Orbea wild fs team is my favorite bike, for the life of me, the only thing I can identify about why is the bike feels shorter than the levo and of course, the Bosch cx4 is the best motor made, I'm convinced that the torque ratings are BS, the Bosch is stronger especially at low cadences.

Warm Regards Ruti
 

The voz

Member
Jun 17, 2020
56
28
Cornwall
My 2020 kenevo got nearly 2000km on it battery still 100% health motor still original and sweet always use gears as I would normal mtb although I do go light on pedals if changi uphill and use all modes maybe mines a gold star or I think I use it properly still got 2 yrs warranty on motor oh and I love love love it
 

Singletrackmind

Active member
Sep 17, 2020
476
432
San Diego, CA
Had previous Gen Levo and had many repeat issues with TC, battery and motor that I ended up selling. A couple riding buddies have had issues with their Levo's as well. Have read many people have experienced no issues at all. Not here to bash Spesh, just sharing my experiences.

Bought a YT Decoy Elite same time I purchased my Levo ~2 years ago and have absolutely zero issues with motor. Recently purchased a Yeti-160E with EP8 and have about 10 rides with 325 miles and no issues at all. Could be the luck of the draw!

Specialized dies have a great warranty policy though my bike spent considerable time in the shop. Fortunately had another emtb so I was able to ride.
 
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franciscoasismm

Active member
May 31, 2021
251
258
Badajoz
Tres ebike con E8000 y muchos kilómetros y cero problemas.

bde9a52c5db41fed69d7b627e952a85c~2.jpg


Screenshot_2022-01-29-13-24-25-383_com.shimano.etuberidemobile.droid.phone~2.jpg


Screenshot_20220203-162020~2.jpg
 

The voz

Member
Jun 17, 2020
56
28
Cornwall
My 2020 kenevo got nearly 2000km on it battery still 100% health motor still original and sweet always use gears as I would normal mtb although I do go light on pedals if changi uphill and use all modes maybe mines a gold star or I think I use it properly still got 2 yrs warranty on motor oh and I love love love it
My canyon spectral with shimano motor pooped itself good and proper after 1000 km was playing up from around 800
 

franciscoasismm

Active member
May 31, 2021
251
258
Badajoz
La Spectral ON y la Neuron ON, hay que llevarlas a revisión a un mecánico de confianza, cuando la recibas nuevas, ya que muchas tienen algún defecto de mal montaje , en mi caso la base de la batería se rompió por estar mal montada.
 

jeanmarc

Well-known member
Mar 2, 2021
448
433
Canada
Kudos for Spesh warranty, it is great. I have two riding buddies with Levo's, one with second motor, the other with 4th motor. They do fail, Spesh replaces them under warranty and rather quickly.
 

Doug Stampfer

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2018
737
756
NZ
High Rock Ruti
, 2 Specialized is a fantastic company, they stand behind their bikes 100% that includes the six motors and 2 full refunds, one after 27 months and one after the fourth motor failed.
Warm Regards Ruti
Now, without disrespect to you or other Spez riders, this is what I can't understand.
I'm pissed off with Trek just because of their stupid knockblock headset (which took me 5 minutes to rectify) yet guys will spend thousands of dollars with a company that repeatedly sells them bikes with major faults. We're not talking a loose pivot bolt during assembly we're talking engines blowing up by the ( I'm guessing) hundreds.

Is the brand loyalty that strong?

I find it interesting how many newbies I talk to that are getting their first emtb are buying Spez ones without any consideration for the hundreds of other brands that would be as good or maybe even better for their requirements simply because their friends have one that, although they have had to replace the engine, they still think they are best out there.

I have no brand loyalty to anyone but can only admire the level of forgiveness spez riders afford to their brand.
 

High Rock Ruti

Active member
May 13, 2019
432
336
Massachusetts
Now, without disrespect to you or other Spez riders, this is what I can't understand.
I'm pissed off with Trek just because of their stupid knockblock headset (which took me 5 minutes to rectify) yet guys will spend thousands of dollars with a company that repeatedly sells them bikes with major faults. We're not talking a loose pivot bolt during assembly we're talking engines blowing up by the ( I'm guessing) hundreds.

Is the brand loyalty that strong?

I find it interesting how many newbies I talk to that are getting their first emtb are buying Spez ones without any consideration for the hundreds of other brands that would be as good or maybe even better for their requirements simply because their friends have one that, although they have had to replace the engine, they still think they are best out there.

I have no brand loyalty to anyone but can only admire the level of forgiveness spez riders afford to their brand.
[/QUteam's?

High Rock Ruti

Ride the Levo it's a fantastic bike, at least that's how I justify it.

Warm Regards Ruti
 

folmonty

Active member
Mar 11, 2021
152
156
NorCal
These are machines and they do break. Some put these motors through absolute torture conditions. I've seen, read and heard horror stories in many forums. If you worry about this stuff you'll never enjoy the bike. They do require more than normal maintenance. That said, just ride it and enjoy it.
 

Rich-EMTB-UK

E*POWAH Master
Aug 11, 2019
369
283
UK
Just picked up my EP8 equipped Yeti and a guy I have known at the dealers for over 20 years and trust told me that the Shimano motors and batteries are the ones they have the least problems reported with. Had my Brose Gen 2 TL 2.5 years and zero issues with that.
 

jeanmarc

Well-known member
Mar 2, 2021
448
433
Canada
Just picked up my EP8 equipped Yeti and a guy I have known at the dealers for over 20 years and trust told me that the Shimano motors and batteries are the ones they have the least problems reported with. Had my Brose Gen 2 TL 2.5 years and zero issues with that.
What other brands-motors do they sell?
 

Cb750stu

Well-known member
Subscriber
Nov 6, 2020
504
473
United Kingdom
Just picked up my EP8 equipped Yeti and a guy I have known at the dealers for over 20 years and trust told me that the Shimano motors and batteries are the ones they have the least problems reported with. Had my Brose Gen 2 TL 2.5 years and zero issues with that.
Any Shimano dealer would say the same 😂
 

Rich-EMTB-UK

E*POWAH Master
Aug 11, 2019
369
283
UK
Any Shimano dealer would say the same 😂
Well they also sell the other E-bike brands and have always been pretty open and honest when I have dealt with them for around 10 bikes over the last 20 years, no reason to lie as they will be picking up the warranty issues should it go wrong.
 

Singletrackmind

Active member
Sep 17, 2020
476
432
San Diego, CA
These are machines and they do break. Some put these motors through absolute torture conditions. I've seen, read and heard horror stories in many forums. If you worry about this stuff you'll never enjoy the bike. They do require more than normal maintenance. That said, just ride it and enjoy it.
Well said!
 

cappuccino34

Active member
Nov 24, 2020
530
329
Helmshore
There's a lot about the '22 Levo that I really like, but I couldn't bring myself to paying THAT much money for something that I know 100% is going to break, because every single person I know who has one has had lots and lots of problems with them. Motors, batteries, TCUs, wiring etc.

That said, the support from Spesh is fantastic, but it needs to be because if it wasn't, nobody with any sense would buy their bikes.

The Shimano motors aren't rebuildable, but they're relatively cheap to buy. Personally I don't like the way the cranks are held on; pinch bolts on a splined shaft is just bad, and very un-Japanese. No wonder that they give trouble.

My current bike is a Giant. My next one definitely won't be because it's been a load of crap. The majority of trouble has been water ingress into pathetically poor wiring, but Giant's development of its own software and firmware for the Yamaha motor has also been a source of considerable pain.

My next bike will be Bosch powered. They aren't completely without problems but they seem to be the best of what is frankly a pretty bad lot.
 

Strindberg

Active member
Sep 24, 2021
100
58
Strasbourg, France
The Shimano motors aren't rebuildable, but they're relatively cheap to buy. Personally I don't like the way the cranks are held on; pinch bolts on a splined shaft is just bad, and very un-Japanese. No wonder that they give trouble.

The designer of the E8000 and the EP8 is... a certain Henry Bosch, a Dutchman,
who is the product development man at Shimano.
He works with another Dutchman, Bas van Dooren and with his Japanese colleagues.

From the Netherlands he is the pivot man between Europe and Japan since 16 years.
 
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Mike C

Member
Jan 23, 2020
47
48
Ramona, CA
I have one of each. A Turbo Levo with the Brose motor and an Orbea Rise with the Shimano. Since Specialized made changes to the Brose post 2019, all has been fine. I mean go look at any auto dealer's service department. There are new cars in there all the time for service issues. So failures are not unique to eMTBs. And Specialized extended the Brose motor warranty from 2 years to 4 years so I'm happy. I had no problems with the Turbo Creo motor at all after 2,000 miles.
 

Bearing Man

Ebike Motor Centre
Patreon
Sep 29, 2018
977
2,336
UK
The Shimano motors aren't rebuildable, but they're relatively cheap to buy. Personally I don't like the way the cranks are held on; pinch bolts on a splined shaft is just bad, and very un-Japanese. No wonder that they give trouble.

My current bike is a Giant. My next one definitely won't be because it's been a load of crap. The majority of trouble has been water ingress into pathetically poor wiring, but Giant's development of its own software and firmware for the Yamaha motor has also been a source of considerable pain.

Just for the record: Shimano are repairable, we sell the bearings and parts for them. Also the Brose motors are up-gradable Brose Motor Upgrade Service - eBike Motor Centre (Performance Line Bearings) which takes away many of the issues that cause this motor to fail.
 

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