Vitus E-Sommet VR

[Stanley]

My battery and display went a bit out of sync: the display showed one red bar, whilst the battery showed two green ones.
A quick off-on re-synced them.

I'd really like it if they made a cheap and light spare battery. Say 200wh or so. Light enough to carry in a pack and enougg power to usefully extend the range/fun.

 

[RocketMagnet]

Replacement derailleur hangers for Vitus E Sommet 2018+ now on Chain REaction.

Vitus Hanger 3 - eSommet 2018-19 | Chain Reaction Cycles

 

[e-Tommy]

I got the red one bar indicator on mine today, but still had two bars on the battery. Got another good couple of climbs in before the battery light went down to one bar. After a bit more riding, the handlebar display showed red in ECO and would not let me change to the setting. So I guess that is how you know you are on your "final warning". Wasn't long before the battery died and I limped home. Out for 2.5 hours and 1000m of climbing in the snow and strong headwind, so not bad. Hope to get more out of it in the warmer weather.

 

[Mybrainaches]

Just noticed the L and XL are out of stock, do you think that’s if for a couple of months?

 

[Polaris]

Made the classic South Downs mistake of heading out on thawing trails after a freeze. Turned round at the top of the hill but still did this at the bottom. Will need to take the chainring off to free it and fair chance the chain will be twisted. Bah.

View attachment 10050

Out of interest what chainring is that? I’m looking to change mine to the Shimano SM-CRE80 38T just because of direct compatibility but there are obviously others that fit? Cheers

 

[Gary]

Out of interest what chainring is that? I’m looking to change mine to the Shimano SM-CRE80 38T just because of direct compatibility but there are obviously others that fit? Cheers

any 104 bolt NW chainring will fit the spider on the e8000 crank
Dave's using a cheap aliexpress NW ring. they're about a fiver and decent quality.
There isn't really clearance for a 38t ring at the swingarm/chainstay on my e sommet. (size small, but I'd imagine it's the same for all sizes being the same chainstay, motor housing and pivot location)

 

[Master Link]

Replacement derailleur hangers for Vitus E Sommet 2018+ now on Chain REaction.

Vitus Hanger 3 - eSommet 2018-19 | Chain Reaction Cycles

Thanks, just ordered one.

 

[Polaris]

any 104 bolt NW chainring will fit the spider on the e8000 crank
Dave's using a cheap aliexpress NW ring. they're about a fiver and decent quality.
There isn't really clearance for a 38t ring at the swingarm/chainstay on my e sommet. (size small, but I'd imagine it's the same for all sizes being the same chainstay, motor housing and pivot location)

Thanks for the info, it’s interesting re the 38T option not fitting, I’ve had a look at mine (medium) and there defo looks like space to expand a little. I'll try to find a spec sheet on the shimano 38T ring to measure it up

 

[davosaurusrex]

It's a 36T Snail, cost about £8 from Ebay, HongKong seller but have since seen a UK seller doing them for a few quid more. Couldn't find the £5 option on Aliexpress (although I do have some pink anodised bits on the way from them......). I have turned it around now as the graphics are a bit minging, plain black on the other side.

Shame Shimano don't do a steel 36T, I'd have one of them. Reckon a 38T would be Rizla clearance, if at all. Too close for my liking.

Note with a 36T the Shimano chain guide only has positions for 34 and 38, I've filled the gap with clear silicone, Gary has used some sort of 3M tape. Also helps with keeping things nice and quiet.

 

[Gary]

Reckon a 38T would be Rizla clearance, if at all. Too close for my liking.

That is the deal. I had a 38t DH ring kicking about so tried it.
what with the play in the E8000 BB and swingarm flex there's zero clearance room for movement. so a loose pivot/crank is going to mean that chainring eating into your swingarm/stay

 

[Polaris]

It's a 36T Snail, cost about £8 from Ebay, HongKong seller but have since seen a UK seller doing them for a few quid more. Couldn't find the £5 option on Aliexpress (although I do have some pink anodised bits on the way from them......). I have turned it around now as the graphics are a bit minging, plain black on the other side.

Shame Shimano don't do a steel 36T, I'd have one of them. Reckon a 38T would be Rizla clearance, if at all. Too close for my liking.

Note with a 36T the Shimano chain guide only has positions for 34 and 38, I've filled the gap with clear silicone, Gary has used some sort of 3M tape. Also helps with keeping things nice and quiet.

ok thanks, Is yours a small size as well?

 

[davosaurusrex]

Nope, XL baby! Gary will be along in a minute to tell you size doesn't matter, it's what you do with it that counts....?

 

[Polaris]

Nope, XL baby! Gary will be along in a minute to tell you size doesn't matter, it's what you do with it that counts....?

Clearly words from a man hung like a budgie

 

[AverageJoeMTB]

For anyone doing the brakes its a bit of a faff, you need to be confident dismantling a bike to do the rear.

Took about 2 hours to do the rear. About 5 minutes to do the front.

Motor isn't too bad to drop but you need to do it, not fully off just to lower it enough to reduce the bend in the cable. First take the lower bash guard off, drive side crank arm off, chain guide and chain ring. Then you can get at the bolts to drop the motor.

The motor has to be dropped as the bend is tight and becauese there is a rubber shroud around the cable the whole length of the frame to stop it rattling inside. First I had to pull the cable out by the motor enough to get at the shroud and move it onto the new cable. I used the original hose to pull the new one back through from the back to the front of bike. Mostly as I was fitting Shimano brakes and the caliper end has a crimped on connector.

Make sure you have some lock tight to hand as a fair few of these bolts need it.

Its fiddly but doable.

 

[Gary]

Clearly words from a man hung like a budgie

They're Dave's words not mine.

 

[davosaurusrex]

I don't even know what we're talking about anymore.

 

[chrispymocha]

Has anyone tried changing the seatpost yet?
I didn't realise the M bike only came with a 120mm dropper so have got a 170mm arriving today. It is the same brand of post so hoping it'll just be a case of gently pulling the old one out. Attaching the cable to the new one and popping it in?

 

[hokkane4]

I have size L frame and BX 170mm XL post (from my old bike). It goes almost fully down to the frame, except last 10-15mm. Then the dropper wire starts touching the shock.

 

[davosaurusrex]

I've not had any of these codes but made a pretty good job of sealing around the top of the plug connectors themselves with bathroom silicone. I also sealed the top edge of the terminal cover with silicone (but not the bottom, don't want to trap water in there) so not looked in a while but defo going to remove it and seal the gaps around the cable entry now

 

[Polaris]

I have put a cover (of sorts) over that big hole. I'm using some strong Velcro to hold it in place. Gonna make a better one soon although it does the job. Might just spray it black or just use some black foam as suggested elsewhere.

It's one of the very few bad things about the E-Sommet. View attachment 10128

So is this a good idea to prevent shit getting in then..?

 

[Kernow]

I've not had any of these codes but made a pretty good job of sealing around the top of the plug connectors themselves with bathroom silicone. I also sealed the top edge of the terminal cover with silicone (but not the bottom, don't want to trap water in there) so not looked in a while but defo going to remove it and seal the gaps around the cable entry now now

I did seal mine with silicone , it worked ok , but I had a hell of a job getting it all cleaned off when I returned the motor , plus I had a feeling the connectors were still getting a bit damp due to condensation . I now use a small brush to apply silicone grease around and on the connectors which seems to stay put fine despite a good cleaning with a powerful hose and occasionally a gentle pressure wash , it seems the vitus may be a bit more prone to getting muck forced into that area than the commencal , although the commencal is still fairly open where the cable run through above the lower pivot .

 

[Gary]

So is this a good idea to prevent shit getting in then..?

Just knocked up a neater solution using plastic cut from the packaging of chicken pakora (from the local SPAR) and bent to shape by hand. nabbed my youngest daughters hot glue gun to stick it in place.

It's only stuck at the front so it can still flap open to insprct/clean if needed.
No idea if the glue'll hold but going by the crazy shit my wee one stick together I'm fairly confident it'll manage to stay put during a ride. Washing will be the real test.

 

[Polaris]

Just knocked up a neater solution using plastic cut from the packaging of chicken pakora (from the local SPAR) and bent to shape by hand. nabbed my youngest daughters hot glue gun to stick it in place.
View attachment 10553
It's only stuck at the front so it can still flap open to insprct/clean if needed.
No idea if the glue'll hold but going by the crazy shit my wee one stick together I'm fairly confident it'll manage to stay put during a ride. Washing will be the real test.

Chicken pakora, from spar..? You going to die a horrible painful death man. I started to cut out something similar but thought it looked bollocks so gave up.. it’s definitely missing a fixed cover down their like the back end, way too open to the elements

 

[RocketMagnet]

I opened my 2019 up and the power, speed sensor and control connection all look to be watertight connections.

From left to right Large cable is main power then the 2X sliver screws are for lights, the next 2 are control connector, speed sensor connector and then a spare with a blank plug presumably for DI2 rear Derailleur.

I checked the +ve and -ve terminals of the Lights and it's Zero Volts with the bike turned on, could be a weak point though if you do run lights from the main battery... so IMO unless your running lights I don't see too much to worry about?

I've got some RTV that stays pliable over a large temp range I could use to seal off the gap.. but really having looked at it i'm not really that bothered now as I wont be running lights from it. If your really worried run some sealant around the power, speed sensor, control connector and blank plug for a bit extra as water will track down the cables but really..?.

I definitely would not be packing that space around the power connector etc with Motocross foam as you'll want to keep that area open, just clean it out occasionally. Perhaps some motocross foam jammed in the gap behind the cables to stop the worst of the crud getting in?

Don't wanna tell you how to suck eggs polaris but i'd let the air out of the shock and check clearances.

Gary what have you got connected to the lights terminal? and what's that wedged behind the power connector?

Ref# Here: https://si.shimano.com/pdfs/dm/DM-E8000-04-ENG.pdf

 

[Polaris]

An RRP fork neoguard wraps around that section really snug and tight, doesn’t look to out of place either, should keep solid debris out anyway

 

[R120]

An RRP fork neoguard wraps around that section really snug and tight, doesn’t look to out of place either, should keep solid debris out anyway

View attachment 10564 View attachment 10565

Now that is a neat idea

 

[Nifty 56]

Started getting W011 errors while using peartune last week so cleaned out the connectors etc. And all good again next ride. But got the error code again yesterday so opened the motor casing again to have a look. Here's what I found. after only 3 muddy but dry rides.
*sigh*
How is it getting that manky after such a short amount of time? And when I'd sealed the motor casing with bathroom sealant?
Well.. Turns out the shit isn't getting in through the casing but from behind the motor (through the top where the wiring sits) as there's a gap from there straight into the connector compartment for the cables to enter from.
Here:

@R120 mentioned that debris entering the wiring sat down by the lower shock mount:
Eg.

Can be blown/washed out through the back of the main pivot. And it can. Only it can also be blown/washed straight into the motor wiring connection compartment.
I'm pretty sure I've been blasting this area with the hose a little more than usual (in ignorant bliss) since I read those comments.
I've now closed the gaps around my wiring (from the motor side) where it enters the top of the motor using sugru and have resealed the casing completely with silicone so hopefully I'll be back to normal service for a good while again.
I won't be trying to get that wiring properly clean again from now on either.

@khorn Maybe I should have waxed it

hehe

Remember what I did? I've never had any mud in there and been on quite a few muddy rides.

 

[Cisco]

Hey Polaris, that looks like a hell of a winter rear tyre

 

[Polaris]

Beasts aren’t they! I use mine for the commute as well as bashing mate, 2 sets of wheels ready to go. I’m amazed how well this thing ploughs the roads as well as the forest unrestricted, soaks up speed bumps and potholes as good as tree roots and rock slabs

 

[Kernow]

I opened my 2019 up and the power, speed sensor and control connection all look to be watertight connections.

View attachment 10561

From left to right Large cable is main power then the 2X sliver screws are for lights, the next 2 are control connector, speed sensor connector and then a spare with a blank plug presumably for DI2 rear Derailleur.

I checked the +ve and -ve terminals of the Lights and it's Zero Volts with the bike turned on, could be a weak point though if you do run lights from the main battery... so IMO unless your running lights I don't see too much to worry about?

I've got some RTV that stays pliable over a large temp range I could use to seal off the gap.. but really having looked at it i'm not really that bothered now as I wont be running lights from it. If your really worried run some sealant around the power, speed sensor, control connector and blank plug for a bit extra as water will track down the cables but really..?.

I definitely would not be packing that space around the power connector etc with Motocross foam as you'll want to keep that area open, just clean it out occasionally. Perhaps some motocross foam jammed in the gap behind the cables to stop the worst of the crud getting in?

Don't wanna tell you how to suck eggs polaris but i'd let the air out of the shock and check clearances.

Gary what have you got connected to the lights terminal? and what's that wedged behind the power connector?

Ref# Here: https://si.shimano.com/pdfs/dm/DM-E8000-04-ENG.pdf

Those 3 little round plug in conectors on the top will eventually get dirt working down inside them and you’ll get an error code , just apply a little grease around them to seal them and you’ll have no problems when it gets used a bit