What is expected lifetime milage for E-MTB?

[Agu]

I have been riding 7,326 km with Canyon Spectral:ON and Shimano E8000 engine with regular maintenance. The bike has been performing well. Any experience, what is the expected lifetime milage of such a bike. Should I expect a dead engine 10, 15, or 20 K? Or can it last 20k, 30K as long it's serviced well?

 

[Sander23]

My bosch gen 2 on my hardtail still running smootless at 12k km.
My bikeshop has a customer running with the same motor at 30 k km

 

[jimbob]

I'd class the bike as the frame really. All the other parts are swappable / consumable items, including the motor. There is also very little maintenance you can do on the Shimano motors to prolong their life as they're sealed units (yes, you can replace the bearings, but I'd not class that as regular maintenance as probably beyond a lot of people and the units weren't designed for it).

So, in answer to your questions, 10s of thousands of kms, if you keep replacing the components!

 

[steve_sordy]

I have never owned an emtb long enough to find out!

 

[Husky430]

3,500km out of my first e8000 motor, bike itself like brand new after 3 years, very annoying as it was out of warranty (just) so a $2000 exercise to replace it. Now just about to pull the trigger on a new bike with a Bosch motor. They all seem to have their problems but a least with Bosch they offer some sort of spare parts and there are people out there that will fix them as apposed to Shimano where you get sweet f a.

 

[Manc44]

I'd class the bike as the frame really. All the other parts are swappable / consumable items, including the motor.

Triggers broom.

 

[humber44]

I have a Haibike fullseven..I've had it 4 years and it needed a new motor just out of warranty..and battery 6 months later so I'm not sure I'd buy another one..hub motors seem less trouble and easier to repair..no electrical spares available for mid mount motors..Rip off as they all seem to let water in..so not fit for purpose really being an offload bike in wet weather..they should have a drain plug fitting to check for water periodically before your circuit board frys

 

[Bearing Man]

I have been riding 7,326 km with Canyon Spectral:ON and Shimano E8000 engine with regular maintenance. The bike has been performing well. Any experience, what is the expected lifetime mileage of such a bike. Should I expect a dead engine 10, 15, or 20 K? Or can it last 20k, 30K as long it's serviced well?

After reading quite a few threads on this very subject, I have come to the conclusion that questions like this are completely unanswerable! There are so many variables that no two bikes would ever be the same. So, without knowing all the variables below, it is totally pointless to post the mileage of your bike.

Example:
Riding style (aggressive, normal, easy going, wet weather rider or dry weather rider)
Riders mechanical sympathy (unloading the drive train while gear changing when possible)
Maintenance regime (greasing, oiling, changing things before they are destroyed)
What types of lubricants, treatments are used (chain lubes, oils, greases and bike protect products)
Riders ability to notice early symptoms and repair / or get repaired before total failure
Terrain (rocky, sandy, dusty, gravel, jumps, smooth etc.)
Climate (wet or dry)
Cleaning habits (bike not rider! Wash after every ride, never wash, use a hose, use a pressure washer, only dry clean etc.)
How the bike is transported (in a vehicle or on a rack in the rain)
How the bike is stored (dry warm garage or damp cold shed)
How the battery is cared for? (stored around 60%, left flat or left on the charger)
Luck! Some things just break!
And much more I'm sure!

Once you have taken all this into account and find a few hundred riders doing the exact same thing in the exact same way, then you may find out how long an EMTB lasts.

We see this issue constantly with the motors we repair. Some have done 60,000 miles and still going strong while some have done 150 miles. Same motor but completely different circumstances! It's the same with the bike too.

 

[franciscoasismm]

My two ebikes have E8000, one passes 29,000 km and the other 15,000 km, both work without problems, I only clean them with a damp cloth.

 

[Bearing Man]

 

[franciscoasismm]

 

[Agu]

After reading quite a few threads on this very subject, I have come to the conclusion that questions like this are completely unanswerable! There are so many variables that no two bikes would ever be the same. So, without knowing all the variables below, it is totally pointless to post the mileage of your bike.

I see that everything boils down to how many miles the motor lasts, because it is the single most expensive piece of the e-Mtb. Everything else is replaceable. All mechanical parts. Even frame. Battery for sure. At the end of the day, you can replace also the engine. So no such a thing as total max milage. You can ride as long as the desire to get a new bike wins other arguments.

 

[franciscoasismm]

The kilometers, the way of driving, the preventive maintenance and of course the luck. These are the factors to take into account.

 

[Yoak]

2500km about one year. Trails only. Aggressive riding. That’s how long both my Bosch gen2 motors have lasted. Bosch replace motors as they have been under warranty

 

[Bearing Man]

I see that everything boils down to how many miles the motor lasts, because it is the single most expensive piece of the e-Mtb. Everything else is replaceable. All mechanical parts. Even frame. Battery for sure. At the end of the day, you can replace also the engine. So no such a thing as total max milage. You can ride as long as the desire to get a new bike wins other arguments.

The motor can be repaired, the battery not always so easy. In some cases the battery is almost twice the cost of a new motor.
I think you're right, if either the motor or the battery fails, it's usually cost effective to replace or repair. But some motors take the battery with them when they fail or vice versa! This means anything older than 3 or 4 years, you may as well throw it away!
So this leads to a better question: How many years will an eBike last before it becomes uneconomically viable to repair it?

 

[Bearing Man]

2500km about one year. Trails only. Aggressive riding. That’s how long both my Bosch gen2 motors have lasted. Bosch replace motors as they have been under warranty

Still irrelevant. Mileage cannot be quantified with so many variables. You may have a 2 foot deep river at the bottom of your garden that you have to ride through every time you go out? I am not saying you have, but if you omitted something like this, it would be no surprise to hear you have already had two motors.
It is also worth remembering for when your warranty runs out: Bosch gen 2 motors fail for two reasons and two reasons only, water ingress and water ingress (ok that's only one reason, but it's a real important one!).

 

[humber44]

Yes it's a shame these motors aren't waterproof..as when they fail you cannot get spares..Rip off...my battery failed too..it was the bms board..again no spares..I rebuilt the battery with a Chinese part..works fine..my bike was never pressure washed or in deep water...Peter sorted me a motor and its been excellent since..might not use it in heavy rain to often lol

 

[Trig]

Bosch performance CX motor on my Cube failed at 700 miles. Short circuit according to fault codes. Bosch replaced the full motor.

 

[Streddaz]

It depends on what you consider a consumable item. You can have a 50 year old car but it might not be the original engine.
It's a bit like my grandfathers axe, it's had 5 heads and 13 handles but it's still my grandfathers axe

 

[jimbob]

Just better availability of motors would help too. I spent 2 months waiting for a shimano motor, someone else I know is still waiting from March! Apparently you can't even buy a motor on its own from shimano, you have to get a dealer to order one in and they can only do that if they're replacing there and then so you can't even buy a spare to keep.

 

[franciscoasismm]

Sooner or later, we will have to change the engine ourselves, just as we change the cassette, the chain, etc...

 

[Another One]

I met a guy on the weekend with a Canyon that had done 5000 miles under 2 years old looked unused, I know a few others with 15k+ Kilometres. Personally If I get 5000 miles I would be more than happy of course this is not going to happen never kept a bike that long and don't intend to start. Prior to retirement of bike I will calculate mileage divide by all costs - The cost per mile be will be my cost for fun, I know everyone has to look at things based on there circumstances but how much is enjoying yourself worth?

 

[franciscoasismm]

I met a guy on the weekend with a Canyon that had done 5000 miles under 2 years old looked unused, I know a few others with 15k+ Kilometres. Personally If I get 5000 miles I would be more than happy of course this is not going to happen never kept a bike that long and don't intend to start. Prior to retirement of bike I will calculate mileage divide by all costs - The cost per mile be will be my cost for fun, I know everyone has to look at things based on there circumstances but how much is enjoying yourself worth?

My Canyon Neuron ON cost me 2,800 euros and is 28 months old and has 15,300 km. The cost of fun is low and my state of health improved remarkably in the first year, from 89 to 78 kg.

 

[jimbob]

I met a guy on the weekend with a Canyon that had done 5000 miles under 2 years old looked unused, I know a few others with 15k+ Kilometres. Personally If I get 5000 miles I would be more than happy of course this is not going to happen never kept a bike that long and don't intend to start. Prior to retirement of bike I will calculate mileage divide by all costs - The cost per mile be will be my cost for fun, I know everyone has to look at things based on there circumstances but how much is enjoying yourself worth?

I'm a little bit sad, and have tracked the cost of my bike. At the moment it has just over 2.5k miles on it. Current costs work out at £3.40 per mile and £52 per hour of moving time.

That assumes no remaining value in the bike and includes upgrades such as new fork, shock, a couple of spare batteries and all consumables including some I've not used yet.

I plan to keep the bike for a few more years, so that cost should come down quite a bit. Still quite scary seeing the actual numbers though, and would be far worse if changing the bike every year!

 

[Planemo]

Current costs work out at £3.40 per mile and £52 per hour of moving time.

Frightening when you put it like that!

When my friends asked how much my bike cost I told them it was 4.5 times what my car cost. They nearly fell over.

I do drive a shit car though. Mind you that makes it all the worse to justify spending that much on a bike. Safe to say I have more fun on the bike.

 

[jimbob]

Frightening when you put it like that!

When my friends asked how much my bike cost I told them it was 4.5 times what my car cost. They nearly fell over.

I do drive a shit car though. Mind you that makes it all the worse to justify spending that much on a bike. Safe to say I have more fun on the bike.

Yep! Cheaper to drive to work than cycle!

 

[RustyIron]

I'm a little bit sad, and have tracked the cost of my bike. At the moment it has just over 2.5k miles on it. Current costs work out at £3.40 per mile and £52 per hour of moving time.

Have you recently checked the cost of cocaine and hookers?
Airplanes? Race Cars? Country Club memberships?
When put into perspective, mountain bikes aren't that bad of a deal.

 

[mak]

Some big mileage hear , I think I'm more astonished at peoples ability to hang onto the same bike for years, fair play.
Me on the other hand gets bored .
A fool and his money spring to mind but i guess if your a fool you shouldn't have any money in the 1st place

I still have a certain remount of respect for people that hang on to stuff but its not not for me.

Shockwave, is that your dads bike? Sorry mate i had to laugh at a previous comment.