What they don't tell you!!!! What you need to know!!!!

[Cheekychops1111]

All, having been the owner of Emtbs for the past 2 years, thought I would those out who are thinking abut buying an ebike and what you should consider and know when buying.

1. Buy as local as you can and build up a good rapport with the local biek shop - this might mean paying a couple of quid more but it will be worth it, as WHEN your Emountain bike goes wrong and it will, it is much easier to deal with locally than to try and validate a warranty from afar - very often the bike shop require you to ship the whole bike back to them to check it out and validate the warrrant - cost is £100 each way for shipping.
2. Leave your shop/google reviews until you have experienced the true customer service from the shop, all too often they are great to deal with when taking your £££ but not so responsive or great to deal with once there is an issue - you effectively go to the back of the queue and wait your turn - which BTW can take 4-8 weeks if you are lucky
3. Prepare to check your chain frequently - every 100 miles and get ready to repalce after every 300-400 max, otherwise a new cassette and front chainring will become the norm.
4. Buy all the tools tor emove the motor before you even ride it, this includes crank remover, chain ring puller, funny little lock ring tool.
5. IMPORTANT - Remove the motor from your bike before you pedal it, I know it will be tempting to just jump on and ride, trust me on this one. Once the motor is removed spray and wipe the motor and electrical contacts with ACF 50, rust remover and waterproofer. You'll thank me for this......Water will get in your motor at some point, if you cover with ACF 50 then you will just minimize the damage.
6. Ride your bike
7. Take the motor out of the bike every 1-2 weeks, leave to air dry or better still buy a little compressor and blast it with air, connectors on both the motor side and the leads - repeat 5 with ACF and so on.

Budget for an additional £150 for the above tools inc compressor and you will save yourself a fortune in cash and a ton of time tryiong to get a dealer to validate the warranty for water damage.

The above may be common sense to some or may be a bit excessive to others, either way if you follw the above you should minimize the risk of damage.
By not doing the above you will get this after 600 miles (scottish winter)

 

[Jamy]

3. Prepare to check your chain frequently - every 100 miles and get ready to repalce after every 300-400 max, otherwise a new cassette and front chainring will become the norm.
Just changed the chain on mine after 1000 miles, the chain was .5mm worn and is still changing gear smoothly so cassette is still good with no jumping (exactly the same as my analogue bike)
7. Take the motor out of the bike every 1-2 weeks, leave to air dry or better still buy a little compressor and blast it with air, connectors on both the motor side and the leads - repeat 5 with ACF and so on.
Never needed to take the motor out, I do remove the motor covers when cleaning and I do spray all electrical contacts with WD40 fast drying contact cleaner By not doing the above you will get this after 600 miles (scottish winter)
I purchased my bike in October last year and use it every day to commute to work (40 miles per week) It as done the last winter without issue, not cold but very wet

 

[Cabby.]

I purchased my bike in October last year and use it every day to commute to work (40 miles per week) It as done the last winter without issue, not cold but very wet

A commute every day doesn't = a Scottish winter though.

 

[stiv674]

I like number six the best...

 

[Fingerpuk]

WD-40 isnt ACF-50, big difference. Also WD-40 isn’t an oil like so many think. Just putting this here for people who don’t know.

ACF-50 is expensive but worth every penny. It spreads if left so a little goes a long way. Heat the bottle by putting it into hot water for 20 minutes before applying, it’ll spread easier and be less gloopy. It’ll stop corrosion and keep things as you want them, it’s magic. Muc-Off (and the far superior SDOC) remove it so re-apply after a proper clean.

Silicone spray smells great and makes everything shiny, but also shifts water from hard to reach places. If you use it on your breaks you go faster.*

Don’t use a pressure washer that’s lazy, never get an ugly girl pregnant, and never work for a twat.

*please don’t.

 

[stiv674]

Don’t use a pressure washer that’s lazy, never get an ugly girl pregnant, and never work for a twat.

Hmm, being self-employed that's a bit difficult

 

[Jeff H]

WD-40 isnt ACF-50, big difference. Also WD-40 isn’t an oil like so many think. Just putting this here for people who don’t know.

ACF-50 is expensive but worth every penny. It spreads if left so a little goes a long way. Heat the bottle by putting it into hot water for 20 minutes before applying, it’ll spread easier and be less gloopy. It’ll stop corrosion and keep things as you want them, it’s magic. Muc-Off (and the far superior SDOC) remove it so re-apply after a proper clean.

Silicone spray smells great and makes everything shiny, but also shifts water from hard to reach places. If you use it on your breaks you go faster.*

Don’t use a pressure washer that’s lazy, never get an ugly girl pregnant, and never work for a twat.

*please don’t.

WD-40 brand has expanded into all kinds of products. @Jamy said he uses their contact cleaner. They also make a line of chain lubes.
Sorry, I’m not opening up my motor that has a warranty and potentially voiding it.

 

[Cheekychops1111]

A commute every day doesn't = a Scottish winter though.

A commute every day doesn't = a Scottish winter though.

Indeed it is not....

 

[Cheekychops1111]

WD-40 brand has expanded into all kinds of products. @Jamy said he uses their contact cleaner. They also make a line of chain lubes.
Sorry, I’m not opening up my motor that has a warranty and potentially voiding it.

Not to open the motor but just use the ACF-50 on the parts that can be seen by the water, if you can see it so can the water...

 

[Cabby.]

ACF-50 is the dogs danglies, been using it on my motorbikes for decades.

 

[R120]

Christ that a hell on a maintenance routine - but then it is a Brose

I drop my motor once or twice a year to check everything, but on the Shimano and depending on the Ebike design, its fairly easy to get to all the bits without going OTT. I have has two Shimano motors go on me, but both had nothing to do with water ingress or crap getting in despite being ridden a lot in conditions like the picture below, just too much lateral force going though the cranks from being ridden hard and screwing up the torque sensor.

Personally I think Motofoaming between the fame and the motor is always a good idea, and I believe some brands are now doing this out the box.

Also whilst dropping the motor isn't that hard to do with the right tools, if you dont know what you are doing you can easily damage the cabling, if you are using a bike stand always have a friend or something under the motor to support it so it doesn't accidentally drop out when you remove it!

You can find the guides for how to remove most the various motors and systems properly in the relevant manufactures sections

 

[Gary]

Possibly the most ridiculous guide* to Emtb ownership I've ever seen.

Well done.

*even for a Levo owner

 

[Orangie]

Yep

 

[urastus]

I imagine riding in Scotland would wear the drive train in no time. You guys who ride where it is that wet and muddy are keen . I can imagine your bike may not dry out properly where it is stored too. I avoid rain and wait for the tracks to dry out a bit - winter for me is generally a puddle here and there and dampness in between. It's the luxury of where I live. It gets really dusty in Summer though - like talcum powder. I don't doubt the OP's experience at all, and would be thankful for it if I lived is such a place. Although I think I'd go bush walking instead if it was that wet and muddy here. I do use an air compressor, for the opposite type of problem - dust. It's awesome how much dust it blasts away. I still use it through winter to blast the calipers - braking on the huge descents must build up brake dust? Whatever the cause, inside the calipers where the pads are is usually dusty. It looks like you're getting moisture in through some of the casing bolts - that's pretty poor. Maybe some gobs of silastic in those bolt holes, or around the casing / bolt heads will prevent that.

 

[outerlimits]

Wtf would you open the motor on a new bike and spray snake oil everywhere.
Much better off just dunking the whole thing in a bucket of waterproof grease, made from the blubber of a whale.
Ride the dam bike and get a motor new motor under warranty. They will all crap out sooner or later. Only e-motional ones think a Brose need that sort of maintenance, mainly because they brought the wrong bike in the first place.?

 

[steve_sordy]

I'm glad someone mentioned Brose, because I was going to ask what bike it was and then resolve never to buy one of those, ever!

 

[Cheekychops1111]

Wtf would you open the motor on a new bike and spray snake oil everywhere.
Much better off just dunking the whole thing in a bucket of waterproof grease, made from the blubber of a whale.
Ride the dam bike and get a motor new motor under warranty. They will all crap out sooner or later. Only e-motional ones think a Brose need that sort of maintenance, mainly because they brought the wrong bike in the first place.?

Don't open the motor, take the covers off and spray.. Brose, shimano both have went due to water ingress

 

[Dax]

Just ride it until the motor dies, get another under warranty. Repeat.

 

[WildGuy]

Possibly the most ridiculous guide* to Emtb ownership I've ever seen.

And this possibly the most facetious post I've ever seen. And the most pathetic thing: all the hangers-on who've liked etc. this post - wot you think this big fat bully ain't gonna pick on you next just coz u gave him some of yer sweets? @Cheekychops1111 must be wondering why he bothered and could hardly blame him. Well keep posting any similar findings please @Cheekychops1111, much more interesting than trawling through a seemingly never-ending series of animated gifs cribbed from wherever.

To be fair, as you guessed might be the case, your maintenance routine is waaay to excessive for me. Even should I be prepared to commit the time there's a danger you could do more harm than good (risk of damaging the cabling like R120 said etc) unless you're an excellent mechanic which in all honesty I'm not. However if you've got the time, skills, tools etc then I'm sure your routine can help reduce the risk of some of the reasons a motor might fail.

Your point 1 seems to be the 64 thousand dollar ebike question: to buy local or online. Just depends on your attitude to risk in seeking the best initial price I guess.

I definitely agree with your point 2. I really wish people wouldn't be so hasty to review. This relates to components/accessories too. The websites encourage early review because they want the reviews done before there's hardly been any time for things to break. There's stuff on Chain Reaction Cycles for example that have great reviews but are actually rubbish longevity-wise.

Point 3 on chains. In my case I don't find any need to change the chain at a fixed mileage just for the sake of it so long as it isn't damaged. Once it measure past 0.5% on the stretch gauge I replace it. This has been around the 1000km mark in my case, but there again I'm quite a light rider and not riding through a Scottish winter!

Thanks for the pics of your motor. Interesting. Just shows how quickly corrosion can start to set in. Pretty poor really. Hoping Shimano motor better, but probably not - perhaps one day I'll drop my motor and actually have a look, though it's been good for 3,500kms without doing a thing to it so perhaps I'll go the alternate strategy to yours and leave well alone!

 

[WildGuy]

Just ride it until the motor dies, get another under warranty. Repeat.

Yeah that's the best plan, only how far do I have to ride it before the motor dies? Prediction: mines gonna last 2 years one day.

 

[Tooks]

Points 1 and 6 are the only ones I agree with.

The rest of it for me is up there with leaving the plastic covering on your sofa ‘so it lasts longer’.

If people want to do all that to their new bike, then fair enough, but none of it guarantees you won’t get a failure anyway nor that you won’t be questioned about WTF you’ve done to it whilst it’s been in your ownership when it goes back to your local shop for a warranty claim.

If you need to do that to a new bike, it’s not fit for purpose in the first place.

 

[Zero]

Or you could just not ride in the freezing cold wind rain and mud and save yourself a load of hassle and cost.

I only have to watch a Youtube video of someone 'trying' to have fun in those conditions to remember why this is a Spring, Summer, Autumn sport when its not pissing it down!

 

[stiv674]

Let's face it, that 'maintenance' regime is ridiculous for the majority of people, especially point 5, IMPORTANT - remove your motor before you've ever ridden it

 

[WildGuy]

Let's face it, that 'maintenance' regime is ridiculous for the majority of people, especially point 5, IMPORTANT - remove your motor out before you've ever ridden it

Maybe that all goes back to whether you're planning on riding it through that famed "Scottish Winter". But as @Zero said why would you? lol

 

[Zero]

Are these bikes guaranteed against water ingress? Most electronics are splashproof im guessing but IP67 rated? i cannot see how any of these motors would survive being submerged. especially after a good amount of use.

 

[Jamy]

A commute every day doesn't = a Scottish winter though.

I live in the north of England I doubt the weather is seroiusly much different

 

[Doomanic]

Let's face it, that 'maintenance' regime is ridiculous for the majority of people, especially point 5, IMPORTANT - remove your motor out before you've ever ridden it

Yeah. I didn’t even make it all the way home the day I picked up my first eBike.

 

[stiv674]

Maybe that all goes back to whether you're planning on riding it through that famed "Scottish Winter". But as @Zero said why would you? lol

Mine has taken a lot of wet and mud abuse but that's only soft southern mud though...

So far no problems but if it does happen I'm expecting it to be in about seven months time when the warranty has run out

 

[Cabby.]

I live in the north of England I doubt the weather is seroiusly much different

Indeed but do you commute on the road or through muddy trails ?

 

[stiv674]

Yeah. I didn’t even make it all the way home the day I picked up my first eBike.

You stopped to take the motor out?