Your E-bike Is Meant To Break! - Some thoughts on e-bikes

[@jdr5445]

True. After sales service and warranties with Ebikes is pretty much non existent. To make matters worse, most will NOT have a dealership in your area or even in your country. I'm yet another consumer that's fallen victim to this scenario.

[@Jeff_Rey]

It’s unfortunate that this information isn’t more out in the open. I hate having to be the one that inevitably tells someone you just spent $1500+ on a bike that will no longer be usable.

[@jdr5445]

@@Jeff_Rey More like $4,000 CAD. 😒

[@davesanders9203]

Lectric has been good to me so far.

[@Jeff_Rey]

Lectric, while inexpensive, have the best warranty department I’ve seen.

[@dennisdose5697]

I work for a bike shop. We have had to stop doing electric drivetrain repairs on e bikes that we don't carry. Getting parts can take months to get, if you can get them at all. Spend the extra and get a bike from a high quality brand. I can recommend the mid drive systems made by Yamaha and Bosch. Battery life has been great. We have 3 year old Giant's in our rental fleet that show 90%+ battery life on diagnostics. We also have some customers who ride their bikes in conditions well beyond normal commuter/ recreational conditions and they just need regular maintenance. Get a good bike, by year three you will be money ahead.

[@Jeff_Rey]

What’s the average Giant e-bike go for these days? $2-3k? Most people are buying $1-1.5k bikes and expecting the quality to be the same as the nicer bikes with better specs.

[@dennisdose5697]

@Jeff_Rey Yes, they start at $2100. I understand. I have this conversation all the time. And I assemble the ones they buy on the internet. And I see the ones they assemble themselves. Which can be a real safety issue. We just installed a Swytch kit for a customer. 🙄 And I see the bikes they can't get parts for. A thousand bucks is a lot of money. And sometimes their bet pays off. Sometimes it doesn't. But I also have one couple that has had a pair of Giant e bikes that uses them very hard. They get a full tune-up every year. Those bikes just keep going . The drive units and batteries are great. The choice is money for quality. Have a good one, Jeff.

[@Dsyphus0]

This is apart of a much greater problem of right to repair. Companies of all industries (phones, cars, ebikes, farm equipment like tractors). You cant take anything to an independed repair shop because they dont have the custom tools ever company makes to build their products. They cant get schematics for computer parts. They cant get around certain software errors. Only the company that made the product can do any of that

[@Jeff_Rey]

Bingo! I wish more people realized this. Couple it with the fact that most of these companies will only warranty their products up to 2 years, and you see the greater picture. Even then, if you needed to buy a new battery, it costs a third of the value of the bike, maybe half in some cases. Planned obsolescence!

[@marakima]

I felt this way intuitively before trying to get into e-biking, and so purchased a Swytch kit. Worked well for a year, then literally within a month after warranty expired, the battery would not respond. Oh well. Will try a different kit if there's a next time.

[@Jeff_Rey]

I fear this will become the standard. It will definitely put a sour taste in many people’s mouths, especially those that can’t afford these replacements every few years.

[@marakima]

@@Jeff_Rey Thanks for the reply. Yes, it seems to be a lose-lose situation in that expensive, presumably longer-lasting ebikes are at tremendous risk of being stolen (as a city dweller who locks bike outside for work and errands), while the cheaper options die quickly. Time will sort things out, perhaps. Might try an electric wheel kit from LVBU.

[@Jeff_Rey]

@@marakima yea; industry is in a weird spot right now. Seems the e-bike will continue to grow in the market.

[@SAC54]

Yessiree...they just sell the sizzle....

[@stephenlord599]

You totally missed the point on the big brands with e bikes and hub motors. Nothing changes because the motor warranty is still with the motor manufacturer and almost all major ebike motor manufacturers (Bosch/Brose/Shimano) are 2yrs. After that you are on your own, you can't buy a new motor as the motor manufacturer won't even deal with you and that motor will almost certainly be discontinued after warranty and the replacement either electronically incompatible (and digitally encrypted and locked) or mechanically incompatible. The consumer isn't the customer.. the bike company is and they want to sell new bikes.. but it's not really sold as much as leased for the warranty period.

[@Jeff_Rey]

Shimano and Bosch at least have longer expected battery lives and the big manufacturers still have lifetime frame warranties. But point taken. You are essentially leasing a bike for a few years.

[@stephenlord599]

@@Jeff_Rey a bit yes and no but all coming back to "you are leasing" ... battery specific you can't check Shimano battery health - they removed that option without using either dealer or 3rd party software and checking battery health on 3rd party software invalidates warranty. Then the battery software is programmed to die if you were to repair.. reports seem to indicate there is a way of swapping a cell if you can keep the BMS powered whilst you do it.. (I have a shimano hence why I know more but I don't think any of the others are really any better) .. then any new motor is software incompatible with the older motors.. even though they are pin compatible. Usually it's a single cell results in battery death as opposed to overall degradation (and there are of course a lot of them). In many ways I'd be happier with a basic battery and basic BMS - swap out cells a few times and renew them all at some point. (At which point better (higher density) cells are likely to be cheaper/available). Ultimately for a commuter bike I'm not really that fussed on a bit more power or whatever anyway... if it gets me there and back ...Wider than just battery The frame warranty is immaterial if you can't replace the motor or battery... I ride a few real bikes as well and 2015-2020 and the idea of a 2yr bike is just anathema to me...

[@MiniEvrides-ll2kx]

You pretty much only get repairability with a homemade ebike. At the very least you can get a new motor without worrying if it fits in the proprietary frame shell. At least bafang carries spare internal parts so you might not have to replace the entire motor assuming you can figure out the problem

[@Jeff_Rey]

I’ve pulled apart a few motors for diagnostics, honestly pretty simple, and there are parts like you said. The batteries are the nightmare with a lot of these brands.

[@dennisdose5697]

​@@Jeff_Rey We had a bike in that needed a battery replacement this summer that took a couple months I think. Giant gets us parts pretty quickly. But it is pretty rare we need them. Even if a person isn't in our market consider their products. They are standing up well in our rental fleet.

[@Jeff_Rey]

@@dennisdose5697 that’s good, and I’d expect nothing less from giant! Try getting anything from a lot of these online e-bike companies. There’s a few that have been responsive to warranty requests, a lot just don’t answer.

[@rd-ux4ii]

Personal to me ive had traditional mountain bikes, they collected dust. as far as e-bikes you have to pay to play like anything else.

[@Jeff_Rey]

Pay to play a lot. Imagine spending $1500 on a computer or tv and it only lasting two years.

[@rd-ux4ii]

@@Jeff_Rey i’ve seen a lot of EBike videos I was not aware there’s only two year life expectancy. So far I’m at three years anyways for me a $1500 bike with 300 charge cycles let’s say average 20 miles per ride that would cost me roughly 5 bucks to get my ass out of the house and have a good time. I’d gladly pay that. I’m not sure about comparing it to computers and televisions, though not quite apples to apples. I will say it’s upsetting to look back at how much money I’ve spent on computers, desktops, laptops, upgrading phones, every couple years iPads, game consoles the list goes on lots of money spent there. I’ve had sports cars, snowmobiles dirt, bikes, street, bikes, etc. they are all a financial crapshoot and should not be expected as some kind of investment that’s for sure it’s the fun and the experience of it all. Sounds like you got burnt on an ebb and I can see that happening maybe stick with the computers and televisions IDK

[@rd-ux4ii]

Also, I’m thinking about all my families trips to Disney World. Spend seven days there to the tune of let’s say $8000 for tickets and hotel food etc. all gone in one week I mean I could go on and on about all the wasteful ways to spend money. It’s all perspective and I see it as if you wanna play you gotta pay.

[@Jeff_Rey]

@@rd-ux4ii definitely not apples to apples. I’m on the front lines in a shop, so I have to tell customers their expensive purchases are not cost effective or impossible to fix due to no aftermarket parts. Definitely not saying every e-bike is going to fall apart after 2 years. But the ones that do, the people are blind sided

[@kurt1391]

An alternative is to buy a real bicycle where every bit of effort you put into it is your own. I get that some people have medical conditions, are old, or even there is a significant strength difference in a couple who want to ride together. Still, many of the e-bike riders just want cycling to be easy, to let the bike do the work on the hills. It's not supposed to be easy! One day gyms are going to have e-weightlifting machines that lift at the press of a button. Wall-E is becoming reality.

[@Jeff_Rey]

I own an ebike and it does have a place in the cycling ecosphere, but I agree to an extent. The e-bikes for the elderly never made much sense to me, they way 70+lbs. you can get an easier to ride step thru bike for a 1/3 of the cost.

[@MiniEvrides-ll2kx]

The weight is only an issue for people that have to lift the bike. As someone for enough to ride 20+ miles I'll still probably take my car 90% of the time. There's also the benefit of being able to concentrate on traffic instead of pedaling if you ride the streets

[@puddytat54]

Ebikes are great for commuting to work in urban environments. You can keep up with traffic and not work up a sweat. I live in the country and use my cheap fatbike to get to my tree stands. I can be stealthy and arrive nice and dry, which is important if you're sitting for hours below zero. I use pedal assist and putting in the same effort to go 20 km/h on a regular bike has me zooming along at 40 km/h. I paid 1/2 price($800) for it used with 160 km on it. I bought a spare battery for $400 and I'll replace stuff if it breaks, which hasn't happened in the year and a half I've owned it. Way cheaper than an atv. These tools have a place, don't be so snobbish.

[@williamthompson7060]

sounds like you just hate Ebike's, I'm older and have over 10,000 miles (without any issues) that I probably would not have been able to do. I've lost 35+ pounds and feel much better thanks to riding. When I want to work hard I just turn off the power. So I can have it both ways. On a standard bike if you're far from home and you're just worn out what do you do? Ebikes have their place, it's not for everyone. Haters will be haters

[@CanItAlready]

I just watched a video on Not Just Bikes about Dutch cargo bikes called bakfiets that are used as alternatives to cars. They're staying to go electric. Even in places like North America where cargo bikes haven't caught on yet, some people do haul trailers to run errands and ebikes would make a lot of sense for them. Cycling isn't only about getting exercise.

[@Haffizy17]

How about Himiway? I see you have a photo of a Himiway within the video. Would like your thoughts 🙂

[@Jeff_Rey]

I’ve worked on a handful Himiways and have assembled one. The bikes themselves seem to be good enough quality. The warranty is pretty standard 2 year for frame and battery, which isn’t great. Most of the legacy bike brands have lifetime warranty’s on their frames. It’s interesting, almost none of the online ebike companies have more than a 2 year warranty. Maybe it says something about the expected lifespan of the bike…

[@Haffizy17]

@@Jeff_Rey thank you for the reply! I plan on taking this used himiway to a bike shop for an inspection before purchase. If you have any advice on choosing a bike shop, I’ll take it to heart

[@Jeff_Rey]

@@Haffizy17 see if any reviews mention e-bikes or find a shop that at least sells some type of ebike. A lot of shops won’t work on online e-bikes. Himiway has a dealer locator on their website as well.