Truly reliable ebike?

[mvly]

Here is the list of all the things gone wrong with my ebikes

ebike 1:
1) Phase wire fused (Probably my fault for going up hill without pedaling assisting)
2) Clutch locked up (Probably due to the bike being a hardtail and the city's crappy infrastructure with crumbling roads)
3) LiFePo4 Battery gives 1/2 capacity the original capacity after 100 cycle. (This is due to buying from conhismotor on ebay. DONT BUY Lithium battery on Ebay from China)
4) 2 58.4V LiFePo4 charger failed. One came with the original ebay battery and from evassemble. No support from either. (Again probably because I buy from ebay and china without support)
5) Sensor gave out (No idea why, probably due heat? But no idea because the motor has been hotter and it still works. Probably crappy sensors)
6) Controller died (Have no idea why it died, one day, it just stop working. Probably too much vibration on the PCB from the hardtail? Definitely NOT because of heat or overpowering it)
7) 3 racks failed. (This is because of the company false advertisement and my fault for trusting them. I think they since changed the specs)

ebike 2:
1) Spoke broke after 2K miles on a Full Suspension ebike. (Again crappy infrastructure)
2) Spoke broke again after repair (Probably due to poor relacing job and crappy infrastructure too)
3) Sensor died at 2.222K miles (No idea why, it just died all of a sudden. This time the motor was cold when it died)
4) 3x Power supply died. 1 loss 1/2 of it FET capacity, the other 2 just died. (No idea why they died but maybe electronics just fail sometime)
5) Torque arm fell out. (This is my fault by buying fake DP420 epoxy on ebay)

Some of the things have gone wrong was my fault, some it because of where I am using it. And some of it is out my control, i.e. the electronics failing for no reason.

But I guess it partly depends on where you live.

Note I did not list getting flats or other bike related problems because it's related to bike itself. If it was not electrified, I would ran into the same problem.

[ZOMGVTEK]

The only thing that broke on my bike over the last few hundred miles is a zip tie holding the phase wire connectors to the swingarm. Never touched brakes, or anything else aside from replacing several tires due to treadwear. The only flat I had over that distance is from when the tire was belted badly enough to tear open and I was riding on the tube.

I know 200-300 miles without any issues probably isnt that impressive to most. However, given that the bike is heavily abused and used purely for recreational purposes, I think its quite reliable. I rarely check balance, have not balanced the pack in 50+ charges, and bulk charge at 2kW. The power is never disconnected, I have a separate charge connector. The LVC is set very conservatively high, so I ride it until the motor feels really slow (meaning its wayy to hot), or until it hits LVC. Then I just plug the charger into the wall, plug the single connector into the bike, and come back in 15 minutes. Under 5 seconds to go from dead, to charging, 1 second to go from bike off, to full throttle.

I have some thermostats I plan on tossing in the motor and controller to make it nearly impossible to burn. About the only failure point then would be some sort of mechanical damage to wires.

I should add that this is my 3rd bike. Learning the common failures and how to avoid them are critical. Then it's just all about overbuilding and running things under absolute limits.

[veloman]

I consider my ebike to be extremely reliable.

I've had a couple flats, but that would happen on any bike. But one flat every 1500 miles is not an issue at all.

I had my throttle break once. That was the worst equipment failure I've had, had to pedal a few miles home. It might have been due to using a full twist throttle and pushing hard on it while pedaling up a hill. Since then my half twist has been flawless. These are $7 parts, mind you.

My no-name lifepo4 battery from last year has a flawless record, 3400 miles. I am not using it anymore since I went to an a123 50v pack. This new pack has been great, except it has one bad cell that is cutting my AH by 25%. I have no idea how the cell got damaged, but it did. It's from a very reputable builder who thoroughly tests all cells, and I don't think he's had many if any other battery problems from customers (I bought mine 2nd hand BTW).

My older Mac has a cracked side plate(still intact, rideable), which is something the manufacturer improved on with the newer model. I have a newer model and both have been been riding flawlessly, at 1300watts.

Overall there's been a few issues, but by no means would I say my ebike is unreliable. My older chain drives.... that's another story.

BTW, when my car needs something, the repair cost is usually in the hundreds of dollars. Ebikes may not be the MOST reliable option, but if you build them right, keep within recommended power levels, and do regular maintenance, (which is barely anything), then they are completely viable means of transportation.

How reliable are gas prices, traffic, and public transit?

[Chalo]

The only thing that broke on my bike over the last few hundred miles is a zip tie holding the phase wire connectors to the swingarm. Never touched brakes, or anything else aside from replacing several tires due to treadwear. The only flat I had over that distance is from when the tire was belted badly enough to tear open and I was riding on the tube.

The fact that you'll ride on a tire with cords showing (and that you'll own another department store bike after having had one before) makes me think that there are probably a few, or a lot, of things about your bike that others would consider to be broken, even if you don't.

Many folks come into my shop with wheels out of true and rubbing on the brakes, one derailleur disconnected and the other badly out of adjustment, loose headset and wheel bearings, etc.-- and all they want is to have their flat tire repaired. We all have different amounts of tolerance for problems with our bikes, but just because someone is tolerant of his bike's problems does not mean his bike doesn't have problems.

Chalo

[ZOMGVTEK]

The only thing that broke on my bike over the last few hundred miles is a zip tie holding the phase wire connectors to the swingarm. Never touched brakes, or anything else aside from replacing several tires due to treadwear. The only flat I had over that distance is from when the tire was belted badly enough to tear open and I was riding on the tube.

The fact that you'll ride on a tire with cords showing (and that you'll own another department store bike after having had one before) makes me think that there are probably a few, or a lot, of things about your bike that others would consider to be broken, even if you don't.

Many folks come into my shop with wheels out of true and rubbing on the brakes, one derailleur disconnected and the other badly out of adjustment, loose headset and wheel bearings, etc.-- and all they want is to have their flat tire repaired. We all have different amounts of tolerance for problems with our bikes, but just because someone is tolerant of his bike's problems does not mean his bike doesn't have problems.

Chalo

I suppose so. Cheap bikes are cheap, and I don't use my bike enough to justify spending thousands on something serious. I consider it to work fine so long as it continues to move under its own power.

My bike is not even close to perfect, but it gets abused and still works basically like how it did when I first put it together. The front brake rubbed since I put it on, the wheels are probably more true now than when new, the headset has always sucked, and the rear tire is belted every few weeks. I don't have a chain or derailers on my bike, so no issues there.

It really all depends on what you expect out of the bike. I don't even have the means to pedal, so a little loss in efficiency is not major or noticed. A little slop in the headset should be expected on a $150 bike, but so far mine is doing great. It probably helps that I use the regen for almost every high speed stop. If my bike burned to the ground, it wouldn't really be a big deal. The most important aspect of an e-bike for me is how reliable they are when abused badly. I use it however I want and it almost never fails. Even when it does, its usually a fairly simple fix and its back up.

[kentlim26]

Most newly build ebike, will need a time for fine tuning and learning. my cyclone kit has so much problems until i have to stop running for a long time, until i found a way how to re alive it again, of course this is definitely most good memory for me ! i thought of giving up completely this cyclone build, it is too hard to keep itself alive, yes it blow many times and the cost , most people will definitely give up immediately. the cyclone external controller of 36v can only last for me is 5000km++ after that it died. Finding the "re alive" the ebike is a rather challenging , my knowledge was limited. from a nearly 80% going to give up this motor to put at store room but i try that again on a ebay controller, wow !.. it works. well, i think this time will certainly last a very long time. i can say , now my cyclone ebike is enough reliable. my current controller for cyclone is huatong 2000watts, it can peak 2200watts. I have also purchase this Greentime controller for a testing on Cyclone motor, how well it can do ? that is my newest to find out ?

effort in learning, repairing , modify them, upgrading will give you a good sense of how much reliable is your ebike can be , so it all depends on individual rider what he wants to do for his ebike. my spokes ever broke, end up i build my own spokes ! till now, they all seem strong and Okay after few thousands km.

kent

[docnjoj]

These bikes and trikes are tending to become more standardized as we we develop out techniques of understanding and repair. My wife and I use our trikes for exercise, but we expect them to be ready when we are. I do a fare bit of checks and maintainance since I have the time and that certainly does help. I believe with a decent infrastructure, (which will be a long time coming) that ebikes are a reliable form of transportation. Plug 'em in at night when you get home, check 'em out once a week or every 2 weeks and come and go to work or the store. If we had a safe infrastructure to ride these devices could be made far more reliable than cars, since they are so much simpler! Seems obvious but we are on the "Bleeding edge" of this form of personal transportation. Tandems for two, of course and Velos for cold weather.
otherDoc

[ebent]

I do remember a failure that was my fault. I was adding some bling or making an adjustment that required me to cut and replace zip ties. Little did I know that it is possible to over torque the zip ties to cause electrical problems. When I thought I had it all wired correctly I turned on the system and there was a small puff of smoke rising above my cycle analyst. CA. I contacted Jason and he asked for a picture with the back off. I sent it. A day later he informed me a new Ca was in route and send the old one. Thanks again Jason. Most amazing customer service!

[John in CR]

Clown Bike, the bike I built 2 years ago and my son rode hard daily for 14 months (50-60miles/wk) had zero maintenance over that period except for adding air to the tires a few times, and one change of the front disc brake pads from too many mountain descents without regen. We upgraded the bike during that time with a more powerful controller and additional batteries. The only maintenance or repair item before he started riding it was to fix a flat due to a screw in the moto tire on the back, but I was able to ride it home under power.

Blue, my 3.5 year old cargo bike's total repairs and maintenance in 3.5 years and more than 15k miles, not including taking it out of service for a week for paint, get rid of duct tape, upgrade the battery pack to A123's, and generally make it prettier, consisted of:
-Changed worn out rear moto and front bike tires once each.
-Changed quite a few front disc brake pad sets before I got regen, due to too much weight and speed.
-Trued the rear moto wheel twice after broken spokes from no washing after beach rides. I stole 3 spokes from ClownBike during the second truing.
-Stopped at the LBS 3 times to true the front wheel for $2 each time and no waiting.
-LFP got it hit by a rogue wave while out on the beach at the changing of the tides. We had to dry the hall connector out to get it back running, but it was charging during the fix so no time lost.
-I broke a throttle once after laying it on its side to check something under the frame and pulled it upright by the throttle, but the throttle worked well enough to get home.
-I blew a number of controllers, but those instances I consider R&D trying to learn the limits of controllers and different mods. Nothing in 2 years controller-wise since it stopped being an R&D platform and became just basic transportation.
-The epoxy holding the freewheel on the left side finally gave, so I took the chain off.
-I had to re-weld one side of the headset after a year and a half when my horrible initial weld developed a crack. I learned to weld and built the bike at the same time.
-Put air in the tires occasionally.
-Check for pack balance about once every 6 weeks, and top off one very slightly weaker parallel group 3 times since October. Otherwise it's just pull in the carport, plug the charge plug and hit the button.
-Got a pinch flat on the front the first week treating it too much like a bicycle and lesson learned. It was 2 blocks from the LBS I was going to, so no big deal.
-Ran out of electricity twice, pedaled a mile home once and LFP towed me with the other bike back to the hotel the other.
-Adjusted the rear drum brake several times via the adjustment nut on the rod.
-Added an idler when my chain stretched out too much.
-Changed the pedal chain once due to rust after too much beach riding and no lubing.
-Cleaned and lubed the new bike chain a few times by spraying on WD40 and then spray on lube.
-Tightened axle nuts 3 times after loosening from regen and hearing the click/clink when hitting regen
-Changed to hydro front brake after cheap mechanical required too much adjusting.
-Cleaned and lubed cheap steal front suspension forks once, because it developed too much stiction.
-Bent pedal back straight and tightened handlebar after going down at 30mph trying to dodge a small dog on a damp street. I was able to ride bike home just not pedal since it was bent. I landed on side of bike while much of the high speed was lost and tumbled once at the end only loosing a little skin on knees and elbows....small animal lesson learned (ie go straight next time and slow down any time small darting animals are visible.) Helmet played no role unless it made me feel safe enough to go too fast for damp asphalt, but lesson learned and the too hard well worn tire replaced for better stickier tire.

It was all just minor stuff other than the controller replacements....not a single motor problem nor battery problem with any of the DIY battery packs on either bike.

You can absolutely build a zero repair and near zero maintenance ebike if you want. If I can do it, anyone can. Get a hubbie with a rim not spokes, since spokes will always be maintenance items. Oversize the motor, controller, and battery, and run them conservatively well within their spec ranges, not at the limits. Understand the performance limits of your ebike, especially what is the minimum safe speed going up hills to keep controller and motor heat well with reason. Use regen to handle the bulk of your braking force. It gives you a bit more range, all but eliminates brake maintenance, and improves safety because mechanical brakes are always fresh, cool, and ready for emergency stops. Use disc brakes and if going cheap go hydraulic, since cheap mechanical disc brakes require almost as much fiddling as rim brakes. Build it like a moped, not a bicycle if you really want low maintenance, because bicycles require maintenance. Don't follow the latest fad in ebike motors. New ones seem to have a high percentage of issues and breakdowns. Get a proven motor, and only use an ebike motor if you want 25mph or less, but make it a big ebike hubbie. For greater speed get a scooter hubbie proven through years of service pushing far heavier vehicles than the bike you build. Build strong and don't worry much about weight if the ebike is for primarily transportation as opposed to an exercise and/or play machine. That is unless you actually have to pick up and carry your bike on a regular basis. 10-20lbs has negligible effect on overall performance. If you want convenience and low maintenance then build it with that in mind, and the simpler the better.

John