Help received new WE hub, have questions about quaility.

[rbelisle1]

Ok, so I purchased a Wilderness energy BL36 kit from a seller on eBay. I got the kit today. The box is fairly well beat up by UPS, so I took lots of pictures of the damage. Now for the questions!!!!!!!!!!!

1. I checked all the spokes, 12 of them are so loose that you can rattle them in the rim. Is this normal build quality with the WE kits, or could it be damage from shipping.
2. The wheel is no where near true. I can eyeball the rim, while turning it. It’s out of true, up and down as well as side to side. Is this normal for WE kits or could it be shipping.
3. The hub is extremely hard to turn holding the axle. If the wheel is mounted in the front fork and I spin the wheel, I can’t get more then one revolution, no matter how hard I try, no matter which way I try and turn it. Note that the controller is not attached, this is just the hub and rim, no tire. I only have a well used heinzman rear hub to compare against. I have read about cogging, but this does not feel like a pulse, pulse, pulse of the magnets. It really feels like bad bearings. How much resistance to turning should there be????? or does this sound like bearing damage from shipping.

The rest of the kit is fine and looks like nice quality. The battery bag appears to be heavy duty, the rack is so-so, the controller looks great (all metal!!!) The hub looks well machined and well painted and the throttle looks good.

I am going to send the seller an email, but I would really like some opinions about the cogging etc.

Thanks in advance
Bob in phx.

 

[Ypedal]

Wooo pictures.. postem up !! ( box and all ) i like pictures.

Loose spokes don't usually happen during shipping, a very loosely spoked wheel that got dropped HARD during shipping could be a problem, but not likely..

 

[rbelisle1]

Ok, here are the pictures....

Here is the box, UPS shipping from California to Arizona

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Here is what it looks like when I opened the box.

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There are about 5 or 6 rim dings like this one.

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here is the missing cover bolt.

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and finally here is the wiring ... I am a little puzzled as to the three wires... its brushless, but it must not use hall sensors.

anyone have any ideas on the bearings...

bob in phx.

 

[RLT]

My experience is with the brushed BD36 motors, but I had pretty much the same problems with both of mine. many loose spokes, three (if I remember correctly) actually stripped spokes, rims way out of true. Loose screws INSIDE the hub (the ones that attach the external wires to the brushes), etc.

Then after the first and second rides, I had to replace more spokes, a few actually broke,and others stripped . 14Ga DT (or other decent quality) spokes and nipples seem stronger and more reliable than the OEM 12Ga spokes. So far I have replaced 22 out of the 72 original spokes on the two motors/wheels, and fully expect to replace the rest by the end of the year. If I wasn't so lazy, I'd do them all at once... and change the rims to double walled ones while I'm at it.

If you are up to it, I'd recommend opening up the motor and doing a complete reassembly, and check EVERYTHING. From what I have seen WE-QC is practically non-existent.

See my build thread for more info.: http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3836

 

[dogman dan]

Wow your box came in much better shape than usual! seriously.

Everything you describe is pretty much normal. If you aren't a spoke magician, just take the wheel to a shop to get trued before you mount it. Money well spent. In 1400 miles I've yet to break a spoke on the motor rim, but have broke plenty on the other rim. Then sand off the dings and and the seam in the rim and you should be fine. The motors and controllers usually give no problems, but the chargers are notoriously bad. Order another from somwhere even if the first one works. You'll be glad you did one day. I agree, the stuff doesn't have the finish quality we get used to so expect to replace the charger connector or something, and do some detail work. I've been very happy with my brushed WE hubs, even though I have gone through some steep learning curve on em. How steep? I now know that you can't ride uphill for one hour everyday in 105F heat. Oh well, now I know not to ride home in the summer, and take the bike on a bus after work. Good thing I had a spare motor when I melted that one.

 

[dogman dan]

Doooh! just noticed you are from Overdoso RLT. I guess you know about hills and WE hubs. I bet gavilan is a nice ride when the traffic is light between racing and skiing. I hope the floods didn't mess you up too much.

 

[alnvilma]

Welcome to the world of WE (sucks)
Your box looks like mine did; all beat up. I had my rim trued for $45 after two attemps to make it usable. I'm on my second failed controller and never had this thing running yet. If I can discourage sales of their products, good! My $.02

 

[rbelisle1]

well, after a good nights sleep, I have mad up my mind to send this piece of junk back. I will be contacting the seller tonight. The kicker was that the rim is actually bulged and it would take bending the beads back towards each other. With all the other issues, not acceptable for 400 bucks outlay....

bob (disappointed) in phx

 

[dogman dan]

Right move. If the rim is bent, it will never be made right. I guess I'm lucky. Both my kits were ok, and any problems I had were my bad. Alnvilma, you have the worst luck. Most of us just get a wheel that needs no more than 10-20 bucks to tweak straight, and a bum charger at most. Two blown controllers? OMG! Maybe you have a cut wire, on the first ride, I spun the axle and shorted the wires, blowing the controller instantly, but no smoke or smell. Take your motor covers off and look if your haven't done it yet.

 

[RLT]

Doooh! just noticed you are from Overdoso RLT. I guess you know about hills and WE hubs. I bet gavilan is a nice ride when the traffic is light between racing and skiing. I hope the floods didn't mess you up too much.

We talked about the McDonalds here a month or so ago, remember?

I live real close to Gavilan, but haven't ridden it. Traffic is rarely light, no matter the season, and NEVER safe along there anymore; For some reason, the worst and most aggressive drivers seem to go that way, and there is no shoulder.

Cedar Creek is a real nice ride though.

I haven't gotten to do much riding at all though. I just 'finished' the build a few weeks ago, and managed to have a melt down of brush holders in one motor and some degradation of them in the other motor trying to get up to the top of Sierra Blanca last week.

 

[Rassy]

Bob in Phx wrote:

Ok, so I purchased a Wilderness energy BL36 kit from a seller on eBay. I got the kit today. The box is fairly well beat up by UPS, so I took lots of pictures of the damage.

Bob, I don't want to be negative towards you, but if you got your WE kit from a private seller on eBay, I would expect he was just trying to get rid of something he had ruined. I purchased six BD36's from their on-line sales site (Were Electrified), and all arrived well packed and in good condition. Some spokes were loose, and some cover screws were loose, and one motor failed within a mile (which they promptly replaced). All motors, controllers (except one I blew up by stupid mistake) and throttles are still working good. I would still recommend them for the right application. I am also currently running four of the BD36's at 48V with no modification to the original 35 amp controllers.

Edit: Good luck with getting your $'s back.

 

[dogman dan]

Now I remember. That was back when I was still laying in bed enjoying a lot of painkillers for the broken collarbones. Thanks to the 70's my mind is a sieve anyway. I looked at your build thread. Wow.

 

[rbelisle1]

I got ahold of the seller today. Nice guy on the phone!!! He is a dealer for WE. He is sending a new hub and rim out asap. He will also pay for the return of the damaged rim and hub. All no cost to me. I sure cant complain about that!!!!!!!!

bob in phx.

 

[nb141fd]

Bob, is the seller Dale from Seal Beach, CA? If so, he not only is pleasant to talk to but is a person of integrity. I bought a BL36 from him last month, had trouble with the controller and got a new one within one day, no questions and very apologetic about a problem that was not his but the WE factory's poor QC. Tony

 

[dogman dan]

Nice. Beats the heck out of trying to find another seller. When I got my bad charger, the WE warranty was made good pretty fast. If stuff is sold out, then problems arise. Despite this summers test to destruction, I still like my WE hub. You will still need to get the spokes tightened and trued though.

 

[rbelisle1]

Yes, the seller is Dale in seal beach. As Istated before, he was super about making this sale right. AND a really nice guy on the phone!!!!

bob in phx.