eBike motor maintenance

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JackStraw

Active Member
Hi,
Is there a way to tell that he ebike motor is up for a maintenance?
Is this something that should be done every two years or are there any other indicators?
In my case it is Bosch Active Plus
I don't see there is any play yet but wonder what is the optimal resistance from the motor when you pedal in the opposite direction to tell that the bearings need greasing?
Thank you
 

steveindenmark

Legendary Member
I have had my Moustache e bike about 5 years and its never been in the workshop. I keep it clean and tyres pumped. I pay particular attention to the chain and sprockets. Apart from that I do not mess with it. It runs perfectly.
 
Location
Widnes
Hi,
Is there a way to tell that he ebike motor is up for a maintenance?
Is this something that should be done every two years or are there any other indicators?
In my case it is Bosch Active Plus
I don't see there is any play yet but wonder what is the optimal resistance from the motor when you pedal in the opposite direction to tell that the bearings need greasing?
Thank you

I have the Bosch ACtive line - so similar motor

when I had had it for a few years it started creaking under pedal load
The bike shop looked at it but couldn;t replicate it in the workshop so it went back a few times

Basically it was working fine but I take it in to be looked at once a year anyway

after Covid the creaking was either getting worse or just annoying me more - maybe due to the nice quiet roads and paths over Covid
so I asked him to look at it properly
He dismantled it as mush as he could but couldn;t fix it

Apparently he needed specific tools - and his mechanic - who had worked for/with him for many many years had had them at home but Covid got him
He was the sort of person who ought his own tools so he could do the job properly
He didn;t feel he could ask teh widow for them
so he had to order some for himself


when they arrived he rang me and I took the bike in

He said it let him take a few tings apart that he had not been able to before and he found that some internal "bits" were loose so he tightened them up according to the spec

that fixed it but now he checks it every year just in case


those tools and specs are only available to registered dealers - as are software updates

I dunno what was in it but last time he did a software update it fixed a problem with the "walk assis" as well

It is annoying - but they don;t tell you what "updates" are in the software updates - even if you are paying for it!!
but over the last 6 years a few of them seem to have had a good effect
 
Location
Widnes
Its a shame the UK right to repair regs dont apply to bicycles.

From what I can see Bosch push the rules as far as it is possible to do on that idea

They seem to make the electric bits of most things they make as difficult to fix as possible
thus forcing you to buy a new one

one example is my leaf blower/garden vac
The garden vac needs a bag to be attached
but one winter some mice must have got into the shed and chewed a big hole init
OK - only bag - just get a new one

Nah - the replacement ones cost almost as much as a new garden vac - especially if I say "stuff it" and geta cheaper one

everything on it is great - unless it goes wrong

and the rumours on the ebike systems seem to be the same


It also applies to software - a bit "we know best but just do what we say"
e.g. they release an "software update" every year
now - I'm OK - the LBS knows I go back several times a year for "stuff" and all that so he will do the update for me
but if I didn;t have that relationship with him I would have to pay

but all you get is "it is a software update" - they never say what it includes
so if you have a specific problem - e.g. the walk assist is rubbish
then you have no idea if the "software update" will fix it or not
and - according to my LBS - they cant tell either.
But Bosch won;t look at it until you are up to date


which is a bit "Big Brother" to me


anyway - if any HAS a "walk Assist is rubbish" problem - when it was done last year that was fixed
I checked with Bosch - they won;t comment on that


but the stuff they do tend to be better than otehr makes!
 

wiggydiggy

Legendary Member
Hi,
Is there a way to tell that he ebike motor is up for a maintenance?
Is this something that should be done every two years or are there any other indicators?
In my case it is Bosch Active Plus
I don't see there is any play yet but wonder what is the optimal resistance from the motor when you pedal in the opposite direction to tell that the bearings need greasing?
Thank you

There isn't a way to tell unforunately.

If you look on the Bosch website you should be able to your local dealer. I had a diagnostic done early this year, and a software updates for about £15.
 
Location
Widnes
When they do the diagnostic, they get a report from it

If they don;t offer it to you then you can ask for it

The manager at my LBS "isn;t very good with computers" so he just told me to sort it myself and gave me the laptop

which - given my past with computers - is a dangerous thing to do!!!
but luckily I am honest and just copied my report onto a USB stick

the info was quite interesting
 
Its no great loss. Gone are the days when Bosch was a by word for German made engineering excellence. In most cases theyre now neither.

Is any of their stuff still made in Germany?
 

PaulSB

Squire
Its no great loss. Gone are the days when Bosch was a by word for German made engineering excellence. In most cases theyre now neither.
While I don't own an ebike this has been my recent experience with Bosch. Once my go to for quality products much of the offering is no better than the rest.
 
Location
Widnes
While I don't own an ebike this has been my recent experience with Bosch. Once my go to for quality products much of the offering is no better than the rest.

I have found that they used to aim to be 8 out of a total of 10

but found that lots of other companies aimed to be 2 out of ten and made money from it

so they changed to aim to be a 4
 

albion

Guru
Location
Gateshead
Rear hub motor, untouched since new 20,000km ago. As a geared hub motor, maybe my less stressed usage is helping with longevity.
I say 'less stressed' yet it is far from flat here.
 
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