SOME E-BIKE SERVICE TIPS AND FIXES WE HAVE LEARNED

1. The rear fender on our 2.0 is designed to provide needed clearance so your bike does not plug up with mud.  The clearance is adjustable to accommodate various seat heights, and the clamp is designed to swing away should you catch the fender on a tree branch.   If you want the fender to mount solidly to the seat post, DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN THE CLAMP. You will break the clamp.  If you want the fender to mount solid, wrap a single layer of duct tape around the seat post, then tighten the clamp around it.  My mounting it in this manner, be aware that if you catch a branch, you WILL break your fender.  

2. If you have a headlight that won’t work, first thing to check is the connector on the headlight itself.  We have had couple of reports that the wire pins are folded over in the headlight, and won’t insert into the connector.  We have replacement headlights in stock if you run into this.

3. Sometimes, you might hear a squeaking/squealing noise from the front wheel.  I initially thought this was brake pads rubbing, but turns out it is the axle seals on the front axle dried out.  A single squirt of WD40 on each side will make things quiet again.

4. We have had a couple of riders report a creaking/cracking noise in the area of the pedals when they are pedaling hard.  This is the pedal crank axle moving in the bottom bracket of the frame.  This can also be fixed with a liberal squirt of WD40 behind the front sprocket RH and the pedal assist sensor LH where the pedal crank enters the bottom frame bracket.  The bottom crankshaft is secured with a serrated ring on the right-hand side of the bike.  The ring can be tightened with a special tool, after removing the right hand pedal/sprocket.  Removing the pedals also requires a special puller.  We have the puller and tools here if you need them. It is also a good idea to pack the housing in the bottom bracket with grease if you have it apart, to prevent corrosion if you are a winter rider.

5. If you notice a rattle in the frame/battery area when riding on washboard surface,  don’t go looking all over your fenders/cables/etc.  It is your controller rattling inside the frame, it sits loose, with the wires packed above it in the frame to dampen it, and it can rattle under certain circumstances.  Ignore it, it will not cause any problem. Mine rattled for 3800km before I discovered this, and took the controller out and wedged it firmly inside the frame.

6. You may find that your brake interrupt switch on your brake lever hangs up once in a while and the bike will not move,  and the “brake on” icon in the dash will be lit.  This seems to be related to grit or silt in the brake levers.  I have noticed this a couple of times when I have driven through a rainstorm with the bike on the front of my motorhome on the bike rack.  This seems to drive a bit of grit into the switches.  Pretty easy fix, just flick the brake levers a few times and the icon will go out and the bike will operate normally.  I blew mine out with an air hose and things have worked fine since then.

7. We have had 2 incidents of apparent pedal assist sensor failure.   Both of these failures were on the same bike,  a near impossible coincidence.  At 60km the owner reported intermittent pedal assist, throttle worked fine, bike worked fine, and no codes on the display.  Pedal assist sensor was replaced and all was good.   Symptom returned at 270km, pedal assist sensor was replaced a second time, and bike worked perfectly.  When the sensors were pulled apart,  metallic sandy particles were found caked around the magnets,  and these particles disrupted the magnetic signal needed to trigger the sensor.  It was discovered that the bike was being used in Kimberley B.C., next to an old iron/zinc mine, and the soil there is heavily contaminated with ferrous mine tailings.  

Should you experience these symptoms,  I would suggest spraying a liberal dose of contact cleaner on the pedal assist sensor, then blowing it out with an air hose.  Do this 4 times at 90 degree rotation on the pedals, and this will clear the contamination.   No need to replace the sensor.

8. It is a good idea to go over the bikes periodically to check for tightness on nuts and bolts. Remember, these e-bikes weigh about 70 pounds, and they regularly go 32kph.  But they still use standard bicycle components. Some things that I regularly check on my own bike are listed below. I highly recommend removing these bolts and applying blue Loctite for security. 

• Pedal arm securing bolts/allen bolt 20-25ft pounds
• Seat front-rear adjusting bolt
• Fender gnarled nuts
• Steering stem angle adjusting allen bolt
• Sidestand securing allen bolts
• Check your spokes for tightness at about 3000km