Long-Term, Reliable FW Kit - does it exist?

[Warwick]

Woosh, I was actually tempted by the secondhand Karoo that was up for grabs recently. I have said on other threads that you seem to be heading in the right direction with your newer models. I don't think I give my bikes a hard time. They have been my commuting tools on an undulating ride of about 18 miles return. I clean the chain and lube it on a weekly basis and I'm reasonably competent with bike mechanics. I'm not experienced enough with electrics to work on them with confidence, other than a basic installation, hence my desire for a fit-and-forget kit.

As some of my alternative routes (I'm lucky, I have about 10 different ways I can go to work) are off road, I don't think the Karoo would enjoy the bridleways I take in drier weather. The Oxygen I use is very accomplished off road, but is significantly more costly than the Karoo. Looking at your kits, which seem good value, I'm disappointed they seem only to fit 26" wheels, not the 700c I want to convert.

I have written warts and all (but mainly positive) messages about my experiences with the Oxygen on the reviews board. Should one of your Rios want the same coverage, I'll happily oblige

 

[Deleted member 4366]

My Rose/Bosch bike has done more than 4,000 miles on the original chain.

It's nothing special, just a Bosch bike, albeit a well-made one.

You might also want to ask Croxden about mileage and Bosch motors.

Any reader of this forum can see Chinese electrics are routinely unreliable.

Not being able to use the bike in the rain is ridiculous.

The stuff may be cheap and - for someone with your experience - relatively easy to fix.

But we are not all hobbyists.

It must be possible to design and manufacture what the OP wants - a reliable hub kit that is not allergic to water.

You're implying that a lot of these Chinese kits let in water, yet you have no relevant experience yourself. I've been on this forum for nearly seven years, but can count on my fingers how many reports there are of guys with water ingress on their Chinese kits, and if you take out those that installed their motors upside down, I could count the rest on one hand. As I said, there's been several reports in that time of Bosch motors and displays letting in water too. All this is just a figment of your imagination.

PS, you forgot to mention the other problems you had with your Bosch bike.

 

[scarrabri]

None of that is necessary if you install the motor the right way up with the cable going down.

Hi being a plumber by trade but not knowing an aweful lot about E/kits as my cable goes in to the bottom of the front wheel motor cant i just use ordinary plumbing sealent to add a little more protection against water seeping in.

 

[RobF]

All this is just a figment of your imagination.

PS, you forgot to mention the other problems you had with your Bosch bike.

Unreliable Chinese electrics is not a figment of my imagination.

Deny it all you like, some on here will be fooled, some won't be.

Not sure what you mean about the other problems with my Bosch bike, the Alfine 11 gear hub conked out, as many did at the time on push bikes as well as ebikes.

No problems with the motor or electrics that I recall, despite me using it in heavy rain several times and on one occasion submerging the motor in a ford.

 

[Woosh]

Should one of your Rios want the same coverage, I'll happily oblige

I always try to reduce the number of possible points of failure, especially on bikes that I know best suited for commuting. The Rio has a suspension fork, that means the coil springs can fail, the rubber seals can fail, the preloader can fail etc. A rigid fork does not have such problem and save nearly 2kg in unsprung weight. Moreover, the Karoo has a smaller motor, meaning derestriction is not at all an issue. The Rio has the beefier SWX02, you can break spokes and kill it a little more easily when derestricted because it can go faster, hit bumps harder etc. It's a question of probabilities I think.

 

[Woosh]

Hi being a plumber by trade but not knowing an aweful lot about E/kits as my cable goes in to the bottom of the front wheel motor cant i just use ordinary plumbing sealent to add a little more protection against water seeping in.

yes, you can. Just pack some grease inside the cable channel before you seal it with teflon tape.

 

[scarrabri]

yes, you can. Just pack some grease inside the cable channel before you seal it with teflon tape.

Thank you for your reply best wishes Brian.

 

[Charliefox]

Nooooo 'tother way surely? Have the axle cutout on the underside, let the cable come down through it, then loop it up the fork, so forming a drip loop. Any water that runs down the fork/cable will drip off and not go inside the cable tube/axle. Like this:
View attachment 18533
I know it looks a bit cumbersome but I've never caught it on anything yet.

This Ezee kit has done some 3500 miles. Controller mounted under front of rack, shielded by a bum! No water or electrical issues, only one small motor bearing problem, quickly sorted with John's help.

Interested to see you have alloy fork dropouts. Have you had any trouble from them with regards to the torque from the motor? I assume you have a torque arm on the left hand side.

 

[Benjahmin]

Interested to see you have alloy fork dropouts. Have you had any trouble from them with regards to the torque from the motor? I assume you have a torque arm on the left hand side.

No problems at all. T/A fitted with bracket design courtesy of D8veh.
It's basically an F shaped bracket, made from 2mm steel, mounted onto the caliper posts. The torque pulls down on the bracket.