williec79

Thanks everyone for their contributions, especially Artsu. An update on the story is that we took the bike back to the shop and the somewhat unhelpful salesman told us that we would be dealing with someone else who was the under manager. His attitude was very different and he listened to our “complaints” without interruption. He said he could not do anything on the lack of an “easy start to 6km/h” and he conceded that the bike should not have been so advertised. He took the bike into the service bay and made some adjustments and asked that we try the bike again, which we did outside the shop. I have to say the Bosch/Nexus “problem” of the hub not engaging a lower gear immediately when climbing a hill, had vastly improved, but the hesitation was still noticeable. However, the bike also, was still less successful in climbing the test hill than my own ebike with a front-hub motor. The under-manager fairly readily accepted that we had the right to cancel the purchase & return the bike as the lack of “easy start to 6km/h” had been an essential requirement to our purchase. This being due, as mentioned previously, to my wife’s leg muscles being severely weakened following an accident. Finally, one point has just come to mind, and it may or may not be relevant to the problem we experienced with the Nexus not immediately changing gear under load. The bike in question had the “retro-pedalage” or coaster brake option. Could a mal-adjustment of this be a contributory factor in the problem?

Many thanks to Artsu & Rosie for their replies. One follow-up question please: is it likely that all “central motor” positions will have the same characteristics. For example, Shimano Steps & TransyX, plus others whose names escape me. Regards, Williec79

Hello, My wife and I are in the throes of buying a replacement electric bike to replace her now defunct Veloscoot. I should say that as we live in France our choice is limited to bikes sold here, but the advice I seek is not with regards to the brand names, but specifically as to which motor type is better for our needs and environment. Also following an accident a few years ago, my wife has pretty week leg muscles, and thus we need a bike which has the “easy start” option up to 6km/h. Our use is purely leisure with maximum round trip being around 60km. Our locality is very hilly with hills ranging from pretty short & steep to those not so steep but pretty long. We both are very familiar with bikes having the motor in the front hub and with the Nexus system. As I have heard good reviews of the motor in the crank position, we have had several test rides with bikes having the Bosch Active Line and one test with a Shimano Steps system. With the exception of one test ride, all the others have been on pretty flat roads so all feedback I was getting was positive. The other day, we actually bought a bike with the Bosch Active Line and it was advertised as having the “easy start” option. As the test ride was on a main road in a large city, my wife elected not to take the test ride, and to my shame I forgot to use the “easy start” button. When we got home, the following problems were immediately obvious: 1. The “easy start” option simply did not work. 2. The bike could not easily climb the hills surrounding our house. After a more detailed ride the next day, the problem on the hills could be identified. If, for example, one approached a hill in 4th gear, and when one changed down one or more gears, although the twist-grip indicator on the handlebar was showing the new gear having been selected, in fact the bike was still operating in the original gear (4th in this example). After a bit of experimenting, it became evident that if one stopped pedalling, the new gears was successfully selected. I called the shop and to my amazement they said this was normal when a centrally mounted motor was used in conjunction with the Nexus system. I have started the procedure to get a refund, but can any of your contributors let me know if what the shop claimed is correct? On the “easy start” system problem, the shop is saying it should have been advertised as “walk assist” only. Sorry to have been so long-winded.

Hi There Shemozzle999, After all this time, good news at last. Two separate but related things eventually happened towards the end of March. One of the companies I had been pestering (Arelec) who manufactured the controller for Veloscoot, eventually replied to say that an Association had been created by a former Veloscoot user to try to assist users like of myself. I contacted this user group & the man explained that whilst Arelec would NOT supply parts to private individuals (a typical French way of doing business), but they were willing to supply parts to Cycle Retailers. The problem was now to try to find a sympathetic retailer who would work on my behalf. I approached one local shop who said he would consider it over the next week or so. The second event occurred before I had heard back from the local bike shop. I had a telephone call from MFC (the company who had undertaken the assembly of the last batch of Veloscoot electric bikes, before it ceased trading). They said they were eventually in a position to help, although of course not under any warranty condition. For the price of 140€, they would uplift the bike from our home address, deliver it to their factory near Nantes (around 200km away), & carry out a re-programming of the electrics. They would contact me for the go-ahead to fit any new parts required, with such costs being given. The bike would then be shipped back to my home address. We took up this offer, and the bike was duly uplifted and returned within 2 weeks with no new parts being required. Due to both my wife and I having health issues, our use of the bike since its return has been limited, but our neighbour (who has an identical bike), has given it a 30k 'road test' and she believes it is better than new, and indeed better performing than her own. So it would appear to be 'a happy ending' afterall. Once again many thanks for all your detective work and support and to the other forum members who offered assistance. Regards, WillieC79

Hi There Shemozzle999, After all this time, good news at last. Two separate but related things eventually happend towards the end of March. One of the companies I had been pestering (Arelec) who manufactured the controller for Veloscoot, eventually replied to say that an Association had been created by a former Veloscoot user to try to assist users like of myself. I contacted this user group & the man explained that whilst Arelec would NOT supply parts to private individuals (a typical French way of doing business), but they were willing to supply parts to Cycle Retailers. The problem was now to try to find a sympathetic retailer who would work on my behalf. I approached one local shop who said he would consider it over the next week or so. The second event occurred before I had heard b

Hi there shemozzle999, Many thanks for your posting & for keeping a watchful eye on Veloscoot developments. I have been keeping in touch with MFC & their latest information (some 2 weeks ago just after liquidation was announced), was that by early to mid December, they ought to be in a position to help me. Coincidentally, I called the contact today to ask for news but she was not in today. I shall keep you posted.

Hi Shemozzle999& d8veh, An update after I contacted the French company which apparently made the controller for our Véloscoot. Having received no reply after a week or so, I E-mailed the second name I had been given at the same company. The following day I received a reply from the first contact to say that they could not help me "at this time" but requested that I keep in touch with them on a monthly basis. It would appear that whilst Véloscoot is under the jurisdiction of the French court system that these two companies (MFC & the controller manufacturer) are prohibited from any dealings involving Véloscoot. I cannot see what else can be done, until the French court system decides on the future of Véloscoot, which, according to the Directeur Général of MFC is expected to be announced later this month. Once again many thanks to Shemozzle999 & d8veh for your helpful contributions to our problem.

Hello d8veh & shemozzle999, This is a follow-up to my posting of last Wednesday when I said that I had planned to visit MFC the following day, Thursday 1st October. On one aspect, the visit went well, insofar as my wife and I were made welcome, and the Directeur Géneral (no less) & a Commercial Assistant came to talk to us. After listening to our tale of woe, the DG said that the current state of "administration" of Véloscoot had caused huge difficulties for his company, (presumably including unpaid invoices for the assembly work). He would not elaborate except to say that around 1500 bicycles were affected. He also said that MFC did not possess any of the rights to any of the parts of the Véloscoot bikes - these rights remained with Véloscoot and MFC had been purely contracted to assemble the bikes. Therefore MFC itself could offer no direct assistance to us. He asked how we knew of MFC's involvement, & we produced copies of the bike label showing the MFC name & the Machecoul address, as well as a copy of the label attached to the controller, which gave its reference numbers. We mentioned that someone had told us that the controller had been manufactured in China, and the Commercial Assistant went off to check the Controller reference numbers. She returned & said that some Controllers had indeed been made in China, but ours had been made by a French company situated in the south of France. She gave us detailed contact names & email addresses at that company & suggested that we contact it with all the details. The DG said that he did not know the situation as regards the ownership rights of the Controller, but it would be worth following up. The DG finally said that the French court is now expected to report on the future legal status of Véloscoot sometime this month (October 2015). Incidentally the MFC set-up is very impressive (it claims to be the largest bike manufacturer in France), and has a factory, a large administration/R &D building, with a showroom on the second floor, and a factory shop outlet all on the same site. I have e-mailed the French company & will let you know the outcome.

Hello d8veh & shemozzle999, I bet you thought what an ungrateful twit for not replying to the last two postings. I have been in UK for the last 2 weeks or so on family matters, & although I checked emails, there were no notifications of new postings (no idea why), but regrettably I did not think to check the pedelecs web site. As I only got back home very recently, I have not yet the time to check out all the points made in the last two postings. However, the web site for "revendeurs" is not available (error 404) & the all telephone contact lines are dead. What I have decided to do, is making a visit to MFC in Machecoul tomorrow (some150k) with the bike on the carrier. They have not responded to the two emails, but it's worth a try. Once again many thanks for your continued assistance & I will keep you posted on the outcome of tomorrow's visit.

Hi Shemozzle999 & dhveh, Just to update you on the findings on my friends who have the same Véloscoot E-bike as mine, & who took my battery with them when going on a 5 day biking trip. My battery was used for most of the trip with the average daily journey being 45-50k. I am told the assistance did NOT cut-out once during their trip, but the battery did, however, fail to start on a few occasions and it also failed to respond to the "disconnect" switch on the LCD, and the battery had to be physically removed from its housing to effect the disconnect. Despite having send a second email to MFC (sometimes called MFCD), I have not received any reply. I look forward to hearing from you as regards any further suggestions.

Hi Shemozzle999, As it happens, my friend with the same Véloscoot is going on a 5 day cycling holiday next week, and has agreed to take & use my battery as you suggested. Will keep you posted on their return. From your earlier posting, what does "pcb" mean - sorry for my ignorance. I have sent another email to MFC (sometimes called MFCD) &will let you know any result. Again, however, the only point of contact for non-resellers is the "after sales" department. Hi anotherkiwi, We live in Département 79 (Deux-Sèvres) in a hamlet some 20k east of the town of Niort.

Hi Shemozzle999, Still no response from "MFDC" - will try again. They have a few sites, although most are for "trade" only, which is quite normal in France. The one site I found which I could access, was for "after sales" and it came up in English - so I posted my e-mail in English. Perhaps I may have more success if I post it in French, although I'm not sure if "after sales" is the most appropriate site. As regards your second point, as to whether I tried my battery on my friends Veloscoot - the honest answer is "no". However, I did try my friend's battery on my own Veloscoot, and the problem remained. If you think I should still try my battery on my friend's bike, I will certainly do so.

Hi Shemozzle999, Sorry for not replying on Monday, got delayed. Your detective work on "MFDC" was helpful. I have since discovered that they are a French manufacturer of bikes & their e-bike range includes the "EXS" models. Also your information has led to the discovery that they did the assembly of the last batch of Veloscoot bikes, including my own. I have e-mailed them to ask if they happened to have a spare controller, but no reply as yet. On their website, it also says that they were taken over by Intersport in 2014. On the aspect of the controller being "dead", on the suggestion on my neighbour (who also has a Veloscoot), I re-initialised the battery, & this has put some life back into the controller, insofar as the bike is operational - albeit only for short distances before the assistance cuts-out as before. If I get no-where on the French side, do you know of anyone or any bike repair place who could change the controller, as Dave mentioned earlier. Many thanks again. Williec79

Hi Shemozzle999, Many thanks for your two most récent postings & I will follow both up. I need tobe away for à few days, but will respond on Monday.

Hi Shemozzle999, Apologies for not responding sooner, but still have no PC. Many thanks for the very detailed information. I have two points to make, the first is to ask if my last post crossed with yours, insofar as my problem has now worsened from "intermittent" to "constant". Even without getting on the bike, after about 1-2 minutes the LCD closes down, resulting in no assistance. The second point, is to ask if your suggestions are still relevant in my current situation. I also should say that my technical knowledge is verging on zero, so I would not be able to carry out the tests you mentioned. Could I ask at this time, if there's anyone- person or enterprise - who would be willing to look at my bike to see if a fix is possible? Although I live in France, I am travelling to UK in late September for a family gathering, & could put the bike on the carrier, if that is an option. Once again, many thanks to Dave & Shemozzle999 for the constructive comments.

Many thanks for the helpful comments Dave. As I have PC problem, I cannot attach photos as you requested. However, you can see details on www.veloscoot.com , &the site has an English option. I must add that the problem with assistance has worsened. It is no longer intermittent, as it now cuts-out every two minutes.

Following my initial posting & Dave's reply, attached are some photos & perhaps he can let me know if they are helpful or not. Since the first posting, the owner of a bike shop locally (from whom we bought our second e-bike, (make "Neomouv"), has told us that the problem is almost certainly a faulty controller. For this reason the photos attached are in that area. Photo No 3 shows the label on the controller and No 4 shows the label under the controller housing. I understand that most of the components are Chinese, with assembly in France.

Hi d8veh, Many thanks for your reply. I did not think photos were relevant, but if you let me know what photos you have in mind, I will gladly provide them. Regards, Williec79

Hello, I have recently joined pedelecs in the hope of getting some advice or help from some of the more knowledgeable members or even some professionals out there. I am 70 years old and my wife and I havebeeb e-biking for around one year. We have lived in rural France for some time and last year we purchased our first E-bike (the brand is Veloscoot). We purchased the bike direct from the manufacturer, who has sadly gone into the French equivalent of "administration". After a few months the bike developed an intermittent fault insofar as the assistance cuts-out for no obvious reason. It will then restart after say 10 minutes or a few Km pedalled without assistance. The problem now is that because Veloscoot is no longer trading, no spare parts are available, & for this reason none of the bike shops we have spoken to, will even look at the bike. One other relevant point, is that our neighbour bought an identical bike at the same time (her bike does not have the fault), and we have tried exchanging batteries, but the fault remains in our bike. Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated. Regards, Williec79