John G

https://m.facebook.com/MTBandB My son has started a new mtb bike hire business near Buxton. He has a few Scott E Genius 720 ebikes, ideal if you want to try the hilly trails in the Peaks. https://m.facebook.com/MTBandB

I went tubeless about a month ago when I put some trail tyres on my new tubeless rims. Found it easy to fix the new valves and add the Stan's no tubes fluid using the syringe through the valve with the core removed. No punctures, but yesterday I removed a thorn from the front tyre. Heard a hiss of air but it was self sealed almost immediately by the latex fluid. Pleased so far, and an added bonus is running the tyres at a lower pressure, which gives a softer ride on my hardtail.

Interesting but expensive!

Well I've had 3 thorn punctures over about 3 months regular use of my ebike, with Schwalbe Marathon Plus. To be fair, I've been getting less than normal in the narrow hedgerow lined lanes that I use, but their puncture restance is obviously limited. Next step is to try tubeless.

Quick update on chain wear. The replacement KMC X9e chain is showing 75% wear, after doing an estimated 900 miles. So that's 50% better than the original X9 chain. It isn't slipping at the moment, but I guess I won't get many more miles out of it. Still not great, and the X9e chain is about twice the price of an X9 chain, so not really worth the extra cost. Current prices at CRC are X9 £8.99 X9e £17.94

Living in North Wales there are lots of hills! I have been out a couple of times into the Clwydian hills with my son and going up steep hills the ebike is much quicker than his Cannondale. The fact I am climbing faster surely means I am putting more torque and hence more load into the chain and cassette? The photo below shows the biggest climb I did, from the bottom of the valley up about 800'.

Some very interesting feedback. The following made me laugh

Wow that's a very expensive cassette. A friend recommended a Shimano XT cassette as a replacement, and it seems very good. Silly me, I thought biking would be a cheap hobby after I'd bought the bike, lol.

Just noticed the KMC X9e chain is heavily discounted at the moment, at CRC. Bought two as spares lol. http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/kmc-x9e-hp-ebike-9-speed-chain/rp-prod120637

I must have done over 700 miles on the KMC X9e chain I bought. As I said, I accepted chain replacement was a wear and tear item, so I didn't try to claim. Having said that, surely ebike designers need to consider beefing up the drivechain components. The e motor can put a massive torque into the system. I learned quickly to avoid changing gear when the chain was under a lot of load.

With 100mm of travel, this hard tail electric bike for 2017 is the entry level model within the Haibike sDuro range. The HardSeven 4.0 2017 eBike is built on cost effective components without compromising quality. It is designed for the eMTB'er who wishes to take on some of the local trails. It is suitable for XC / Trail use. This eBike also be used as a clutter free commuting electric bike. The above is from Haibike's own advertising. 80% of my mileage was on tarmac roads with the rest on gravel roads and tracks around reservoirs, with a handful of trips on bridlepaths in the hills. Not serious mountain biking by any stretch. I didn' abuse the bike and it was cleaned and the chain decreased and oiled on a very regular basis. Haibike do say it is suitable for some XC/Trail use. I agree I could have spent £2k more on a proper trail bike, but at the age of 64 I don't plan on doing any serious riding on red or black mtb trails.

Looking forward to your feedback on the cheaper battery, obviously too soon now.

Good to hear your Haibike Sduros are still performing well. I bought my Haibike Sduro Hardseven 4.0 from Evans at the end of May 2017. I've been very happy with the bike, doing over 1300 miles on local lanes and various forest tracks and bridleways in North Wales. I've been less happy with the the number of components I've had to replace on the bike at my own cost, and with hindsight I do think Haibike have used some components which were unsuitable for an e mountain bike. Had to replace the chain and rear cassette after 600 miles, because gears started to slip when climbing. I checked chain with a measuring tool and it was past the acceptable wear limit. The chain provided was a KMC X9 chain. I replaced it with a KMC X9e chain which as the e suggests, is a stronger chain for ebike use. The basic SRAM cassette was fairly worn as well, so I replaced it with a better Shimano XT cassette. I didn't ask Evans to replace these, but 5 months usage on a new bike is pretty shocking. The Suntour SR forks provided weren't very nice on bumpy forest roads, so I replaced them with some Manitou Marvel air forks which vastly improved the ride. Just before Christmas I noticed a wobble in the rear wheel. The LBS has a look and said the rear hub had failed, letting in water and allowing the bearings and axle to rust. He cleaned and regreased them but basically it was knackered. I took it to Evans and asked for a warranty repair. Haibike, who I learned are owned by Raleigh, did not accept it as a warranty repair. They are probably correct under the terms of the warranty, but I do question if the components they have used are fit for purpose if they are failing so quickly. The electric motor puts a very high torque through the drivetrain, so it seems fairly obvious that cheap bottom end normal bike components won't last. I've researched bike hubs on the internet and the XLC rear hub is a really cheap as chips item, with no waterproof seal. So are we supposed to avoid using bikes in wet conditions? Before you ask, I did not pressure wash the bike. I've now invested in a better set of wheels (from Just Riding Along in York) as I dont want to be replacing cheap hubs every 6 months. I can't be bothered writing to Raleigh or Haibike, but I'll say in public that after spending around £2000 on a bike I don't expect it to start wearing out and falling apart after 6 months. I'll look elsewhere next time.