This video is really interesting. It explains why the MiRider is more expensive than the Onebot. These guys did a much better job than the other guy from Mirider that came on here telling us about it. The guy that made the video is very good at what he does. He mainly videos government establishments and industrial businesses without permission to see how they react, and it's the reaction that makes the entertainment. Some of them are very funny, others almost cruel. One of the best ones was when the guys in high vis came out and started shouting at him to wind him up, but they knew who he was, followed him on Youtube and enjoyed his content. After a minute or so, they came clean, though it would have been much better if they had kept it going for longer. Some of the other good ones are when the police come and are pretending to be friendly, but they're still trying to get him on something from every angle. They never succeed. He's just too slippery. They did arrest him and jail him once, but they had to pay about £2500 compensation afterwards for false arrest.

 

Anyway, this is all about MiRider. Their new one looks pretty good, but £2500 seems a bit too much for what it is to me. I would personally recommend it if it were around £2000, maybe even £2,200,but above that, I'm losing interest. You can see where some of the money you pay for these bikes is going in the video. I'll give you a clue. It's red and parked outside the showroom. The one thing MiRider got right is the KT controllers. I can't for the life of me understand why other manufacturers don't use them when they're so much better than the crappy LiShui ones that they all seem to go for and other crappy speed control ones too.

 

https://mirider.co.uk/product/mirider-one-gb3-folding-ebike-7ah/

 

I was out testing an old Woosh Krieger today that cost about £1000 when new. It coped pretty well on the steep hills I tested it on. I can't say it was perfect, but it was was a very pleasant ride and perfectly adequate,so well worth the money. I only mention it because while I was riding it, I was wondering why somebody would want to pay double the price for something that might be a tiny bit better, let alone 2 1/2 times the price.

 

 

P.S. In case MiRider read this, there is one small thing on their bikes that sort of worries me a bit, and that's the horizontal drop-outs, which they need for chain tension, but it make it really difficult to get the wheel back in if you ever have to take it out, and there glaring me in the face is the motor wire exiting forward, which we know causes problems on many other bikes. I hope they can trust their Chinese motor supplier to seal that up properly on the inside. If I ever went to audit the Chinese factory, that's the first thing I'd have on my list of things to check. If I had designed that bike, I think I'd have chosen vertical drop-outs with a chain or belt tensioner, which makes much less maintenance for the owner. That's just my opinion. They're probably happy with the way they've done it.

Edited November 10, 20232 yr by saneagle

Very nice gearbox mind, "completely unique" according to Martin.

 

I don't think the horizontal drop-outs would bother me much, with a belt drive surely it's just set and forget? I don't know much about wheel removal with those drop-outs though.

 

Fair comment about the motor cable, surely it must have an internal seal? I don't know if older MiRider owners have been reporting this as a problem.

 

 

A very nice bike if you're in the market for a 16" folder, is it worth £2500? I don't know, it's beyond my budget but plenty of people seem to be willing to pay double that for a e-mountain bike. To be fair they are offering £140 worth of free accessories with each new bike on their website.

 

He was getting worryingly close to that Ferrari at times!

Very nice gearbox mind, "completely unique" according to Martin.

 

I don't think the horizontal drop-outs would bother me much, with a belt drive surely it's just set and forget? I don't know much about wheel removal with those drop-outs though.

 

Fair comment about the motor cable, surely it must have an internal seal? I don't know if older MiRider owners have been reporting this as a problem.

 

A very nice bike if you're in the market for a 16" folder, is it worth £2500? I don't know, it's beyond my budget but plenty of people seem to be willing to pay double that for a e-mountain bike. To be fair they are offering £140 worth of free accessories with each new bike on their website.

 

He was getting worryingly close to that Ferrari at times!

If you ever had a bike with horizontal drop-outs, you'd know the problem. For a bike with vertical drop-outs, you turn the bike upside down and let gravity help you get the wheel in. With horizontal ones, gravity works against you unless you have a way of holding the whole bike vertical.

 

Having dismantled very many motors of many brands, I've seen the quality of the cable sealing. It's a job that needs a bit of precision, care and understanding. If you know anything about manufacturing, those things are too often missing. In one case the blob of silicone rubber was about an inch from the axle. Presumably the guy had been told to put a blob on the cable without explaining why. I would feel very comfortable to bet money that Mirider have experienced water in a motor or two. Only they know whether it's a problem of concern. If the motor company has a good quality control system and keen management, it could deal with it. I'm not saying that they haven't got that. What do you think?

What I find most interesting is this gearbox designed in Poland (19 min 50 sec). Must search this up.

What I find most interesting is this gearbox designed in Poland (19 min 50 sec). Must search this up.

Look for Efneo. I remember something about it several months ago, but I'm not sure if it was on this forum or somewhere else.

Look for Efneo. I remember something about it several months ago, but I'm not sure if it was on this forum or somewhere else.

 

Yes... looks really nice, but I am afraid $500 is a bit to much for me.

 

https://road.cc/content/review/227796-efneo-gtro-3-speed-front-gearbox

 

https://www.efneo.com/gearbox/

 

Interesting concept though. I will wait for price to go down.

I have a GB3 on order but there is a delay. I spoke to staff on the MiRider stand at the NEC last month and they said they are waiting for gearbox parts.

 

I had read about the GB3 and seen the mentioned video. When I took my trike to County eBikes, Andover for repair found they are MiRider dealers. Was concerned about the 16" wheels so had a 5 minute ride on a MiRider one and ordered a GB3.

 

Still without a cycle:confused:

I have a GB3 on order but there is a delay. I spoke to staff on the MiRider stand at the NEC last month and they said they are waiting for gearbox parts.

 

I had read about the GB3 and seen the mentioned video. When I took my trike to County eBikes, Andover for repair found they are MiRider dealers. Was concerned about the 16" wheels so had a 5 minute ride on a MiRider one and ordered a GB3.

 

Still without a cycle:confused:

Please be sure to report back what you think of it when it eventually arrives. Maybe give us first impressions, then report back again after a few hundred miles, when you have it fully figured out. I hope it comes soon.

What do you think?

 

I think if I was looking for a folder, I would get the Wisper 806, not only would I get bigger 20" wheels but I'd get to keep a thousand pounds in my sky rocket and I wouldn't go on a waiting list (I assume). However, I would need to fit hydraulic brakes (or at least the front one). But I would be very envious of MiRider GB3 owners with that great gearbox (not to mention better battery location, great brakes and a bit of suspension to cushion my posterior).

 

However, if I HAD to have a folder with 16" wheels and there are many reasons why people do - limited motorhome space, office space, flat space, car boot space , train travel with bike in a bag etc. I would seriously consider the GB3 even at that price.

 

As for difficult rear wheel removal, I never worry about that, I never seem to get punctures and even if I did, I'm sure I could cope.

 

Thinking about the motor cable issue, I think your extensive experience should not be ignored, therefore I would want to have a serious chat with MiRider about that. If they showed me evidence that they had addressed that or they had ensured their motor suppliers had addressed that, it would incline me more to making a purchase. On the other hand, if all I got was a load of waffle and no real evidence, I would consider walking away.

 

However, for me personally this is not a huge issue because I am not a commuter, I am a fair weather recreational cyclist. So if I did purchase a GB3 I think I would keep my warranty dusted off for two years and then consider extending the motor cable and creating a proper drip-loop.

 

This picture from the MiRider website shows the correct cap fitted over the axle end (it was missing in the video you posted), it would do no harm to keep that fitted and maybe cram some silicone grease in there, is that something you recommend?

 

The one thing MiRider got right is the KT controllers. I can't for the life of me understand why other manufacturers don't use them when they're so much better than the crappy LiShui ones that they all seem to go for and other crappy speed control ones too.

that's the umpteenth time that you said the KT controller is better than the Lishui. You forget to mention also that most people with setting problems ask questions about how to set up their KT controller, nobody asks similar questions about how to set up their Lishui controller.

There are a lot of controllers out there, let's start a new thread about them when you have the time.

that's the umpteenth time that you said the KT controller is better than the Lishui. You forget to mention also that most people with setting problems ask questions about how to set up their KT controller, nobody asks similar questions about how to set up their Lishui controller.

There are a lot of controllers out there, let's start a new thread about them when you have the time.

On an OEM bike, it would be setup before they got them, so that shouldn't be an issue.

 

They're actually very easy to setup, but people often have problems because they don't understand the other components, like when they have wires crossed on what they think are matching connectors, or they choose a sngle direction PAS and try to fit it on the wrong side, or they put the magnet disc the wrong way up and things like that.

This picture from the MiRider website shows the correct cap fitted over the axle end (it was missing in the video you posted), it would do no harm to keep that fitted and maybe cram some silicone grease in there, is that something you recommend?

I'd stick a load of silicone grease in there as a belt-and-braces approach. It certainly wouldn't do any harm.

 

Most of the motors that I've opened didn't have anything on the inside, the cable just comes in through the axle and out through a slot in the centre. Some established brands obviously had problems with water ingress, and arranged for their Chinese colleagues to solve it by putting a blob of that white silicone rubber all round where the wire exits the axle on the inside, which is a good solution if they do it in a caring way; however, the Chines workers are often on piecework and badly trained, so their goal becomes to get a blob of silicone on that cable exit rather than to seal it. I was a quality control manager in mass production companies for 20 years, so I know how it happens.

 

Looking at that picture, the cable exit is almost horizontal. If that were my bike, I'd try to work a bit of extra cable backwrds through the clips so that the cable dips down more before going into the axle.

 

The problem is caused by the rainwater tracking down the cable and any wind helping it on its way backwards,and the water gets guided into the axle. Good practice is to have a drip loop so that the main flow will drip off before it reaches the axle. When I've built bikes with horizontal drop-outs, I always make sure that the cable exits backwards and then downwards, but that sometimes makes it get in the way the derailleur, so lots of fiddling and adjustment to get it right. You can see the problem and best solution in this photo of a bike I built back nine years ago for a guy that only had one working leg. You have to zoom in a bit to get the detail:

but you use the word 'cr*ppy' to describe the Lishui controller though. OEMs choose controllers based mainly on reliability. There are, I suspect, more bikes with Lishui controllers out there than KT's. Should their owners think they have a 'cr*ppy' controller?

Edited November 11, 20232 yr by Woosh

but you use the word 'cr*ppy' to describe the Lishui controller though.

I'm not going to be diplomatic in this case. I'll just say it as I see it because I think it's an important point.

 

Yes,because most of them are terrible, and that includes the one on the Rambletta. By the time I got home, I was starting to hate it. These sort of controllers work, but they give the impression that you're not in control of the power. The delay in startup is too long, then you get a rush of power, then it cuts when you reach the low speed for level 1, so you have to increase the level, then you get another surge of power until you reach the next limit, and so on. You can avoid all that by using level 4 or 5 from the start, but that makes all the other levels redundant.

 

Manufacturers get away with these sort of controllers because most of their customers are ignorant, though when I worked in the bike shop, many customers, especially females, could see the problem and didn't want it. The power surge scared them a bit, so it made an easy sale of a more expensive bike.

 

With a KT, you set the amount of assist you want, then you can pedal as hard or easy as you want and legally use the throttle to instantly over-ride that power level when you need a short burst for a roundabout, traffic lights or hill. To me, there's no comparison. KT is so easy and logical. Those LSW controllers are just daft. That's how controllers were 13 years ago, and they've chose not to modernise them Surely, if you must stick with them, and with all their experience and size, they should be able to make one that behaves the same as a KT? Did you ask them?

Edited November 11, 20232 yr by saneagle

I did not test ride your sister's bike but if I can have her bike again, I'll flash it.

I did not test ride your sister's bike but if I can have her bike again, I'll flash it.

OK,thanks. If we have nice enough weather next time I visit in a few weeks, I'll come and see you.

I haven't had a working bike for over 4 months.

 

Remembered i had given daughter in law an old folder to sell for granddaughter's wedding fund.

 

Got it back last week:-

 

 

Now told my GB3 is being built this week.

I suppose I should put this here

 

Bit more than usual, but it is really nice to see the chose Hope for some of the important spec.

https://mirider.co.uk/product/hope-edition/

The thing that's gets me is the warranty is non transferable and I can see this is so people buy a new mirider instead of a secondhand one and this is so scammy of mirider it's shameful and £2500 for the gb3 version makes me want to buy a onebot 6 for £500 as the mirider loses a £1000 on the day you pick it up from the showroom

Yes... looks really nice, but I am afraid $500 is a bit to much for me.

 

https://road.cc/content/review/227796-efneo-gtro-3-speed-front-gearbox

 

https://www.efneo.com/gearbox/

 

Interesting concept though. I will wait for price to go down.

This video is really interesting. It explains why the MiRider is more expensive than the Onebot. These guys did a much better job than the other guy from Mirider that came on here telling us about it. The guy that made the video is very good at what he does. He mainly videos government establishments and industrial businesses without permission to see how they react, and it's the reaction that makes the entertainment. Some of them are very funny, others almost cruel. One of the best ones was when the guys in high vis came out and started shouting at him to wind him up, but they knew who he was, followed him on Youtube and enjoyed his content. After a minute or so, they came clean, though it would have been much better if they had kept it going for longer. Some of the other good ones are when the police come and are pretending to be friendly, but they're still trying to get him on something from every angle. They never succeed. He's just too slippery. They did arrest him and jail him once, but they had to pay about £2500 compensation afterwards for false arrest.

 

Anyway, this is all about MiRider. Their new one looks pretty good, but £2500 seems a bit too much for what it is to me. I would personally recommend it if it were around £2000, maybe even £2,200,but above that, I'm losing interest. You can see where some of the money you pay for these bikes is going in the video. I'll give you a clue. It's red and parked outside the showroom. The one thing MiRider got right is the KT controllers. I can't for the life of me understand why other manufacturers don't use them when they're so much better than the crappy LiShui ones that they all seem to go for and other crappy speed control ones too.

 

https://mirider.co.uk/product/mirider-one-gb3-folding-ebike-7ah/

 

I was out testing an old Woosh Krieger today that cost about £1000 when new. It coped pretty well on the steep hills I tested it on. I can't say it was perfect, but it was was a very pleasant ride and perfectly adequate,so well worth the money. I only mention it because while I was riding it, I was wondering why somebody would want to pay double the price for something that might be a tiny bit better, let alone 2 1/2 times the price.

 

 

P.S. In case MiRider read this, there is one small thing on their bikes that sort of worries me a bit, and that's the horizontal drop-outs, which they need for chain tension, but it make it really difficult to get the wheel back in if you ever have to take it out, and there glaring me in the face is the motor wire exiting forward, which we know causes problems on many other bikes. I hope they can trust their Chinese motor supplier to seal that up properly on the inside. If I ever went to audit the Chinese factory, that's the first thing I'd have on my list of things to check. If I had designed that bike, I think I'd have chosen vertical drop-outs with a chain or belt tensioner, which makes much less maintenance for the owner. That's just my opinion. They're probably happy with the way they've done it.

Mines done 30 miles and now the motor is making a crunching noise and they won't fix it

Mines done 30 miles and now the motor is making a crunching noise and they won't fix it

 

It isn't normal for hubs to make crunching noises, the noise though sounding like it is the motor is usually always a commutation /electrical fault.

This means a phase wire fault;

1. motor connector not fully pushed home.

2. a damaged motor cable .

3. Phase wire connection fault at controller esp with bullets.

Edited October 5, 2025Oct 5 by Nealh

Mines done 30 miles and now the motor is making a crunching noise and they won't fix it

Why don't you fix it yourself?

Why don't you fix it yourself?

He probably caused it when he fixed the damaged sidewall on his tyre.

Hub motors in the main are damn reliable, in over 10years I have never had a hub fail, those have carried out bearing maintenance /replacement.

Most issues arise from user damage or mistakes esp if a wheel has been removed or disconnected.

A new one with 30 odd miles of use will very unlikely be faulty.