Hi, my wife and I recently both bought folding ebikes to replace our 700C wheeled ebikes.

Mine an Estarli 20.8 Play is brilliant to ride and very quiet.

However, my wife bought an Ampere Alter folding ebike, and the strange thing is that there is a constant whine from the motor as if it's engaged even when pushing it with the battery removed. It seems as if something isn't releasing as it should when you stop using the bike. Does anyone have an idea what the possible problem is?

Thanks

Hi, my wife and I recently both bought folding ebikes to replace our 700C wheeled ebikes.

Mine an Estarli 20.8 Play is brilliant to ride and very quiet.

However, my wife bought an Ampere Alter folding ebike, and the strange thing is that there is a constant whine from the motor as if it's engaged even when pushing it with the battery removed. It seems as if something isn't releasing as it should when you stop using the bike. Does anyone have an idea what the possible problem is?

Thanks

Sounds like a stuck clutch. Turn the bike upside down, get a lump-hammer and whack the tyre tangentially in the forward direction until it lets go. It normally takes about 3 or 4 whacks, but it depends how stuck it is.

 

If you ever got water in the motor, the clutch might be stuck by rust. Do the whacking first, and if you don't have success, you have to open the motor to see what's going on. You can buy new clutches fairly cheaply.

Funnily enough my wife's bike also has a constant whine but it doesn't come from the motor.