Pinion E-Drive System: E-Bike Gearbox Motor

@b33k34, if you follow their insta comments, and I do, there’s a lot of hinting that it’s coming in the future.

Whether they mean it’s a new GB with a stand-alone battery remains to be seen.

@chipps be a dear and probe them at eurobike? Pretty please 😊

Or wait for their warranty policy….

I think we all know that a company's stated policy and what they provide in reality are often two very different things.  Just search 'Giant warranty' on this forum for some recent examples.

Saying that, this can go both ways and many companies will often go beyond their stated warranty policy.

Trouble is, you don't know what it's like until a couple of years after the first units have been sold.

In fairness, I’ve heard nothing but good things about pinions gearbox warranty. Lots of ‘it’s not covered by warranty but send it back and we’ll have a look’ only for a fully refurbished gearbox to be returned, FOC.

Or wait for their warranty policy….

2 years on the Pinion website.

I must have missed that (or its new).
I can only find the gearbox warranty.
Seems like a gap between that and

The Pinion E-Drive System is therefore extremely durable whilst wear on the drive system is extremely low due to the elimination of external shifting components. The maintenance interval? A 10-minute oil-change after 10.000km. That’s it. Really.

In fairness, I’ve heard nothing but good things about pinions gearbox warranty. Lots of ‘it’s not covered by warranty but send it back and we’ll have a look’ only for a fully refurbished gearbox to be returned, FOC.

Yeah, if they can combine a genuinely superior product with 'above and beyond' levels of support then they could end up cornering the entire market.

Edit: depending on the price, of course 🙂

BruceWee

I think we all know that a company’s stated policy and what they provide in reality are often two very different things. Just search ‘Giant warranty’ on this forum for some recent examples.

Saying that, this can go both ways and many companies will often go beyond their stated warranty policy.

Trouble is, you don’t know what it’s like until a couple of years after the first units have been sold.

I am confident they will exceed the low bar set by Giant but whilst I'm sure it will be mechanically sound the electronics and sensors are another thing. This is the main end-of-life in other eMTB motors (bearings and stuff can usually be sourced and changed ... )

Even if they can survive financially if they end up with a high failure rate there is still the supply issue and not having a bike until its done. This pretty much seems to be what has caught out other motor manufacturers.

It seems to me like they are combining (in a sealed non serviceable box) the most reliable and least reliable things in MTB.

I still find it disturbing in the interview he doesn't acknowledge proper (full) suspension servicing rather dismisses it as an oil change.

Imo ime fork seals only need to be changed when leaking ie repair.  I've never had any leak and have always just changed the oil in forks.

Multiple forks over many years with annual oil changes

tjagain

Imo ime fork seals only need to be changed when leaking ie repair. I’ve never had any leak and have always just changed the oil in forks.

Multiple forks over many years with annual oil changes

I've got 4 sets of 2015 forks that have been mainly oil changes (technically 3 since last week when I gave a set away to a friend) and whilst I say "mainly" they have all been fully rebuilt once or twice.

I personally do mostly oil changes (warranty however requires sticking to the service schedule)... unless seals are damaged but the differences are

1/ it is because I can take the fork apart and actually check and not void my warranty AND
2/ I can buy service items (new seals).
3/ I can buy assemblies (from CSU to lowers to dampers) should it be damaged beyond the above
4) I can stick a fork on from ANY manufacturer into a "mount" (headset) that is standard. should damage be beyond the above

So whilst I'm confident pinion can make a long lasting gearbox... I'm far from confident about the electronics and sensors as no-one else has managed this in a MTB environment. When (not if) the motor fails you're totally screwed short of buying a new motor (assuming you can). You can't even as far as I can see keep using the gearbox unassisted ... or rip the whole thing out and stick on a rear mech and shifters...

It's a combination of the least and most reliable parts in MTB all stuck together in a non serviceable unit only directly replaceable with the same.

If your wondering how it rides around a carpark...

The auto shift seems to be great for commuters and shoppers, also love the auto shift to 4th gear when stopped. Remains to be seen how it'll cope on a tech climb.

Nicolai released info on their Saturn 16 with Pinion MGU earlier - intriguing. Not really a looker but if it combines a motor, a gearbox and a Nicolai frame with decent (for me) geometry, then I don't care what it looks like.

want!

"Not really a looker ....." ???

To me that is a fine looking bike. If it wasn't going to cost the thick end of 10 (i'm m aking an educated guess!) then I would consider it for sure

It’s ugly but I trust Nicolai to make a bike that functions well so I’ll take one in plain black please.  Except the price, it’s going to be ‘ow much!!’ isn’t it.

As far as ebikes go, I think that looks pretty cool. As far as pricing goes (suggests €11,000 on facebook) I’ll never be able to buy one! Well, maybe I could afford it, but I just wouldn’t.

The top tube lining up with the seat stays helps it a lot... then you get to the headtube. OTOH the headtube looks a decent length so it might even get off the hook there too. Will gloss over having to re-mortgage the house to get one, otherwise I'd ride it

“Not really a looker …..” ???

To me that is a fine looking bike. If it wasn’t going to cost the thick end of 10 (i’m m aking an educated guess!) then I would consider it for sure

I was anticipating the common opinion on here of Nicolai's looking a bit challenging, nto that I agree. I think it looks fine, as fdar as ebikes go.

Saw that Nicolai in a shop here in Italy the other week. Bugger me it was heavy!

Zero interest in e-MTBs, but fast Pinion motor would be great on a cargo bike like my Bullit.

I used to import Nicolai and have always loved the functional aesthetic but the seat tower on that is really fugly and the head tube isn't much better.