E Bikes – Which motor system for reliability?

I’ve been considering an E bike but I’m put off by the common tales of failed motors / batteries and short warranties.

For example, the Privateer E161 looks like a good buy, however, you only  get 2 years warranty on the Shimano motor/battery system.  The 5 years warranty on the frame, to be fair to Privateer, is pretty solid. Am I right in thinking you could end up £1500 down if the motor / battery fails just beyond the two years period?

That’s if you can still get hold of the exact model of motor  – doesn’t seem guaranteed with the speed of development in the E bike market. I had also read that it’s not possible to repair the Shimano motors, however, with some other brands that you can.

I’d be happy to pay a company to fix if the warranty has lapsed – but I want that to be an option with spares readily available etc.

Which motor system is best if your wanting a long term investment?

Pick one, take your chances

I’ve had a Brose for nearly 6 years with no issues, some people go through three Brose motors in a year

Shimano are supposed to be the worst to get repaired though *edit – you already know that

Your query, in a nutshell, is why I’m not buying an e-bike yet. Too many unknowns.

Isn’t the answer that they all have their faults so make sure you buy from a reputable, ideally local, shop who will deal with the inevitable warranty issue?

These are exactly the worries myself, and probably most people had/have when they ummmed and aaahhhed about buying one years ago.

Currently my Bosch has been pretty good, although now it’ll explode tomorrow.

Had it maybe 3 years, although to be fair I don’t use it week in week out.

I don’t think any one system is the most reliable although anecdotally, Bosch seem to get touted as such.

After reading the review of the Yamaha YDX Moro 7 in the magazine and then reading a bit more about Yamaha motors, it looks like a Yamaha might be one of the better ones in terms of service, parts, and repairability.

It could also just be because they aren’t as popular so the horror stories haven’t had as much chance to spread across the internet though.

I’m not in the market (though my other half wishes we’d bought an e-cargo bike) but I think I would try to prioritise availability of repair over reliability anecdotes.

I’d flip that a little and ask ‘which motor system for repairability’, at least if you intend to keep it for longer than the warranty period. These guys are good:

Homepage

Rebuilt and upgraded my Specialized Brose motor last year for not insane money, so it’s less susceptible to both water ingress and strike damage. Beyond that, I think it’s in the nature of electronic motors and ancillaries being used off road in bad conditions to fail occasionally, though you can improve your chances by not riding through ponds, not jet-washing or even direct hosing.

Shimano motors don’t seem to be third-party repairable, which is a bit of a red flag for me, but other than that, it’s hard to know if any particular motor brand is better or worse than another.

Bosch gen 4 is anecdotally the most reliable, but that doesnt mean yours wouldn’t break, and it seems they can be repaired up to a point, although I think if the circuit board fails you’re out of luck.

Shimano is anecdotally the least reliable, and least repairable.

In terms of being able to get whole Replacement motors, according to the Internet bosch apparently have said (but I can’t find it) that they will continue to provide support for motors for at least 7 years from the date they stop making them available in new bikes.

Onthe link below there is a cut n paste of an email conversation with bosch saying they will continue to support their systems for a long time.

https://forums.electricbikereview.com/threads/early-adopters-long-term-support.28470/

I’d be happiest with a bosch gen 4 out of all the current motor systems.

Think how much pasta and bananas you could buy for the price of a motor.

Rebuilt and upgraded my Specialized Brose motor last year for not insane money, so it’s less susceptible to both water ingress and strike damage. Beyond that, I think it’s in the nature of electronic motors and ancillaries being used off road in bad conditions to fail occasionally, though you can improve your chances by not riding through ponds, not jet-washing or even direct hosing.

IIRC Brose mainly make electric motors for industry.  They should know what makes a motor reliable and spares / repairability should be built in

Not an ebiker myself so no real world knowledge but I did see Steve jones from gmbn interview a bloke who repairs bike motors and seem to remember him saying none are that bad. Might be worth a YouTube search

Isn’t the answer that they all have their faults so make sure you buy from a reputable, ideally local, shop who will deal with the inevitable warranty issue?

OP was specifically asking about reliability and repair options post-warranty.

But yeah, I’d favour a local shop. Nearly did get one from my LBS in January actually, but there was a dealbreaker in terms of seatpost insertion in the end. I was looking at a Bosch for the reasons mentioned above.

Not an ebiker myself so no real world knowledge but I did see Steve jones from gmbn interview a bloke who repairs bike motors and seem to remember him saying none are that bad. Might be worth a YouTube search

Deffo worth looking this out.

Not sure whether I took it as “they’re all OK” or “they’re all terrible” though 😀

Brose / Specialzied is the most repairable according to the bike repair place.

I used to have Shimano E8000. Started getting noisy after 4500 miles / 2 years and was replaced under warranty.

I now have a Bosch CX Smart System and it started cutting out after 8 months  / 700 miles and is getting replaced under warranty.

We definitely need a “right to repair” law.

Does anyone know if it’s true, or is it an urban myth, that EBikes have a 25% failure rate? (I think someone quoted the boss of Bird bikes as saying that this high failure rate is why he didn’t want to introduce an EBike right at the moment).

that’s a headline grabbing statistic, but it seems highly unlikely imo, when combined with the huge numbers of e-bikes which seem to be sold each year currently. (Although I’ve no stats for that either!).

Glad i’m not the only one thinking this!

Badlywired – Thanks for that link – very useful to know what can and can’t be fixed in the UK.

Julians – That’s an excellent resource, sounding like Bosch are the winner if they’re offering spares etc for 7 years after it’s been made obsolete.

that EBikes have a 25% failure rate?

Think that statement needs qualifying, anything mechanical will fail if it’s used for long enough.

Out of 7 bikes in my group of riding friends , 4 of the bikes have had new motors under warranty, that’s a mix of bosch, shimano and tq motors.

The 3 that didn’t experience a failure (all shimano motors) have covered very few miles though.

Isn’t the answer that they all have their faults so make sure you buy from a reputable, ideally local, shop who will deal with the inevitable warranty issue?

Is there anyone more reputable in cycling than Shimano? I still don’t like that inside the warranty period they treat their own broken products like landfill and outside they act like they’re completely unserviceable. Even your friendliest LBS is well within their rights to turn you down outside the 2 year window if they’re the terms you bought into.

Does anyone know if it’s true, or is it an urban myth, that EBikes have a 25% failure rate? (I think someone quoted the boss of Bird bikes as saying that this high failure rate is why he didn’t want to introduce an EBike right at the moment).

I remember that but I thought it was around 70-75%. As in 3 out of every 4 motors they had failed during the testing period. I can’t remember the details but I’d like to know. Shame, because it looked like a cool bike.

Reparability is what will sell them to me. I don’t want a ‘no questions asked’ warranty with the knowledge that all those motors and batteries are going in the bin.

I still think the technology is too young and changing too fast for me to blow too much money on one. I want to see the end of derailleurs for a start. Conventional drivetrains are so out of place on e-bikes.

For what it’s worth, I think the use/abuse a motor gets is likely a greater factor to the potential failure rate. If you are in boost all the time, churning up steeps climbs then that is going to load the motor and manifest any issues sooner than tootling along rolling hills. Likewise, weather and cleaning. I can’t imagine any are “bad” so I think, as I’m erring on an eeb, is choose based on convenience and support, ie a local shop that can service them.

Interestingly, my local independent repairer told me at the weekend that Brose are now easing over the technical restrictions on their motors, issuing software to allow diagnostics and updates to be done at places other than spesh dealers.

alpinFree Member
Think how much pasta and bananas you could buy for the price of a motor.

Approximately half a land cruiser, or a quarter of a dog, for those of us not on the metric system

(I think someone quoted the boss of Bird bikes as saying that this high failure rate is why he didn’t want to introduce an EBike right at the moment).

Pretty sure they were testing prototypes using Shimano motors and weren’t prepared to sell products they considered to be unreliable

*posted June 23 on another forum by a well know erebuilder.

I think my current answer to this question would be… Buy an old Bosch Gen2, Brose or Yamaha (not Giant). At least these motors are currently between 90% and 100% repairable.

2x E8000 failed at 2.5 years replaced FoC, although cost £70 each in labour to the local shop to deal with it. On one bike when the replacement motor got to 2 years I sold the bike on for fear of a large bill. Debating what to do with the other one which is nearing 2 years old soon.

Bosch is the most reliable. In my riding group there have been zero bosch failures, including some bikes that have been pressure washed and over 3000 miles mostly used on turbo. Everyone with a shimano bike has had more than three replacements. No one had been brave enough to try brose.

From what I’ve read Brose used to be one of the most unreliable, however now they have the most amount of ability on spare parts, but apparently the seals are still pretty crap on the motor as standard.

Bosch have one of the best reputations as far as I’m aware of for reliability, which Is one reason I went with a Bosch equipped ebike, but Shimano spares and repairs are now also pretty common.

As others have said it’s less a case of reliability now but more of a where you buy from, warranty approval and customer service. Buy local and from a reputable shop and you should be good (not that bigger direct sales brands are bad). Most manufacturers will only cover motors for 2 years so Privateer deal is pretty normal – outside.of the two years as long and it’s serviceable and parts available it’s all good.

Water ingress is the killer of motors so again it’ll depend on when, where, how often and what conditions you rde in.

Does anyone know if it’s true, or is it an urban myth, that EBikes have a 25% failure rate?

At least 25% of people I see riding them are riding them wrong – high gear, uphill, low cadence. The motor is doing ALL the work

The motor is doing ALL the work

I don’t ride an eBike, but isn’t that kind of the idea?

I know people on here talk about mechanical sympathy (everyone on here seems to have it, any not here doesn’t..) but take on eBikes is that if they can’t deal with low cadence/high torque work then that an issue with the design of the motor surely?

I think most manufacturers know the biggest killer of motors is the seat half down mid block turbo grind but none want to come out and say it for fear of losing custom. You’re asking a very small motor to do a hell of a lot of work riding like that.
Doesn’t one of the manufacturers only let you get peak power if you hit 100rpm now?

brose motor on 4 year old levo here. never once been back to the shop, Had 1 minor issue when it wouldn’t turn on after a wet ride but was fine the next day. On original motor and battery

I don’t ride an eBike, but isn’t that kind of the idea?

no. its pedal assistance not pedal replacement.

It basically means uphills are faster and fun technical challenges and you get to ride places/routes not easily frequented by regular bikes. once pointing downhill the motor is barely used. I sstill get knackered riding mine. i just go faster uphill, have fun going uphill, and ride up waaaaay more hills to get to more of the downhill fun bits.

if i was buying new now i’d buy a bosch motor. I prefer the ride quality of my shinamo one but its a risk (and its in for a replacment – 3.5yrs old and i’ve cased a LOT of jumps! haha )

I had a 2019 Kona Remote Ctrl with a Gen 2 Bosch motor , 4 in fact in 3 years, one time the bike shot across my garage when I switched it on and slammed into another bike . 😳After the 4th replacement Bosch contacted me and advised not to ride it in the wet as ” They don’t like it ” 🙄 They also refused to answer my question about what happens to the old duff  motors do they just go to landfill and are you as ” Green” as you make out .

Seems a bit of a lottery but there are so many variables as has been pointed out . I bought an Orbea Rise with a Shimano EP8 which is now approaching it’s out of warranty period so am getting a bit nervous 🤔 because of all the anecdotal evidence knocking around 🤔I thought there was a law in place now regarding serviceability of consumer goods or doesn’t that apply to E bikes ?

The people that make me laugh are those that praise Spesh for their quick warranty turnaround ignoring the fact they’ve had X motors in 2 years 🙄

I thought there was a law in place now regarding serviceability of consumer goods or doesn’t that apply to E bikes ?

The right to repair, it doesn’t apply to ebikes, it only applies to certain categories of goods like washing machines and other household appliances, cars etc

I think it’s mostly water ingress that kills motors  in emtbs, there are motors used in commuter bikes that go for thousands of miles without a problem, but the mtb environment is a tough one.

I don’t ride an eBike, but isn’t that kind of the idea?

No

Occasional bursts of high torque/power fine, but not constant. They work better with a high cadence. Ride them in the gear you’d normally be in, otherwise why put gears on ebikes.

Put maximum load on anything constantly and it will overly stress it

Its pot luck. Everhone I know with an Ebike has had the notor replaced, across both Shimano and Bosch. I met a guy who had 4 Brose replacements, one lasted just 15k, one did 6000k

As above get it local, get the one that’s best warrantied (both bike brand and motor), and one that’s repairable.

For me, that meant Trek/Bosch.

I presume that all ebike buyers are paying for  these warranty replacements. The actual motors probably don’t cost much, it’s the warranty burden that makes them expensive . It does seem an odd business model though where you expect to almost always warranty your product.

OP should just take the plunge – you have to invest in the now when it comes to cycling, imho, and particularly when it comes to things that really move the needle of your riding experience which is ebikes for a lot of people. Time passes, circumstances change – you’ll be a long time waiting for the perfect UK-proof ebike. And in the meantime your mates have done 10000 descents, happy grins plastered over their big faces.

The fact that they are everywhere should tell you something – this is not some experimental technology that works one day in ten. Yeah the problems are real but riders are dealing with them and learning best practice, and overall massive e-mileage is getting laid down.

Interesting vid. Bosch Gen2, and i think they are 75nm

Interesting vid.

Bosch gen 4 here. Lasted 700km (4 months) before dying. I have hammered it over the winter in the absolute stinking wet/filth which which is what I think did for it. Never been jett-washed, carefully washed by hand… been with Evass for a few weeks now; they’ve been pretty good whilst Bosch drag their heels. Anyway, new motor being fitted this week.

The sad fact is, I just don’t think that e-bike systems are up to being refularly ridden in typical (and maybe this winter was atypical…) British winter weather. You might get lucky and YMMV.  I’ll be less keen to take it out in very wet conditions next winter, which is a shame. Love the bike though!

edit: on a Trek Rail, another Bosch/trek/big retailer is about as good a warranty service (in theory) you should get.

I’ve watched quite a few YT vids , and keep hovering on the ‘buy’ button for an ebike before chickening out

Conclusions from watching many vids:

Not as many motors fail as think

Motors are still in infancy

Motors not designed for UK conditions

Bosch/Shimano will contribute to replacement costs up to 5yrs.

All are repairable apart from Shimano

Small motors are less reliable but then also more power kills them quicker

The point above about Bosch having motors / spares available for 7 yrs is a bit worrying. My current mtb is currently 12yrs old and still working fine. I’m not dropping £5k plus on a bike that only is useable for <7 years !