BH Emotion serious problems

[maloflora]

Hi all,

I've been having a great time with my BH Emotion Neo Cross since last November, but for one serious problem: the spokes on the rear wheel keep breaking. I'm not doing anything unusual - just commuting in general. Nor am I particularly heavy!

I've now taken it in to be repaired three times. The dealer has been great the first two times and added in some heavier spokes the last time around. This time (as another two have gone) they're going to send the wheel back to BH to be rebuilt. This is going to take a few weeks, which is extremely inconvenient of course!

What should I do if this doesn't work and the wheel keeps losing spokes? I can't go on like this - the point of a bike should be its reliability!

Who is liable? The dealer who sold me the bike or the manufacturer and what do I do if they're in Spain?

Thanks for any help in advance!

 

[Mike63]

Hi maloflora....as I understand it, the dealer who sold you the bike is responsible.

I had this problem with a rear hub bike I'd bought used.

When I took it to a LBS the guy told me it had been stitched wrong and not got the strength.
It seems that the spokes should be fitted in a certain way...when they cross over.
He showed me on another bike that when 2 adjacent spokes are pinged together you should get a "squeak" which you don't get if it's stitched wrong.

Perhaps one of our guru's can explain this further.

....best of luck....Mike

 

[EddiePJ]

The shop that sold me my Neo Xtrem had another Neo Xtrem in for a service when I went in there a month or so back. The first thing that I spotted were heavy duty stainless rear wheel spokes. Apparently like you and your Neo Cross, his spokes kept breaking.
In the shops and BH's defence, listening to what he was doing with the bike, it was hardly surprising that his were snapping.

I realise that it's a massive inconvenience and not something that you perhaps want to hear, but it could be worth having the whole wheel re-laced with a heavier gauge spoke set.

 

[flecc]

The build quality of production wheels does fall short at times, but a rebuild usually solves the problem so best wait to see the outcome before worrying.

 

[Croxden]

You should have taken notice of eddieo, I did & look what happened to me!

 

[maloflora]

Yes I'm beginning to think that. Thanks all - let's see what happens to the rebuild and I may come back to you for more advice after that!

 

[KTM Bike Industries UK]

Hi all,

I've been having a great time with my BH Emotion Neo Cross since last November, but for one serious problem: the spokes on the rear wheel keep breaking. I'm not doing anything unusual - just commuting in general. Nor am I particularly heavy!

I've now taken it in to be repaired three times. The dealer has been great the first two times and added in some heavier spokes the last time around. This time (as another two have gone) they're going to send the wheel back to BH to be rebuilt. This is going to take a few weeks, which is extremely inconvenient of course!

What should I do if this doesn't work and the wheel keeps losing spokes? I can't go on like this - the point of a bike should be its reliability!

Who is liable? The dealer who sold me the bike or the manufacturer and what do I do if they're in Spain?

Thanks for any help in advance!

just a bit of general help.

your contract is with the company you bought the bike from, so its always up to the dealer to sort problems. The dealer's contract is with the supplier, so they go to the brand / distributor or whoever it was they bought the bike from, and like wise any problems get passed up the chain.

if you have particular problems with the dealer then of course contact the distributor / brand, but this really is a last resort, as its very unlikely BH themselves built the wheel, they will just also be a step in the supply chain.

With regard to the wheel, a quality wheel build and quality spoke / nipple is more important than the guage of the spoke. So don't just go with "heavier spokes" eBikes are heavy enough. Far better to get a decent built wheel with double butted spokes, this will be more than enough to give the performance and reliability you need.

 

[Mike63]

get a decent built wheel with double butted spokes,

....what are double butted spokes ?

...thanks....Mike

 

[KTM Bike Industries UK]

Sheldon Brown has a very helpful definition that I've just stolen....

"Double-butted spokes are thicker at the ends than in the middle. The most popular diameters are 2.0/1.8/2.0 mm (also known as 14/15 gauge) and 1.8/1.6/1.8 (15/16 gauge).

Double-butted spokes do more than save weight. The thick ends make them as strong in the highly-stressed areas as straight-gauge spokes of the same thickness, but the thinner middle sections make the spokes effectively more elastic, allowing them to stretch (temporarily) more than thicker spokes."

from here:

Wheelbuilding

essentially a quality brand of double butted spoke built by an even half decent wheel builder will be perfect for the job.

don't just use a heavier gauge spoke.. that will be heavier and probable not even any better.

The original equipment spokes are probably just a bit rubbish, but don't go for a heavier gauge!!

 

[maloflora]

Thanks - lots of useful advice. If there's a still a problem when it comes back from BH, I'll suggest that to the dealer.

 

[Kudoscycles]

Thanks - lots of useful advice. If there's a still a problem when it comes back from BH, I'll suggest that to the dealer.

Malaflora,your timing with your wheel problem is unfortunate...the old importer,namely Maxtrack is no longer handling BH sales in the UK....BH have decided to establish their own distributor,however Maxtrack were good guys and I am sure will assist you if they can.
KudosDave

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I'm surprised what all the fuss is about. Surely the dealer knows how to re-build the wheel. It'll cost less to source some spokes than it would to send the wheel away, and would be a lot quicker. The spokes breaking is nothing to do with the thickness of the spokes nor whether the bike has been given rough treatment. The batch of spokes used was obviously duff because many Neos have had this problem. A simple rebuild with any other spokes will solve it. I bet Catsnapper could send some decent spokes to the dealer within days and you could've been riding again by the weekend.

 

[mountainsport]

I'm surprised what all the fuss is about. Surely the dealer knows how to re-build the wheel. It'll cost less to source some spokes than it would to send the wheel away, and would be a lot quicker. The spokes breaking is nothing to do with the thickness of the spokes nor whether the bike has been given rough treatment. The batch of spokes used was obviously duff because many Neos have had this problem. A simple rebuild with any other spokes will solve it. I bet Catsnapper could send some decent spokes to the dealer within days and you could've been riding again by the weekend.

I think that you may have a strong point here, my first ebike the rear spokes had constantly snapped on me at least six times. I was so frustrated, and now looking back most likely that they were all duff spokes.
The first time the dealer repaired the damaged spoke(free of cost), the second was from a local shop(charged) the third was back to that same local shop (charged again), BUT! this time I watched very closely how it was done. The 4th 5th and 6th time they were all done by myself.

To conclude, another great tip is to learn how to snorkel in a bath tub without using water, be brave it will save you a couple of notes in the long run.

MS

 

[johnc461165]

I had about 15 spokes break over a 6 month period, did lots of research on the net, and read about what was called (the bottle top effect where the spoke head pops off) if this is the type of breakage you have then it may be of help. I am no expert but what I did was to alter the spoke elbow angle (tightened the bend) from the original 100 degrees to approx 95, I then fitted ss spoke washers under the head, 9 months later I have not had a single spoke break, it may be that spoke washers on their own will do the same job but as I say it's worked for me, good luck.

 

[ghouluk]

this problem seems to exist on lots of bh's - both of the cross's i had had the problem, and threw spokes away like nobodys business (although i'm heavy in 20 years previously i've broken 1 spoke)

the problem seems to be factory truing of the wheels, halo spokes for a bmx are the right length and width and cost a couple of quid (most bike shops couldn't find/didn't stock the spoke length needed, but i found halo bmx spokes are black and fit perfectly)

2.40 a spoke and after replacing the 20th or so, i spent time truing the wheel, and guess what no breakages since.

(most bike shops should be able to do this, and it should cost around a tenner if you don't want to do it yourself)

 

[flecc]

With regard to the wheel, a quality wheel build and quality spoke / nipple is more important than the guage of the spoke. So don't just go with "heavier spokes" eBikes are heavy enough. Far better to get a decent built wheel with double butted spokes, this will be more than enough to give the performance and reliability you need.

Totally agree, thick spokes are not the answer to a poor build.

 

[maloflora]

Thanks all. The dealer quoted me close to £200 to rebuild the wheel locally which I considered unacceptable when I have spent nearly £2000 on a ten month old bike used perfectly normally!

I'll see what happens when the wheel comes back.

 

[KTM Bike Industries UK]

thats crazy, and in fact you shouldn't be paying anything for the labour as its warranty work. The shop should be billing BH for the costs. Worst case you should be paying the upgrade cost of the better spokes.

Here is a good pricelist for wheel build prices with the spoke options.

Wheel Building | Bike Maintenance | Bike Repair | London | Condor Cycles

Which shop is it thats trying to charge you £200.00?? and what spokes are they going to use?

 

[Mike63]

The dealer quoted me close to £200 to rebuild the wheel locally

...the guy is a schmuk and if I'd dealt with him he'd never get another penny off me.

 

[ghouluk]

Thanks all. The dealer quoted me close to £200 to rebuild the wheel locally which I considered unacceptable when I have spent nearly £2000 on a ten month old bike used perfectly normally!

I'll see what happens when the wheel comes back.

even halfrauds only charge 25.00 for a wheel build! but local bike shops range from 10-20 quid round here.