BH Emotion serious problems

[flecc]

hmmm hassle of dealing with a good french dealer is greater than hassle of dealing with a bad british dealer.

At Trex's link, Velo-Electrique in Paris, Sophie is English speaking, will look after English customers well and is willing to send parts from there into the UK.

 

[maloflora]

Ok sorry to drag this back on topic after so long, but it's been an extremely long and frustrating wait. Here's where we are.

The bike has been now off the road for nearly eight weeks, while the dealer has been negotiating with BH in the UK and Spain. Despite the evidence provided by me and from this forum that the spokes originally fitted with the bike were inadequate, BH UK have only supplied a few spokes to repair the wheel – presumably based on the original 2012 specification.

According to the dealer, BH's view seems to be that their bikes are perfect so therefore it must be something that I am doing despite the dealer saying to them that it is an intrinsic problem and that in his view and the view of others it will not be resolved by their proposed solution.

So I'm now being asked to choose between:
Dealer to fit these replacement spokes (no cost) but I'm pretty sure the problem will recur
Dealer to rebuild wheel with 12 gauge spokes at a cost to me of £120

It's worth saying I've incurred probably a few hundred pounds in extra costs while the bike has been off the road, not to mention the inconvenience.

What should I do? Complaint to BEBA? Trading Standards? Small claims? None of that will get the bike back on the road of course!

All help very welcome (though I imagine dealer will be reading this site!).

 

[Cyclezee]

It doesn't sound like you are getting anywhere soon with the dealer, where do you live Maloflora?

I am sure someone on the forum knows a good specialist wheel builder in your area that can do a great rebuild with quality spokes for much less than £120.

The guy that does mine is near Daventry and I also know someone in Leeds.

We have a member called Catsnapper who is also an expert, but has moved to Spain, it could be worth sending him a PM for advice.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

That's really poor. I've heard lots of stories about Neo spokes breaking BH Emotion must know about it.

You don't need 12g spokes. 13g spokes are better if done properly.

For £120, you can get a complete new wheel with the motor from China. Your dealer has a responsibility for the product he sold you. If he thinks it should be rebuilt, he should just do it. His labour is effectively free, and the spokes don't cost much. Isn't it time to name them?

Catsnapper still can supply the good wquality spokes, but the cost of shipping the wheel will be prohibitive.

 

[maloflora]

Happy to. It's E-bikes Direct in Battersea.

 

[ghouluk]

i sympathise with your frustration - bh uk try to be helpful, but the lack of parts and refusal of spain to take any kind of ownership mean i'll never buy another bh.

to get you back on the road, the wheel doesn't need better spokes to be honest - it needs to be trued properly - halo bmx spokes fit perfectly and are about 2.40 each, then 10-25 quid to put in the broken spokes and true the wheel (or download a smartphone tuner and ping them to the same note.....thats how i did mine)

((actually how many spokes do you need - i have a few left over i think - if you want to try them - you're welcome to them - drop me a pm.))

the cross i had didn't lose any more spokes once the wheel was built properly, despite my heavy weight abuse.

 

[Kudoscycles]

If you make contact with Kudos tomorrow I can give you the contact details of a very good wheel builder who is not expensive. With all the problems of BH at present it is probably better to look after yourself on this problem, if the cost is not expensive.
KudosDave

 

[EddiePJ]

((actually how many spokes do you need - i have a few left over i think - if you want to try them - you're welcome to them - drop me a pm.))
.

Very kind offer, but my understanding is that between motors and bike models, BH have now used six different spoke lengths in total. Measuring the existing length first would probably be worth while.

I wonder who will get their bike fixed first.... Malaflora or me.

 

[banbury frank]

Hi Man with spoke machine 13G spokes £27 for 36 +postage + nippels he takes cards over the telephone


Home/About Us

Frank

 

[EddiePJ]

The last wheel that BH sent out.

 

[ghouluk]

Very kind offer, but my understanding is that between motors and bike models, BH have now used six different spoke lengths in total. Measuring the existing length first would probably be worth while.

I wonder who will get their bike fixed first.... Malaflora or me.

sorry, you're right - i was thinking you had a cross - the xtrem with the 2013 motor has more standard length spokes - shouldn't be a problem to get hold of i wouldn't have thought (though i've never managed to break any spokes on the xtreme- touch wood)

 

[maloflora]

Hi all,

Thanks for the suggestions, offers and support - much appreciated. My priority is to get the bike back on the road before Christmas, so I'm going to ask him to repair using BH's spokes.

Secondly, assuming the damn thing breaks again I'd like to take up the offer of an introduction to a specialist wheel-builder. KudosDave - I'll be in touch by PM.

Thirdly, I still feel badly treated and out of pocket. I don't concede that yet another repair using poor quality components ends the matter; nor do problems with the manufacturer absolve the dealer of responsibility. So I intend to take this further - do I start with a complaint to BEBA? Trading Standards?

Thanks again!

 

[trex]

I think you over-reacted a little. The broken spokes are more likely the result of the wheel not properly trued than faulty spokes. You'd need something like 1000kg+ force to break the spoke in the middle, much less to break the spokes at the elbow where the spoke exits the hub hole.
Spokes work only when they are under traction, if you let a spoke loosened, that traction is lost, the spoke will compress and decompress on each revolution, causing rapid temperature rise and metal fatigue. I think you should accept the offer of free spokes and spend a little time learning to look after the spokes yourself. You only need to 'ping' your spokes every now and then and tighten up a little the ones that sound loosened.

 

[Geebee]

I would be pretty upset by this stage myself, 3 times to fix a spoke issue and the amount of time involved?

Just as a guide the only spoke I have ever broken was by a misplaced chain jamming between the derailleur and freewheel (cheap bike bady setup), that is over a decade and 10's of thousands of km riding.

 

[trex]

Maloflora can check the wheel himself for obvious problems: trueness, damaged eyelets, incorrect dishing, damaged tyre, air pressure and general solidity of the wheel.
I am only guessing here, if the spokes keep breaking then the guy who did the repair did not do his job correctly. Ask somebody with experience to take a look.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Hi Maloflora,

I am very sorry to read about the problems. Unfortunately BH are not BEBA members so we cannot offer our arbitration service.

Again unfortunately Maxtrack have stopped supplying the bikes or they would have sorted you out. I would be happy to write to BH from BEBA on your behalf but I am not sure how much weight it would carry.

Best regards

David

 

[Scimitar]

All of the importers of the European supplied bikes keep nil stock of bikes and nil stock of parts in the UK.

It reeks of amateurism and dredges up memories of some of the early importers of foreign makes into the UK. Forty-odd years ago, the Japanese car makers learned well from the debacle of foreign makes in the UK and paid particular attention to spares backup - some parts might have cost more than a Ford, but they were usually on the dealer's counter within 48 hours.
Likewise VW, who learned early on, especially in the all-important US market, that speedy spares supply was essential.
Honestly, if electric bike importers/makers want to be taken seriously, the more foolish of them need to be weeded out and the rest have to pull their socks up sharpish (with one or two honourable exceptions).

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I am only guessing here, if the spokes keep breaking then the guy who did the repair did not do his job correctly. Ask somebody with experience to take a look.

That's possible, Trex. Another possibility is that the wire from which the spokes were made was the wrong grade. Several manufacturers have had batches of bikes with failing spokes. I myself have had one wheel from BMSBattery where the spokes kept breaking even though I kept it true and properly tensioned. The spokes and rim were the same as all the others I've had that didn't break even when not properly tensioned. I suspect that the Chinese spoke-makers don't have adequate quality controls to guarantee the properties of the wire they receive, and that sometimes it's too hard, causing premature fatigue failures.

 

[maloflora]

I should clarify that the spokes seem to break near the hub. I'm not an expert, so I'm not sure what's breaking and how to true up etc. Anyone know a good guide on the internet I can read up, so to learn what to do?

 

[trex]

to check your wheel: air pressure is easy, you need to keep at least 40 psi plus, check the holes in the rim where the spoke nipples come through, you don't want any damaged eyelet/hole. Turn the bike upside down, spin the wheel gently. Is the wheel centered on the middle line of the bike frame? Keep your eye on the black line in the middle of the rim - Does the black line wooble? if the wheel is not centered or the black line wobbles more than a millimeter, take the bike to a local bike shop (not the guy who did it last time), ask the shop to true your wheel. They may charge you £10 for two but no more than that. Buy a spoke key (£2 at any local bike shop) and ask the guy at the LBS to show you how to do it yourself next time.