Bosch motor system life expectancy

[kingsknight]

My wife asked my a very good question tonight. How long ish will my Active line plus motor last me? And to be honest I have no idea what so ever! I said maybe 15,000 miles before it needs replacing but that was a complete guess.

I tried googling it but can't find any answers.

Many of you got any high mileage Bosch ebikes? Just trying to get an idea of how long it will last! I know it all depends on how you treat the motor but there must be some kind of cycle life to the system?

 

[soundwave]

bosch say they will support any drive system with parts for 10 years but it really depends how many miles per year you are doing and what type of riding on and off road.

15k might be about it for a batt tho.

 

[kingsknight]

I'm doing no hardcore off roading. At my current rate I'm going to be doing around 3500 miles a year 99% all on the road!

 

[soundwave]

my bike is 5 years old now +dongle and the motor is as good as new, had to get a new 500w batt tho but the old one is still going but half the range now so will be going to jimmy for a recell soon.


https://www.e-bikeshop.co.uk/Haibike-xDuro-AMT-PRO-2014

 

[kingsknight]

Mate that bike looks epic!!! How many miles have you clocked up on it?

 

[soundwave]

i have a bad ass dongle so it screws up the mileage and speed readings so it is about 2500 miles on the display atm but imo it is 2 or 3 times that.

 

[kingsknight]

I have to admit that I'm slightly tempted to get a dongle but i was worried it would burn out my motor faster lol

 

[vfr400]

I think 15,000 miles and 5 years is very optimistic. I reckon by the end of year 2 at 70 miles a week, you'll be noticing a difference. by the end of the next year, you'll be wishing you had a new battery. Bosch guarantee 80% capacity after 2 years, which I also think is very optimistic for heavy users. That's heavy in terms of use, not weight, though weight won't help.

 

[soundwave]

I have to admit that I'm slightly tempted to get a dongle but i was worried it would burn out my motor faster lol

wanna race

 

[kingsknight]

I think 15,000 miles and 5 years is very optimistic. I reckon by the end of year 2 at 70 miles a week, you'll be noticing a difference. by the end of the next year, you'll be wishing you had a new battery. Bosch guarantee 80% capacity after 2 years, which I also think is very optimistic for heavy users. That's heavy in terms of use, not weight, though weight won't help.

I was thinking more along the lines of the motor itself to be honest! I am charging the battery once sometimes twice a week at the moment. I mainly use Eco and tour mode and I get around 50 miles per charge depending how lazy i am lol

 

[soundwave]

I was thinking more along the lines of the motor itself to be honest! I am charging the battery once sometimes twice a week at the moment. I mainly use Eco and tour mode and I get around 50 miles per charge depending how lazy i am lol

https://www.performancelinebearings.com/

 

[georgehenry]

I think if you ride it on the road and are careful to keep water away from the bearings when washing it could last a long time. Also if you can keep water out of the motor, it will be the main bearing that will eventually wear and this can be replaced.

I have a Yamaha PW system and 400Wh battery that I use to commute to work and back and was four years old in March. The battery is holding up incredibly well working almost as well as it did when brand new with 10,906 miles covered.

The bike only gets used to commute to work and back, 12/14 miles to work 80% off road (using eco or off) and 10 miles back on the road.

I look after my battery by keeping it in the house when not in use around 55% to 65% charged. I charge it to full as close to my departure time to work as possible. I use 25% to 38% of my battery travelling to work. I can leave the bike in a heated room, and can charge the battery back to full. I use 35% to 45% of the battery riding home at a faster speed using higher assist levels (20mph Average for the 10 mile road journey). I bring in to the house where I keep it until the next time I need it. This gap can occasionally be several weeks.

So my style of use seems to be keeping my battery in very good shape as it ages.
1. Store in the house
2. Charge to full as close to the time you intend to use the bike as possible.
3. Try not to regularly discharge your battery too deeply. I hardly ever use more than 50% of my batteries capacity.
4. Do not leave your battery 100% charged for too long.

Oh yes, enjoy yourself, I certainly do. Effectively mountain biking to work rather than driving my car.

 

[Deno]

I have ~14000km over 17 months on a Bosch CX motor. It does 250km a week, it’s dongled and I charge the battery twice a day. Have noticed a drop in range from the battery and I’m sure a new system would seem a bit more responsive but there’s still no discernible play on the cranks so I’m guessing the motors good. I’m pretty stunned by the reliability to be honest.

 

[zakventis]

Like Deno, I have a Bosch CX system which has done 8,000 miles in the past 24 month. Not dongled (I like numeric accuracy and am happy with the maximum of 16 mph assist), has a small drop in battery range (maybe 10%) and absolutely no play at the crank. This is 80% tarmac and 20% dry(ish) trail riding. Totally happy with its reliability and looking forward to at least another 3 years of trouble-free riding.

 

[Andy McNish]

As long as you keep them dry, electric motors are incredibly reliable.

And even if a 500W/hr battery drops off 20% over 2 years. that's still a 400W/hr battery (which on the ALP will let you go as far as most other 500W/hr batteries anyway in practical use).

CX motors seems to be able to last 10k+ miles without issue or need for serious servicing.
ALP motors should (in theory) be even more reliable as they are next gen and put through a little less power. But you can always get unucky or let water in.

15k miles is as good a guess as any. But no-one really knows as people haven't had time to put 15,000+ miles on an ALP yet.

We're talking c.24,000 km here. If you put that in over two years on an ebike it's 1000km a month. Month in, month out.

If you do that:
a) you'll be so fit that an e-bike isn't needed at that point; and
b) you can hardly claim it's not good value for money. Even the cost of a new motor pales into insignificance vs the cost of any other mode of transport (apart from a non e-bike) for that much commuting/distance travelled.

 

[kingsknight]

First off, I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who is replying. You are being very helpful! I'm very new to ebiking and just learning what to expect in the future as my ebike is my main form of transport now. I no longer have a motorcycle which was 100% reliable and in the 4 years of owning it never let me down once so I'm slightly worried about how reliable my ebike is going to be.

I've got a bunch of spares just in case I need a replacement part quick. So far I've got these parts spare.

Ebike drive chain.
4 inter tubes.
2 tyres.
Set of brake pads.

I like to be prepared

Like Deno, I have a Bosch CX system which has done 8,000 miles in the past 24 month. Not dongled (I like numeric accuracy and am happy with the maximum of 16 mph assist), has a small drop in battery range (maybe 10%) and absolutely no play at the crank. This is 80% tarmac and 20% dry(ish) trail riding. Totally happy with its reliability and looking forward to at least another 3 years of trouble-free riding.

You say there isn't any play in the crank. I think that is what I'm worried about the most to be honest. I'm all new to this but I want to learn to do EVERYTHING myself including repairing the bearings if needed!

 

[kingsknight]

I have ~14000km over 17 months on a Bosch CX motor. It does 250km a week, it’s dongled and I charge the battery twice a day. Have noticed a drop in range from the battery and I’m sure a new system would seem a bit more responsive but there’s still no discernible play on the cranks so I’m guessing the motors good. I’m pretty stunned by the reliability to be honest.

How many drive chains have you needed to replace in that time?

 

[sjpt]

I'm all new to this but I want to learn to do EVERYTHING myself including repairing the bearings if needed!

You've probably found it already, but lots of information at https://www.performancelinebearings.com/how-to/

 

[vfr400]

If you're using your bike on the road for transport, puncture proof tyres will obviate the need to carry all that stuff to fix punctures. I've had no punctures in 5 years and about 6000 miles since I fitted them. Before that, I used to average about one puncture every 2 weeks. By puncture proof, I mean Marathon Plus. Other types might be as good, but I didn't try them.

Water is the enemy of all electric bikes. The salt that you get on winter roads is the worst thing because the salty water gets onto seals, then crystalises when it dries. The crystals then act like grinding paste to damage the seals, which eventually lets the water in. I don’t have a solution to that other than copious amounts of grease around the crank bearings to act as a barrier. Alternatively avoid salty roads as far as possible.

 

[Andy McNish]

+1 for Marathon Pluses (slimed). Although I do still carry a small pump and puncture repair kit.