Broken spokes on such a new ebike
- Thread starter Simonwwfc
- Start date
Not common, but not as rare as it should be. As an mtb the wheels should have been built to be pretty robust, but I guess with machine built wheels there is an error every now and then. Maybe the shop didn't check as carefully as they should have done when setting the bike up. You don't mention how heavy you are, that can make a big difference, especially if you do things like riding off kerbs which can have quite an impact on the back wheel.
Oxygen must be aware of this issue by now you'd think they would check the wheel before dispatch - however oxygen have great customer service so keep on em. My mate experienced the same issue with his e-mate years ago...
Unfortunately spokes can bed in and get loose.
It is essential to regularly ping them every week or so.
It is essential to regularly ping them every week or so.
Oh bugger not good, in cases like this you could ask to open an official complaint with the company, be polite and just list facts and gauge the feel before you ask for a contribution to fix the issue, depending on the warranty info you could argue it is a warranty issue and the entire bike should be fit for purpose, you would have to research your rights on this as I have not... Depending on how you paid for the bike after the first polite emails you could[if you feel comfortable in doing so]"diplomatically threaten" oxygen by mentioning you forum posts and by contacting Paypal or your credit/debit card/bank to assist, even if you just ask for a charge back for the cost of repair(if this is possible)... Take photos of your mileage and the damage and have a copy of the warranty to hand, research "charge back" or contact citizens advise if poss.
So far, I have never had any spoke problems with any of my ebikes. The Delite did well over 14,000 miles and I am 13 stone plus.
Thats more than I can say for the previous and cheaper bikes, I suppose you get what you pay for.
Thats more than I can say for the previous and cheaper bikes, I suppose you get what you pay for.
On the first mtb style hub-drive e-bike I bought (now long since sold), I remember it stated in the owners manual that spokes needed to be checked and tightened every 100 miles for the first few hundred miles to compensate for bedding in. First accessory I bought was a spoke key! Never did have any loose or broken spokes on that bike, but it's something I still do on both my current e-bikes every now and then; the odd one or two spokes do loosen very slightly very occasionally, but always caught and remedied in time before anything serious happened.
It's a lesson to all, how often my better half skips over important T&C's and goes straight to "OK"... and I firmly I believe these manuals, warranties and T&C's are inherently designed to be the most tedious documents ever known to human kind
When I bought my bike from Woosh they specifically stated that the wheels should be regularly pinged and even supplied a spoke key with the bike.
There's a lot going on with a spoked wheel. The hub is effectively held in suspension by the spokes at the top, as the wheel revolves the tension increases then decreases. If some spokes stretch/relax/settle in a bit from new leaving one tighter then the other it can easily snap under excess tension.
It is good maintenance to ensure all spokes have equal tension by squeezing pairs on a regular basis. It is also easier then most people think to correct minor wobbles in the wheel by adjusting spoke tension but take it easy, a fraction of a turn can move things quite a lot. Plenty of on-line quides to follow.
It is good maintenance to ensure all spokes have equal tension by squeezing pairs on a regular basis. It is also easier then most people think to correct minor wobbles in the wheel by adjusting spoke tension but take it easy, a fraction of a turn can move things quite a lot. Plenty of on-line quides to follow.
Hi Croxden, both your bikes are full suspension crank drive bikes that gives the wheels a much easier life irrespective of how well built they were to start with.
I really like both my old Oxygen Emate rear hub motored bikes, but have had spokes break in the rear motor wheels of each. These bikes have no rear suspension, and a rear rack where I attach sometimes overloaded panniers full of too much shopping and am sadly north of 100kg in weight, all factors that contribute.
However my emates are of 2011 vintage, one I have had from new and ridden into the ground, 20,000 miles or so, but it still works perfectly well. It is a bit of a "Triggers broom", being on its third motor wheel, however the first which did not break any spokes was replaced under warranty at the two year point when the motor started to uncharacteristically fail, the second motor wheel broke spokes quite early in its life, but I had lots of spokes from the first motor wheel to swap over until I got the replacement motor wheel stabilized, and within the last few weeks I have put in a third refurbished motor wheel, one of two I bought for £140 from Oxygen at the time the first motor wheel failed at the two year point around 2013 to future proof my bike but they then spent 7 years on a garage shelf before one of them has ended up coming in useful after the second motor wheel decided it had had enough after 6 odd years of use and no maintenance at all. I am pleased I bought those two spar motor wheels now as it was so easy to swap it over, plug it in and ride away. Now if this third motor wheel brakes spokes I will simply swap in spokes from the wheel I have taken out and those spokes may have already been swapped into that wheel from the first wheel that failed.
And a broken spoke, once you have got to grips with changing it is really not that hard to do, likewise checking, occasionally tightening and adjusting the tension of your spokes, to get to a point where they stop breaking.
Shagged but highly functional 2011 Oxygen Emate City.
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Hi Geogehenry, bought 2 Oxygen go bikes last December, could I ask how many batteries you have had please, very interested. Thanks Brian
I am on my third battery on the Oxygen Emate I have owned since new. The last one I bought off Ebay, listed as 15.6Ah at the beginning of April 2018 for £200 and is still performing well. The vendor I bought it from still sells similar batteries.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/36V15Ah-Lithium-ion-Battery-E-bike-Silver-Fish-with-Cellphone-Charging-USB/222214730187
I bought another Oxygen Emate from the classified section in Pedelecs for just £100 and although the same age as my bike, it was in almost new condition after being simply left in the vendors garage after he had ridden it only 500 miles, ironically because it had broken a spoke in the rear wheel that the vendor could not get fixed.
Also quite remarkedly after not being used for so long the battery on that bike came back to life and I now use that bike to commute to work and back for my early shifts riding a 20 mile round trip on the road. I do charge the battery back to full at work before riding home.
https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/the-tale-of-a-£100-second-hand-electric-bike.33079/#post-467114
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