Faulty eCarrera Crossfire

[Neil5403]

I have had my crossfire-e for over 12 months now and during the first couple of weeks, had 2 cut outs. Halfords swapped the display and 12 months later not a single cut-out. Mine has been very reliable and a great bike. So if you want a very reliable one, mine is now in the classifieds section now, as it has been replaced by a Specialized build.

 

[ianm]

Very interesting info here guys, I have ordered a new one from Halfords but actually have yet to commit to paying for it. I am going to organise a test run this week before I actually buy. If it works it would be the best value ebike in my opinion. They can't all be suffering from power outages, surely.

 

[horseunderwater]

Maybe not all but a lot suffer from problems. is this your first ebike , there are plenty of other ebikes at lower prices giving better value than this bike

 

[Neil5403]

Disagree. There are very few at the price of this bike that are any good.
I have been very impressed with mine, and also bought one for the Mrs , who is also very impressed. I tried to persuade her to sell it and I would build her another Specialized conversion but she loves her Carrera and would not part with it. It is very reliable ( no cut outs on either bike for 12 months) and servicing and parts are very easy and readily available at any Halfords. Take out the service package. Good value.

 

[Gubbins]

I will say two positive things for Halfords.. You can guarantee they will always be there and warranty issues will always be dealt with (how they are dealt with is another matter which likely depends on staff knowledge and experience). I think that trying to get LBS to replace a problem bike with a new one could be more difficult..

 

[Deleted member 4366]

They can't all be suffering from power outages, surely.

Of course they will if it's a design fault and they didn't change the design.

The cheaper vengeance doesn't have the problem, but it's a cheaper bike all-round - brakes, gears, etc.

 

[egroover]

They can't all be suffering from power outages, surely.

6 weeks in and 400 miles, with my new Crossfire-e. No cut outs. Hope it continues

 

[NewtSoup]

My final post in this thread.

Long story short:

Bought my e-Carrera for £1200
Had a fault where it kept cutting out.
Replaced battery - fault still present
Replaced display - fault still present
Replaced ECU - Motor Burned out in shop.
Replaced whole Bike - fault still present
Replaced motor - fault still present
Replaced display - fault still present
Replaced ECU - fault still present

Bottom bracket worn out after less than 1000 miles on new bike as also happened with the old bike.

Halfords Area Manager now kicking up a fuss that the bike is not under warranty if you use it for commercial purposes - IE Deliveroo. Yet I was sold said while dressed in Deliveroo Gear and saying I work for Deliveroo and that I needed a bike to work on.

I am now going to return the bike for a refund during the foul weather when it's less safe to work.

@egroover I'm glad your bike has manifested no faults - I'm still pretty sure ALL Suntour HECS have this fault though as I can't be so unlucky to have two bikes continually fail despite multiple parts replacement on each.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I have it from a good source that the problem is related to the contacts behind the display. Two things you can do: Grease them, which will stop the sprung pins from jamming and keep corrosion out; and stick something between the edge of the display and its holder as a shim to stop it from rattling/moving when you ride.

 

[egroover]

I have it from a good source that the problem is related to the contacts behind the display. Two things you can do: Grease them, which will stop the sprung pins from jamming and keep corrosion out; and stick something between the edge of the display and its holder as a shim to stop it from rattling/moving when you ride.

I have taken your advice and greased up the contacts with silicon grease. Still doesn't explain the cut out issue with the first generation Crossfire-e that has the same Suntour HESC system, but with a fixed, non removable display (no contacts) instead. Either way, no cutouts on my bike, 2 months and counting, so I am happy ( I wasnt unhappy with the odd cutout)

Anyway, sorry it didn't work out for you NewtSoup, you experienced all sorts of issues (my BB on my old Crossfire-e did 4k miles and was still fine) hope whatever you get next is trouble free

 

[NewtSoup]

I have it from a good source that the problem is related to the contacts behind the display. Two things you can do: Grease them, which will stop the sprung pins from jamming and keep corrosion out; and stick something between the edge of the display and its holder as a shim to stop it from rattling/moving when you ride.

Hi, yes, That was the first thing that was tried and why I had 2 brand new displays. But bad contacts can be simulated by simply removing the display and replacing it. If you do this you can turn the system back on right away.

The fault displayed by my bike is such that you cannot turn it back on until the battery button has been pressed.

As I say though. Everything that can be replaced has been replaced and it's still a mess.

 

[NewtSoup]

Epilogue - Halfords took my faulty eCarrera Crossfire back. I did not get a refund but I did get a full price trade in on a eCarrera Crossfuse.

The Crossfuse has a Bosch crank motor power train and is absolutely fantastic. I have put 1000 miles on it now with no problems. The battery - even though it's still rated 400Wh the same as the Crossfire - is much stronger and the motor much more effficient. I get around 36 miles out of it in 100% assist around Leicester whereas on the Crossfire with the Suntour system I had to use it in 50% assist to get that performance.

My advice - go the extra £300 to buy the Crosfuse-Bosch over the Crossfire-Suntour.

 

[MikeS]

Yeah they did the same for me last week Newtsoup. So far I've only got 61 miles on the Crossfuse but loving the natural feel of it. And it feels so much lighter than the Crossfire
Mike

 

[NewtSoup]

Yeah they did the same for me last week Newtsoup. So far I've only got 61 miles on the Crossfuse but loving the natural feel of it. And it feels so much lighter than the Crossfire
Mike

I agree - I think it feels lighter because of the better power delivery. On paper the crossfuse is 1kg heavier than the crossfire. Glad you got one too - it's the first Carrera I've truly loved

 

[MikeS]

I agree - I think it feels lighter because of the better power delivery. On paper the crossfuse is 1kg heavier than the crossfire. Glad you got one too - it's the first Carrera I've truly loved

I have one of those towball racks for the car, and it's MUCH easier to put the Crossfuse on than the Crossfire. Part of that is because the weight is more central, but it also feels 3 or 4 kg lighter to pick up.
Mike

 

[etimcarrera]

I have done 2000 miles(in a year) on my crossfire - and it has intermittantly cutout since day 1 - I would really like a solution

 

[NewtSoup]

I have done 2000 miles(in a year) on my crossfire - and it has intermittantly cutout since day 1 - I would really like a solution

I'm sorry to say there is no solution - the Crossfire Suntour system appears to be fundamentally flawed. Halfords just tell you it's overheating and not to pedal so hard (which is bizarre as the harder you pedal the more work you're putting in compared to the motor so you're alleviating load on the motor ).

If you're still within warranty I would suggest going back to halfords and telling them about the problem. I'm sure you have done this already. This time also tell them that you've researched on the internet and spoken to other Suntour owners and that's it's a problem with all Suntour bikes and that you're no longer happy with your purchase as it's not fit for purpose if you have to stop for a few minutes every couple of miles. They won't give you a refund but they will give you store credit on a replacement bike - this is what they did for me.

I then paid a little extra to get the cross fuse with the mid drive motor and I have never looked back ( except when checking for traffic of course ). I've put over 5000 miles on my bosch system and not had a problem. I'm so confident in it that I have bought a second battery for it. I know it's more money but it's very much worth the extra.

I'm sorry to disappoint you with the lack of an actual solution to your ( and many others' ) problem.

 

[MikeS]

I'm sorry to say there is no solution - the Crossfire Suntour system appears to be fundamentally flawed. Halfords just tell you it's overheating and not to pedal so hard (which is bizarre as the harder you pedal the more work you're putting in compared to the motor so you're alleviating load on the motor ).

If you're still within warranty I would suggest going back to halfords and telling them about the problem. I'm sure you have done this already. This time also tell them that you've researched on the internet and spoken to other Suntour owners and that's it's a problem with all Suntour bikes and that you're no longer happy with your purchase as it's not fit for purpose if you have to stop for a few minutes every couple of miles. They won't give you a refund but they will give you store credit on a replacement bike - this is what they did for me.

I then paid a little extra to get the cross fuse with the mid drive motor and I have never looked back ( except when checking for traffic of course ). I've put over 5000 miles on my bosch system and not had a problem. I'm so confident in it that I have bought a second battery for it. I know it's more money but it's very much worth the extra.

I'm sorry to disappoint you with the lack of an actual solution to your ( and many others' ) problem.

Yes I agree with the above absolutely (except I think I read that it's Halfords implementation of the Suntour system that is causing problems and other manufacturers have managed to use the Suntour with no issues)
Mike

 

[vfr400]

I then paid a little extra to get the cross fuse with the mid drive motor and I have never looked back ( except when checking for traffic of course ). I've put over 5000 miles on my bosch system and not had a problem.

If the Carrera Crossfire hadn't had the problems with the cut-outs, which of the two bikes do you prefer?

 

[Amoto65]

I have had both and the Crossfuse for me without a doubt......