Flat tyre on motor wheel

[UrbanPuma]

Hi all,

I just went to pump some air into my rear tyre and as soon as i loosened the cap on the valve it started to loose air. On closer inspection, i notice there are a couple of holes around where the valve and inner tube attach.

The bike is a powacycle puma folding bike, with motor in the rear wheel. I had slime put in when i purchased it also. I phoned a shop and got a quote for £50 to fix, due to puncture being on rear wheel and having to reset the gears.

My question is - is this a fair price?

All comments appreciated.

Thanks

UrbanPuma

 

[stokepa31_mk2]

I think this is excessive even for the motor wheel. say £5 for a new tube and an hours labour at a max of £20 and you get your answer.

 

[Cyclezee]

If you lived near me Urban, I would help you do it for nothing, even with a broken bone in my hand

J hn

 

[stokepa31_mk2]

If you lived near me Urban, I would help you do it for nothing, even with a broken bone in my hand

J hn

It is a job you could attempt yourself. I had to remove the front wheel on my Torq after a puncture and I just took it really slowly and it was fine.

 

[flecc]

Certainly excessive, and clearly they don't want the job. If you don't want to tackle it yourself, try your nearest Powabyke dealer, since motor wheels or derailleurs don't scare them. You'll find your nearest dealer on this page.
.

 

[UrbanPuma]

Thanks for the info John, Paul and Flecc,

Further questions if i may? looking at the setup on my bike it looks as though the motor wire passes through the bolt which secures the back wheel.

Does anyone know how to remove the back wheel with this wire - how does it disconnect/connect etc?

All help appreciated

 

[stokepa31_mk2]

looking at this large picture, it should just be a case of making sure there is enough slack in the wire to pop the wheel out of the frame. Its a similar principal to the Torq and you do not want to put any pressure on the cable where it enters the hub. if the cable from the controler to the hub motor is cliped to the frame with cable ties you may want to cut these to allow plenty of room.

can you post a picture of the correct side where the cable goes in for completeness

 

[Cyclezee]

There is usually a connector somewhere between the motor and the controller to allow easy removal of the wheel. If you can't locate one then it is a bit more complicated.

J hn

 

[rooel]

And if there is no connector already fitted, fit one yourself as soon as you take delivery of the bike, as you never know when or where the back wheel may have to be removed, possibly in circumstances where extra care with the cable inlet is not possible.

 

[Haku]

£50 just to repair/replace the rear innertube?! I hope you told them to get on their bike! ()

I've had 1 puncture since getting my ebike 13 months ago (maybe 5 or 6 days in that time I haven't been out on it), on the rear wheel and I wasn't looking forward to taking it out to fix till I told my friend and he said no worries, we flipped the bike upside down & he repaired the puncture without even taking the wheel off.

 

[UrbanPuma]

looking at this large picture, it should just be a case of making sure there is enough slack in the wire to pop the wheel out of the frame. Its a similar principal to the Torq and you do not want to put any pressure on the cable where it enters the hub. if the cable from the controler to the hub motor is cliped to the frame with cable ties you may want to cut these to allow plenty of room.

can you post a picture of the correct side where the cable goes in for completeness

Hi Stokepa31,

I dont have a picture unfortunately - the cable you see is the rear brake cable. The motor cable enters the hub on the other side of the picture. I will try to describe it based on the picture you posted.

The cable enters the hub where the black cap is on the wheel nut and runs along that thin part of the frame above the chain and is attached by cable ties. If you look closely over the other side you can see the black cable running along the frame.

There doesnt seem to be much slack from looking at the bike but i did speak to someone at Powacycle yesterday and they said any bike shop could do it. They said they could tell shop what to do and didnt feel it would be a hassle.

Evans Cycles have said their mechanics could change the tube and didnt seem bothered that it was electric. They told me to bring it in today and quoted £12.50 for labour plus cost of tube.

I have emailed powacycle for advice on how to remove wheel due to cable.

Will let you know how i get on.

UrbanPuma

ps..just had another look at the connections and in the picture you sent, there is a silver box near the chainring. If this is the controller, then the cable from the hub enters this and there are screws underneath giving access to the wires enclosed. Am i right in thinking that the cable can be disconnected from inside this box to release the wire for removal of the wheel?

 

[stokepa31_mk2]

Hi Stokepa31,
ps..just had another look at the connections and in the picture you sent, there is a silver box near the chainring. If this is the controller, then the cable from the hub enters this and there are screws underneath giving access to the wires enclosed. Am i right in thinking that the cable can be disconnected from inside this box to release the wire for removal of the wheel?

I would only mess with the controller if there is not enough slack to do the tyre with the wheel still attached. It wont do any harm to whip the cover off and have a look though. it may be a very simple set of connections

Evans price is pretty good. Have you considered changing tyres for something more punctue proof. If you are going down the shop fix route it may be worth the investment. Im not sure what is available for your size of tyre but others will be able to suggest options.

 

[frank9755]

Evans' price is reasonable. I had a puncture fixed on my Wisper at a bike shop in central London. They normally charge £10 but asked for an extra £5 because of the motor - based on what they charge for bikes with hub gears.

On my wife's Powacycle Windsor there is no way to disconnect the motor wire. There is a bit of slack in the cable - I was able to pull it open enough to change the tyre.

Frank

 

[UrbanPuma]

Evans' price is reasonable.

On my wife's Powacycle Windsor there is no way to disconnect the motor wire. There is a bit of slack in the cable - I was able to pull it open enough to change the tyre.

Fank

What have you replaced your wifes tyres with Frank? Also, you said "you were able to open enough to change tyre" - what exactly do you mean Frank - does this mean the wheel cannot come off without damaging the motor cable?

Evans price is pretty good. Have you considered changing tyres for something more punctue proof. If you are going down the shop fix route it may be worth the investment. Im not sure what is available for your size of tyre but others will be able to suggest options.

I have kenda 16 x 2.125 inch tyres. When i got the bike i also had slime put in and after just over 100 miles in varied terrain i had not experienced any punctures, so i thought it was doing the job.

I dont think the flat tyre is due to a puncture as such. I think it is caused due to bending the angle of the valve to get the pump attached becasue there isnt much space between the spokes to get the correct angle. There are two slits on both sides of the valve so maybe the rim wore down the rubber and created the slits?

 

[frank9755]

Yes. There's no way to disconnect the motor cable, other than going into the controller, but there's a bit of slack so you can lever the wheel out and squeeze a new tyre in.
I got rid of the Kendas and put on Marathon Plus.
If, as you say, its not a puncture but wear from the rim, better tyres might not help, but I have to say, if I was taking the wheel off anyway, I'd be tempted to put a Marathon Plus on nevertheless. You might want to think about an inner tube with a shorter valve and/or a different pump, so you don't have to bend the valve to inflate it.

 

[flecc]

There are two slits on both sides of the valve so maybe the rim wore down the rubber and created the slits?

Also there is very high starting torque with these motors in a very small wheel like yours, so it's very important that tyre pressures are maintained.

A slightly soft tyre can allow slippage on the rim with the starting torque applied, dragging the tube along and tugging on the valve stem.
.

 

[UrbanPuma]

A slightly soft tyre can allow slippage on the rim with the starting torque applied, dragging the tube along and tugging on the valve stem.

Hi Flecc,

You have me wondering now if this was the cause. When i bought the bike, the shop put slime in and advised me to inflate the tyre to 50 psi. Even though the tyre felt hard, recently i had been wondering whether i should be inflating to the maximum 65 psi which is stated on the wheel.

What would you recommend?

Stokepa31 and Frank, my friend has taken a look at the wire and feels that with the cable tie cut it should produce enough flack to get the tube out etc.

I think i will keep the tyres as i am very happy with the bike in general. Any adivce on the most durable inner tubes to buy would be appreciated.

Also should i put slime in again? or will it upset the balance between back and font wheel if i dont?

 

[flecc]

50 lbs should be enough if you don't let them drop too far below that. I like the Schwalbe butyl inner tubes which are very supple and stretchy, so better able to resist tearing. They are at a perfectly normal £3.99 too, unlike some of their tyres which can be expensive. You'll see your 16 inch sizes on this page at SJS.

I'm not a fan of slime since when a puncture does occur which it fails to fix, it makes it very much more difficult to repair due to the wet sticky leakage at the puncture hole. I had the Kendas on my Torq for well over a year and on my Quando for a year and had no punctures on either, so their puncture resistant claims were valid for me.

That said, I eventually replaced them with Marathon Plus which are almost immune from punctures, only the very longest spike or thorn ever catching them out.
.

 

[UrbanPuma]

Evans' price is reasonable. I had a puncture fixed on my Wisper at a bike shop in central London. They normally charge £10 but asked for an extra £5 because of the motor - based on what they charge for bikes with hub gears.

On my wife's Powacycle Windsor there is no way to disconnect the motor wire. There is a bit of slack in the cable - I was able to pull it open enough to change the tyre.

Frank

Hi Frank,

May i ask which shop repaired your puncture in central london? I'm in london too and would rather take the bike somewhere recommended from another ebike customer.

Many thanks

UrbanPuma

 

[frank9755]

The shop was On Your Bike in Tooley Street, by/underneath London Bridge station.

I gave them a bit of guidance about getting the wheel off and it was on my Wisper, which does have a detachable cable to enable the wheel to come right out. They fixed it well enough while I was at work and I could ride home that evening.

When I had one on the Powacycle I did it myself. I'm not completely sure they would be up for it but worth asking if you don't fancy it.