Haibike sDuro HardSeven SL 2015 Yamaha (7 Month 1600 Miles)

[Deleted member 4366]

Nice hack.

In case it helps, I've seen them replacing connectors on batteries at Oxygen when they get worn out.The Emate MTB had a special connector on the battery, which you can't buy, so Andrew made a batch on one of his CNC machines. The replacements are more robust than the originals. It comes back to what we were saying earlier about looking after customers.

Mind you, if you had brought that battery and charger into the bike shop in Telford, I'd have probably done a similar repair to what you did, except I would have used a panel-mount connector to replace the original.

 

[georgehenry]

Thanks Dave.

My repair is not that pretty but it is working effectively at the moment. Just as important in some ways is the knowledge that it can be done without some big brother defeat technology shutting the battery down and locking you out.

I did not want to throw away a battery that obviously had life left in it. How much longer it will last I can at least now hope to find out.

I found Andrew at Oxygen really helpful and also John when I bought two motor wheels of him to future proof my bike, though of course John is even further away than Andrew was.

However 50 cycles just did not want to know despite buying the bike from them.

For my second electric bike I wanted to buy as close to me as possible from as high quality operation as I could find and and Ebike shop Farnham have thankfully turned out to offer really good after sales customer service that makes a tremendous difference.

In a perfect world I would have Woosh, Oxygen, et al on my doorstep.

I probably should reappraise what other electric bike shops I might have now in my area (Guildford Surrey) to help me with The Oxygen, as there might be a very good local shop that has come into existence that could help me with any future problems that I am unaware of.

Though it seems most of the new shops sell modern crank drive bikes and those dealing in bikes using Chinese components and hub drives are much thinner on the ground.

I did use the Electric Transport Shop in London to replace a broken throttle on my Emate, and they were fine, although trekking to London on the train with the bike was a bit of a faff.

As it was just the throttle the bike could still be ridden without it and with an old Tom Tom 1 gaffa taped to the handlebars I was amazed how quickly I reached their shop,

I don't remember now precisely how long it took but I do recollect being impressed how quickly I got there. They put the new throttle on while I had a coffee in the trendy place almost next door.

I briefly did a bit of motorcycle dispatch work as a student that took me into London and quite enjoyed the cut and thrust of weaving in and out of all the traffic and did so again peddling to The Electric Transport shop and back to Waterloo but could see how a moments indecision or getting in the wrong spot in relation to the cars and lorries could end in disaster and I would not want to do it regularly.

I only dispatch rode briefly and stopped when someone at a student party told me that the average life expectancy of a London dispatch rider at that time was around two years. He probably plucked that figure out of the air but it was enough to put me off.

 

[georgehenry]

There is a sort of height adjustment system on my rear rack where a rod with a screw hole in it slides inside the tube of the supporting leg which has a number of pre drilled holes allowing you to screw the rod firmly into the down tube using which ever pre drilled hole is appropriate.

Anyway out of the blue the rod that slides inside the tube broke where the screw hole attached it. I have effected a repair using a rod from a plastic coated coat hanger shoved up the tube and some good old gaffa tape. I am hoping that will work for my next three shifts so that I can enjoy my off road route to work on the Haibike rather than using my Oxygen Emate on the road.

However I think I will be buying a new rack soon depending of course on how well my bodge works. Vive la bodge. This rack was put on in August 28 2016 so has lasted just shy of two years before this failure. My off road route is 14 miles and I carry two ortleib panniers stuffed with stuff so I guess I should not complain too much.

My battery has now carried me 594 miles since the connector issues I had to overcome in April and yesterday I used 28% of my 400Wh battery to cover my 14 mile off road route to work and 34% on the faster 10 mile road trip home and these usage figures have remained largely the same since I bought the bike .

I am continuing to monitor my wearing rear tyre that has now reached 4186 miles, but it stll seems to have some life in it and the bike handles fine with most important of all no punctures.

I am putting a few less miles on the Haibike as I have decided to use my other bike when I am travelling to work and back on the road and the Haibike when I have the chance to travel cross country.

Oh and my total mileage has now reached 9740.

 

[georgehenry]

10,000 Mile Update

10.000 miles feels like a milestone on my Haibike Yamaha commuting to work odyssey.

Haibike sDuro HardSeven SL 2015 Yamaha 3 and a half Year update

As of my return trip from work last night I have covered 9954 miles with 3954 on the new motor. I return to work on Friday and will be comfortably over 10,000 miles by the 22nd of September when the bike will be three and a half years old. The previous motor was replaced under warranty at 6000 miles just after two years use.

There was nothing wrong with the functionality of that motor but the main bearing had developed play and a replacement motor seemed to be an easier course of action for the manufacturer than replacing the bearing that had worn. I cannot say I was unhappy to get a brand new motor free of charge.

When inevitably the bearing on my replacement motor develops play in the main bearing it will be interesting to see what options my dealer will be able to offer me. I know that they replace worn out bearings on Bosch motors. Hopefully by then they will be able to change the bearing for me or provide me with the correct bearing I can change myself. Perhaps there might be some kind of motor exchange deal.

Maybe they will only be able to offer a replacement new motor and I will have to find out myself how to change the bearing or bite the bullet on a new motor dependent on cost.


Chain, Chainring, Cassette, wear and tear

Top gear (12 tooth sprocket) started to jump under load a couple of times on the way home last night 10/09/2018 so I will be putting a new cassette and chain on before my next ride to work on Friday 14th September. I will not change the front Garbaruk 42 tooth narrow wide chain ring as it is still has plenty of life left.

I use KMC chains and cheap Shimano 9 speed cassettes.

This cassette, chain, and chain ring came into service on the 27th of February 2018 and together have completed 1462 miles in just under six months.

The narrow wide chain ring was my first experience of one and I have found it to be absolutely superb and would highly recommend them and this one in particular. No dropped chain since I put it on and beautifully engineered to be light and strong.

Over half the miles I do are off road in a sandy area which increases the wear rate of the chain, chain ring and rear cassette. With the best will in the world regular commuting means that the transmission does not get cleaned as often as it should as you just run out of time and energy to wash the transmission off before having to head off to work. Also it is my trip to work that is off road and gets everything dirty so that the transmission is dirty before my 10 mile road trip home.

Other bits and bobs that needed replacing

My rear rack support leg fastening on one side broke and I salvaged a rack I had fitted to a Marin Bobcat trail hard tail mountain bike that has been sitting unused in my garage. The old rack had lasted just shy of two years which I think was OK considering the battering it got off road loaded with two Ortleib panniers. The new one looks much better with the support legs closer fitting to the frame and therefore held more securely. The rack has already had a hard life fitted to my Marin, but I hope to get a lot more use out of it now it is fitted to the Haibike.

Tyres

My tyres have now covered 4400 miles since I put them on, on 5th January 2017. They are Specialized Crossroads Armadillo 650B 27.6” Wired Clincher Tyres in 1.9” width. They are very tough and look like they can last still longer. More wear apparent on the rear than the front as you would expect. Fantastic protection and no punctures.

When the rear needs replacing I will move the front tyre to the rear and put a new tyre on the front.

They are a classic compromise and more road orientated than I would like but with the miles I do on the road mountain bike tyres would wear out in no time and after getting used to them I have learnt that they are more effective than I had first thought they would be off road.


Battery

As documented my battery and charger connectors broke in April and I was shocked to find that my otherwise excellent dealer who I bought the bike from had no facility to get them fixed and that indeed no dealer has and all my dealer could do was offer to sell me a new battery and charger,

Fortunately with the help of a handy mate we were able to replace the connectors with generic ones bought off Ebay for less than a tenner. In order to do the job properly we did have to open the battery case but it all worked as before after we had put it back together.

The battery has powered the bike for 1022 miles since the connectors needed mending. The new cheap Ebay connectors are a bit chunky and remind me of chock block connectors but are easier to use than the original ones and have been completely reliable so far. Perhaps just as important is that I now know that they can be relatively easily changed if the need arises.

The battery which is the original one and now itself three and a half years old continues to work really well with still little obvious sign of a loss in capacity. On my 14 mile mostly off road ride to work on Monday it used 28% of its 400Wh capacity and 36% on the 10 mile road trip home. I use more battery going home as I use the motor more to travel faster and complete the journey in around 30 minutes to aim to achieve an average speed of around 20mph.

Perhaps in the forthcoming cold of winter I will begin to see some sign of the capacity reducing. Time and cold weather will reveal all.

The fact that the battery can be removed so easily and that I always do remove it and keep it in the house where it is warmer and dryer than a cold garage may be a factor in keeping it in good condition. After my ride home my battery is about 65% fully charged and is left like this until as near to the next time I intend to use the bike as possible before being charged up to full.

If I am on holiday from work the battery is left until I next go back to work and this gap can be up to three weeks.

Brakes

The Tektro brakes just require brake pads as and when and continue to work really well with no fuss or other more major adjustment.

Lights

My Sigma Buster 200 front light with the silicon handlebar attachment to allow it to be completely taken off the bike easily and used on another or as a torch is one and a half years old and still working well. I use it on its middle brightest setting of the three it has and you can connect it to a computer to charge or a plug in mains charger. Obviously you can spend a fortune on lights but for my B road commuting needs this light has been very good. Bright enough for me, weighs very little and very easy to attach and detach and held securely when attached. The beam, penetration and spread is all good. I have a second cheap battery light attached to my handlebars as a backup just in case

My first rear light was a Moon Comet which was good but failed inside my first year of ownership and Martin at the e-bikeshop where I bought my bike and the light replaced the Moon Comet with the updated Moon Comet MKII free of charge. Great customer service.

The updated Comet MKII is very bright and gets you noticed which is what you want. It is over two and a half years old and can also be attached and detached from the seat post very easily. I use it on its brightest flashing setting and refer to it as my rear gunner as it really gets me noticed by vehicles approaching me from behind day or night and I would definitely recommend it and buy another similar model from moon when I need to replace it. I also have a tiny but bright battery light also attached to the seat post as a back up were the moon to fail


Story to be continued

So after 3 and a half years now and 10,000 miles I am still very impressed with this bike.

I continue to find the Haibike frame and Japanese motor a great quality combination. I bought a crank drive bike to enable me to ride mostly off road to work using in places quite demanding single track routes while carrying panniers on a rear rack and then having the ability to morph into a fast road bike to get me 10 miles home quickly. I still find riding this bike is amazing fun and also get the benefit of plenty of exercise in the process.

What the future holds

I will be 57 soon and plan to retire when I am 60. Will this bike last till then? That would be pushing the mileage up towards 20,000 miles based on my usage so far. How much longer will this original battery last? Will the main bearing in this second warranty replacement motor develop play like the first motor or will it go further or not as far? Will there be an option to have the bearing replaced? Will I just want a different bike at some point? Will my knees hold out? They certainly ache and creak more than they used to. Time will reveal all but I am really enjoying riding this bike to work and back and the freedom from driving a car.

 

[chris_n]

Is there a particular reason for not fitting a larger chainring to get more into the middle of the cassette?

 

[georgehenry]

Hi Chris,

I have been tempted to go for a front mech dual chain ring set up to enable me to do just what you suggest. I was very close to doing it but then just never actually did.

If you were at some time able to take a few pictures of your set up to post on this thread at some time it would be useful to see how you have done yours. How you have secured the front mech for example.

One of the reasons why not is that my current 42 tooth single front chain ring and 12/36 cassette does give me just the right gearing for my off road route combined with what would appear from what other people say on this site is a good 10 mile average speed (20 mph) and reasonable rear cassette longevity (Last one lasted 1462 miles). Remember the rear cassettes I use are cheap (16.99).

Although I have replaced my last cassette and chain after only six months I do a relatively higher mileage than many people and those riding ebike mountain bikes off road seem to imply that anything over 1000 miles is good,

However the temptation of a dual chain ring front mech set up would be to have a large enough (over geared) outer chain ring to be in the middle of my cassette at higher speeds on the road reducing the chance of it wearing out too quickly and also allowing me to go faster on the road using higher power settings from the motor and achieve a higher average speed than I am at the moment.

I achieve my current 20 mph average by only using eco at higher speeds in my top two gears. I use more power to climb steeper hills or to maintain speed over the top of longer hills to keep my average speed up.

I suppose I am pretty happy with the way my current gearing works for me but understand that a dual chain ring front mech set up would allow me to have potentially a significantly wider gear spread.

How far/often do you need to replace your rear cassette chain and chain ring?

 

[chris_n]

I was thinking more of increasing the size of the single but hadn't realised you need all the gears. 11 - 40 9 speed cassettes are available but probably a lot more expensive than yout current ones!
My riding is considerably different to yours, nearly always on a 10% ave gradient up or down. My system spends most of its time in the lower gears which massively reduces the chain and cassette wear, I guess 2nd gear is my most used climbing gear so should wear out first but as it is a 36 it will take a while. I have 44 / 32 front and 11-40 rear this set up had done about 2500km with no sign of wear (no sand!) though I havent had the chain gauge on as like you I will just replace it all.
As far as converting goes the front mech goes where the chain guide was fitted, there is already a guide for the cable above the mech and the cable entry covers in the frame need replacing or modifying for the extra cable. I fitted shorter chain ring bolts and you do loose the chain guard, no need to take the spider off but it was easier with the bottom motor cover removed.

 

[georgehenry]

Thanks for your reply and picture. If you are mostly in bottom gears climbing under load i think your cassette should last a long time. I ride in beautiful countryside but Austria must be something special. I have skied in a number of locations in Austria and ridden through parts with friends on motorcycles. When my daughter was young we had quite a special dad and daughter skiing holiday based in Kaprun.

I became aware of the Sunrace wide ratio 9 speed cassette quite recently and it is not too expensive, about twice the price of my cheap Shimano ones. It has a 40 tooth bottom gear as opposed to my 36 and I worked out that I would be able to use a 46 tooth chain ring and have marginally lower gearing in the 40 tooth bottom gear than my current 42/36, and have marginally higher gearing in the 13 tooth gear 8 than my current 42/12. But for all the trouble of doing it I was not sure that the 13 tooth sprocket on the Sunrace that I would be using for fast road work would be much more resistant to wear than the 12 tooth top gear I use now.

My current 42 tooth chain ring and 12/36 rear cassette does work really well for me and I think I just have to accept that with a single chain ring you have to compromise a bit about your lowest and highest gear.

 

[georgehenry]

Well after putting the new chain and cassette on I have started getting a noise that could be from the transmission but could be from the motor that was not there before and has just started to happen coincidentally with the change of the rear cassette and chain.

It is loudest when I am climbing in the lower gears. When I checked there was also a very small amount of play in the main bearing when I gently push and pull the pedal arms. However the motor is working just as it should.

I did also check the rear wheel, hub, cassette, wheel bearings etc.

Bearing in mind that I wore out my first motors main bearing after 6000 miles, this could be the beginning of wear starting to show.

I thought I would just check with my dealer what my options are now that the bike is three and a half years old.

As usual they replied to my email inquiry within minutes to advise that they do now have Yamaha main bearings in stock and when they need doing the job can be done by them with a same day turnaround for £80.

This I thought very good, as the bike would be out of action for just a day. I continue to be impressed by their efficiency.

They advised me that the main shaft on the motor is a floating shaft so it will have a little play anyway. The play I can feel is very slight.

They said a new motor if required would be £650.

They also advised that it was maybe worth waiting more time for it to get louder as it has no mechanical effect on the motor.

So that is what I am going to do, just keep riding and keep an eye on the noise/play knowing that it is not too inconvenient or expensive to change the main bearing when it becomes necessary.

 

[Biscitt]

Help!

We have two Haibike Sduro Hardsevens, whilst away on holiday one stopped working with the battery flashing E and F and would not switch on. Thinking this was a battery fault I swapped that battery for the other and that developed the same fault. I put one battery on charge to see if this would reset the problem, it didn't.

I rang the dealer about the problem and tried to reset the batteries with button presses as directed, no effect. On return to the UK I delivered the bikes and batteries to the dealer for assessment and hopefully warranty repair.

I've just heard that because the bikes are a few months outside the warranty Raleigh will not repair them for free. I was told the motors of the second bike has been damaged by putting a faulty battery onto that bike and switching it on so the cost I have been quoted for repair of both bikes for two motors and two batteries is .. £2280!

The bikes have not been hard used nor abused, mine has covered about 2500miles my partners (the original faulty one) only about 500miles. Both are stored inside the house when not in use.

This fault is nothing that we have done surely a motor should last longer than that and how on earth can a motor then take out the other motor via a faulty battery? This doesn't sound right to me.

Has anyone had a similar fault of batteries flashing E and F? Can the battery be repaired i.e. an internal fuse be replaced? Does anyone know of a place that could refurb them? Do I have any consumer rights under "Fit for purpose"?

I would be grateful for any help and advice as to what to do next. £2280 is more than I paid for one bike originally.

Thanks

 

[georgehenry]

Hi Biscitt,

I am afraid that I am no expert at diagnosing or mending these systems.

chris_n above may be able to help. He would be able to give you access to an online manual for your bike that you might be able to use to diagnose what the fault codes actually mean.

I would also start a thread in the electric bike section to reach more people who may be able to help.

My own dealer has been very good, but was unable to help me with my own out of warranty battery problem. Fortunately my problem was broken connectors at the battery and the charger and this was relatively easy to carefully repair with the help of a friend who knew a fair bit about electrical systems and we really only replaced the broken Yamaha connectors on the battery and charger with cheap replacements bought of ebay. Luckily for me this worked and afterwards my battery could be charged and worked as before when attached to the bike.

What it highlighted to me was the complete lack of support by Raleigh for problems people have with Yamaha ebike systems when the warranty has expired. I think this is more about Raleigh and the customer service they provide for customers after their warranty has expired than the dealers who sell the bikes.

Your problem could be quite simple to fix but for most people faced with a dealer saying "fix it yourself " or "buy a completely new large expensive component like the battery or motor" as the choices given to you are the opposite of what good customer service should be.

In my opinion this is just not good enough with more and more of these bikes being sold. I do not think there is anything wrong with the Yamaha system and I really enjoy riding mine and think it is pretty robust but they should last longer than the two year warranty period and there should be somewhere they can be sent to have problems that arise after the warranty has expired assessed and repaired at a fair price.

Good luck.

 

[Warwick]

At the very least, the Sale of Goods Act can be thrown at the dealer. No way should bikes with such symptoms be the norm, nor what's expected after such mileages. Trading Standards at your Local Authority might intervene, perhaps?

 

[Scott White]

Battery Connector Failure

I bought a Haibike sDuro HardSeven SL 2017 Yamaha 4 months ago. I have just suffered exactly the same connector failure that you did back in April except my bike was not knocked over and is still in warrantee. A tiny ring of plastic on the battery connector has broken off and now the connector falls out when you try and charge it. I only noticed when I went to plug in the charger after returning from work.

The response from Haibike via my dealer was

"This is not repairable the customer will need to buy a new battery, Yamaha do not cover this under warranty as the only way it can happen is user error.

(Either the cranks have spun and hit it or the bike has fallen over whilst the charger is attached) "

I bought the bike on the bicycle to work scheme and was expecting to commute on it for several years and was not expecting it to have a connector with such an obvious design flaw. I am sure even if I agreed to buy another £800 battery for a £1300 bike the same thing will happen again long before the life of the bike. It is a shame as otherwise the bike is in perfect condition.

Obviously I will not be excepting that response.

 

[georgehenry]

Sorry to hear of our similar battery/charger issue.

Your situation highlights that their customer service is even worse than I thought as your bike is under warranty and they still will not fix it.

As I have shown, with care it is just a matter of replacing the Yamaha connectors (which are a bit crap anyway) with in my case a generic four way connector bought very cheaply of ebay.

My very handy ex BT friend did the tricky opening up of the battery and soldiering of the wires directly inside before re-securing the battery case and water proofing the opening where the lead emerges.

I did joke with him that he could probably set up a service on ebay that due to the deplorable customer service offered to people with this problem and the likely hood of it happening might get more takers than he might expect. Especially when the cost of a new charger and battery is taken into consideration.

I am sure that Jimmy at insat would be able to do the same sort of repair.

Also Dave who offers his services part time in a bike shop in the midlands said he would have been able to repair a problem like mine brought into the shop. He is now deleted member 4366

Joking apart my friend is very good at fixing virtually anything he puts a mind to and now after selling his pub 10 years ago (Freehouse) works for himself very successfully doing mainly garden maintenance (mostly mowing large surrey lawns, cutting hedges etc, with the odd small building project), although being surrey he has had to re wire the odd classic car and service and get going a few classic motorbikes.

I must admit that I was feeling a little bit more optimistic about keeping my out of warranty bike going without having to resort to buying brand new expensive parts by my own dealer (ebikeshop Farnham) offering a main bearing change for £80 same day turn a round and after watching "The Bearing Man's" video offering a similar service but also a more comprehensive motor overhaul if required.

 

[georgehenry]

Actually thinking about your issue I realize that if you change the connectors on your battery and charger while warranty remains you absolve the company from fixing any other warranty issue that may arise with either item.

I think this is more about the service or lack of service that the importers Raleigh are offering (though I might be wrong) and is just not good enough.

After all they don't mind taking your money to sell you it in the first place. I am sure that this connector has failed and will continue to fail for other people.

My replacement generic connector off Ebay was under a tenner. Are they seriously saying it is not their responsibility to replace this weak link and that you should throw away an almost new battery and charger. Madness. I am sure that if this issue was more widely publisized they would quickly back down as it would effect peoples decision whether to buy in the first place.

 

[Tomtom50]

Sorry to hear of our similar battery/charger issue.

Your situation highlights that their customer service is even worse than I thought as your bike is under warranty and they still will not fix it.

As I have shown, with care it is just a matter of replacing the Yamaha connectors (which are a bit crap anyway) with in my case a generic four way connector bought very cheaply of ebay.

My very handy ex BT friend did the tricky opening up of the battery and soldiering of the wires directly inside before re-securing the battery case and water proofing the opening where the lead emerges.

I did joke with him that he could probably set up a service on ebay that due to the deplorable customer service offered to people with this problem and the likely hood of it happening might get more takers than he might expect. Especially when the cost of a new charger and battery is taken into consideration.

I am sure that Jimmy at insat would be able to do the same sort of repair.

Also Dave who offers his services part time in a bike shop in the midlands said he would have been able to repair a problem like mine brought into the shop. He is now deleted member 4366

Joking apart my friend is very good at fixing virtually anything he puts a mind to and now after selling his pub 10 years ago (Freehouse) works for himself very successfully doing mainly garden maintenance (mostly mowing large surrey lawns, cutting hedges etc, with the odd small building project), although being surrey he has had to re wire the odd classic car and service and get going a few classic motorbikes.

I must admit that I was feeling a little bit more optimistic about keeping my out of warranty bike going without having to resort to buying brand new expensive parts by my own dealer (ebikeshop Farnham) offering a main bearing change for £80 same day turn a round and after watching "The Bearing Man's" video offering a similar service but also a more comprehensive motor overhaul if required.

 

[Tomtom50]

I see tons of posts from deleted member 4366. Very knowledgeable. Is there a way to search a deleted member's posts?

 

[georgehenry]

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/has-d8veh-left-this-time-for-good.31720/

I am not sure. As you say Dave is a member held in high regard with a great deal of technical knowledge and very willing to help people with their bike problems as well as always up for a good debate.

 

[georgehenry]

10,774 Mile 4 Year Update

Haibike sDuro HardSeven SL 2015 Yamaha 4 Year update

I have now covered 10,774 miles with 4774 miles on the replacement motor and 2056 miles in total for the year as the bike reaches its fourth birthday. The previous motor was replaced under warranty at 6000 miles just as it reached two years of age.


Ride to work on Monday 18th of March 2019

That first motor did not actually stop working but developed play in the main bearing and was replaced by the shop where I bought the bike (Ebike shop Farnham) under warranty with no quibbles which was excellent customer service on their behalf.

Although I do not use water under high pressure when I wash the bike but only a hose pipe with water flow adjusted simply by my finger over the end I think that water ingress was the most likely course of the bearing failure, although the relatively high mileage and off road use through the British Winter would also have been a factor.


Ride to work February 2019

I am now even more careful not to squirt any water around the crank arm attachment points when washing the bike.

By being careful to avoid the bearings when washing the bike it will be interesting to see if the mileage I reach before bearing play becomes noticeable is extended.

I did touch base with my bike shop in September 2018 and they let me know that they now stocked Yamaha main bearings and could change them when they needed doing with a same day turnaround. When I spoke to them at that time they quoted £80 for this job.

The “Bearing Man” has also now appeared on the forum giving owners an option to refurbish an old motor rather than buying a new.


Ride to work on Monday 18th of March 2019

Chain, Chainring, Cassette, wear and tear

Once again I have found that my rear cassette 12 tooth top gear can wear out at quite a low mileage.

I think the way I use my bike is a factor in this as the bike gets ridden to work 12 to 14 miles mostly off road encountering sandy and muddy areas and generally getting pretty filthy especially in the Winter. I cannot clean the bike at work but only give it a quick squirt of light lube before riding 10 miles home on the road where I average 20 miles an hour and spend a fair bit of the journey in the top two gears.

Despite this the point at which my top gear starts to jump indicating that I need to imminently change the cassette can be infuriatingly variable with one cassette lasting almost a year and 2200 miles and another jumping in three months and 776 miles and another in just under four months and 504 miles.

Over the course of this year I have worn out two cassettes, one at 1462 miles on the 20th of September 2018 and another after four months use and just 504 miles on the 9th of January 2019. The third cassette has currently 304 miles on it.

The good news is that the cost of cassettes and chains I use seems to have come down with the Shimano HG400 9 speed 12-36 cassettes costing just £12.95 delivered and the last two KMC 9 speed chains costing £18 for the pair delivered.

So although it is perplexing why the distance each cassette covers before my top gear starts to jump varies so much and a bit inconvenient to change them it is not very expensive to do so. Though perhaps unsurprisingly they tend to wear out quicker in the wet muddy and cold Winter months.



The chain ring was replaced on the 24th of February 2018 with a garbaruk 42 tooth narrow wide chain ring that has so far covered 2310 miles having outlived two cassettes and is now paired with its third cassette. It has proved to be both high quality and hard wearing with no dropped chain since it was fitted however rough, bouncy and speedily the terrain traversed.

A quality chain ring has been a very worthwhile investment keeping my chain on in all circumstances and lasting a lot longer than the ones I bought previously that invariably needed changing alongside the cassette and chain.

Tyres

My tyres have now covered 5174 miles since I fitted them on the 5th January 2017. They are Specialized Crossroads Armadillo 650B 27.6” Wired Clincher Tyres in 1.9” width. The rear is now worn in the centre line but still rides surprisingly well both on and off road and the front still has tread everywhere although wearing now in the centre. I have had no punctures since fitting them.

I run these with slime filled tubes that I have never had any issues with, however on one cross country ride to work recently the front tyre deflated that I thought might be my first puncture on these tyres but turned out to be a gunged up presta valve contaminated by the slime in the tubes allowing the air to escape.

I have run puncture resistant tyres since I started commuting and not had one puncture and had forgotten that the pump I carry has a rubber valve insert that needs to be reversed for presta valves!

At home after a quick look on the internet I removed my presta valves which were both gunged up with slime and dunked them both in hot soapy water while I cleaned out the valve stems returning to the presta valves to wipe and scrape them clean before reassembling at 12:00 O clock angle and re inflating the tyres, tightening everything up and so far they have remained inflated.

I need to remember to get a couple of replacement presta valves off ebay to carry as spars.

Battery

The battery has now powered the bike for nearly a year and 1796 miles since the connectors needed mending so it would have been a crying shame to have thrown it away. The new cheap ebay connectors are a bit chunky and remind me of chock block connectors but are easier to use than the original ones and have been completely reliable so far.

The battery which is the original one that came with the bike is now itself four years old and continues to work really well with still little obvious sign of a loss in capacity and has now powered me through my fourth Winter.



The way I look after my battery is always to remove it and keep it in the house where it is warmer and dryer than a cold garage and this may be a factor in keeping it in good condition. After my ride home from work my battery is about 65% fully charged and is left like this until as near to the next time I use the bike as possible before being charged up to full.

I can charge my battery back up to full at work before my ride home so that the battery never gets discharged more than half of its capacity on my rides to and from work.

If I am on holiday from work or using one of my other bikes the battery is left until I next go back to work.

Brakes

The Tektro brakes just require brake pads as and when and continue to work really well with no fuss or other more major adjustment.

Lights

My Sigma Buster 200 front light with the silicon handlebar attachment to allow it to be completely taken off the bike easily and used on another or as a torch is two years old and still working well. I use it on its middle brightest setting of the three it has and you can connect it to a computer to charge or a plug in mains charger. Obviously you can spend a fortune on lights but for my B road commuting needs this light has been very good. Bright enough for me, weighs very little and very easy to attach and detach and held securely when attached. The beam, penetration and spread is all good.

I lost a second cheap battery light that I attached to my handlebars as a backup just in case and have replaced it with a Magicshine MJ-890 160 lumen rechargeable light that I bought off ebay for a very reasonable £9.99 and is impressively effective.

My rear light is a Moon Comet MKII that is very bright and gets you noticed which is what you want. It is over three years old and can also be attached and detached from the seat post very easily. I use it on its brightest flashing setting and it really gets me noticed by vehicles approaching me from behind day or night and I would definitely recommend it and buy another similar model from moon when I need to replace it. I also have a tiny but bright battery light also attached to the seat post as a back up were the moon to fail.


Ride to work January 2019

Other bits and bobs

My after market front mudguard section has developed a stress crack and should really be replaced but I have bodged a repair at the moment that means it functions fine without fouling the tyre although looks a bit askance. Part of the reason for repairing rather than replacing was that the expander bolt that holds on the mudguards would not undo and would have required quite a bit of disassembly to get at and remove.

I added a rear SKS mud flap extension that has been really effective at catching the water and mud flicked of the rear 650b tyre.

When I put on a different rear rack and added mudguards attached to it underneath I greatly improved the effectiveness of my rear mudguard coverage.

My excellent Velo inclined mens plush saddle started to become slightly uncomfortable as the padding began to fail and I replaced it with the same one as it had been so comfortable.

Conclusion

As my bike ages and continues to perform brilliantly I continue to be very impressed. My Haibike has a fabulous frame and is well engineered and I really like the Yamaha motor and support characteristics and normal size chain ring. Although I ride a lot in eco and even with the motor off there is a real reserve of powerful torque there if you need it that is available from the first press of the pedal making it a pleasure to ride in technical off road environments.

As a shift worker my start times vary each day and when my start time dictates that it will be dark on the ride to work I now use a different rear hub drive bike as I will be riding to work and back on the road where the rear hub drive bike is in its element.

Whenever my start time is in daylight I use the Haibike to enjoy my fabulous off road routes to work and then ride it back on the road. This has meant that I use the Haibike a little less than before with a subsequent reduced annual mileage.

If I retire at 60 as I am planning to do it will be interesting to see if the Haibike makes it to that point on this motor and battery in two and a half years time. I would never have thought that was even a remote possibility when I first bought it.

 

[Eagle]

georgehenry,
Your epistle was one of the reasons that I put Haibike on my shortlist of ebikes.
I eventually settled for a Haibike Sduro FullSeven 3.0 and I am really happy with it.
Thanks for keeping us updated.