Motor issue

[kev12345]

Just received my new city step thru yesterday. took it on the first ride which started great but after 10 minutes the motor started clunking and clanging but couldn't move the bike anymore. if I turn the e-assist off, the bike rides normally.

if I lift the rear wheel off the ground the throttle can move the wheel no problem with no noise. but when I put it on the ground the motor can't move the bike. I tried contacting Rad but haven't had a response yet. Charged it fully last night and tried again this morning. same issue. The bike seems awesome so I'm hoping I just got a lemon.

Help!

Kevin

[Ryan]

Sorry to hear this. Sounds like it could be a bad motor since it rides fine with it off. Just to speed up the process you might want to take a quick video and upload it to YouTube - send the link to Rad. This is something they might ask for anyway...

[fin_rad]

Have been there myself too once, with my first ebike. First the motor went bad, then the battery died... It was the first ebikes with Chinese components. Probably the Bafang did not exist yet that time. Luckily both happened when still under warranty. But yes, not something I would like to experience again.

After that I rode that ebike happily more than 7 years without any problem on the electric system.

[kev12345]

Have been there myself too once, with my first ebike. First the motor went bad, then the battery died... It was the first ebikes with Chinese components. Probably the Bafang did not exist yet that time. Luckily both happened when still under warranty. But yes, not something I would like to experience again.

After that I rode that ebike happily more than 7 years without any problem on the electric system.

how long did it take for them to respond?

[fin_rad]

Have been there myself too once, with my first ebike. First the motor went bad, then the battery died... It was the first ebikes with Chinese components. Probably the Bafang did not exist yet that time. Luckily both happened when still under warranty. But yes, not something I would like to experience again.

After that I rode that ebike happily more than 7 years without any problem on the electric system.

how long did it take for them to respond?

First of all it was about 7 years ago with other ebike brand, and a local Finnish company (I live in Finland) without any Covid-19 issues. These days anything takes a long time, not only with the RPB customer service.

[kev12345]

*update

Rad got back to me and had me run it through a few tests. Sure enough, its a motor issue. They're sending out a new motor and they've offered to pay my local bike shop to install it. There actually is a Rad shop in my area (Vancouver) with a mobile service truck but the shop is closed due to Covid. I haven't had any luck booking a mobile service date with Rad so I'll probably just go to a local bike shop. I'll update again once it gets sorted out. Looking forward to finally riding my first e-bike!

[Ryan]

Thanks for the update Kev. It's always good to hear them taking care of a customer though I know it's probably a bit frustrating to have to wait longer.

[fin_rad]

I'm not sure if it is a motor issue, but I have noticed strange sound from the motor (or somewhere nearby). It's not too noisy but constant, and sounds like coming from the motor. When it occurs and if I stop pedalling and the motor assist stops, the sound stops as well. When I start pedalling again, the sound gets quieter and not being a constant sound anymore. And if I repeat this once or twice more, the sound disappears. Coming again after a while. Like it was dependend on what position the gears inside the motors are at the time, if I had to guess.

Has anyone else noticed similar? Because I am still on warranty, it would be good to fix these things... Otherwise no problem with the motor, works well.

[kev12345]

update 2 - received the new motor/rear wheel in the mail yesterday. turned out to be super easy to swap out so i didn't need a shop tech. so far so good. looking forward to spending some time on it.