e-bike woe

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 MarkR 15 Jul 2019

Hi, 

Last week my wife bought a bosch powered Haibike sduro to commute to work ( approx 20 miles each way ). It has an 8 speed rear derailleur and a single chain ring on the front. We went for our first ride and twice on the ride during gear change the chain came off and became lodged between the frame and the front chain ring. The second time it was completely wedged and has caused surface damage to frame etc. I think the extra assistance from the motor has driven it in the frame quite hard. I had to ride home and retrieve car to rescue wife and bike as without taking the crank off the chain isnt coming back out. Obviously it is going back to the shop but what would cause the front to come off? It was changing gear from 8th to 6th ( smallest upwards ) that initiated it but I would not expect that on a modern £2k bike. Just before it came of the second time, I was riding behind and did think there seem to be a lot of up/down movement on the chain do wonder if its too long.

Finally do you think it's reasonable to expect a replacement bike given the frame paint / metal damage? I can't see how it's anything my wife  did to cause it. 

Any experience or advice much appreciated. 

 thepodge 15 Jul 2019
In reply to MarkR:

Its hard to know whats going on there, some of the higher sdruro range have a chain guide to stop the chain coming off where as the lower ones don't. The local shop should put it right for you. 

As for a replacement bike, no I don't think its reasonable, a chain coming off is just one of those things that happens to anyone for any number of reasons. 

OP MarkR 15 Jul 2019
In reply to thepodge:

Thanks, I did wonder about some sort of device to stop the chain going down there. My road bikes have them but then have front derailleurs.

Page 15 Jul 2019
In reply to MarkR:

You might have a case to argue that the gears have been incorrectly set up - did you do it?  if done correctly, and on a new bike, this really shouldn't be happening.  If this was set up by a shop then I would be leaning on them to supply a new bike.  A chain catcher is desirable on pretty much any bike with gears so I would look into having one on this bike.

OP MarkR 15 Jul 2019
In reply to Page:

That's what I thought. This was completely set up by the shop. I went and collected and rode it from the shop.  So my wife's trip was only its second outing. I guess I'll need to see the damage once they get the chain out. The bit of the frame where the chain is stuck has quite a few mouldings which assume are to do with the motor or sensors so it is potentially not just cosmetic damage.

Also should have mentioned when we were out on the ride the gears we shifting between 6 and 7 by themselves so I don't think they were set up correctly.

Post edited at 12:00
 malk 15 Jul 2019
In reply to MarkR:

apart from poor setup (slack chain) there seem to be chainline issues with the standard bosch setup, hence the S.E.S (Sprocket Equalizing System):

https://www.e-bikeshop.co.uk/blog/post/how-haibike-has-overcome-the-new-bos...

 wbo 15 Jul 2019
In reply to MarkR:. If it's ghost shift and dropping the chain it isn't setup correctly.  The shop won't be happy, but that's their problem.  

Most bikes don't have a chain catcher - for most situations it isn't necessary - I am assuming your wife isnt too ' rad' or a queen of gnar

OP MarkR 15 Jul 2019
In reply to wbo:

No, we were just riding on a flat road.

 balmybaldwin 15 Jul 2019
In reply to MarkR:

Another possible cause of this is posture of rider's feet....  If they have very pointed out toes, this can cause the heel to knock the chain off, but it's the sort of thing riders soon work out as on each down stroke the heel would catch on the crank (and your wife would walk like a duck)

OP MarkR 15 Jul 2019
In reply to balmybaldwin:

I'll check this evening! Can't say I've ever noticed.
Though thinking about it, chain ring has a pretty big guard around, so would need quite long heels to knock the chain.

Post edited at 15:58
 Toerag 15 Jul 2019
In reply to MarkR:

> and twice on the ride during gear change the chain came off and became lodged between the frame and the front chain ring. The second time it was completely wedged and has caused surface damage to frame etc. I think the extra assistance from the motor has driven it in the frame quite hard.

How on earth does a chain come off the non-changing end? I can see it come off the rear end where it's swapping cogs, but to come off the front? Then how does the front sprocket drive it between the frame and chainwheel? Is this on the lower rearward-moving section of chain, or on the upper 'pulling' chain?

Post edited at 17:02
 Hugo First 15 Jul 2019
In reply to MarkR:

Clearly not set up right and this should get resolved ASAP by the bike shop. Will no doubt be a case of one too many links in chain, chain line and by the sounds of it, poor cable tension. To get all 3 suggests the shop haven’t even had a look at gear system out of box and simply sold it on to you which is a bit slack.

I’ve got a single chain ring on my commuter and only once has it hopped off and that was whilst on some particularly rough cobbles. 

However, re the new bike question, I’d say it entirely depends on how hard you want to battle. You may be within your rights but suspect it’d take a while. And given the damage will be purely cosmetic in a place you’ll never notice (it’s hard to clean behind a chainset never mind check for scratches), and if it’s a commuter it’ll get pretty well used so not going to remain pristine for too long. I’d be more tempted to stress how disappointed you are after spending 2k, having loads of faff to sort and emphasise how a few freebies or free service in 12 months time wouldn’t go amiss.

hope it gets sorted for you and enjoy. Ebike commuting is the future

 wbo 15 Jul 2019
In reply to Hugo First:. Exactly as you say - very badly setup shifting will pull the chain off the front - I'm surprised Toerag hasn't seen this before as it's not very rare. 

The big feet thing I have never seen. 

I would be a bit pushy though on the damage as it's possible for a jammed chain to chew into the bottom bracket shell a fair bit. 

In reply to MarkR:

I’ve ridden a Haibike xduro (with the SES so maybe different to yours) for well over 3.5k miles and only once had the chain come off the chain ring and jam. Cause - put down to the clutch on the derailleur having been in the off position by mistake coupled to the rough terrain or something that caused the chain to “bounce”.

Is your clutch on (assuming your spec has one)?

My bike has mostly been ridden off road and has had some hard rough rides so it’s not a normal problem in my experience with the Haibike design with the SES system if it is set up properly. 

Sounds like your bike has not been set up correctly (esp if it is changing cogs on its own) or has some fault/damage? Are all the chain ring teeth ok or could the chain have been damaged from shipping to cause lift?

A remote possibility is I know if the chain ring outer guard is not properly tightened (I’ve seen this on a new ebike) this allows the chain ring to move and if too slack can wobble and this could “help” to lift the chain up on top of the chain ring teeth. Probably more so if the derailleur is not setup right.

See what the shop says and take it from there.

Post edited at 21:13
OP MarkR 16 Jul 2019
In reply to Climbing Pieman:

Thanks all, 

I don't think this bike has a clutch as you describe. It's going back to the shop today and fingers crossed they'll find the cause. To me it looks as if the chain has come off from the top as it was being pedalled. I do quite a lot of regular cycling ( maybe 3k a year ) and it's not an issue I've ever experienced. From posts here its sounds like it's not a common problem so must be something to do with the bike setup. 

Fingers crossed, I was quite against getting one for myself but after having a go it was a lot of fun and not much effort!

OP MarkR 16 Jul 2019
In reply to MarkR:

Quick update,

Bike shop have called wife and said they have taken 3 links out of the chain and set up gears again. If that's the fix seems like a terrible build in the first place. 

 thepodge 16 Jul 2019
In reply to MarkR:

Wouldn't most bikes like this come with the chain fitted by the manufacturer? 


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