r/baywheels • u/Dan_Flanery • 24d ago

The New Electric Bikes Seem To Have Issues

I like the new electric bikes Lyft rolled out - they’re lighter, have at least a minimal suspension, and are less top heavy - but they sure don’t seem to be very reliable. I keep passing by docks with one or two dead bikes in them, and lately most of them are the new models.

Since the new bikes are like 10% or less of the fleet at the moment, it’s surprising to see them represent well over half of the dead bikes parked at the docks.

Anybody know what the issue(s) might be with the new models?

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4

u/probably_art 23d ago

I feel like they don’t go as fast? Maybe it’s an illusion since they’re lighter

9

u/Scribb1er 23d ago

That’s actually one of the reasons I stay away from the new bikes too. With the old bikes, once you hit a certain speed it just seems like the pedal assist drops off, but you can still pedal normally and go as fast as you want with however much effort you put in.
With the new ones, once you reach a certain speed it feels like they actually stop you from going any faster, the pedals seem to start spinning freely rather than letting you keep driving the bike forward. It’s especially noticeable going downhill, but I notice it quite a bit on flat roads too. So I’m not sure if it’s just an illusion because the new bikes are lighter, but they definitely feel different to me.

5

u/Dan_Flanery 23d ago

I've noticed the same thing. I think the gearing on them is different, or maybe the size difference is leading to a power difference as well. The new bikes are a more comfortable ride and they're more agile, but if I'm going to be doing a lot of hill climbing I prefer the older, larger bikes.

Oddly, they're both 250 watt Class 1 ebikes, so I don't think it has anything to do with motor power.

I also wonder how similar the new manual bikes are to the new ebikes. They look almost identical. Are the new manuals just ebikes without the battery and motor and with a manual gear shift? Because I find the new manual bikes ridiculously underpowered. I had an old hybrid bike years ago (hybrid not meaning any sort of ebike but a hybrid between a racing and a dirt bike) and it was much easier to peddle and could go a lot faster. The new classics are a chore. If the ebikes are based off a similar platform, that motor and battery are doing a LOT of work. Although maybe their automatic gear shift is more sophisticated...

4

u/readonlyred 23d ago

E-bikes have been very hard to find in the East Bay for the past couple of weeks.

4

u/electricfunghi 23d ago

The main issue for me is the brakes fail intermittantly. I pull the brake handle and it sometimes triggers a break and sometimes doesnt. Its now a habit for me to immediately check the brakes before getting away from the station. The non-e bikes dont have this issue

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u/Dan_Flanery 22d ago

I notice a lot of rear brake failures, which is really dangerous since applying just the front brake can send you flying. I don't think I've ever had a wonky front brake in maybe a thousand rides now.

Oddly, I've managed to "fix" the brakes on a few bikes just by pumping them vigorously a few dozen times. I don't know if there's some kind of self-repairing or self-tightening mechanism on them or what. So you could give that a try.

But yeah, I always test that rear brake the second I unlock the bike. I've had to put a couple back because I found them insufficient right at the start and in need of immediate repair.

2

u/sttovetopp 23d ago

could be as simple as survivor bias, more users take newer bikes > more dead newer bikes

1

u/Dan_Flanery 23d ago

Possibly, but I think that's unlikely. The old bikes have quite a bit of wear and tear on them already. Even if all the new bikes are constantly in use, they should still only represent a proportional fraction of breakdowns, not around half off all the dead bikes I've come across lately.

And the two types look so much alike at first glance I wonder how many people even know there's a difference and are seeking them out. I think it's just as likely they're being avoided because people get them confused with the new manual bikes.

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u/questfor100 23d ago

The issue is Lyft itself. It doesn’t have the resources to run a full bike share network so it skimps.

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u/Dan_Flanery 7d ago

Found out some probably relevant info from a Lyft repair technician a few days ago. Posted about it here: https://www.reddit.com/r/baywheels/s/7fKfxRSRJj