Freewheel body failure

[bgorton]

After the recent failure and replacement of the freewheel body of my X35 powered road e-bike I was told that it was reasonable that it require replacement. It had done between 5 and 6,000 km over three years, the exact mileage unknown because the battery and control system failed quite early in it's life and the computer lost the stored information.

I chose a hub motor over a mid motor because I imagined that the ride would be similar to my other road bikes, and the motor would only be used to climb a couple of short but steep hills on my routine ride. It was expected that wear and tear on the drive train would be the same as on a regular road bike.

As a recreational rider for 40 years this is the first time I have had a freewheel body fail, with milages well over 15,000 on some of the bikes. I take things easy of necessity, I'm 80, and don't ride in the rain except on the rare occasions that a good morning goes bad on me. The bike is well maintained.

The freewheel body is attached to a backing plate and apparently cannot be taken apart to see exactly what has failed but both the inboard and outboard sealed bearings turn smoothly and are in good condition. There is no sign of corrosion or dirt.

Now, that's a long story before the question, is something under 6,000 km a reasonable life for a good quality freewheel body?

[grt046]

After the recent failure and replacement of the freewheel body of my X35 powered road e-bike I was told that it was reasonable that it require replacement. It had done between 5 and 6,000 km over three years, the exact mileage unknown because the battery and control system failed quite early in it's life and the computer lost the stored information.

I chose a hub motor over a mid motor because I imagined that the ride would be similar to my other road bikes, and the motor would only be used to climb a couple of short but steep hills on my routine ride. It was expected that wear and tear on the drive train would be the same as on a regular road bike.

As a recreational rider for 40 years this is the first time I have had a freewheel body fail, with milages well over 15,000 on some of the bikes. I take things easy of necessity, I'm 80, and don't ride in the rain except on the rare occasions that a good morning goes bad on me. The bike is well maintained.

The freewheel body is attached to a backing plate and apparently cannot be taken apart to see exactly what has failed but both the inboard and outboard sealed bearings turn smoothly and are in good condition. There is no sign of corrosion or dirt.

Now, that's a long story before the question, is something under 6,000 km a reasonable life for a good quality freewheel body?

Looks like you have had a rough trot with your Mahle X35 powered ebike.

Similar to you I have two wheelsets for my Defy, a Campag Zonda with 31,000 km and an Craftworks Ultima carbon with 28,000 km both original with no issues.
My X35plus equipped ebike has 18,000km as well

There is a Mahle. X35 based Facebook group with >1000 members which might provide some feedback on real world experiences. It is a private group so you will need to join to post
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1161452947528766

[bgorton]

Thanks for that info, regrettably I don't use Facebook. Interesting that you have put 18,000 km on your D20, I wonder if the wheel set/freehub on your bike is better quality than on my Gain D30.

[grt046]

Thanks for that info, regrettably I don't use Facebook. Interesting that you have put 18,000 km on your D20, I wonder if the wheel set/freehub on your bike is better quality than on my Gain D30.

Mine is an M20 but I suspect the motor/freehub and probably the cassette are identical for similar vintages. There are two versions, the original X35 and the later X35+
What the difference is I am not sure. Mine is the latest version the X35+

[uart]

After the recent failure and replacement of the freewheel body of my X35 powered road e-bike I was told that it was reasonable that it require replacement. It had done between 5 and 6,000 km over three years

Just to clarify that bg, is this a freehub that is integrated into the electric rear hub? As such, was it a specialist repair, or something that any local bike shop could have done? And what sort of cost was involved?

Personally I think that a freehub should last way longer than 5k, especially given that the electric assistance isn't even transmitted through the cluster on a hub motor drive. I wouldn't be too worried if it was just the cassette that had to be replaced, but would definitely expect the freehub to outlast several cassettes.

BTW. What was the failure mode, free spinning (like failed ratchet pawls), or locked up (no ratchet action) or something else?

[bgorton]

Thanks for your reply uart. The freewheel body is attached to a plate that fixes on to and forms part of the motor body. It seems that it requires a special tool to remove the assembly.

The free wheel functioned perfectly but there was a growl when freewheeling, louder when back-pedalling and I was concerned it may be bearings, not something to leave until failure.

The replacement all up was $280, hurts a bit when you do your own maintenance but reasonable I guess. It appears that the motor is not manufactured by Mahle and parts are available on-line from China, the particular one advertised at USD34.00 and a removal tool at USD11.00.

I hope that my failure was "unlucky" and that the manufacturer of the freewheel body has reliable standards and QC procedures.

[uart]

The free wheel functioned perfectly but there was a growl when freewheeling, louder when back-pedalling and I was concerned it may be bearings, not something to leave until failure.

Ok I see. That normally means the ingress of dirt or some other crap into the mech. Often they'll still function ok for quite a long while like that, but it is a bit off putting. With the new one, be careful around it with pressure washers or high pressure hoses etc, that can cause the problem.

[bgorton]

Yep, years ago was told never to use high pressure on anything bike related. On the rare occasions when I have to ride through a puddle or in the wet I hose off the dirt with a shower hose, not a jet.

[grt046]

The free wheel functioned perfectly but there was a growl when freewheeling, louder when back-pedalling and I was concerned it may be bearings, not something to leave until failure.

Ok I see. That normally means the ingress of dirt or some other crap into the mech. Often they'll still function ok for quite a long while like that, but it is a bit off putting. With the new one, be careful around it with pressure washers or high pressure hoses etc, that can cause the problem.

And degreasers