Electric Bikes - A thought on Chinese made component quality

This is NOT a bash of Chinese components. My 2008 Currie eZip Trailz has 2,349 miles on it and is a VERY good value. Functionality per dollar is as we would all wish.
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And, yesterday the fuse on my Currie battery pack FAILED. It did NOT go open because of over limit current. It conducted intermittently (bump dependent) because it was corroded inside. There was a clear liquid inside and signs of corrosion inside. We would probably never think a fuse could fail this way.
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I looked at the fuse area right away because my other Currie battery pack had a cold solder joint on the fuse holder. In the course of the year and miles with my eZip I have also discovered loose screws in electrical components.
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So my point is: China is, presently about where Japan was in the 50's (most of you wont remember), they haven't got a grip on Quality Control yet. The Japanese learned statistical quality control from us. They were, obviously good students. The Chinese will learn too.
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But in the interim LOOK for simple failure modes in the equipment from our neighbors to the west. They made be hard to find, but easy to fix.

off soapbox, Don

EXCELLENT POST DON!

Your attitude is refreshing & perspective regarding China's industrial QC vs. Japan in the '50s is dead on. I am already seeing, and not just on eBikes, that China is able to build items of FANTASTIC quality.

Totally off-topic example, but I have an acoustic guitar made in China. Its a Guild, not a cheap instrument, cost me a little over $600 new, but it compares well with instruments from other parts of the world costing two and three times as much. This is the same sort of thing you started to hear in the '70s about Japanese guitars. Not ALL of them were excellent, and most folks regarded Japanese guitars, at that time, as cheap toys, but there were nuggets of gold to be had.

I look forward to a time, in the not-too-distant future where Chinese build quality is celebrated & their labor force is well paid & well treated.

In the meantime, some examples of stuff to check & double check on inexpensive eBike parts:


Hardware - especially screws sunk into either plastic or aluminum. Its rare, right now, to find high quality stainless hardware on these bikes or self-locking fasteners, etc.
Wiring/Connectors- generally, the connectors are the bigger problem here with poor mechanical connections or poor application (parts that ought not to be used the way they have been).
Weatherproofing - no one should expect their eBike to be submersible, but generally, there is much left to be desired in this area. Watch axle & harness seals on hub motors, grommets on speed controllers & batteries & any other area where wires enter/exit a component.
Wheels/Spokes - its common to see inexpensive kit wheels delivered as new badly out of true with uneven spoke tension or even shipping damage due to poor packaging. Also watch the spoke holes on both the hub motor AND the rim for stress cracks or deformation - these problems can cause serious injury in the event of a 'catastrophic failure'. Some newer kits are shipping with much better quality wheels & heavy duty spokes, so these issues may already be disappearing.
e-Brake Levers - designed as a safety item, brake levers which have a normally open momentary switch in them can be a great feature by cutting power to the hub motor when the brakes are applied. They can also be a major safety concern if the inexpensive lever materials fail and crack on heavy brake application. . .

And, yesterday the fuse on my Currie battery pack FAILED. It did NOT go open because of over limit current. It conducted intermittently (bump dependent) because it was corroded inside. There was a clear liquid inside and signs of corrosion inside. We would probably never think a fuse could fail this way.

As an aside, I popped my Currie fuse while making an XLR connector for a different charger (BatteryMINDer). I was unable to find a 40A/250V AGC fuse like OEM on the retail market. A contact at Bussmann suggested it is not a normal commercial fuse. Currie sent me a couple of replacements gratis, but in the mean time I tried:

30A/250V from a hardware store
40A/32V ordered off a scooter website

and neither popped. I cannot guarantee that either are an appropriate application but thought I'd mention it in case you get stuck fuseless.

I believe McMaster Carr stocks fuses that will work, www.mcmaster.com

I had an Izip Trailz Enlightened. After a couple of months the controller went bad. They had to get the part from China. I think it was a month when it arrived. You have to wait for the slow boat from China to arrive to get some parts they don't stock.

blippo
I think you pointed out another lesson. I bought a spare controller when I bought the eZip trailz bike in 5/2008. It was just for protection. I bought some other 'likely candidates' for replacement as well. They are still in the box, except one fuse and the battery rack terminal. I think it's like an umbrella scaring off the rain.
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ol! and fratermus
I bought my spare fuses from a scooter store too back in 5/08. Currie didn't stock them then and I guess ol! is saying they still don't.
But I don't see any reason for using a fuse speced to 250V on a system with 24V supply. My degree is in Electrical Engineering but I don't really do practical stuff. At least, in theory, the 250 V spec is a waste, not a careful choice by the product planner.
I'd be glad to be informed if that's not true. Again in a blossoming China specsmanship may sell.

My tuppence as we would say in the UK :)



I'm a brit living in China who is also looking to supply equipment in the very near future to both the UK and elsewhere. I previously worked in the Ship Building industry throughout the World. I've been visiting suppliers looking for various items and my opinions are thus:

- there are good quality Chinese manufacturers out there that take pride in there equipment and do not aim for the low end of the market, but they charge more money. Still quite reasonable when compared to what the cost to manufacture in Europe or US, but significantly more than the chepest Chinese manufacturers in the sector. The high end manufacturers guarantee their products.

- IMO a lot of the marketing around the premium e-bikes is just BS. If you look at the higher end of the e-bike market in China the bikes are very comparable to the big names at a much reduced cost plus there are high end manufacturers that manufacture in China and retail bikes in China and overseas but tell you the Chinese model is second rate when compared to the export models. IMO the differences are generally not so significant and do not go anyway to explain the price differences. Plus most of the MANUFACTURERS don't do that much manufacturing, it is mostly out sourced.

- there are lots of middle of the road and low end suppliers offering e bike conversion kits that are then just sold on as they come. There's a big difference between the wholesale price of these kits in China and the retail overseas I can assure you. This is the sort of thing that I've seen on Ebay in the UK. These kits are built to a price and I'm sure that they are fundamentally of reasonable quality but there are lots of little details that are not well thought out, such as mentioned above.



I believe it is possible to offer premium quality e bike kits and complete e bikes at significantly less than the present levels of the premium manufacturers if you can keep your costs down (not parts), your margins reasonable, pick your suppliers carefully, have a reasonable engineering background and a good attention to detail.



Cheers

Lynchy

Yes, it may change in the future. However, the Japanese have a long history of excellence in craftsmanship. In woodworking, for instance, the attitude was anyone can do excellent work but only a master can do excellent work fast. With that culture, you can see why they adapted to making high quality items for very good prices. Also, remember Japan had been devastated by bombing so had to start with low quality because they didn't have time or money when they began to rebuild. Time will tell what China will do as an entity. I guy here in town goes to China and says the factories build good quality or poor, it's just that Americans prefer poor because it is cheaper. I think Taiwan is a better comparison. It has improved but there is still of uneven quality.

Here's my 2 cents...Although we seem to have very little choice right now, I have a problem buying products from a country which can lay claim to being the origin point for many attacks on computer systems that I manage. For the most part computer systems that hold data that helps american citizens do their thing.

No freedom of religion or speech
Questionable activities surrounding those living exhibitions
Massive buildup of military (why?)
Fought and killed our boys in both the Korean Conflicts and Vietnam
Censorship and bending american corporations (Google, Yahoo, etc) to their will

It's a tragedy that we've leveraged our nation (including bonds) for a bunch of crap that'll eventually end up in our landfills. We would've never farmed out so many of our core competencies in manufacturing to the USSR. That being said, I also weigh the impact of owning an ebike on the reducing the worlds dependency on foreign oil and the leverage that middle east conflict has on us. I suppose (for the time being) as far as e-bikes go communist made parts are the lesser of 2 evils. By the way, the original posters message was actually that China has a way to go before their manufacturing quality is up to snuff. Japan in the 50s was nothing to brag about. Unfortunately, they seem to be our only option for the moment. If anyone knows of other e-bike kits from other countries please let me know.

Thanks.

Ecospeed in Portland OR and Stokemonkey for Xtracycles. Electroportal in California
I don't know if the main motors are made in China but at least the companies are in the USA