Electric Bikes - Building a stronger rear wheel

I have a canadian tire schwinn Izip, which is basically a Currie Ezip that Dorel Canada has stamped their own name on.

I have less than 1000 kms of commuting on it, and I noticed that there are 4 spokes broken on the rear wheel they are all right next to each other and broke at the hub, not the rim.

When I took it to the local bike shop, they told me that the spokes were already the strongest spokes that you can get, and they didn't seem optimistic that a different rim would help.

Has anyone had their rear wheel rebuild with specialty parts that make it super strong? what parts did you use?

There is a local bike shop in town that is also a good motorcycle shop, I'm thinking that the 2 shops can collaberate to make an extra strong wheel for me, but I am curious if someone can recommend their build?

thanks in advance.

TS

I wonder if your rear wheel was assembled poorly. I once had a bike where the spokes were put through the hub in the wrong direction, the bend was over the sharp edge of the hole not the countersink.

My eZip now has gone 2,902 miles. Many of the miles were while carrying two eighteen pound battery packs and I weigh 230 ponds. I've never had a problem with the wheels.

I do know if you break one spoke others will soon follow. So the question is, why did one break. Do you recall a big bump? Is the rim bent?

Inexpensive e-bikes don't come with expensive components. My Crystalyte hub came with a rim that I cracked within the first 8,000 kms. Toronto roads are full of potholes are repairs.

I went to my bike shop and they custom built me a wheel using the best spokes and a Bionx rim. So far so good, but at the 2000km mark this summer I had the wheel trued again. Keep in mind I average about 1200 kms a month on the bike.

I just spent $200 to have my rear wheel rebuilt by a local bike shop, that way I will benefit from a hand built wheel from a person that cares.

He recomended the I go with DT Swiss 2.0 spokes. instead of being double or triple butted, they are a full 2mm for the entire length of thr spoke. Because this is my ebike and only a commuter, the extra weight does not matter to me.

Also, he recomended a Mavic 721 rim. when i got back to my trusty google engine, I found reviews that rated the Mavic 721 on one of the strongest rims on the market. it is typically sold to mountain bikers that like to do downhills runs or jumps.

Mavic only has 1 other rim that is stronger but you need to adapt it to a hub with disc brakes. unfortunately my ebike hub can not be converted to disc brakes.

If you keep breaking spokes at the hub try some spoke washers. I had problems with one hub motor and that solved it. At the time the hub motor manufacture didn't make the spoke flange thick enough and that allowed the spokes to flex and break.

If you keep breaking spokes at the hub try some spoke washers. I had problems with one hub motor and that solved it. At the time the hub motor manufacture didn't make the spoke flange thick enough and that allowed the spokes to flex and break.

Spoke washers at the hub are what my lbs is going to try. I have a BionX rear wheel and I have been breaking 2 or 3 spokes a month since March. They break at the spoke bend at the hub. They are the strongest Saipam spokes. So far my lbs has been fixing them for free. I am not a heavy guy...150lbs....but running a narrow 1.5 inch slick tire at high pressure. Hopefully the washers will cure the problem.

This is the daily work commute I use my ebike for. http://www.vimeo.com/6112295
The worst I do is roll off curbs onto flat pavement and ride full speed over some small speed bumps.

If I were you I'd be looking for a new bike shop because who ever told you the EZip has the "stongest spokes you can get" is a bigger dumbass then I am. I have 2 EZips (wife and mine) and we enjoy riding them but they are what they are... inexpensive bikes with inexpensive electric motors. That being said they are not bad bikes but they sure as hell don't have anything on them that is "the strongest" or "the best". A few days ago I was riding with a new friend and he was looking over my bike while I was checking out his. One of the things we both noticed was how think my spokes were conpared to his. Not to mention there are several different type of spokes made to add strength.

While most people do not have a problem with the spokes I have read several peoples postings on other sites complaining of broken spokes. First off is your bike still under the 6 month warranty? If it is Currie will send you a complete new wheel including the tire mounted. If not go to a better bike shop and they should be able to help you.

Remember any wheel can break a spoke. A lot of it is "LUCK" and the smarts to life your butt when you hit potholes and curbs. The fact that you broke all the spokes in one location is a good indication you popped them all at the same time when you hit something. OPPs!!

hi folks, been reading all of this, very interesting information

the ezip, and do correct if i'm wrong, does not have a hub motor, and therefore is not as prone to breaking spokes

the hub acts as a weight that magnifies the pulling on the spokes with each bump and during acceleration, i can say this with some degree of confidence

your comments....

a 2.0mm stainless steel spoke is about as tough as you are going to find on the market, that is what i had on my ezip. many spokes are more expensive because they are double or triple butted, meaning that the manufacturer has reduced the size of the spoke in the middle to make them a bit lighter, while not significantly changing the overall strength of the spoke. In the case of the currie ezip, they chose a thick spoke but didnt source it from an expensive vendor.

the currie spokes are Stainless steel, too. the really cheap spokes - which arent on the ezip - are galvanized steel, and they dont have the tensile strength of the stainless steel.


Dont get me wrong, I understand your gripes about the general quality of the ezip, I have the same complaints, however, the spokes do seem to be well selected for the bike, even if we are experiencing alot of broken spokes.



If I were you I'd be looking for a new bike shop because who ever told you the EZip has the "stongest spokes you can get" is a bigger dumbass then I am. I have 2 EZips (wife and mine) and we enjoy riding them but they are what they are... inexpensive bikes with inexpensive electric motors. That being said they are not bad bikes but they sure as hell don't have anything on them that is "the strongest" or "the best". A few days ago I was riding with a new friend and he was looking over my bike while I was checking out his. One of the things we both noticed was how think my spokes were conpared to his. Not to mention there are several different type of spokes made to add strength.

While most people do not have a problem with the spokes I have read several peoples postings on other sites complaining of broken spokes. First off is your bike still under the 6 month warranty? If it is Currie will send you a complete new wheel including the tire mounted. If not go to a better bike shop and they should be able to help you.

Remember any wheel can break a spoke. A lot of it is "LUCK" and the smarts to life your butt when you hit potholes and curbs. The fact that you broke all the spokes in one location is a good indication you popped them all at the same time when you hit something. OPPs!!

Hello...I had a similar problem with spokes on my Crystalyte motor...breaking at the hub...

I replaced all the spokes with double butted 13/14 Phil Woods stainless spokes...and used brass spoke washers on each spoke entry point on the hub.

It seems to have fixed the problem...it is also good to have the spokes nice and tight,or you might hear an odd pinging sound...

a 2.0mm stainless steel spoke is about as tough as you are going to find on the market, that is what i had on my ezip. many spokes are more expensive because they are double or triple butted, meaning that the manufacturer has reduced the size of the spoke in the middle to make them a bit lighter, while not significantly changing the overall strength of the spoke. In the case of the currie ezip, they chose a thick spoke but didnt source it from an expensive vendor.

the currie spokes are Stainless steel, too. the really cheap spokes - which arent on the ezip - are galvanized steel, and they dont have the tensile strength of the stainless steel.


Dont get me wrong, I understand your gripes about the general quality of the ezip, I have the same complaints, however, the spokes do seem to be well selected for the bike, even if we are experiencing alot of broken spokes.

Beleive me I really don't have gripes about the quality of the EZip bikes. I am simply pointing out that they are what they are low cost motorized bikes. While the spokes maybe stainless steel that is only a general term. SS comes in many grades and quality. While we would like to think that a quality grade making is the same world wide it is not. Therefore, fon't be fooled into believing that all the parts (spokes) on an EZip is the same quality as know name brands parts (spokes). Some may be and others are not. Of course no one knows if your spokes were properly tightened when they broke nor if you simply hit a curb. I'm 63yo and have own more bikes then I can remember and none were any better quality then my EZips. But in all these bikes I have only broken 1 spoke and it was on a bike that I loaned t osomeone and got it back with the broken spoke. He hit a curb with his butt flat of the seat.

good point, Dumbass. I dont know why that slipped my mind. happy riding!