Thanks for your comment Robert. Your thoughts are why I decided to warn people of the issue. I have heard from several people who have been supplied with a rim that is too small a diameter. The manufacturers of the rim (China) comment was that they admitted the rim was smaller but that it was safe if you only used low pressures (max 55psi) yet even the supplied tyre says it should be 70psi and 700c tyres are usually at least 70psi.
Thanks for this very informative video. Only issue I had was the battery connection. I had an issue with the motor cutting out after only a short distance. Clive ran through some procedures to check everything else was set up correctly and replacing the battery cured the issue. Clive was very helpful and I am very impressed with the set up. That little bit of assistance is of great benefit when you run out of steam and you hit that wall and have no energy left.
Thank you for your kind comment. One we changed to rim to a quality made one we have had no problems with the kit. It has certainly helped my wife with her cycling.
I'm not a cyclist but I found this series very interesting all the same. I admire your generosity John, but the faulty rim-size strikes me as a most serious and genuine safety problem with this product - if a tyre is likely to come off the wheel while riding surely the thing is just plain dangerous. It's good to know you could get it fixed and safe for Mrs. Scrimper but you're an expert who understands the problem and how (and who) to fix it - the rest of us might not have such resources! It's generous of you to still recommend this product but frankly, if I'd been in the market for a conversion kit, your experience would certainly have warned me off. I hope that doesn't sound too negative; I enjoyed this series a lot and found it informative, so mission accomplished all round. Cheers John, and say hello to Mrs. Scrimper for me!
Hi Mark. Thank you for your comment. You are of course correct, had this tyre burst 1/2min earlier (she was riding fast down a steep hill) at the very least she would almost certainly ended up in hospital. I tried to make the video in a measured way as I don't wish to harm what is a small enterprise but I felt I had to explain what happened. When I first contacted the company about the issue they spoke to their suppliers who tried to suggest that I had fitted the tyre incorrectly, this made me so angry that I made a private 17 min video (in which my anger showed) where I showed just how poor fitting tyres were on the rim. It was only after they saw this that they realised that I was not going to just blame myself. (You can see how stressed I was in the first bit of film about the wheel problems) The bits of film where I show the problem with the rim are just a small sample I did explain a lot more but edited most of it out.
@@scrimperuk The main thing is that your wife is safe and that the accident never happened. I think you had every right to be angry and to show it. I really hope the manufacturers of the kit take this discovery seriously. Excellent work John and thanks again.
Thanks Scrimper, I've been waiting to see this video. I think you are very understanding over this quality issue, some would have gone off the deep end. It's lucky that your wife came to no harm, sudden puctures in the from wheel can be very dangerous as I'm sure you are aware. The company could have been facing legal bills and damages if things had turned out differently. 4 mm is a lot to be out by. If I'd bought the kit I'd worry that if they managed to make this much error on a simple thing like a rim so what about the rest of the kit? Worse scenario would be the control goes mad and you can't slow the motor down.I've never heard of any ebike experiencing this so I'm likely over cautious. Thanks one again, your videos are always informative and cover a wide range of subjects.
Hi Colin, thanks for your kind comment. I gave a response to Mark above which you can see so I won't repeat it all again. You are correct at how serious a burst front tyre can be, She was very lucky in that she had actually stopped to investigate the rubbing noise (tyre bulging out) when it suddenly exploded, events would have been quite different if it had happened coming down the hill. When the distributors tried to put the blame on my tyre fitting they forget that the first one that blew up on me in my workshop was fitted in the factory, I just pumped it up! One tyre blowing up could be a fluke but two is an issue. I just hope there are no more of these rims in circulation because they could be a 'ticking time-bomb'. I did not want to make the wheel problems part of the video but felt I had too. I would feel dreadful if someone had an accident with one of these rims and I had said nothing.
@@scrimperuk Hi Scrimper, I've now read your comments to Mark. The initial response that it was an error in fitting the tyre just adds to it. This sort of knee jerk response is something I've encountered and you have to convince them you know what you're talking about. My most recent was a wheel that was supplied with a solid axle. They insisted it was what I ordered. I had to send a link of their web page before they appologised. I have sympathies with suppliers as, having dealt with the public, some can be right numpties but not all of us!
what pressure did you put in tyre i have same kit and i never had a problem i put 90psi in tyre,the problem i have if im going up hill at 30% and increse it to 70% it doesnt make any difference but if i use the trottle it kicks in straight away.
I can only assume you have a different rim to the one we were supplied with. When I pumped the tyre up 'out of the box' it blew off the rim at 50psi. and out on a ride the decent Schwalbe tyre was at 70psi when it 'exploded'. when I complained the supplier said it should only be 45psi which is ridiculous on a HP 700c tyre even the tyre itself had min pressure 60psi stamped on it. The people who make the kit even admitted that their rim was undersized and it was Ok if you only used 45psi (practically flat for a 700c tyre). We are not the only ones who had this problem, after my video several people contacted me with the same issue. If anyone has a rim that is undersized and comes off as easily as the one in my video I would recommend changing the rim as a front wheel blow-out can be devastating and result in serious injury. My wife was lucky - she heard a noise and had stopped before it 'blew off'.
I have the same kit and have ran it for over a year now with no issues , but yes my schwalbe tyre was also not that tight when I changed them last autumn . But not had any blow outs but I am now a little concerned . I will be keeping an eye on them . Do you have a link for that rim I have 700c wheels . Atb Dave
Hi Dave and thanks for the comment, I watched your videos on the kit before buying, very helpful. In my honest opinion you are right to be concerned, since making the video I have heard from others with the same kit who have experienced the same issue with the rim. As an experienced cyclist you will be well aware as to how dangerous a front tyre blow-out can be. We were lucky my wife had just rode down a hill at speed and stopped after hearing a 'rubbing' sound before it 'blew up', had it happened on the hill she would almost certainly have been seriously injured at the very least. Having fitted the wheel to a dropped bar touring cycle using 700cx28 wheels and tyres we of course inflate the HP tyres to the usual pressure off around 70PSI as recommended (even as stamped on the tyre supplied) If you run the tyres at a lower pressure than stated on the tyre (not recommended) the tyre is less likely to be blown off, but of course you should not have to do that. Since we fitted the decent rim we have had no problems at all This is a link to the company that makes the wheel www.ryde.nl/dutch-19 and it is a of very good quality too. worth every penny. Simple to swap over by taping the new rim to the old one, transfer the spokes and a bit of balancing. Interestingly a cycling friend has just equipped his cycle with a kit it's another brand beginning with the letter C, the first thing I checked was the quality of the rim and bingo it was a top quality Mavic. The kit was similar with a small simple HB controller and a small sensor aimed at the freewheel. If you have any questions feel free to ask. Thanks for watching BTW. John
@@scrimperuk thanks John , I have ordered a new rim as the last thing I would want is a blow out at speed . Just watched a guy on YT do the swap and it looks fairly straightforward 😂 atb Dave
I think you are very wise Dave. You would be crazy to ride a cycle with front tyre split and likely to burst which gives the same result as a tyre flying off the rim, 99.9% of the time you would be thrown over the handlebars and probably 99% likely to suffer serious injuries. The amazing thing is that even the makers/importers of these rims admit that they are smaller than normal and state that is Ok as long as you don't put too much pressure in the tyre! Which I don't think would stand up in any legal action taken by anyone who happened to be injured using these rims. Lawyers would have a 'field day' I ran my own business for over 35 years and no way would I have sold an item that I knew could cause an accident.
@@scrimperuk update John , new Dutch rim fitted and tyres fitting properly now .And I can safely hit the trails again without the worry of exploding tubes/tyres atb Dave
That's brilliant Dave, credit for suggesting the rim must go to my friend Adrian, he choose that rim for me. It's a great shame that the Easifit kit is spoiled by that cheap undersized rim. One of my cycling friends has just bought another make of kit after hearing of our troubles, even paying almost £300 more. Have to be honest I may be getting a kit for myself but I don't fancy buying one that I have to modify myself before it's safe to ride. So glad you have now got a bike safe to ride.
clive is no longer about.im having problems with mine cuts out after a short time if i use trottle it seems to misfire if that makes sense .any advice greatly appreciated.
This kit is quirky and temperamental at times, when Easitfit were in business they would have given you a firmware update. Easifit only retailed the kit and the firm that made it is still going. If you contact them they maybe able to help you with an update. Have a look at solo biker Dave on youtube I think he mentioned the makers name on his video.
Hi did you find the front forks are able to cope with the extra torque from the new motor, I have a 531 frame and have considered this option. Also have you done any longer overnight tours with loaded panniers. Thanks
Hello, the kit is fitted to a Dawes 531 frame and forks cycle, there does not seem tobe any issues with the forks, No long tours but the cycle has done over 1000miles since fitting the kit and since we changed the rim it has been fine. Sundays ride was 44miles and at the end of this ride the battery was flat.
@@mortysadventures8540 Well I don't ride it but my wife who does says it does not make much difference, in fact a lot of the time she has it on zero assistance or just 10% assistance which of course means the battery lasts longer than the stated 60K (37miles) battery life also depends on the temperature so you get power for longer on warm days. It does vary a lot on some rides of 35 miles 50% battery power is remaining. We are considering getting a second battery to carry in the panniers, more weight to carry but double the distance means she can up the power more without fear of running out miles from home. I am planning doing an update to my video soon.
Unfortunately it's not a one off, mine is undersized as well, at first I thought it was my imagination but this confirms it, the tyre goes on and off far too easily. Will be interesting to see the response I now get from the company.
Thank you for telling us that Kevin and it confirms what I thought that ours is not the only one. That makes three that I now know of. This could well be a ticking time-bomb with an accident waiting to happen. It makes one wonder how many people are riding with this kit not realising the danger they are in. My wife was lucky she had stopped just before it 'blew', a few seconds earlier she was going down a hill at speed. When I made this video I tried to be very measured in my comments; thinking we were the only ones with a too small dia wheel. I am now wondering if I should have been more 'firm' with my comments. If I hear of any more people with this issue I might have to release my 'Angry' video where I show my anger at what happened.
What a curious video. At first I thought maybe they were the wrong size rims, maybe there was a rim slightly smaller than 622mm but most of the older rim sizes are larger. I think the older Galaxy's came with 27" wheels but those were larger I think. Is there some benefit to having slightly smaller rims for different types of tyres. We are obsessed with bike weight over here but in many poorer markets they mainly buy thicker heavier tyres. I wonder if this wouldn't be an issue for tyres with thick sidewalls like you get on cheap heavy tyres. The front of the bike is the most dangerous, if you have a huge tyre blow out or your forks collapse it can be deadly because you have zero steering control and you can hit the ground at very high speed. Front hub motors can create more issues for tyres and forks because they are powered. You wonder if they reduced the size slightly just to make assembly at the factory quicker and easier with regard tyre fitting etc. I think you can get kits from ebay without a wireless controller I might add for around £200 with the battery being another £200 approx, that would be entry level pricing. I wonder how accurate their wheel sizes are. There are also the famous Swytch kits. Dare I say it but those might be better engineered safer options. I seem to remember someone buying a Yose kit for a 700c bike for only about £350 with battery and was very happy. That might have been a rear hub motor and they are probably a fair bit dearer now because of the pandemic causing a price hike.
Thank you for taking the time to comment. Most of your points I have covered in the video or in replies I have made to other comments but just to answer a few points from your comments -: Older Galaxies did have 27" rims and I have a 1980 model with such wheels, however the bike here is a 1992 Super galaxy which is equipped with 700c wheels. If as you suggest they reduced the rim diameter to ease tyre fitting in the factory; this would not only be dangerous but pointless because the tyre supplied factory fitted is so loose it just falls off and on with no effort whatsoever. I was told that the rims were made in their millions by some Chinese factory who passed them on to another company who manufactured the wheels. These rims are made by chopping off a length of extrusion then bending to create the correct rim size, it only needs the 'guillotine' to be set a few mm out or perhaps a bit of wear in the machine for the rim diameter to be 'out of size' I imagine that quality control in Chinese factories is not as effective as that in well known European quality companies where they take quality control very seriously. Which ever way one looks at the issue the rim supplied was sub standard and too small a diameter for not only the tyre supplied (a Kenda) it was also too small for three other leading brands of 700c tyre we tried. All were so loose they were unsafe to use.
@@scrimperuk Thanks for replying. Shocking quality really. Curious how this effects spoke length etc. I suppose on a double wall rim the extra length of the spoke (very small) just occupies a bit more of the inner space of the double wall. I've seen enough videos about Chinese products to see they can have very wide tolerances at times with most being ok but a small percentage being dodgy quality. That's probably the worst 700c rim I've seen though. Anyway hopefully now you'll get very good service from that front wheel. I think those small geared hub motors have 3 typically nylon planetary gears that wear out in a few years but I'm sure you will be more than capable of replacing those looking at your skills. It might also be about the same time as your battery pack wears out anyway.
Thanks for this. I have a Thorn Club Tour, which is a very similar spec. to the Galaxy, and I'm considering converting to an e-bike, but very disturbed to hear about the apparently undersized rim. I've emailed EasiFit and their reply doesn't fill me with encouragement. They go on about partial tube inflation, then pressing the tyre all round to ensure it's in the well before fully inflating to just 40psi ~ which is my standard practice anyway!. I told them my tyre width of 28mm and I usually pump this to 80psi. I'm really worried about this and would welcome your comments (from one CTC member to another) befoe I place an order.
Hello Tom, Thanks for your comment and I am only too happy to give you my opinions on the kit but I can't say too much here. I am happy to chat via email and you can contact me via my Lainchbury website (via the contact me page, link below). However what I can say is that your view is similar to mine. We had not one but two tyres 'blow' off the rim in quick succession, when I originally complained it was suggested that I did not fit the tyre correctly which made me so angry that I made a 17 minute video showing just how loose the tyre was. I never published the video but Easi-fit and their suppliers saw it. It is nonsense to say push the tyre in the well and only pump to 40PSI. Even the Kenda tyre supplied says pump to 75PSI. and as for pushing it in the rim I don't see how that would make any difference at all. All of the tyres we tried on the rim were so loose that you could just pull them off with one finger. The rest of the kit seems to be fine and I would guess that the problem would not be such issue with larger, fatter tyres. Once we had our own quality rim fitted everything has been fine so far at least. If you read through the comments you will see two others who have the same issue with this kit, which means that mine was not just a one off faulty rim. My website sites.google.com/view/lainchburys
I bought the same kit from another supplier . Same problem but I noticed it as I was blowing up the tyre for the first time. As you say it looks as if the wheel is too small . I await their reply .
Thank you for your comment, what you say is very interesting because I was led to believe that ours was the only one. In fact the suppliers said I fitted the tyre incorrectly. There could be many people out there riding on unsafe wheels. Ours was a 28mm version with a 28mm tyre what tyre size is yours?
@@scrimperuk Didn't your first tyre/tube explode on inflating , John? Why didn't you report the serious undersize of the rim at that time? Or at least when you fitted the new Schwabe tyre - which would have been so loose to allow the tube to protube? Where you simply not believing what you were seeing? Thinking "How could someone supply something so extremely dangerous as an incorrectly sized rim on a POWERED wheel". I also need to say I’m extremely proud of the way you have handled this situation. You robustly reported the fault to the UK supplier and didn't accept their assertion / accusation that it was your fault. And when you discovered the truth, you let us followers know the full story. Even though you knew that this could affect the business of your "friends" at EasyFit. We need people like you who can make difficult choices and do the right thing.
Thank you for your comment Simon, I will try to answer some of your points. To be honest I kick myself now thinking that I should have noticed the rim was too small but I was so shocked when the first tube exploded I just assumed that I was at fault in not noticing the tyre was not on the rim (although it was). I did however contact Easifit and informed them that the tube had exploded and blown the tyre off the rim, they were surprised that I had pumped the tyre up to 65PSI, as you will know it is quite normal for road bikes to have 85PSI or more in them . When I put the Schwabe tyre on I noted that it went on easy but but not ever having a deep section rim before just assumed it was a feature I never for a moment thought a company would sell an undersized rim. As I mentioned in my video I have no connection with Easifit, I had read good reports of them and they seemed to be very helpful. I would imagine that some would have made a lot more of this incident but our main concern was to get it sorted with the minimum of frustration. I admit I was angry when I was told I had fitted the tyre incorrectly (they fitted the first one not me!) In the heat of the moment I made a 17min (angry) video showing them just how small their rim was but I kept it private and decided not to make it public unless they continued to blame me. I was dubious of telling my story but I would not be able to forgive myself should someone have an accident and I had said nothing. Also I pride myself that in my videos I tell it as it is so to speak. Reading another comment above it seems I am not the only one with an undersized rim, I have always been of the opinion that there will be many more of these faulty rims being sold I just cannot believe ours was the only one.
@weebrianful Would you mind letting me know who that second supplier is? I have a vague memory of a similar kit. Did you follow up with the second supplier? Results ? thanks.
Hi Paul, works fine with Rim brakes, it's also easier to install on a rim brake cycle. With the motor off the bike rides the same as a non electric cycle.
How many other people who bought this kit are riding around on these death traps. Well done for they way you went about getting it sorted
Thanks for your comment Robert. Your thoughts are why I decided to warn people of the issue. I have heard from several people who have been supplied with a rim that is too small a diameter. The manufacturers of the rim (China) comment was that they admitted the rim was smaller but that it was safe if you only used low pressures (max 55psi) yet even the supplied tyre says it should be 70psi and 700c tyres are usually at least 70psi.
Thanks for this very informative video. Only issue I had was the battery connection. I had an issue with the motor cutting out after only a short distance. Clive ran through some procedures to check everything else was set up correctly and replacing the battery cured the issue. Clive was very helpful and I am very impressed with the set up. That little bit of assistance is of great benefit when you run out of steam and you hit that wall and have no energy left.
Thank you for your kind comment. One we changed to rim to a quality made one we have had no problems with the kit. It has certainly helped my wife with her cycling.
Update 1st Nov 2023. It seems that the company Easifitbike kits have ceased to trade.
I'm not a cyclist but I found this series very interesting all the same. I admire your generosity John, but the faulty rim-size strikes me as a most serious and genuine safety problem with this product - if a tyre is likely to come off the wheel while riding surely the thing is just plain dangerous. It's good to know you could get it fixed and safe for Mrs. Scrimper but you're an expert who understands the problem and how (and who) to fix it - the rest of us might not have such resources! It's generous of you to still recommend this product but frankly, if I'd been in the market for a conversion kit, your experience would certainly have warned me off. I hope that doesn't sound too negative; I enjoyed this series a lot and found it informative, so mission accomplished all round. Cheers John, and say hello to Mrs. Scrimper for me!
Hi Mark. Thank you for your comment. You are of course correct, had this tyre burst 1/2min earlier (she was riding fast down a steep hill) at the very least she would almost certainly ended up in hospital. I tried to make the video in a measured way as I don't wish to harm what is a small enterprise but I felt I had to explain what happened.
When I first contacted the company about the issue they spoke to their suppliers who tried to suggest that I had fitted the tyre incorrectly, this made me so angry that I made a private 17 min video (in which my anger showed) where I showed just how poor fitting tyres were on the rim. It was only after they saw this that they realised that I was not going to just blame myself.
(You can see how stressed I was in the first bit of film about the wheel problems)
The bits of film where I show the problem with the rim are just a small sample I did explain a lot more but edited most of it out.
@@scrimperuk The main thing is that your wife is safe and that the accident never happened. I think you had every right to be angry and to show it. I really hope the manufacturers of the kit take this discovery seriously. Excellent work John and thanks again.
@@MarkMcCluney Thanks again Mark.
Thanks Scrimper, I've been waiting to see this video.
I think you are very understanding over this quality issue, some would have gone off the deep end.
It's lucky that your wife came to no harm, sudden puctures in the from wheel can be very dangerous as I'm sure you are aware. The company could have been facing legal bills and damages if things had turned out differently.
4 mm is a lot to be out by. If I'd bought the kit I'd worry that if they managed to make this much error on a simple thing like a rim so what about the rest of the kit? Worse scenario would be the control goes mad and you can't slow the motor down.I've never heard of any ebike experiencing this so I'm likely over cautious.
Thanks one again, your videos are always informative and cover a wide range of subjects.
Hi Colin, thanks for your kind comment. I gave a response to Mark above which you can see so I won't repeat it all again. You are correct at how serious a burst front tyre can be, She was very lucky in that she had actually stopped to investigate the rubbing noise (tyre bulging out) when it suddenly exploded, events would have been quite different if it had happened coming down the hill. When the distributors tried to put the blame on my tyre fitting they forget that the first one that blew up on me in my workshop was fitted in the factory, I just pumped it up! One tyre blowing up could be a fluke but two is an issue. I just hope there are no more of these rims in circulation because they could be a 'ticking time-bomb'.
I did not want to make the wheel problems part of the video but felt I had too. I would feel dreadful if someone had an accident with one of these rims and I had said nothing.
@@scrimperuk Hi Scrimper, I've now read your comments to Mark. The initial response that it was an error in fitting the tyre just adds to it. This sort of knee jerk response is something I've encountered and you have to convince them you know what you're talking about.
My most recent was a wheel that was supplied with a solid axle. They insisted it was what I ordered. I had to send a link of their web page before they appologised.
I have sympathies with suppliers as, having dealt with the public, some can be right numpties but not all of us!
what pressure did you put in tyre i have same kit and i never had a problem i put 90psi in tyre,the problem i have if im going up hill at 30% and increse it to 70% it doesnt make any difference but if i use the trottle it kicks in straight away.
I can only assume you have a different rim to the one we were supplied with. When I pumped the tyre up 'out of the box' it blew off the rim at 50psi. and out on a ride the decent Schwalbe tyre was at 70psi when it 'exploded'. when I complained the supplier said it should only be 45psi which is ridiculous on a HP 700c tyre even the tyre itself had min pressure 60psi stamped on it. The people who make the kit even admitted that their rim was undersized and it was Ok if you only used 45psi (practically flat for a 700c tyre).
We are not the only ones who had this problem, after my video several people contacted me with the same issue. If anyone has a rim that is undersized and comes off as easily as the one in my video I would recommend changing the rim as a front wheel blow-out can be devastating and result in serious injury.
My wife was lucky - she heard a noise and had stopped before it 'blew off'.
I have the same kit and have ran it for over a year now with no issues , but yes my schwalbe tyre was also not that tight when I changed them last autumn . But not had any blow outs but I am now a little concerned . I will be keeping an eye on them . Do you have a link for that rim I have 700c wheels . Atb Dave
Hi Dave and thanks for the comment, I watched your videos on the kit before buying, very helpful. In my honest opinion you are right to be concerned, since making the video I have heard from others with the same kit who have experienced the same issue with the rim. As an experienced cyclist you will be well aware as to how dangerous a front tyre blow-out can be. We were lucky my wife had just rode down a hill at speed and stopped after hearing a 'rubbing' sound before it 'blew up', had it happened on the hill she would almost certainly have been seriously injured at the very least.
Having fitted the wheel to a dropped bar touring cycle using 700cx28 wheels and tyres we of course inflate the HP tyres to the usual pressure off around 70PSI as recommended (even as stamped on the tyre supplied) If you run the tyres at a lower pressure than stated on the tyre (not recommended) the tyre is less likely to be blown off, but of course you should not have to do that.
Since we fitted the decent rim we have had no problems at all This is a link to the company that makes the wheel www.ryde.nl/dutch-19 and it is a of very good quality too. worth every penny. Simple to swap over by taping the new rim to the old one, transfer the spokes and a bit of balancing.
Interestingly a cycling friend has just equipped his cycle with a kit it's another brand beginning with the letter C, the first thing I checked was the quality of the rim and bingo it was a top quality Mavic. The kit was similar with a small simple HB controller and a small sensor aimed at the freewheel.
If you have any questions feel free to ask. Thanks for watching BTW. John
@@scrimperuk thanks John , I have ordered a new rim as the last thing I would want is a blow out at speed . Just watched a guy on YT do the swap and it looks fairly straightforward 😂 atb Dave
I think you are very wise Dave. You would be crazy to ride a cycle with front tyre split and likely to burst which gives the same result as a tyre flying off the rim, 99.9% of the time you would be thrown over the handlebars and probably 99% likely to suffer serious injuries.
The amazing thing is that even the makers/importers of these rims admit that they are smaller than normal and state that is Ok as long as you don't put too much pressure in the tyre! Which I don't think would stand up in any legal action taken by anyone who happened to be injured using these rims. Lawyers would have a 'field day' I ran my own business for over 35 years and no way would I have sold an item that I knew could cause an accident.
@@scrimperuk update John , new Dutch rim fitted and tyres fitting properly now .And I can safely hit the trails again without the worry of exploding tubes/tyres atb Dave
That's brilliant Dave, credit for suggesting the rim must go to my friend Adrian, he choose that rim for me. It's a great shame that the Easifit kit is spoiled by that cheap undersized rim. One of my cycling friends has just bought another make of kit after hearing of our troubles, even paying almost £300 more. Have to be honest I may be getting a kit for myself but I don't fancy buying one that I have to modify myself before it's safe to ride. So glad you have now got a bike safe to ride.
clive is no longer about.im having problems with mine cuts out after a short time if i use trottle it seems to misfire if that makes sense .any advice greatly appreciated.
This kit is quirky and temperamental at times, when Easitfit were in business they would have given you a firmware update. Easifit only retailed the kit and the firm that made it is still going. If you contact them they maybe able to help you with an update. Have a look at solo biker Dave on youtube I think he mentioned the makers name on his video.
Hi did you find the front forks are able to cope with the extra torque from the new motor, I have a 531 frame and have considered this option. Also have you done any longer overnight tours with loaded panniers. Thanks
Hello, the kit is fitted to a Dawes 531 frame and forks cycle, there does not seem tobe any issues with the forks, No long tours but the cycle has done over 1000miles since fitting the kit and since we changed the rim it has been fine.
Sundays ride was 44miles and at the end of this ride the battery was flat.
@@scrimperuk that's great news, although the battery was flat, does it have much motor resistance, or free wheels like a normal bike. Thanks
@@mortysadventures8540 Well I don't ride it but my wife who does says it does not make much difference, in fact a lot of the time she has it on zero assistance or just 10% assistance which of course means the battery lasts longer than the stated 60K (37miles) battery life also depends on the temperature so you get power for longer on warm days. It does vary a lot on some rides of 35 miles 50% battery power is remaining.
We are considering getting a second battery to carry in the panniers, more weight to carry but double the distance means she can up the power more without fear of running out miles from home. I am planning doing an update to my video soon.
Unfortunately it's not a one off, mine is undersized as well, at first I thought it was my imagination but this confirms it, the tyre goes on and off far too easily. Will be interesting to see the response I now get from the company.
Thank you for telling us that Kevin and it confirms what I thought that ours is not the only one. That makes three that I now know of. This could well be a ticking time-bomb with an accident waiting to happen. It makes one wonder how many people are riding with this kit not realising the danger they are in. My wife was lucky she had stopped just before it 'blew', a few seconds earlier she was going down a hill at speed. When I made this video I tried to be very measured in my comments; thinking we were the only ones with a too small dia wheel. I am now wondering if I should have been more 'firm' with my comments.
If I hear of any more people with this issue I might have to release my 'Angry' video where I show my anger at what happened.
I wouldn’t buy anything from these cowboys
What a curious video. At first I thought maybe they were the wrong size rims, maybe there was a rim slightly smaller than 622mm but most of the older rim sizes are larger. I think the older Galaxy's came with 27" wheels but those were larger I think. Is there some benefit to having slightly smaller rims for different types of tyres. We are obsessed with bike weight over here but in many poorer markets they mainly buy thicker heavier tyres. I wonder if this wouldn't be an issue for tyres with thick sidewalls like you get on cheap heavy tyres. The front of the bike is the most dangerous, if you have a huge tyre blow out or your forks collapse it can be deadly because you have zero steering control and you can hit the ground at very high speed. Front hub motors can create more issues for tyres and forks because they are powered.
You wonder if they reduced the size slightly just to make assembly at the factory quicker and easier with regard tyre fitting etc.
I think you can get kits from ebay without a wireless controller I might add for around £200 with the battery being another £200 approx, that would be entry level pricing. I wonder how accurate their wheel sizes are. There are also the famous Swytch kits.
Dare I say it but those might be better engineered safer options. I seem to remember someone buying a Yose kit for a 700c bike for only about £350 with battery and was very happy. That might have been a rear hub motor and they are probably a fair bit dearer now because of the pandemic causing a price hike.
Thank you for taking the time to comment. Most of your points I have covered in the video or in replies I have made to other comments but just to answer a few points from your comments -:
Older Galaxies did have 27" rims and I have a 1980 model with such wheels, however the bike here is a 1992 Super galaxy which is equipped with 700c wheels.
If as you suggest they reduced the rim diameter to ease tyre fitting in the factory; this would not only be dangerous but pointless because the tyre supplied factory fitted is so loose it just falls off and on with no effort whatsoever.
I was told that the rims were made in their millions by some Chinese factory who passed them on to another company who manufactured the wheels.
These rims are made by chopping off a length of extrusion then bending to create the correct rim size, it only needs the 'guillotine' to be set a few mm out or perhaps a bit of wear in the machine for the rim diameter to be 'out of size' I imagine that quality control in Chinese factories is not as effective as that in well known European quality companies where they take quality control very seriously.
Which ever way one looks at the issue the rim supplied was sub standard and too small a diameter for not only the tyre supplied (a Kenda) it was also too small for three other leading brands of 700c tyre we tried. All were so loose they were unsafe to use.
@@scrimperuk Thanks for replying. Shocking quality really. Curious how this effects spoke length etc. I suppose on a double wall rim the extra length of the spoke (very small) just occupies a bit more of the inner space of the double wall. I've seen enough videos about Chinese products to see they can have very wide tolerances at times with most being ok but a small percentage being dodgy quality. That's probably the worst 700c rim I've seen though. Anyway hopefully now you'll get very good service from that front wheel. I think those small geared hub motors have 3 typically nylon planetary gears that wear out in a few years but I'm sure you will be more than capable of replacing those looking at your skills. It might also be about the same time as your battery pack wears out anyway.
Thanks for this. I have a Thorn Club Tour, which is a very similar spec. to the Galaxy, and I'm considering converting to an e-bike, but very disturbed to hear about the apparently undersized rim. I've emailed EasiFit and their reply doesn't fill me with encouragement. They go on about partial tube inflation, then pressing the tyre all round to ensure it's in the well before fully inflating to just 40psi ~ which is my standard practice anyway!. I told them my tyre width of 28mm and I usually pump this to 80psi. I'm really worried about this and would welcome your comments (from one CTC member to another) befoe I place an order.
Hello Tom, Thanks for your comment and I am only too happy to give you my opinions on the kit but I can't say too much here. I am happy to chat via email and you can contact me via my Lainchbury website (via the contact me page, link below).
However what I can say is that your view is similar to mine. We had not one but two tyres 'blow' off the rim in quick succession, when I originally complained it was suggested that I did not fit the tyre correctly which made me so angry that I made a 17 minute video showing just how loose the tyre was. I never published the video but Easi-fit and their suppliers saw it.
It is nonsense to say push the tyre in the well and only pump to 40PSI. Even the Kenda tyre supplied says pump to 75PSI. and as for pushing it in the rim I don't see how that would make any difference at all.
All of the tyres we tried on the rim were so loose that you could just pull them off with one finger.
The rest of the kit seems to be fine and I would guess that the problem would not be such issue with larger, fatter tyres. Once we had our own quality rim fitted everything has been fine so far at least.
If you read through the comments you will see two others who have the same issue with this kit, which means that mine was not just a one off faulty rim.
My website sites.google.com/view/lainchburys
The next video will be ...I had to get one for myself to keep up with my wife .Cheers from Australia
Well it is getting that way, I do find it hard to keep up now.
I bought the same kit from another supplier . Same problem but I noticed it as I was blowing up the tyre for the first time. As you say it looks as if the wheel is too small . I await their reply .
Thank you for your comment, what you say is very interesting because I was led to believe that ours was the only one. In fact the suppliers said I fitted the tyre incorrectly. There could be many people out there riding on unsafe wheels. Ours was a 28mm version with a 28mm tyre what tyre size is yours?
@@scrimperuk Didn't your first tyre/tube explode on inflating , John? Why didn't you report the serious undersize of the rim at that time? Or at least when you fitted the new Schwabe tyre - which would have been so loose to allow the tube to protube? Where you simply not believing what you were seeing? Thinking "How could someone supply something so extremely dangerous as an incorrectly sized rim on a POWERED wheel". I also need to say I’m extremely proud of the way you have handled this situation. You robustly reported the fault to the UK supplier and didn't accept their assertion / accusation that it was your fault. And when you discovered the truth, you let us followers know the full story. Even though you knew that this could affect the business of your "friends" at EasyFit. We need people like you who can make difficult choices and do the right thing.
Thank you for your comment Simon, I will try to answer some of your points.
To be honest I kick myself now thinking that I should have noticed the rim was too small but I was so shocked when the first tube exploded I just assumed that I was at fault in not noticing the tyre was not on the rim (although it was). I did however contact Easifit and informed them that the tube had exploded and blown the tyre off the rim, they were surprised that I had pumped the tyre up to 65PSI, as you will know it is quite normal for road bikes to have 85PSI or more in them
.
When I put the Schwabe tyre on I noted that it went on easy but but not ever having a deep section rim before just assumed it was a feature I never for a moment thought a company would sell an undersized rim.
As I mentioned in my video I have no connection with Easifit, I had read good reports of them and they seemed to be very helpful. I would imagine that some would have made a lot more of this incident but our main concern was to get it sorted with the minimum of frustration. I admit I was angry when I was told I had fitted the tyre incorrectly (they fitted the first one not me!) In the heat of the moment I made a 17min (angry) video showing them just how small their rim was but I kept it private and decided not to make it public unless they continued to blame me.
I was dubious of telling my story but I would not be able to forgive myself should someone have an accident and I had said nothing. Also I pride myself that in my videos I tell it as it is so to speak.
Reading another comment above it seems I am not the only one with an undersized rim, I have always been of the opinion that there will be many more of these faulty rims being sold I just cannot believe ours was the only one.
@weebrianful Would you mind letting me know who that second supplier is? I have a vague memory of a similar kit. Did you follow up with the second supplier? Results ? thanks.
Does this motor work ok with rim brakes or do you need hydraulic brakes?
Hi Paul, works fine with Rim brakes, it's also easier to install on a rim brake cycle. With the motor off the bike rides the same as a non electric cycle.