Skip to main content


Sumter Landing Bicycle Club

Safe, Healthy, Fun Cycling in The Villages, Florida

Florida Bicycle Association's 2016 Bike Club of the Year!   ~   #1 Ranked Cycling Club in BikeJournal.com since 2017!

E-Bike User Group

Wear and tear on the smallest cog of your cassette
Author Last Post
If motor was installed correctly,  there is a sensor in the shift cable that shuts the motor down when shifting. 
LQQK at shift cable , follow it from shifter to rear derailleur.  If nothing found, it can be installed, IF your wiring harness has a connection. 

Ron Maseda 

Is this concern a mid drive issue as the motor drives the chain from the crank to the cassette. On a hub drive the motor drives the wheel with torque arm physically attached to bike frame. Downshifting is still needed but cassette is spared.

E-Bike motor's are typically current limited to protect the drive train .

NO

Read my statement. 
Ebike do not downshift as they do when ridding a Non Ebike.
Causing More current draw, which is bad, parts can Melt.

Ebike riders need to downshift, when stopping and going up inclines as they would on a non ebike. Not downshifting is hard on the motor an gears, chain, and any related parts in the drive train.

I'm sorry for any confusion 

Ron Maseda 

Ron,

Please explain the logic behind not shifting into
lower gears when stopping and going up hills?  Are you saying to use more battery instead of gears? 

Bill

Sent from my iPhone

Ebike owners do not shift to lower gears when stopping or going up inclines as they would when riding a non-Ebike.
Also this can cause excessive current draw. I have seen the Hub Motor cable melted to cable it plugs into.

Ron
It's a Lot Easier Getting Older Than Wiser!





Hi Judith!
Great info!!!  I hope others are using this forum.  You seem to be full of useful information.  Many thanks!
Norm

A friend of mine from up north found that he really enjoyed using the turbo assist (the highest level of assist) on his CREO Specialized e-bike. Doing that, he found that he was in the smallest cog in his cassette far more frequently than when he used to ride his mechanical bike. He learned from the local bike shop that e-bike owners with similar behavior were replacing about 3 cassettes for every chain replacement. On his mechanical bike he could get the cassette to last for 5 chain replacements. He realized that the wear on his CREO cassette is because 1) he likes to go fast and 2) his single chainring is only 44T (vs. the 50/34T set up he had on his mechanical bike) resulting in his greater use of the smallest cog on his cassette. Since that smallest cog has only 11 teeth, all the wear was focused on a small area.


In further discussion with the bike shop, he learned that the small cog is replaceable and cheap and available through Nashbar for less than $10 – far less than replacing the entire cassette.


So, if you notice skipping when you power forward in the top gear, it may not be the chain, but a $10 cog instead. My friend subsequently reported that he was easily able to manage changing out the smallest cog himself.

Return to Forum