Bike Manufacturers Are Making Bikes Less Repairable

Work in a bike shop part-time. Can confirm: there are about two dozen bottom bracket tools in the drawer. In fairness, bottom brackets have been a pain in the ass for decades. Even on old ones, there are a couple different hook spanners and pin spanners you might need for the lock ring and adjustable cup and a couple other weird-ass wrenches that you need from time to time. Shit's usually tight AF too, and the various tools that were fine for manufacturing a bike get a little iffy when everything's good and seized after 20 years of neglect.

As for e-bikes, my usual observation when one comes in with an intermittent error is "We've managed to make bicycles as reliable as computers. What an incredible accomplishment for our species."

We only work on the electric drivetrain on Trek bikes (and others that use Bosch). I can vouch for the fact that as of October 2024, the electric drivetrain stuff can be handled from the on-bike computer and an app isn't necessary for basic functionality. I'm sure you get some more features with the app, but you don't need it to just go for a ride.

Batteries come with some wrinkles. Many manufacturers (not just Trek) want to make them easily removable so you can take them with you to charge and prevent them from getting stolen. They also want them to integrate nicely with the frame visually. The result is frequently some amount of compromise in the proprietary direction.

That said, Bosch appears to make some standard-ish batteries that are used in less-integrated installations across bike manufacturers.

You're right!

Big issue with Bosch systems is that they use DRM to lock-in users, so that they need to buy (very expensive) Bosch batteries.

Bosch batteries are well-designed, and very safe. But still issues can happen. If you want to check a fun battery fire video, here's a comparison that we've made between a Gouach fireproof battery (disclaimer: I'm a co-founder) and a Bosch battery!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJETffg0kFc

(the video is not perfect because we had to drill for one battery and not the other for technical reason, and it doesn't change the result, but just for the sake of it, we're planning to film a new one next week haha)

Appreciate the work you're doing, and to be clear: I'm not defending any of Bosch's business practices and vendor lock-in[0]. I do appreciate that they're big enough that they pop up on multiple manufacturers' bikes and that they offer a battery system that looks decent enough that various manufacturers are willing to use it.

[0] Like the USB dongle you have to have to run their diagnostic software...

Thanks for your message :)

I'd love for the EU (because I know the US won't do it) to start requiring battery standardization. I normally am complaining about power tool batteries, but now that I've started looking at ebikes it's clear that a more general regulation would really benefit consumers.

Exactly! And EU is mandating that light mobility electric batteries be repairable (able to change cells) starting 2027!

Realistically you only need the tools for your bike. Hardly matters that there are a dozen bb types, you pick the adapter you need and move on. And by and large most people are going to be something common like 22 spline not those weird campy bb from 50 years ago.

> Can confirm: there are about two dozen bottom bracket tools in the drawer. In fairness, bottom brackets have been a pain in the ass for decades. Even on old ones, there are a couple different hook spanners and pin spanners you might need for the lock ring and adjustable cup and a couple other weird-ass wrenches that you need from time to time. Shit's usually tight AF too, and the various tools that were fine for manufacturing a bike get a little iffy when everything's good and seized after 20 years of neglect.

I agree the various (totally random) BB standards are a pain; every bike build I've done has meant that I CADed and then 3D printed the tool (100% infill PETG, takes ~2 hours on a Prusa MK3S).

Curious how long it is before we get 3D printing tech easy enough to where shops can have a printer, download any special tools for a bike assembly, and make them in a few hours.

Hope is a great example of a manufacturer who does this today: https://www.hopetech.com/open-source-tools/

Kudos to your shop for working on e-bikes at all. My experiences have been that bike shops/mechanics won't even do normal bike stuff, like working on brakes, when its an e-bike.

You are spot on. We have several bicycles in my extended family and I have the tools to repair all of it, but when we bought or built the bikes we looked for the widest compatibility possible of the spare parts: 2 BB types, 2 chain types, 2 fork and bearing types and 4 wheel sizes for ~ 10 bikes. The only "rare" tools are a Shimano Hollowtech 2 wrench and the "square BB" one, the rest are common tools most people have in the house.

Bottom bracket fussing is a tale as old as time. I have a bike from 1983 with an original Suntour bottom bracket. It even uses cartridge bearings! But the spline pattern for the cups is proprietary and the tool has long been out of production.

I had 3 simple questions to decide if an e-bike went in my stand: 1.) Does the frame use a seatpost? 2.) Are there any frayed or broken wires? 3.) Is the power cable to the motor removable?

I suppose the reason for needing a seatpost is to clamp on your stand. E-bikes get heavy, like 30kgs / 65lbs isn't at all rare, I wonder how if thats good for a seatpost?

Removable battery is as good as a removable power cable right?

> As for e-bikes, my usual observation when one comes in with an intermittent error is "We've managed to make bicycles as reliable as computers. What an incredible accomplishment for our species."

Whenever you put a computer into a device that has historically been reliable and never needed a computer, you instantly limit its reliability to that of the computer (which usually becomes the most failure-prone and/or non-repairable part in the device).

Seatposts support hundreds of pounds of human flesh also, so the weight usually isn't the concern. But if your bike looks like more of a motorcycle, it's probably not going into my work stand.

On the point about the power cable, this is more directed at hub Drive motors. If I can't disconnect your motor to remove your wheel, I'm not going to fix your flat tire.