All about bicycles, electric-assisted bikes, technology and safety in the press

In our daily work as we deal with bicycle safety, technology and user manuals we come across lots of safety risks. The most frequent ones are published in articles of the leading German special-interest magazines TOUR – Europas Rennrad-Magazin Nr. 1, BIKE – Das Mountainbike Magazin Europas Nr. 1 and E-Bike – Das Pedelec-Magazin to make this information important for the sector accessible to a wider public.

For many years now the Eurobike Show Daily accompanying the annual international Eurobike Show has given us the opportunity to publish our perspective on major developments in the cycle industry in full-page articles.

We also speak regularly in independent lectures about all topics relating to bicycle technology and bicycle market. In addition, we are regularly cited by further special-interest magazines or trade journals as well as more and more by radio and television and in their media reports, which shows us that we are completely right with our information. The section NEWS informs you about the latest news from our specialist fields. The reports and publications of this section are listed chronologically or according to topics of interest.

EMTB 03/2018
Reading time 1:50 minutes

Reader’s question

Graduate engineer Dirk Zedler, bicycle and e-bike expert

Is there an accumulation of water damage on e-bike motors according to your experience as expert witness?

This is a specific problem that I am not really aware of. But the fact that this issue concerns e-mountain bike motors in particular makes me think immediately of the use of high-pressure cleaners. These are not yet good for bicycles, but still less for e-bikes. A water pressure of 100 bar washes out any grease and undermines every sealing. I have therefore always advised against using high-pressure cleaners on bikes.

Are current e-mountain bike drives sufficiently protected against moisture?
In terms of operational safety which also includes protection against moisture, drive manufacturers are usually rather modest to be on the safe side in case of damage. The conservative indication of IPX-4 that offers protection from a splash of water may well mean that the drive will survive, if shortly submerged when passing a stream. You can, however, never rely upon that as user. Your purchase decision should therefore not depend on the indications with regard to the waterproofness of a system.

Is such a generally formulated protection rating like the IP standard good at all to comprise the complex special topic e-mountain bike?
This is the general problem with standards. How are you to define a water jet from the garden hose, if you don’t have a constant fluid under laboratory conditions. For this reason it is so important to have well-researched and practice-oriented instructions for cleaning and care in the special-interest press.

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