Cerbera Posted October 23, 2022 Share Posted October 23, 2022 Well, I thought I'd got lucky twice, but after just 1 week of faultless performance, my beloved Master has developed a flaw during today's ride, and started making a horrible noise, which happens once per full rotation. All was fine until I reached my destination for the day and leaned it up against a bench and put a bag over it to protect it from the temporarily torrential rain. When I left about half an hour later, I first noticed the noise, which persisted all the way home, despite me stopping 10 times to make sure there was nothing obstructing the wheel's progress, and indeed there wasn't. And it got me home OK, and didn't show any unusual behaviour apart from the clicking sound, which did seem to get mildly worse as I neared home and definitely gets louder as the wheel leans to the left, and quieter as I lean right. However the Master DID get me home, and never lost balance or did anything weird, except the constant, repeating noise. Now I have got home, I took all the padding off, and checked the clearances all around the wheel with a torch, and there is nothing I can see that could be causing the clicks. Wheeled about slowly the noise is like a rubbery 'creak' once per wheel revolution, but at speed this becomes a click / knocking sound, and a rather loud and obtrusive one at that. I can't ride now until I find out what it is. I will try and upload video of it later, and will contact Speedyfeet in the morning, but if anyone has experienced anything similar, please let me know - I am maximum disappoints until I find the answer... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerbera Posted October 24, 2022 Author Share Posted October 24, 2022 (edited) Some brief video of the above. Any ideas at all please ? Sounds worryingly like bearing trouble to me. There was some ground surface water and a few very shallow puddles in the ride earlier, but I had no idea that a Begode motor could be compromised so ridiculously easily if that is the case. As it is less than 2 weeks old do you think I would qualify for a replacement, or have I got to shop around for a specialist to rebuild it / replace bearings if needed ? I presume that if this is the issue it won't improve with time, and will become dangerous quite quickly if not dealt with ? Thank you Edited October 24, 2022 by Cerbera Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rawnei Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 Hard to tell, have you contacted your reseller? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerbera Posted October 24, 2022 Author Share Posted October 24, 2022 Yes thank you, I have contacted Speedy feet, whose engineers seem to agree with me that's likely to be dodgy bearings somehow and have contacted Begode to see if they will send a new motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMA Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 seems the motor to me 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerbera Posted October 24, 2022 Author Share Posted October 24, 2022 18 minutes ago, EMA said: seems the motor to me I would have to agree. I can get an A4 sheet of paper freely between shell and hub all the way to the axle from all directions, so now convinced it must be coming from inside the hub. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMA Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 13 minutes ago, Cerbera said: I would have to agree. I can get an A4 sheet of paper freely between shell and hub all the way to the axle from all directions, so now convinced it must be coming from inside the hub. you can check the screws, but seems from the inside to me 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerbera Posted October 24, 2022 Author Share Posted October 24, 2022 Checked all the hub bolts last night, and to my surprise at least 3 in a row on one side were not exactly tight. That is partly my error in that when I did my initial checks on the machine I tried a couple of sample hub bolts, which were both tight as a gnats chuff, so erroneously presumed the rest would be the same and didn't check every one. Please guys, check ALL the bolts ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techyiam Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 Rusted bearings don't sound like that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerbera Posted October 24, 2022 Author Share Posted October 24, 2022 (edited) 22 minutes ago, techyiam said: Rusted bearings don't sound like that. I don't know that they've had time to go rusty yet ! If it was water ingress that caused this it could only have happened Sunday. If it isn't the hub motor at issue, I'd have to wonder what else there is left to check ?! Did that noise sound like anything else to you ? Edited October 24, 2022 by Cerbera Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rawnei Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 Could be misaligned bearings, that usually produces a knocking sound, but haven't heard of any other such cases on the Master, all speculation of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techyiam Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 11 minutes ago, Cerbera said: Did that noise sound like anything else to you ? Sorry, I am not familiar with that particular noise. However, you may be able to better pin point the source by using a mechanic's stethoscope. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerbera Posted October 24, 2022 Author Share Posted October 24, 2022 Thanks @techyiam. My ears alone are still good enough to convince me it is a hub-based noise so far, but I will bear the stethoscope in mind if it comes to that ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMA Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 flip the wheel and record it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerbera Posted October 24, 2022 Author Share Posted October 24, 2022 (edited) What, you mean wheel upside down ?! Or just flipped over from the side I previewed yesterday ? I did try it upside down briefly yesterday, and noise was much the same. If I turn the wheel on the opposite side to yesterday the noise seems less, but is still present. I have yet to grab video of this yet, and probably will do shortly, but if I power it up and turn it in a tight circle to the left the noise is very prominent. If I so the same the other way round, to the right, it is either not there at all, or very faint. Edited October 24, 2022 by Cerbera Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerbera Posted October 24, 2022 Author Share Posted October 24, 2022 (edited) Here we go chaps... Kitchen wheely noises up first... Interesting that it doesn't start immediately. That is always the case. Takes a few seconds of movement to kick in, so for me that rules out any sort of external contact noise. MUST be the hub right ? ...and also requested inverted free spin. Goddammit Not lookin' good hey ? Edited October 24, 2022 by Cerbera Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Magman116 Posted October 24, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted October 24, 2022 This sounds like my RS HS did when one of the bearing went out. It was very annoying, but didn't' affect the performance. It did make me very uncomfortable to ride and I didn't trust it. Jason at eWheels was great and I got the bearings replaced under warranty. Now that I have one of the latest Master's, I hope it will not have the same issues. If it does, it will be much easier to replace them on the Master. The bearings are fairly inexpensive to get off amazon if needed. "6012-2NSE Nachi Brand Rubber Seal Ball Bearing 60x95x18" 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerbera Posted October 25, 2022 Author Share Posted October 25, 2022 Thanks @Magman116 that's very helpful information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerbera Posted October 25, 2022 Author Share Posted October 25, 2022 (edited) OK, this is going back to dealer for inspection and possible motor swap. But this raises a question I am hoping you guys can help with. It is likely to be months before I get this wheel back in a ridable condition, yet currently it is at 98% charge (the best I could do in the last ride to knock 28 km off a full charge) and now it is deemed unsafe to ride, yet I can't leave those packs at 98% charged for 3 months, or I will have shortened their life-span by at least half by the time I get it back ! How can I discharge those packs to storage level without riding the wheel ? Any ideas gratefully received, except the ones that mention trolleying it 150 miles ;)... Edited October 25, 2022 by Cerbera Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrelwood Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 I don’t have other tips for using the battery except leaving it on with the headlight at full power for several days. And maybe putting two chairs against oneo another with the wheel in between them hanging from the pedal brackets, and rocking it slowly so it accelerates back and forth. But it is a bit of a chore to get a meaningful amount of battery wasted that way. Don’t get me wrong, I would still try to empty the batteries, but I wouldn’t be awfully concerned about the battery life. 98% is already much better than full 4.2V/cell. And a well preserved Master should degrade to 80% of its current capacity only after something like 20000 miles. People often destroy their batteries by not balancing them in 1/10th of that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chriull Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 1 hour ago, Cerbera said: Any ideas gratefully received, except the ones that mention trolleying it 150 miles In the US one could connect some kW of light bulbs to the battery... Maybe some 10 12V halogen bulbs in series could work? Some 50W drawing ~5A - so ~500W. 2 hours for half the battery? Don't know if i'd do (and dare) such a construction... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerbera Posted October 25, 2022 Author Share Posted October 25, 2022 Ha ha - thanks @Chriull Yes I am also not sure I would dare such an attempt. I think, as per @mrelwood's suggestion, if I leave it on in the 'day', with the lights on, when I am up, in 6 hour stints, that should work over a week or so to get it down to a better level. Thank you for reassurance about the packs in general. Back out on the Msuper today, once again expecting to be able to just jump on it, and resume my previous balletic expertise, and FFS - I have forgotten how to ride that while I've been away on the Master, which feels so totally different to it. In just that short week before it died my muscles had completely readjusted, such that getting on the MS3 today it felt like the lightest, breeziest, zippiest, tippiest little wheel you can imagine ! I simply wasn't prepared to accept that I may have lost any skills here, so ignored the inital wobbles and powered through into a town run, 2km of which need to pass before my old muscle memory kicked in and I was back to feeling almost 'normal'. God damn those bumpy pavements though - my poor knees, previously having found themselves in ultra-cushioned luxury and zero stress on the Master are now asking me WTF happened !! Ah, it's never dull is it ?! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magman116 Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 @Cerbera I totally understand how you feel. After riding my Master for only 50+ miles then getting back on my RS HS yesterday, it felt like a super light nimble wheel. It kind of freaked me out and thought I forgot how to ride it. I could tip it from side to side so quickly. I got back from riding and told my wife the Master felt like a high powered Cadillac SUV and the RS felt like our little 2 seater Mercedes SLK 32AMG. It took about 4-5 miles to get the muscles readjusted to the RS and I was having fun again just zipping around. I did hit a few unexpected bumps that shocked my back and made me reflect on the Master and it's suspension. I would not have even noticed it on the Master. So, I don't think the Master is a replacement for the RS 19, but an addition to be used differently. I was contemplating selling my RS 19, but after my ride yesterday, I am not sure I can. And so the EUC garage grows. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerbera Posted October 25, 2022 Author Share Posted October 25, 2022 (edited) Lols - yes - in my first review of the Master I called it a Rolls Royce of wheels. I was never going to sell the MS3 - I had a feeling I would need it as a backup wheel, though I am gutted to be correct about that so soon... I just hope my poor little beleaguered MS3 can keep me going til I can get back in the Rolls again Edited October 25, 2022 by Cerbera 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerbera Posted October 26, 2022 Author Share Posted October 26, 2022 (edited) OK interesting developments today. Having finally resigned myself to not having the Master to ride for the foreseeable future, but relatively content that I probably wouldn't die before I got the chance to ride it again, as reported above, it has been sitting in my lounge taunting me with its (defunct) Majesty. It has been 2 days since I took it out in the damp, and as I passed it on the way back from 'old' wheeling today, I couldn't resist just briefly continuing my tests to make sure the wheely noise was definitely there... Spoiler AND IT WASN"T !!! :/ Dare I get my hopes up ?! I repeated all the tests above. In the kitchen circles test I was getting no repeat of the noise, even doing it for a solid minute. Then I lay it down on each side, and tried manual free spin for some time - NO sign of original noise !! OMG, I began to think - is this going to ridable after all, and NOT need to wait for a lengthy motor repair ? I did another kitchen spin test, and this time, after about a minute I thought I heard the noise just once, but very very much quieter than it was before. Subsequent trolleying about in my lounge is (so far) not producing the noise, but I have stopped testing now because I will be heartbroken all over again if it comes back ! So, if the evidence is thusly, and the only thing that has changed is that the wheel has been warm and dry for 2 days of inactivity; it was on with headlight, but stationary for 6 hrs yesterday (oh and I attached a new TPU stand-piece, but surely that can't have anything to do with it) why would the noise that was so prominent only a day ago suddenly have gone now ?! Anybody got any theories ?! I will do very cautious test rides in the yard / drive tomorrow, where, if I convince myself it is bound to return, then I can only be pleasantly surprised if it doesn't ! Or dropped on my face from 8 ft when my bearings seize up ! I'll wear the helmet. Edited October 26, 2022 by Cerbera Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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