BROOKLINEBIKER

I've been shopping for "stock" ebikes and see that a lot of them use Bosch motors. I note for example that the Trek Allants use Bosch and only have a 2-year warranty. I'm wondering if the manufacturer doesn't seem to have confidence in the motor's longevity, should I?

I plan to use my future ebike for urban, year-round, all-weather, commuting and shopping. My questions are:

• How long should I expect the motor to last if used daily?
• If it breaks, what parts in it will break?
• What are your estimates on costs of repair?

MarcusT

The 2 year warranty is standard in the business. There are many ebike motor comparisons and Bosch seems to always pull out in front for reliability, though there are occasional failures. I have ridden mine in all types of weather/conditions and until now, no problems.
Repairs can be anywhere from $50 for simple bearing replacement to replace the motor which can run over $1000. I suggest you google ebike motor comparisons and bosch motor problems. The biggest issue for repairs is that most shops are not authorized to work on the motor. All they can do is hook up a computer and see if any issues arise, if needed, send it back to the manufacturer. The generation 4 (latest) seems to be the most reliable, so look for those
Usually if any defects arise, it's in the first few thousand miles, hopefully while still under warranty.

2old

+1 with the above. When electric motor problems arise (as with many electric problems), frequently it's "infant mortality". Once you get past the initial period, usually you're safe.

BROOKLINEBIKER

would it be reasonable to expect a Bosch motor to perform like new after 5 years of use? 8 years? 10 years?

2old

The only point of reference is my riding buddy who had an early (first gen AIR) Felt with Bosch motor that he used in pretty extreme off road environments (trail difficulty and hot conditions, no rain since this is socal) for five years with no problems, then sold the bike, so great service since he's not known as "Crash" for nothing. You might check the Bosch forum in electricbikereview. Early on Haibike supported a couple who rode around the world on a Bosch-equipped bike that had many of its bicycle parts wear out but not the motor unit AIR.

veganbikes

Bosch is a rarely replaced motor, we have replaced maybe 4 or 5 in 5 years and all under warranty. Bosch warranty is excellent they really support their products well and sometimes go beyond the 2 year mark. They also have a plan to support their products at least 11 years after being discontinued so you have a long life on them and more than likely at that point their will be folks rebuilding the motors as needed.

We have probably been selling Bosch since at least 2015 and very few reliability problems and usually those issues are pretty odd or partially user error. Any routine stuff is usually from new like a charger having an issue out of the box or the old Intuvia display mount issue that just had connectivity problems on certain handlebars and that wasn't really a Bosch issue but they replace all the docks with new ones with more brass connection pins and these days they aren't selling the old display mounts/docks so no need to worry.

Bosch has the best support out there and is easy for just about any shop to get support for it and loads of shops around the country that are Bosch certified. Also keep in mind they are a very well known company making excellent power tools, home appliances and automotive parts so they have a lot of experience with motors large and small. Plus they sell bearing refresh kits and such for all the different motors.

I don't think promising a motor will perform like new after 5-10 years is reasonable but it will likely still be working just fine. Things do eventually wear down a bit but having known people with older Bosch motors who are heavy users and haven't really had issues I can say you should be fine.