All test results at a glance

"Catastrophic test results"

All test results at a glance

All test results at a glance-glance

Adac Almost only deficient: The result of the e-bike test of the ADAC and the Stiftung Warentest is not a fame for many bicycle manufacturers

The Club therefore prompts the manufacturers to ensure that the framework, handlebars and brake system of electric wheels maintain the requirements and provide the highest level of security for users and other road users. In addition, the electromagnetic limit value for radiation emissions must be complied with. Corresponding instructions would also have to be clearly communicated to consumers.
Pedelecs are bicycles on which an electric wheel hub motor supports the cyclist when pedaling. The engine is mostly fed by a lithium-ion battery. How strong the engine should help, can be set in different levels. The e-bikes are becoming increasingly popular. According to the two-wheeled industrial association (ZIV), the Pedelc share is already 10 percent in the total bicycle market. In Germany, more than 1.3 million Pedelecs are traveling.
The catastrophic results of the test are even worse than that of a comparison, sharing Adac and Foundation Warentest. "Imagine: You have just bought an electric bike. Take the Leviatec issue for 1200 euros. You cycle, it goes steeply uphill, you switch the engine – and nothing happens. The engine of the brand new pedelec does not do a muckser. When asked, the manufacturer admits: The battery of the entire series is defective, it never worked,” says Anita Stocker, editor-in-chief of “test” magazine, describing one of the glaring e-bike defects.

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Dangerously bad brakes

SV / ADAC

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17 thoughts on “All test results at a glance

  1. A defect after the other
    I have a pedelec (29") With impulse II engine. After the first (!) Longer mountain travel … One year the engine made quantifying or piercing noises (no step race, no off-road vehicles) The engine was then LT. Trader exchanged (could also have been opened and repaired because unevenly applied white sealant at the housing were visible). Within the now driven CA. 3.500 kilometers was changed the chain (2x) and the rear sprocket (1x) (should be supposedly normal that of the sprocket and chain at e-bikes after 3.000 kilometers or less worn). German Engineered is on it – the rest probably bought together on the Asian market. At the moment it cracks in the engine housing (Do not use on gradients – the hint is still missing on the wheel).

  2. Nonsense test
    So anyone who has seen the test on TV must ask themselves the following questions: "What did they actually test??" Step-through bikes were tormented like off-road racers and touring bikes whose BA says "designed for paved paths",were sent over hump test benches under maximum weight, etc. At best, the test served to destroy what is currently the car industry’s biggest enemy in the most spectacular way possible. The thing about the brakes is also far-fetched. Even average cyclists today ride their 15 kg aluminum bikes at around 30 km/h, i.e. faster than a pedelec can support at all. Bicycles (normal as well as pedelecs) can usually weigh a total of 130-140 kg. Suddenly, V-breaks are no longer enough, although there is usually an additional coaster brake?!?

  3. The ADAC has tested …
    That says it all, our Autofahrer-Durfen-Alles-Club sees a lost member on every pedelec who has gone over to the enemy cyclists. You have to do it as badly as possible. The StiWa is also to blame for the bad results, for years there have been bad marks for heavy bikes and deductions for comfort if the step-through is too high in every bike test. That’s why StiWa is pushing the bike manufacturers to use spongy frames with pensioner geometry and thin-walled aluminum tubes (also called Coke cans).

  4. E-bikes are good for seniors
    and disabled people, they are only used by them. You don’t actually see other users on the street, and why should you?? Cycling is healthy, but only if you don’t use a motor. For seniors and disabled people, the question is whether they should not rather buy a moped, because in addition to the high costs and the very high weight, the ecological balance of e-bikes looks extremely bad because of the batteries and the high power loss with the battery.

  5. What nonsense are you writing?
    Take a look around who drives pedelecs. Seniors and disabled only? You obviously haven’t the faintest idea. Young people, fathers/mothers with child trailers, comfort cyclists and and and. It’s best to stay at the regulars’ table with your prejudices.

  6. Excellent information
    I’ve been thinking about getting an electric bike for a while. This article shows me to drop this idea. Results that bad at these prices are a disaster. What are the manufacturers actually thinking? Thanks for the list.

  7. The ADAC writes here and it doesn’t have one…
    …Interested in alternatives to the car. Almost all the errors described are typical bicycle quirks that have existed for a long time and with every model, not just with pedelecs.

  8. lightweight construction!
    The frame breaks are partly due to the lightweight construction. Nobody buys a bike with a steel frame or steel handlebar anymore. So all manufacturers make their frames and attachments out of aluminum. However, aluminum has a significantly lower modulus of elasticity than steel. It is also much more prone to fatigue failure than steel. While a break in a steel part is usually indicated by previous deformation, aluminum breaks without warning. If the buyer were to increasingly use steel wheels again, this would also increase durability. Old steel wheels can be loaded with several 100 kg without breaking. This is also done in many countries. A "modern" Bike would collapse after a few meters.

  9. Untrustworthy
    Who drives it please 20.000km with one handlebar? Normally, after two years, handlebars are done and are exchanged. So after an average mileage of about 5000km. This test design is insufficient, at least in the area of the handlebars.

  10. Replace handlebars every 2 years?
    What’s that about? Maybe with the highly stressed downhill bike. I ride my handlebars as long as I have the respective bike.

  11. what information is in this article
    "With five bikes, frames, handlebars or the mounts for the rear axle broke in the stress test, three models were downgraded due to defective brakes, all factors that pose an enormous risk for cyclists in an emergency.“Are those defects that don’t appear on normal bicycles?? Speaking of the "rear axle": Most pedelecs I’ve seen so far have the drive on the front axle. Also: the maximum speed (with active drive !) is limited to 25/30 km/h for pedelecs. These are speeds that can also be achieved without an electric drive. Speed is built up quite slowly on a pedelec: I doubt that the propulsion forces introduced into the frame during acceleration are sufficient for the frame to break.

  12. Front-wheel motors usually have these …
    …Hardware store cheap brands and you should avoid them anyway.

  13. Watch out
    As is so often the case when things need to be more convenient, the devil is in the details. What bothers me is the fact that many of the dangerous bikes have a GS approval stuck to the frame.

  14. Local companies are largely absent
    The fact that the renowned company Riese Muller is once again missing is just one example of the meanwhile weak research work by Stiftung Warentest with regard to their product test candidates. Being one of the pioneers in the field of e-bikes and one of the premium providers of bicycles of all kinds for decades, it is urgently necessary to involve local companies, such as Riese Muller, in a test in terms of safety and range.

  15. Home company is relative…
    …mind you, I ride an R M bike. The frames come from the Far East, the rest consists of components that others also use, here in Darmstadt we only assemble. And in terms of price, RM is slowly going through the roof. Incidentally, this is not reflected in the special range of the batteries.

  16. Which is completely beyond me,
    why these e-bikes do not have to be insured for liability. A moped with the same mileage, on the other hand, must be insured.

  17. The engine power is significantly higher
    The performance of a moped is many times higher than that of a pedelec. Which is also not driven at full throttle like a moped.

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