Boardman ADV 8.9 E

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robgul

Legendary Member
As an aside - does anyone know if replacement cranks (for a reasonable price...) are available anywhere? I'm looking for shorter ones with an increased Q factor. In order to use the stock ones, my duck-footed stance needs pedal extenders for my heels to clear the chainstays when using SPDs.

You can get pedal extenders that go between the pedal and the crank arm - all my bikes have one on the LH side to cope with a semi-collapsed foot - work just fine. Usually available on ebay (even in Titanium !)
 

robgul

Legendary Member
road:cc has published a Buyer's Guide - post on 10 Mar 23 rates the Boardman ADV8.9e as the best value for money electric road bike.
https://road.cc/buyers-guide/best-electric-road-bikes

I remain delighted with mine BUT have some concern at the lack of availability of spare/additonal batteries . . . .
 

fasteasyfree

Active Member
I remain delighted with mine BUT have some concern at the lack of availability of spare/additonal batteries . . . .

I find it bizarre that there don't seem to be any available. Boardman are still making the bike, so obviously the batteries are being made somewhere. The Energy 250x is also backward compatible, but there are none available either.
 

robgul

Legendary Member
I find it bizarre that there don't seem to be any available. Boardman are still making the bike, so obviously the batteries are being made somewhere. The Energy 250x is also backward compatible, but there are none available either.

There is a suggestion that Fazua 250x batteries will be available within 2 or 3 weeks. 🤞
 

fasteasyfree

Active Member
Has anyone suffered from bottom-bracket creak? It's not the torx bolts coming loose - they're all tight. The noise occurs during each press down on the pedal, a very loud creak.

I've taken the drive unit out, and it happens when putting lateral pressure on the cranks (as in, pushing and pulling to and from the bike frame, not parallel to it like when pedaling). But only when they're in vertical orientation. If they're horizontal it doesn't happen.

My next idea was to remove the gearbox unit from the bike and have a good clean in there, but I managed to strip the head of one of the bloody torx bolts...
 

robgul

Legendary Member
Has anyone suffered from bottom-bracket creak? It's not the torx bolts coming loose - they're all tight. The noise occurs during each press down on the pedal, a very loud creak.

I've taken the drive unit out, and it happens when putting lateral pressure on the cranks (as in, pushing and pulling to and from the bike frame, not parallel to it like when pedaling). But only when they're in vertical orientation. If they're horizontal it doesn't happen.

My next idea was to remove the gearbox unit from the bike and have a good clean in there, but I managed to strip the head of one of the bloody torx bolts...

Are the cranks tight on the "axle" ? - I've not looked at my machine but IIRC they are self-extracting and the bolts may not be tight enough - if there's a "rocking movement" which I think you're describing that's often the cause.
 

fasteasyfree

Active Member
Are the cranks tight on the "axle" ? - I've not looked at my machine but IIRC they are self-extracting and the bolts may not be tight enough - if there's a "rocking movement" which I think you're describing that's often the cause.

One of the first things I checked. The cranks are on tight; It's caused by the flex of the frame.

As I can't get the gearbox/bb out (I'll pick up one of those extraction sets for the bolt), I decided to spray down inside it with a hosepipe and then some spray lubricant.

The creaking is now pretty much gone, so it seems that the noise was due to dirt making its way in. I'll maybe strip it down at some point, but this will have to do for now.
 

fasteasyfree

Active Member
...and after a 30+ mile ride yesterday without any noise, I think dirt between the gearbox and the frame was 100% the culprit!

After more creaking recently, I decided I'd had enough.

I ordered some m6 x 16mm bolts from Screwfix, grabbed the loctite and torque wrench, and proceeded to remove the bottom bracket.

It removes fairly easily, after wiggling the cranks a bit. I noticed that dirt had made its way between the unit and frame, so gave it all a good clean. I also put some rubber tape inside to make the fit a little more snug.

On putting it back together, you need to keep an eye on the cables as they like to move themselves into a position that would get them pinched against the frame. Otherwise I found it easiest to do up the bolts first with the screwdriver to ensure the bracket was lined up. Then one at a time, undo a bolt, apply loctite and screw it back in. Crank down with the wrench to 8.5nm and move on the next.

A successful 50km later and I'm happy. The new bolts are hex instead of torx, so I don't know how well they'll stack up long term. But considering I nearly stripped the head of the original ones it can't really be worse. Plus I got a bag of 50 for a fiver so even if I'm slightly dubious there are spares.
 

gzoom

Über Member
Gald I didn't sell the Boardman after the Creo arrived about 12 months ago. Today's commute in rain, wind, rain was manageable on the Boardman, and the 20kg+ weight loaded up, Marathon tires, actually felt very safe!

53305915665_def1f18146_c_d.jpg
 

Mocaccino

Active Member
Location
London
My Fazua Ride 50 Drivepack has given up the ghost after 3 years/16,070KM with this error on the diagnosis test: Hard Fault 22 - Motor phase current zero. I tried to order a new one from the Fazua website but they don't ship to the UK as we are no longer in the EU. I popped into Halfords where I bought the bike originally and they don't have any in stock and the guy didn't know if they could order any. I have contacted Decathlon to see if they have any as they are listed as a Fazua dealer, awaiting reply.

Has anybody had any luck sourcing a Fazua Drivepack anywhere or can they be repaired?
 

robgul

Legendary Member
My Fazua Ride 50 Drivepack has given up the ghost after 3 years/16,070KM with this error on the diagnosis test: Hard Fault 22 - Motor phase current zero. I tried to order a new one from the Fazua website but they don't ship to the UK as we are no longer in the EU. I popped into Halfords where I bought the bike originally and they don't have any in stock and the guy didn't know if they could order any. I have contacted Decathlon to see if they have any as they are listed as a Fazua dealer, awaiting reply.

Has anybody had any luck sourcing a Fazua Drivepack anywhere or can they be repaired?

There's a Facebook group for Fazua - may be a lead there ? . . . or you could try the other bike brands that use/have used Fazua - Trek and Canyon spring to mind. You could also try Tredz (which is part of Halfords) as they usually make more sense (my Adv 8.9e came from there)
 

Mocaccino

Active Member
Location
London
There's a Facebook group for Fazua - may be a lead there ? . . . or you could try the other bike brands that use/have used Fazua - Trek and Canyon spring to mind. You could also try Tredz (which is part of Halfords) as they usually make more sense (my Adv 8.9e came from there)

Thanks @robgul, tried Tredz live chat, they don't do them. Canyon don't have any on the website, for more specific searches you need to enter a Canyon bike serial number which I don't have as my bike is a Boardman ADV 8.9e. I'll give Trek a go tomorrow. I'll have a nose at the facebook group.
 

robgul

Legendary Member
Thanks @robgul, tried Tredz live chat, they don't do them. Canyon don't have any on the website, for more specific searches you need to enter a Canyon bike serial number which I don't have as my bike is a Boardman ADV 8.9e. I'll give Trek a go tomorrow. I'll have a nose at the facebook group.

Try phoning Canyon on 0208 549 6001 (M-F 9-5) - they were very helpful with some queries I had when I was managing an LBS. AFAIK all the Fazua Evation 50 motors are the same across all brands that use them.
 
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