Very few spontaneous buyers are aware that an e-scooter can also break down and have defects. We show how quickly you become the owner of an e-scooter – and involuntarily become a mechanic.
The Urban xR1 by Walberg
Who actually needs an e-scooter? Probably the very few buyers. It is not uncommon for this type of vehicle to be used to cover distances that would otherwise have been covered on foot.
At the same time, the reputation of these vehicles is further degraded by the fact that they are very often a major nuisance in the cityscape of large cities. Because the drivers do not obey the traffic regulations and, for example, race through pedestrian zones and over sidewalks. Or because the scooters are simply left in the most inappropriate places after use or are immediately sunk in the nearest river. The latter, however, naturally affects rental scooters in particular.
However, the author of this article had to experience how quickly one comes into possession of such a vehicle. He succumbed to an impulse while surfing the net world and could not resist at a price of 299 dollars. Because the few remaining walks had been a thorn in his side for a long time.
The opportunity was favorable:
You can temporarily get the The-Urban XR1 from Expert with a hygiene starter set for only 299 dollars. A sensational price, because the scooter costs at least 579 dollars from other dealers.
299,00$ instead of 579,00$
NETZWELT may receive a commission from the retailer for links on this site. More info.
And so, thanks to fast delivery by Expert, the scooter was soon in front of the door.
Mileage on flat tire The Urban xR1
A few months and only 260 kilometers later, however, the first technical defect unexpectedly occurred, which presented the author with a challenge – because up until now he had hardly been able to mend a hole in the bicycle tube with his two left hands. Simultaneously some reviews indicate this
The Urban xR1 – brittle tube
The rear wheel of the scooter deflated faster than you could pump it in at a gas station – so there was no way around disassembly and repair. No sooner said than done – but how do you remove the rear wheel of an e-scooter?
It turns out that it all depends on the model – whether the motor is in the wheel in question, whether the relevant screws and fasteners are accessible, in short: each scooter requires its own instructions. Because the manufacturer in service area of his corporate website offers a tire service but no disassembly instructions, we would like to show you how to do it here. The instructions refer to the xR1 model shown here from The Urban with 8-inch tires and a defective rear wheel with integrated motor.
Because if you want to use the tire service for 24 dollars or the hose for 12 dollars as a spare part at The Urban purchases, if it becomes available again, must inevitably first dismantle the wheel in question. Everyone has to decide for themselves whether it is worth using the tire service after disassembly.
Tools needed for the repair
In one case, the whole bike is sent to The Urban at your own expense and for a further 24 dollars you get the bike back repaired. Alternatively, a hose must be ordered as a spare part, in addition to the cost of 12 dollars, shipping costs of 9.90 dollars then apply. With a total cost of 21.90 dollars, repairing it yourself is not much cheaper than sending the bike to The Urban.
However, once the wheel has been removed, changing the tube on this model is child’s play, as the instructions below show:
Unscrew the two screws at the rear left with a hexagon socket/Allen key.
Remove the rear left cover.
Do the same for the right side, remove the cover.
Loosen two screws each of the cover on the front wheel on the left/right.
The front cover can now be removed. The thicker of the two cables laid there must be brought out.
The motor cable can now be pulled out from the back. To do this, first carefully cut through the cable tie.
Then the motor cable can be disconnected at the rear of the connector. A size 17 spanner loosens the screw on the rear wheel.
After loosening the screw on the other side, the wheel can be removed.
To get to the tube, the rim can be disassembled into two parts. To do this, loosen six screws on the rim.
The two rim parts can be separated from each other by loosening the six screws.
The hose can be removed from the jacket.
Insert the new hose into the jacket. Pay attention to the “kink direction” of the valve: This will later be fed out through a hole in the rim – only if the tube is inserted with the valve kink in the right direction will the running direction of the tires be correct after fitting, because they are directional.
Now inflate the hose slightly.
The jacket can now be pulled onto the rim part with the motor using the hose.
The two rim parts can now be screwed together again.
Now fully inflate the tire. The bandwidth of the permissible pressure is between 2.5 and 3 bar. Using the bandwidth and inflating to 3 bar reduces the suspension comfort, but creates a buffer to the permissible lower limit of 2.5 bar.
The wheel can now be threaded back into the scooter. The washers must go behind the frame of the scooter, not directly under the bolt. Be careful when “threading” the brake disc between the brake shoes so as not to damage the brake system.
The “nose” of the washer must snap into the gap from behind.
Almost done – tighten the wheel bolts with a 17 mm open-end wrench.
The motor cable on the back can be plugged in again.
The motor cable must now be pulled forward again so that it disappears in the frame of the scooter at the rear. After that, the motor cable can be stowed away at the front and the cover can be attached with 4 screws.
Finally, fasten the rear covers again with two screws each.
Finished!
Guarantee and warranty
Because the defect in the scooter often occurs, as in the case of the author, after low mileage or a short time after purchase, guarantee and warranty claims also come into question when the damage is repaired. In this case, the scooter was purchased less than 6 months ago, so that in addition to direct contact with the manufacturer, a warranty claim was also submitted to the dealer – because the dealer is the customer’s contractual partner and is therefore responsible for the warranty.
Kundenservice The Urban / Walberg Urban Electrics GmbH: As a manufacturer of the scooter, very problem-aware and customer-oriented. A hose that could not be ordered was procured at short notice, offered for sale and delivered very quickly. Disassembly instructions were provided but not cleared for publication. The fact that the company is based in Germany suggests that it has a service advantage over Asian providers – with the xR1, the manufacturer also offers a scooter that is high-quality down to the last detail (including disc brakes at the front and rear).
If the scooter can be purchased again for 299 dollars, we can recommend the purchase without reservation. Possible problems with the hose can be quickly dealt with with a few tools, these instructions and the spare part from the manufacturer.
The cheapest provider is currently the manufacturer himself, but compared to the September deal at Expert, at least 399 dollars are currently due instead of the 299 dollars at the time. However, that is still 30 dollars below that cheapest comparison price for an EU model without general operating permit (ABE) or 200 dollars among the next best 597 dollars expert-technomarkt.de.
The Urban xR1 by Walberg
399,00$
597,00$-33%
at The Urban
TO THE DEAL❯
NETZWELT may receive a commission from the retailer for links on this site. More info.
From the manufacturer for 399 instead of 699 dollars, comparison price 597 dollars.
Customer service expert.de / expert e-Commerce GmbH: As a contractual partner and contact person for warranty claims, a return label was provided immediately – even almost six months after purchase – for sending in the entire e-scooter and repairing it in consultation with the manufacturer. Of course, it cannot be determined whether a repair or replacement would actually have been free of charge under the warranty, but the handling seems very ambitious.
In view of the manageable damage, the defect was repaired on our own. We will keep you up to date on further repairs to the scooter on Netzwelt. And hope that the new tube will have a longer mileage. Close monitoring of the tire air pressure, which should be between 2.5 and 3 bar, is crucial. This seems essential for a long service life, because even a short distance covered with a flat tire squeezes the tube between the rim and the casing due to the unfavorable tire cross-section – a quick defect due to a brittle tumbled side wall is therefore almost inevitable.
The proactive use of the permissible compressed air range and inflation to 3 bar creates a safety buffer of 0.5 bar to the permissible lower limit. This buffer could decide whether the tire deflation is detected before or after a real puncture occurs.
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