Tenways CGO600 Pro nearly lethal manufacturing defect (and a faulty controller)
I am seriously regretting buying this mess of a bike and this is a warning to anyone searching for it as much as it is a request for ideas.
On my first ride yesterday at 22kph my front tyre suddenly popped out of the rim, exploded violently and almost threw me off my bike while I was in front of a bus following closely to try and overtake. Through a sheer miracle the bus saw my distress, emergency braked and saved my life. The bike shop I bought it from changed the tyre and wheel and said the tyre had a manufacturing defect and the bead came loose from the rubber. That is shockingly bad quality control.
The more persistent issue is this bike feels absolutely horrendous to cycle even at PAS3. The assist cuts out at 22-23kph and it feels like cycling bogged down in mud to reach 25kph. On my road bike I can comfortably cycle 30-35kph but I work up a sweat. It feels fun. On my old ebike i can comfortably cycle 25kph with minimal effort and push it higher if I start putting some real effort in. On this mess of a bike I have to push it hard to keep it at 25kph. This makes sweat free commuting impossible and this bike a completely useless in between option that is neither fun to cycle or useful to commute with.
I asked Tenways support and they directed me to the local dealer. The local dealer says they tried the bike before sale and that it was fine and seemed unwilling to help with this issue. Short of returning the bike and buying something else, is there another solution? I saw mention of a firmware update but I don't see any mention of it since last year. Anyone have any ideas? The bike shop doesn't seem to think the assist issue is a real issue and Tenways are not being helpful. My options to return the bike and get something from a different brand are unfortunately limited.