Maintenance and bike service

At Familybike.ch our prices do not include maintenance costs such as service and inspections. However, we recommend that you have the maintenance carried out by a professional bicycle shop in your area.

We are happy to help you order spare parts.

Maintenance: Mandatory bike inspection and readjustment within the first 20 km.

After that, the bike needs service and adjustments every 500 kilometers.

It is important for the life of your family bike that you regularly ragree and wait. You should have a service performed by a specialist at least twice a year. Once in preparation for springing/summer and once for fall/winter. The safety-relevant parts such as brakes, lights and moving parts such as pedals, gear shift, tires and rims including spokes must be checked and, if necessary, serviced or tightened.

We recommend

Maintenance

In general, it is best for your family bike to stay dry. So always place your Familybike under a shelter, in the garage, or in the bike cellar. It is best to always take the battery into the house with you.

Your family bike should be washed with a normal garden hose and not with a high-pressure cleaner and then wiped with a cotton cloth. Be careful not to point the water jet directly at the battery and electrical parts.

After washing your family bike, you always have to make sure to lubricate it. The chain and bearings are the most important elements to be lubricated. Always use an oil from a specialist shop that is intended for chains or bearings.

Never store the battery in freezing weather for a long time.
Always use the original charger.
Always charge your battery at room temperature. If you need to charge your battery over the winter months, the following is IMPORTANT: Always wait until the battery has reached room temperature before connecting it to the charger. In this way you ensure that no condensation occurs due to the temperature differences and the battery is damaged.
Do not switch on the charging switch until the battery is connected to the charger.
Always switch off the charger after the battery has been removed or when the battery is charged.
See also "Errors and solutions" below

Battery

Rain hood

Our hoods keep moisture and wind away from children on regular tours in rain, fog, and snow.

Note that all zippers must be closed before attaching the rain hood. After the rain hood has been put on, the entrances can be opened.

Some of our customers use their rain covers to give their family bike or charger more permanent protection from the weather. If you also decide to do this, the hood will have to be replaced more often in the long run. See spare parts.

We use tires with a car valve, which ensures that no air escapes.
For the hoses, we use anti-puncture hoses to minimize the risk of you and your family getting stuck on a trip. "Anti-puncture" does not mean that your bicycle tire is 100% puncture-proof. It means that the bike tire has extra protection/reinforcement that makes it harder for foreign objects to get in. Often the number of punctures is reduced by 80-90%.
Always keep your family bike properly inflated. Pressure information is on the side of the tire. We recommend 4.5 bar.
Always use the right type of pump to avoid damaging the valve.
good tyres. Make sure your tires have a good wear layer and don't look old and cracked.

Cargobike Ultimate Harmony - wheel, tire/wheel

Tires

Display

The display is pressure and function tested and preset at the factory. However, if the LCD display is scratched or exposed to external pressure (eg high-pressure cleaner), is exposed to direct sunlight for a long time and is therefore overheated or is uncovered, there is unfortunately a risk of damage eg water ingress.

Moisture may escape by placing your family bike in a dry place where it is stably dry and the temperature is above 15°C-18°C. Or place your family bike in a slightly warmer environment.

Broken Spokes, Wheels and Rims: We use some of the thickest, most powerful spokes on our family bikes. When we see faults on the spokes, it is almost always due to lack of or insufficient service. During regular service (twice a year), the spokes must be checked and, if necessary, tightened again. We also have customers who have ridden their family bikes over the pavement / curb or similar. Our family bikes are of course not intended for that.
Broken Metal Pieces: A rare fault, but when we see it there was almost always some external pressure from the top and/or the metal pieces being loose and continually flexing.
Damaged front pedal blade on electric models: Appears as a safety feature if the chain is stuck and you try to start the electric motor at the same time. The problem occurs almost exclusively with family bikes where the regular service interval has not been observed and/or the oiling of the chain and gears has been neglected.
Chain falls off: Occurs next only due to a lack of service or ongoing service (where chain may have tightened) and/or neglecting to lubricate the chain and sprocket. Wear of the chain / rear wheel drive can be another reason. In this case, the affected parts must be replaced by a specialist.
Damaged sensor: Occurs almost exclusively when the sensor is stuck in an external object e.g. twig, cord etc. or as a result of the chain being torn to pieces and/or you didn't stop pedaling in time when the chain was lost and the sensor was damaged carried away. The chain loss is entirely due to lack of maintenance and lack of gear adjustment and oiling.

Movable parts

errors and solutions

In order to provide you with the best possible support when using your family bike, we have created an overview of simple errors and the associated solutions.

Most electrical problems are caused by a single loose connection or a bad battery. Before troubleshooting, inspect the battery for bumps and breakage, and all wires (follow all wires with your finger, including under the bike and behind the saddle) for visible breaks and defects.

This solution guide contains the following topics:

1. General electronic solutions

2. Battery instructions and solutions

GENERAL ELECTRONIC SOLUTIONS

Check if the battery is fully charged. To do this, press the battery level button while the battery is on. The battery must be 100% full (all 4 battery indicators should be lit). By the way, always check whether the supplied original charger is being used for charging.
Lock the battery lock and turn on the battery using the button on the side of the battery.
Turn on the display and make sure all icons are enabled.
Check that the cable from the rear wheel (electric bike), from the front wheel (senior bike - 3 wheeler and long john) is installed correctly and the nearest wire is about 20 cm from the end of the wheel. Pull apart the two black connectors and check if they are completely dry. If they're not 100% dry, use a regular blow dryer on medium heat to dry. Plug the connectors back together so the arrows on the wires point toward each other.
Check the pedal crank sensor (between the frame and pedal crank). The sensor is a small black box with a wire going into it. Check that there is no more than approx. 4-5 mm from the black sensor to the black magnetic plate on the opposite side (pedal arm with gears). If necessary, press and carefully attach the black sensor to the mounting bracket so that the spacing is correct.
Check that the red sensor light on the pedal crank is lit. There is a small red light on the sensor. The red light should be on. It turns on and off alternately.
Check that the black magnetic plate, which is located opposite the sensor on the back of the right pedal arm, is correctly installed. It should be centered and the 3 small plastic mounting arms should not be broken.
Make sure there are no loose connections on the controller. First remove the battery. Superior/ Deluxe/ El long John: Remove the 4 pc. screws sitting under the black plastic cover on the battery box, against the saddle. The controller's large gray aluminum box is now clearly visible. Feel free to unplug one cable at a time and plug it back in.
Test whether the function "walking aid" (only 9-pin models from approx. 2015) works. Power on the system and hold the "up arrow" constantly for about 5 seconds. The motor must then be activated automatically. If the engine is running, the problem is with the sensor and the magnetic plate.
If your Familybike still doesn't work, contact Familybike.ch.

You can advantageously press the "SET" and "↓" keys at the same time, then an error code will appear on the display. Email us the error code and we will identify the error as soon as possible.

BATTERY GUIDES AND SOLUTIONS

2.1 Instructions: Using a lithium battery

Don't let the battery drain completely.
Charge the battery regularly, even when the family bike is not being used, e.g. every 2 months for 3 hours in winter.
Do not leave a fully charged battery in the charger. This can lead to "overcharging" which will damage the battery.
Always put the battery in after every trip. Since it must not be stored outdoors in the rain and in direct sunlight or frost. You also avoid the risk of theft.
CONDENSATION- CAUTION - Always charge your battery at room temperature. If you need to charge your battery over the winter months, the following is IMPORTANT: Always wait until the battery has reached room temperature before connecting it to the charger. In this way you ensure that no condensation occurs due to the temperature differences and the battery is damaged.
See the back of the battery for more information.
The service life of a lithium battery is also significantly reduced by prolonged storage in frost or by long-term storage. See battery storage.

2.2 Instructions: Battery storage

If the family bike is left for a long period (more than 2 months), it is recommended to follow these tips regarding:

Store dry / maximum at normal room temperature
Protect your battery from moisture and water
Store horizontally and stably
Protect from excessive heat and cold and from direct sunlight
The battery must be either fully or partially charged.

2.3 Instructions: Only short range when fully charged

Does your family bike roll well without power consumption, ie. that there is no resistance on the wheels eg brakes.
Are the tires inflated to approx. 4.5 bar?. See maximum tire pressure on the side of the tire.
Raise if necessary. Raise the wheels off the ground and ensure the wheels can spin freely for 2-4 laps without resistance.
Make sure that the family bike generally does not lack oil lubrication of the chain, wheel / wheel bearing, crank and brake spring and that your family bike has undergone the obligatory tightening (approx. 20 km) and service (every 500 km), preferably by a professional.
Only use original charger.
Make sure that the battery is not exposed to low outside temperatures for several days.
The display must be set to the correct wheel size (electric bike = 26 inches, El Long John = 20 inches). Wheel size is the first number (above) when you have your display turned on.
- Hold "SET" for about 5 seconds and use the up and down arrows to adjust the size.

We always recommend checking the following:

The battery is locked while driving
The battery wears out like everything else. Expect your battery to last around 600-900 charges or 2-3 years. Depending on use and driving distance. As a battery nears the end of its life, performance is continuously reduced.
Please also note that the range will be significantly reduced if you drive above the normal level 1-2. (A total of 6 power levels. The highest level corresponds to motor support for approx. 15 km and approx. 40% - 50% of the pedal power and runs in mountainous terrain. Remember that there is still some power even on the lowest level of the battery. The The last line of the battery gauge on the display should flash before there is not much left.

2.4 Solution Guide: My battery is not working

First check whether the battery can be charged or not. Press the battery level indicator and check how much charge the battery has
If the battery is fully charged, it is likely the electrical system that is causing the problem. See "General Electronic Solutions" at the top of this page.
If the battery is not powered:
- Then check if the charger works. Are the wires pushed all the way into the charger?
- Is your outlet working?
- Is it the original charger you are using?
- If all of the above is correct, the small lamp in the charger should glow green.

If the battery still does not work and is less than 6 months old, the fault will be covered by the warranty. You can send us an email clearly describing the error and attaching your invoice.