Throughout the life of a bicycle, the bottom bracket will have to be replaced. The bottom bracket is an item that wears out over time and is not expected to last the lifetime of the bicycle. The following article goes over how to remove the bottom bracket for replacement or repair. The bottom bracket in the Roadster V3 is the torque sensor, so these terms can be used interchangeably.
Tools Needed:
-8mm hex key
-2mm hex key
-Torx 20 wrench
-44mm bottom bracket tool
- 20 spline bottom bracket tool
Step 1- Loosen Motor Cable
The controller needs to be removed to unplug the bottom bracket torque sensor from the controller. In order for the controller to be removed, the motor does need to be unplugged. This will allow for enough slack in the cables to remove the controller from the bike to unplug the bottom bracket. To do this, remove the motor cable cover by loosening the four small hex bolts. This is located by the rear wheel. Once the cover is removed, cut the zip tie holding the cables in place.
Step 2- Unplug the sensor
Once the motor cable is loose the controller can be removed from the frame. This can be done by loosening the lower battery panel in the frame by removing the two Torx 20 bolts in the frame. Once the bolts are removed the lower battery panel can be slid out of the frame. The yellow battery connection will come unplugged and this is okay. After the panel is out, the controller can be lifted out of the bicycle. Good practice is to take a picture of how the wires are arranged with the controller inside the frame, so that it can be recalled later during reinstallation.
Step 3- Remove the crankarms
Once the bottom bracket/ sensor is unplugged it can be safely removed from the bicycle. This link shows in more detail how to remove the arm: LINK. We would suggest removing the right arm first, then proceeding to step four, then removing the left arm. This will allow the left arm to be used as leverage to remove the lock ring, as discussed in Step 4.
Step 4- Remove the chainring
Once the right crankarm has been removed the belt/ chainring can be removed. To do this, loosen the lock ring holding the spindle in place. This step will use the 20-spline bottom bracket tool. Note that the lock ring is reverse threaded, so turning the ring clockwise will loosen it. After the lockring is removed, the chainring can be lifted off by hand.
Step 5- Remove the bottom bracket cups
The final step in removing the bottom bracket is to remove the bottom bracket cups. These will be removed via the 44mm bottom bracket tool. The following link goes over how to do this in more detail: LINK.
IMPORTANT: The right side cup needs to be removed first to avoid damage to the sensor. Doing this in the incorrect order will ruin the cable leading to the sensor. The correct orders as listed below:
Removal: loosen the right cup, pull out the bottom bracket, remove the left cup
Installation: Install the left cup, install the bottom bracket, install the right cup.
Reinstallation:
Reinstalling the bottom bracket is the same steps in reverse.