Guys, I know that your site derives its revenue by providing both advertising and these reviews, so it is tough, to tell the truth, so I applaud your efforts. In this latest video, you touched on a number of points that are important but the real heavy duty issues were skipped. To start with, regardless of whether you buy from a shop or online, make sure the seller has actually purchased product liability insurance to protect them (and you) against any manufacturing issues. Because no U.S. insurance underwriter will accept global coverage from some insurance company in China (they don't intend to fight a claim in a Chinese court), they automatically consider the importer to be the manufacturer of record. Big expense! Without this coverage, the customer is stuck if a claim arises. Secondly, check to see if the Lithium Battery pack comes with the necessary transport safety certifications known as the UNDOT 38.3 certificate. Without this certified test certificate for both the individual cells and the complete battery pack, they are not able to legally ship these anywhere in the country. The Chinese don't have a need for this because they don't have the same regulations to transport Class 9 Hazardous materials around the mainland, so it's up to the importer to go through this process, and it is very expensive. Finally, make sure whoever you buy from, that they are an actual business with parts inventory, service, support staff, and a real location that is more than a mailbox. It is too easy to get into the business with a 40ft ocean container and a website.
Great feedback, I've heard some of these points in the past and appreciate you going deeper to inform us. I wonder how the new tariffs will impact imported ebikes from Asia (where most of them are made).
it is important to understand that the current tariff penalty is only against fully assembled bikes coming from mainland China. The challenge to this is that CBP will be stepping up its efforts to fully understand the country of origin for the many bikes being imported from non-tariff penalty countries such as Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam to determine the actual origin of all the pieces and parts and to what percentage of the finished product they account for. This additional scrutiny will force buyers to seek new sources for pieces and parts and manufacturers to establish full manufacturing operations beyond the shores of the PRC. Understand, we are talking about every little component. Some items will be impossible to source competitively so the importer will need to bite the bullet but the increases will get passed along. These efforts are also being driven by the much higher penalties set against Chinese imports into the EU. This is one of the motivations for U.S.-based entrepreneurs to look at some form of on-shore manufacturing. I drafted a White Paper that looks at using the US Foreign Trade Zone system as a way to bring jobs back, improve an importer's cash flow and help to lower the overall tariff percentage. I can send you a copy.
Donna, that would be nice except there are no legal, pedal-assist electric bikes being made from the ground up here in the U.S. There are no electric motor drives made here, limited battery packs, and only some prototype controllers. There are parts made in other countries beyond mainland China that avoid the tariffs, but no one has made the commitment to engineer and build everything right here...yet! The tariff penalties might make someone or a group think twice. Having said that, you still need the insurance coverage and the battery certification. FedEx and UPS don't care.
This was an important message for prospective buyers. There are so many good bikes you owe it to yourself to do the work to insure you get one, regardless of channel. Personally I support my local bike shops because we're dealing with a relatively expensive emerging technology and if I have a problem I'd like to have more than a toll-free number. Thanks Brent and Court.
I looked at local bike shops but I couldn't handle the snobbery and the sky-high prices. Everyone is complaining about not being supported locally, but on price and ease of purchase, online was my only logical choice. No issues.
I bought my first two bikes at bike shops and my last bike was a Rad Rover for only $1,499 free shipping and no tax. Best bike so far and great service. Bike was easy to assemble but people that are worried about that can pay $99 to have Velofix assemble and deliver. Personally, I've learned what a racket LBS are and how easy it is to do maintenance yourself. Added benefit, things go wrong on the road, being able to fix yourself is very comforting. Every LBS I've talked to about online bikes warn about problems etc. Much like the days when buggy whip manufacturers warned about the dangers of the automobile. Yes buying online is a risk, but not if you do your research.
Note for the EBR guys, Brent and Court... It should be clearly stated in EVERY one of your ebike reviews: 1) assembly level of difficulty rated 1 to 5 2) customer service level of quality rated 1 to 5 3) manual level of quality rated 1 to 5 4) ALL other pitfalls that could set up owners for buyers remorse
Very good job telling the story. To expound on the crowdfunding risks, recently many people were stung by the Taga 2.0 family trike (which had an e-assist version), when the company folded. The Taga 2.0 bike had been sold on Kickstarter and IndieGoGo, and backers found out they do not have the same legal protections for credit card purchases when they back a crowdfunded product that they receive when they outright purchase a product. Most of the Taga 2.0 backers were left holding the bag and many lost thousands of dollars. A lesson on crowdfunding and that you should be sure you do not spend more than you are willing to lose if the product goes south.
Bummer, I hadn't heard about that one. Some of my favorite direct order companies are Rad Power Bikes, Surface 604, and Evelo because they have been around for many years and actually have warehouses with inventory and replacement parts on hand.
all good points: years in business 1-5 stars warehouses with actual inventory 1-5 stars replacement parts on hand 1-5 stars Treat these bikes more like Consumer Reports does with their reviews and the industry will thrive ten fold.
Brent, I'm in San Jose and I am looking for someone or shop that is reputable in installing e-bike conversion kit. I want to add a Bafang BBSHD on my full suspension Kona. Do you have anyone you recommend in the south bay?
Although again, Rad bikes are bought from chinese generics factories. They are a reseller, they don’t own any factories nor are they the manufacturer. That doesnt mean their china bikes are bad tho, just generic.
Thank you for all the work you guys put into doing the research for us consumers. To be direct and to the point, you two have hit the nail on top of the head with the worries and the questions I've been having when it comes to this topic. Keep up the good work!!
Nice input. I suggest that my customers consider the following before purchasing any e-bike: 1) Can they ride it ahead of purchase for any reasonable test (all bikes need this test, because fit to rider cannot be assured any other way) 2) What kind of batteries are in the bike (cheap vs name brand)? It is the most expensive and important part of the bike. Cheap bikes mean cheap batteries. 3) where are going to take it when it needs attention or warranty work? it's an electric bike...enough said. 4) will the company be around and accessible to you when something breaks? many of these smaller businesses will be crushed by the big names for that very reason. 5)Can you get replacement parts after 3-4 years of use? If you cannot, then you just bought a cheap throw away e-bike...no savings there.
I spent five "Happy Hours" putting my RadCity together. Upon receiving my bike I figured out which tools would work best for assembly and the most important was a torque wrench. So I waited until I had all the tools I needed because I was worried I'd over tighten the bolts. Go Rad Power Bikes.
Another "beware of", learned today our local Trek dealer said their shop insurance prohibits them from working on bikes with a throttle. Lot of ebike direct orders are Class 2 and Class 3 which have throttles so you might double-check with your local shops before ordering online or be prepared to do all your own work.
According to EBR: Class 3: Speed Pedelec In America this class is often combined with Class 2 which produces bikes that have a throttle element capable of powering the rider up to 20 mph (32 kph) on motor power only, as well as a pedal assist mechanism capable of powering the rider up to 28 mph (45 kph). In parts of Europe, where throttles are less common, most Class 3 electric bikes only offer pedal assist.
Trek sells Class 1 and Class 3 products in the US. I'm not surprised that they shy away from Class 2 and anything with a throttle. Thanks for the tip on this, Lance! I had never asked before.
Good video and thanks for raising some important points. One thing that I would suggest when ordering an ebike online is to read their assembly instructions ahead of time. Are the instructions well done, and does this look like something you can handle?
I start by looking in the support section of their web site. As you know, you should also be comfortable with things that go a little beyond assembly, such as truing wheels and straightening brake rotors.
That's an excellent tip, Ken! We also upload some manuals to reviews and the forums occasionally. Sometimes you can ask people in the forums or see other unboxing videos as well.
Great segment, nice change of flow. It’s very hard to predict where and if E-Bike companies will be in five years. Kettler of Germany looked like a great, well made product in the Kettler Twin; loved it. After they were bought out, the US leg became history. My Twin, $3500 when purchased six years ago from NYCE Wheels, has electric power no more; the controller/display bit the dust. The cycle parts manager could tell me the part number, saying i had to order from a retail store in Germany, and gave several store locations. The eight retailers i called in Berlin, Hamburg, etc. all informed me that they do not do business with the US, (guess why). So i have a very well designed e-bike that is no longer electric.
Good points. I own a 2018 juiced Ripcurrent S. I love the bike. I have put in over 1000 miles on the bike, riding in snow, dirt and paved roads. Has a huge 52 volt battery with hydraulic disc brakes. Tough to beat or find something similar at the LBS for the price i paid and its a very good looking bike. I have had a few minor issues with the bike but i think Juiced CS is getting better and they were able to help me out. The bike came with the broken rear fender. They sent me a new one. I needed to do some touch up paint and they send me small bottle of paint. I try to learn from other youtubers to do most of works/maint myself. I recently up graded my tires to maxxis, and changed the disc brakes with no problem. i really appreciated when people put these "how to do" videos online. You could learn a lot. Anyway...Thanks for the video.
Thanks for posting this honest assessment of dealer vs online. My first ebike was an online fat tire hub motor bike from an online dealer located in China. The build quality is terrible, tolerances poor, many of the parts (like fenders, lights, etc) frustratingly do not fit the bike, and the bike is very heavy and unstable. The build quality is so poor that I actually feel uncomfortable riding the bike in anything but ideal conditions and gave up using it on trails. The only appeal of this bike was the price and is now the bike I ride around town and don't care (too much) if it gets stolen. Follow on bike was purchased from a local dealer, who is diligent in ensuring the bike is assembled correctly and is available to help me with occasional maintenance. The bike is 2-3X more expensive than the online bike, but experience is 10X better, with real suspension, dropper, and lighter weight. It performs similar to my Yeti MTB, although heavier, and trails are tons of fun. I would definitely buy from a local dealer when possible, and when not possible buy a known quality bike from a reputable online dealer.
Joined EBR forum - had not posted a single message and was banned a week later, stating I was spamming them. And being banned from EBR means you can't even browse their forums and read other posts. Sent message to admins asking to unban if thast's the word. 3 weeks passed by - not a word back from EBR. Great way to deal with your clients guys!
Put together a radpowerbike for a friend and the work I needed to do was mostly for efficiency I'm guessing 3hrs of shop labour to make the bike work well.im a motorcycle mechanic as a trade.so that was the trade-off for mail order on 1 machine.im sure there all different.and a side note radpowerbike stood 100% behind all work done.everyone was happy in the end.
Hi Mark! Would you please edit your comment to have spaces after the periods? It is creating weird links because it thinks you are typing URLs. Anyway... yeah, Rad Power Bikes is one of the leaders in direct sales and they offer great customer support in my experience.
Thanks Court and Brent...I appreciate all your efforts and I have watched/watch many of your reviews. Unfortunately the local bike shops offer electric bikes/trikes at ridiculous prices (overhead I guess) and they often don't have them in stock so you are also taking a chance on what they will look like when received even though they will put them together. To me, it is better to use your reviews rather than listen to the local bike shops and take your chances on an online bike/trike. In my case a trike because of my balance issues. I purchased a liberty trike which has been a godsend but I am considering an additional trike for the beach since I live just a few blocks from the beach. In any case, you guys are doing a major service for us little guys in an industry that is taking off...keep up the great work!!!
Thanks for the heads up .. I was about to put a deposit on a bike due to ship in about a month's time and then found out it was a crowdfunding site and the alarm bells started ringing. They are obviously using the deposits to build the product but what if they don't get enough orders? Without orders there's no bikes, even for those that have paid a deposit. I'm buying from a dealer, I'm not taking the risk of forking out money and then having to wait for months worrying if I'm ever going to receive the bike. You might have just saved me a shed load of money .. thanks guys keep trucking.
You didn't mention about spotting phishing sites that copy genuine bike websites and just steal your money and never deliver the product. You can spot them by the ridiculously cheap prices that no manufacturer could even make the bike for ! They pop up on facebook in the marketplace sponsored ads. Report to facebook when they do.
I highly recommend Biktrix (www.biktrix.com) who are located mid-Canada (I'm in the US). Great deal (I went for the cruiser), but more importantly great service. When I got the bike I felt the brakes weren't quite right and they offered to pay for me to take it to the shop to calibrate it. They respond very quickly to any question you might have. Also this was one of those 5 minute setup ones, you just put the front wheel on, slip the handlebar stem in and tighten, then attach the pedals... amazing. (and of course check tire inflation, battery power levels etc!)
I'd say this is expected in the bike industry in general. It's just that people new to ebikes are often new to cycling. One big pro in the cycling community to use a dealer is that you are usually supporting a local business or your "LBS" (local bike shop). For many cyclists this is very important.
Juiced Bikes - direct order and manufactured in China BUT; custom batteries built in-house, purpose-built frames, ship to US in bulk, 5-minute assembly, free 7-10 day shipping, company owner is a native English speaker that is fluent in Mandarin and very active online, and has been very successful on IndieGoGo.
If you do not want to service, the bike yourself, then I advise you to try to find a bike shop that is willing to service a bike you buy online. My girlfriend had a flat, and the neighborhood bike shop immediately told us they do not service electric bikes. Luckily, her bike is made by Giant, and the shop we bought it from had no problem servicing her bike. I have a Juiced Hyper Scorpion, and I was very lucky to find a local bike shop that would work on it. I bought an Ariel Rider Grizzly, and after 2 months the bike failed after 1 month of sending emails, I am still waiting for them to determine what is wrong with my bike. At this point, I am looking to take this bike to the same shop that worked on my Hyper Scorpion. If I could do it all over again, I would buy the bike from a local electric bike shop. As stated above, this is what I did with my girlfriend's bike, and the bike was ready in 1 day. In contrast, after 1 month, I am still waiting to find out what is wrong with my Grizzly. And, if I did not have a local bike shop willing to work on this, I would be really worried. I have always worked on my None-Electric bikes, but Electric bikes are at a different level and there are some things I just don't want to do. Try looking at the video for changing the controllers on an Ariel Rider Grizzly, it's madness. Also, for the cost of my bikes, $2,800 for the Hyper Scorpion and $3,300 for the Grizzly, I could have bought a Peugeot Liberty 150 for $2,999 and fees about $4,000 OTD. The scooter will not come with a side order of Range Anxiety. Liberty 150 goes 60 mph and gets about 100 mpg with a 1.5 gallon tank. Hyper Scorpion goes 25-30 miles range at 30 mph. Grizzly goes 40 miles range at 35 mph. I made a big mistake. The Liberty 150 goes faster, it goes farther, it has a 2-year warranty, and there are several dealers that sell and service these scooters in San Diego. The reason I bought my bikes online is that they go faster than a bike you buy in a store. My advice is if you want to go faster than a bike you buy in a store, skip the online bikes and get a scooter from a local dealer that will service it.
Unfortunately, I've heard this a couple of times... and even saw some inconsistencies and performance issues on a review sample product. That surprised me, because lots of people will see that bike and I will be showing it on camera?! Perhaps they are struggling with growing pains right now. I do like their designs and admire the people on the team, who work hard and seem to have integrity.
That's just happened to me, a pair of bolt cutters and my bike was gone. It was like a kick in the guts seeing my beloved bike gone and knowing some arsehole was riding it. I'm obviously going to have to buy another one but I'm worried like crazy now it could happen again. If someone is determined enough they'll have the right tools and take it, no matter how well it's protected. It's a head fuck for sure.
Pedego is so confident in their branded Foldy Lock that they give you a 5 year warranty against theft. You have to buy the lock when you but the bike. Couple of caveats, you have to get a police report and the thief has got to leave remanants of the lock. Also if you take the battery off the bike the bike is not as desirable.
Thanks for the video guys. My experience with a direct to consumer has been great. I bought 2 M2S All terrain Fat Tire bikes. Both came with all parts exactly as advertised and were simple to put together. Do your research read others reviews and direct to consumer should work out well for you. Shout out to my local Bike shop Competitive Edge in Rancho Cucamonga. They have been really great whenever service, accessory parts, or an issue arises.
Got a RadPower and it was great, so far. A friend, thought, bought a Swytch kit, through a campaign, by the time he got it price had gone up twice as much due to duties at the border (EU). And service is a big issue. Most dealers and repairs shops will not touch eBikes they don't sell.
2 months ago I purchased 2 DG bikes. The first bike took me 1 hour of work, including adjusting the brakes and rear derailleur. The second bike was a little longer to setup, as the bolt holding the front light was too short, the front light was missing and the front disk brake was a little bent. Also the tires on both bikes were 26x1.75" instead of the advertised 26x1.95". I'm satisfied with the bikes, but, even if the problems were minor, the next bikes will be purchased from a local shop.
That is an excellent assessment of how it works especially the crowd funding aspect. I would go further with the last part and say that you can't even be sure when the crowd funding ends and direct marketing has begun. I have had a very bad experience of this with a bike that has received a lot of interest with a lot of videos on U-tube so that I thought all the crowdfunding purchases had received the bikes. This turned out not to be true and in fact the bikes coming through now bear very little relationship to what was promised with very inferior parts. I don't wish to say more at this stage. I will comment again when this is finally resolved either way.
I ordered a bike online and when it arrived it was smashed to pieces by the shipper (UPS). It took 2 weeks to get a response from customer service and I'm still awaiting the arrival of my replacement bike. Not sure how much I would have paid to avoid this headache, but buying online is a gamble. My bet didn't pay off very well.
I backed the Mate e bike on Indigogo and it was my first ever venture on crowd funding, would I do it again ? Absolutely not! It took over14 months to receive the bike it was a very frustrating experience. I urge you all to be aware of the waiting time involved and even the possibility of not receiving the bike at all if the company fails to raise enough funds. Having said the the bike itself Mate, has been a joy to ride, I had a problem with power from the electric motor but after sending a quick video to Mate support they diagnosed a cable problem and shipped out the replacement parts along with a video tutorial of how to change the cable. So in terms of support Mate do seem like they are heading in the right direction as a proper e bike company....Court and the team, I salute you ! You do a great service to the e bike community carry on the great work, but unfortunately your constant reviews on all the wonderful e bikes are going to cost me a fortune on future up grades !
One problem I noticed is that no shops around here in RI will work on bikes they don't sell. I did finaly find one shop, but they know nothing about ebikes, so I am now doing my own work.
I had damage on my RadRover I bought last year, both brake rotors were bent and had some paint wear on the frame, but indeed that is the risk of buying online. I cant really fault Rad since it's ultimately the carrier's responsibility for proper package handling. Joined the crownfunding campaign for the Juiced Hyperscrambler and really excited for it to arrive. They've got 30 out already so I'm confident it'll show up at my door, it just sucks having to wait and with a "late fall" ETA it'll practically be winter by the time it's here.
Agreed!! I thought I bought my 1st e-bike from cyclesuk but 1 week later they calling me to inform me that the bike that I ordered had a technical fault and they don't have the relevant parts to fix it. Also, that was the last bike In stock (bull crap). After, they gave me 2 options - either cancel the order and get a refund or look for an alternative bike BUT I would have to pay the difference on the new bike. Their responsibility and mistake (might be a scam to get additional money from you after you've already paid the original price on the bike) but they still wanted me to pay extra/the difference on another bike that I didn't even want! Luckily, I recorded all the call conversations as evidence. CyclesUK let me down big time, the only reason I bought this folding bike was to commute to London City for work. (Congestion charges, traffic etc. makes it difficult to drive in the city). I haven't received my refund yet so I'll wait a few days before I contact them again. I'm happy that Fullycharged e-bike company gave me good customer service and offered me the bike that I want and I'll collect it today. I'M GOING TO SHARE MY STORY ON TH-cam - A COMPARISON VIDEO ON BOTH COMPANIES AND REVIEW MY BIKE ASWELL.
My 2 cents , I bought the v1 flash thru crowdfunding. The price was phenomenal, I think it was $1000. It goes an average 25 mph with me pedaling. Last a good 30 miles. I’ve also own the elby bike. Also a fantastic bike but the top speed is 20 mph and was more then double the price, I think closer to $3000. I’m happy with both. But I did have to pay about $100 to put the flash together.
Brent and Court, very helpful advice. A piece of advice I have from personal experience with purchasing small electric bikes (my price range is low end) is that sometimes the weight of the bike is incorrect. I am interested in a bike currently for which I found 3 different weights for the same model on three different websites! Anyway, keep up the good work, guys!
Thank you for weighing them. I am an older woman with wimpy arm muscles who carries her bikes up a flight of steps so weight is a deal breaker for me. :-)
Everything here is pretty much on the money with an added caveat. Direct order bikes can be MUCH harder to have serviced. If you are ordering online it means there may be no local shop willing or even capable of fixing issues with your bike and many of these shops will provide no support at all once their warranties are over. I am currently totally unable to get my VOLTBIKE fixed because of the shop pretty much vanishing from existence. I'm just trying to source some replacement parts and am fully willing to pay, but they have spent months essentially lying to me or dodging calls and email messages.
Thanks for this chaps, it's a very important subject. Here's my experience, in the hope it helps others... Along with many others I bought Urbanext wheels from Indigogo only to discover later, when only 1 damaged one turned up, that what was billed as a brand new invention was, in fact, a rebranded 'imortor' available direct from China at the same or less cost. The people behind the scam disappeared of course & Indigogo turned out to be completely uninterested despite their own rules being broken. I believe these scammers are now operating under the name 'pedalease' but I may be wrong. Certainly pedalease are offering the same product on ebay. I was taken in because Urbanext had reached their funding goal & it didn't occur to me that they could simply pocket the cash & disappear. That is a real risk with crowdfunding, once the funds have been released from the platform, the platform has no responsibility or legal obligation to protect you. If Urbanext had genuinely failed to bring their product to market & had explained the reasons to their backers that would have been ok by me, even though I lost my money. But they used the trust inherent in the crowdfunding model to steal.
Thanks for that feedback. Really love your reviews. Wondering if you have an opinion between Super 73 S2, Ariel rider D class and Juiced Camp Scrambler? Thx a bunch for any feedback
I was contemplating buying the Rad mini, but the last china bike I bought came all broken up from shipping it. And it turned out to be a POS. I was thinking of calling Velocity; we have one in the SLC area. Would you recommend Velocity?: For repair or are they just for the bicycle purists. I only wish we had electric bike shops in SLC. But if we do they are definitely the same as the china scooter people; here today gone tomorrow.
Hi Kevin, I've had great experiences with Rad and consider them one of the leaders for direct sales... but I don't know much about Velocity yet. I welcome your feedback here, if you go that route :)
Is the Sondors a good company to deal with? I am wondering, I am interested in buying one. I live in Canada, I hope there are no Cons in my Pros. I got my answer, but if you like to add that would be awesome.
Have you heard of electric bike pros? I ordered a bike from them a week ago and have not heard anything about my bike being shipped..they claim to ship orders within 1-2 days after purchase.
Just put together a radpowerbike cargo for a friend and being a mechanic I was put to work for 2 days ..it would run but I'm guessing in my initial around the block run it would go 8 miles.the efficiency was stone age.got it running the way it should be.most work was on axles brakes,then the rest.
Not sure if this was mentioned, but with buying online you can't try out the bike till it gets there. So you run the risk of buy a bike that is too uncomfortable to ride.
And I will understand if some of you flame me for this. But since I'm a noob with electric bikes. How bad are those $99 bikes you see from a company called "E bike" advertised on the Facebook advertisements?
So which bike do you suggest is the best substitute for an Arrow 7 ...that I can use for food delivery that is also legal in NYC 2019 PLUS it is also fast enough and has a large enough battery and is under $2000 ?....pls help lol
The video doesn't show you putting it together, it was obviously already assembled, then packed for shipping. I'm not going to pay a bike shop over $1000 for what I can get on eBay for $500, got mine in 3 days FedEx.
If there's no dealer you really don't have a choice but to buy online if you really want the merchandise badly. But there's one thing I won't buy is an electric car online.
This might a bit of a nieve question but I came across an electric bike in style of an American chopper bike And it says reduced from €157 to €54 is this a scam or is it possible for any reason to be able to get at this price as I'd luv one but normally can afford and even €54 is slot of money to me but if I knew it was possible to get at this price I'd definitely buy obviously but don't want to throw away money that I can't afford can u let us know plz
I've asked this question for some time now, but nobody seems to want o help me with an answer: I own a Citizen Miami folding bike which I'd like to convert to e- bike. I really like this bike but would like pedal assist as i'm getting on in years. If you're familiar with these bikes, is there a kit or company that you could recommend? I'm a partially disabled senior living on Soc.Sec. benefits, so price ( the lower, the better) is of importance. Thanks.
Yes, I purchased mate x at indiegogo in April, it was supposed to come in June. I am still waiting. Who is responsible my mental anguishment for these months???
Ist time visit, good vid...I'm now one of ur peeps. Just started ebike researching. Recommending checking local regs [e.g., watt, speed] so you're not classed as motorbike.
I just bought two bikes from volt bike out of Vancouver. The down side was it took a little over a month to receive my bikes. The up side was they gave me better parts on my wife's bike. A twist throttle vs a trigger and a better charger. So all in all I am happy with the experience.
Hmm, I think they've been selling through inventory pretty quickly and doing iterative updates. I'm glad the bike came and that you're both enjoying them :D
There are reason people choose one over the other; big box vs brick and mortar. I recently got into the ebike craze and have been watching ebike videos on youtube for all but of two years. After looking at many bikes from companies like Giant, Trek, Hiabike, Specialized and even Reise and Muller had my heart set on a Reise and Muller Delight HS Touring for its rohloff and range. After realizing that I'd never be able to afford it, I became hooked on Raliegh Lore DS ie. One thing that always lingered in the back of my mind however, was the fact that none of these Brands offered a throttle! And there motor output was limited to 350 Watts nominal! After digging around and looking at more videos I determined that going the bafang route was the way to go for me considering that I could get a powerful mid Drive motor with a throttle for the moments I just didn't feel like pedaling and as of lately they've even added not just at Aiden sensing but torque-sensing as well narrowing the gap between themselves and the German Motor Company that is Bosch. One thing that is not being pointed out in this review and in the comments section is that you have different types of ebike buyers. Those that don't like restrictions and want all their cake and eat it too! And those that just want the name and to be seen at the local trail head when they pull their shiny new made in Taiwan frame Trek or Raleigh bike off their kuat bike carrier. If you think for a minute these big box stores don't Source their frames from China or Taiwan you are mistaken. As far as pit falls of using online companies, the vast majority of them utilize some form of bafang motors in their build and the online community for repair, tinkering, get a fix is there is you simple do the research.
im trying to find some online stores that ship to canada, most of the stores here are way to expensive and not enough variety models. Most gear best and online stores ive found doesnt even ship to canada but does ship everywhere else
I weigh around 250 lb and have some heels in the town I live in how many watts do I need Honda motor less peddling more cruising and can I pull a trailer with a child in it
I've been in touch with that team, they don't share their information very freely and the website didn't have a good contact point the last time I checked... but the bikes look cool, great setup for Burning Man if you're going :)
Hi Les, I'm traveling a lot... pretty much constantly. Currently sitting in an AirBNB in Seattle, Washington and then heading to Colorado for a bit, Reno for Interbike, Los Angeles, maybe Vancouver for some legal stuff, that's where my apartment is... lots going on ;)
Andy Martinez I bought a juiced Bikes ocean current and have had a ticket on it for an LCD display for a year and nothing. Turns out my frame was obsolete 2 months after I bought because you can't upgrade the controller due to size issues. They had to redesign the frame to except the upgraded controller and they just hung me out to dry. Needless to say, it left a bad taste in my mouth. Bottom line is juiced customer service sucks.
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Guys, I know that your site derives its revenue by providing both advertising and these reviews, so it is tough, to tell the truth, so I applaud your efforts. In this latest video, you touched on a number of points that are important but the real heavy duty issues were skipped. To start with, regardless of whether you buy from a shop or online, make sure the seller has actually purchased product liability insurance to protect them (and you) against any manufacturing issues. Because no U.S. insurance underwriter will accept global coverage from some insurance company in China (they don't intend to fight a claim in a Chinese court), they automatically consider the importer to be the manufacturer of record. Big expense! Without this coverage, the customer is stuck if a claim arises. Secondly, check to see if the Lithium Battery pack comes with the necessary transport safety certifications known as the UNDOT 38.3 certificate. Without this certified test certificate for both the individual cells and the complete battery pack, they are not able to legally ship these anywhere in the country. The Chinese don't have a need for this because they don't have the same regulations to transport Class 9 Hazardous materials around the mainland, so it's up to the importer to go through this process, and it is very expensive. Finally, make sure whoever you buy from, that they are an actual business with parts inventory, service, support staff, and a real location that is more than a mailbox. It is too easy to get into the business with a 40ft ocean container and a website.
VerhelstAssoc That’s Sir is a clinic on buying overseas direct! Tip of the hat!
Great feedback, I've heard some of these points in the past and appreciate you going deeper to inform us. I wonder how the new tariffs will impact imported ebikes from Asia (where most of them are made).
it is important to understand that the current tariff penalty is only against fully assembled bikes coming from mainland China. The challenge to this is that CBP will be stepping up its efforts to fully understand the country of origin for the many bikes being imported from non-tariff penalty countries such as Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam to determine the actual origin of all the pieces and parts and to what percentage of the finished product they account for. This additional scrutiny will force buyers to seek new sources for pieces and parts and manufacturers to establish full manufacturing operations beyond the shores of the PRC. Understand, we are talking about every little component. Some items will be impossible to source competitively so the importer will need to bite the bullet but the increases will get passed along. These efforts are also being driven by the much higher penalties set against Chinese imports into the EU. This is one of the motivations for U.S.-based entrepreneurs to look at some form of on-shore manufacturing. I drafted a White Paper that looks at using the US Foreign Trade Zone system as a way to bring jobs back, improve an importer's cash flow and help to lower the overall tariff percentage. I can send you a copy.
VerhelstAssoc just buy american no issues
Donna, that would be nice except there are no legal, pedal-assist electric bikes being made from the ground up here in the U.S. There are no electric motor drives made here, limited battery packs, and only some prototype controllers. There are parts made in other countries beyond mainland China that avoid the tariffs, but no one has made the commitment to engineer and build everything right here...yet! The tariff penalties might make someone or a group think twice. Having said that, you still need the insurance coverage and the battery certification. FedEx and UPS don't care.
This was an important message for prospective buyers. There are so many good bikes you owe it to yourself to do the work to insure you get one, regardless of channel. Personally I support my local bike shops because we're dealing with a relatively expensive emerging technology and if I have a problem I'd like to have more than a toll-free number. Thanks Brent and Court.
I looked at local bike shops but I couldn't handle the snobbery and the sky-high prices. Everyone is complaining about not being supported locally, but on price and ease of purchase, online was my only logical choice. No issues.
I bought my first two bikes at bike shops and my last bike was a Rad Rover for only $1,499 free shipping and no tax. Best bike so far and great service. Bike was easy to assemble but people that are worried about that can pay $99 to have Velofix assemble and deliver. Personally, I've learned what a racket LBS are and how easy it is to do maintenance yourself. Added benefit, things go wrong on the road, being able to fix yourself is very comforting. Every LBS I've talked to about online bikes warn about problems etc. Much like the days when buggy whip manufacturers warned about the dangers of the automobile. Yes buying online is a risk, but not if you do your research.
Note for the EBR guys, Brent and Court...
It should be clearly stated in EVERY one of your ebike reviews:
1) assembly level of difficulty rated 1 to 5
2) customer service level of quality rated 1 to 5
3) manual level of quality rated 1 to 5
4) ALL other pitfalls that could set up owners for buyers remorse
rccrashburn - 1-5 scale for sure - Yelp and Amazon have point systems!
Very good job telling the story. To expound on the crowdfunding risks, recently many people were stung by the Taga 2.0 family trike (which had an e-assist version), when the company folded. The Taga 2.0 bike had been sold on Kickstarter and IndieGoGo, and backers found out they do not have the same legal protections for credit card purchases when they back a crowdfunded product that they receive when they outright purchase a product. Most of the Taga 2.0 backers were left holding the bag and many lost thousands of dollars. A lesson on crowdfunding and that you should be sure you do not spend more than you are willing to lose if the product goes south.
Bummer, I hadn't heard about that one. Some of my favorite direct order companies are Rad Power Bikes, Surface 604, and Evelo because they have been around for many years and actually have warehouses with inventory and replacement parts on hand.
all good points: years in business 1-5 stars
warehouses with actual inventory 1-5 stars
replacement parts on hand 1-5 stars
Treat these bikes more like Consumer Reports does with their reviews and the industry will thrive ten fold.
I bought my bike directly online from Rad Power Bikes and I am very happy with it.
Brent, I'm in San Jose and I am looking for someone or shop that is reputable in installing e-bike conversion kit. I want to add a Bafang BBSHD on my full suspension Kona. Do you have anyone you recommend in the south bay?
Although again, Rad bikes are bought from chinese generics factories. They are a reseller, they don’t own any factories nor are they the manufacturer. That doesnt mean their china bikes are bad tho, just generic.
Thank you for all the work you guys put into doing the research for us consumers. To be direct and to the point, you two have hit the nail on top of the head with the worries and the questions I've been having when it comes to this topic. Keep up the good work!!
Nice input. I suggest that my customers consider the following before purchasing any e-bike: 1) Can they ride it ahead of purchase for any reasonable test (all bikes need this test, because fit to rider cannot be assured any other way) 2) What kind of batteries are in the bike (cheap vs name brand)? It is the most expensive and important part of the bike. Cheap bikes mean cheap batteries. 3) where are going to take it when it needs attention or warranty work? it's an electric bike...enough said. 4) will the company be around and accessible to you when something breaks? many of these smaller businesses will be crushed by the big names for that very reason. 5)Can you get replacement parts after 3-4 years of use? If you cannot, then you just bought a cheap throw away e-bike...no savings there.
This is exactly why I spent a little extra and bought from a dealer.
You should have tried the bike at a dealer and then ordered it online at a cheaper price.
I spent five "Happy Hours" putting my RadCity together. Upon receiving my bike I figured out which tools would work best for assembly and the most important was a torque wrench. So I waited until I had all the tools I needed because I was worried I'd over tighten the bolts. Go Rad Power Bikes.
Cool! I like their products and feel that they offer some of the best customer service in the space right now, for direct ebikes
Another "beware of", learned today our local Trek dealer said their shop insurance prohibits them from working on bikes with a throttle. Lot of ebike direct orders are Class 2 and Class 3 which have throttles so you might double-check with your local shops before ordering online or be prepared to do all your own work.
Ugh! What cowardice from that company.... glad I don't have one of them.
Class 2 has a throttle, but Class 3 doesn't. I have two Class 2 bikes and one Class 3.
According to EBR: Class 3: Speed Pedelec
In America this class is often combined with Class 2 which produces bikes that have a throttle element capable of powering the rider up to 20 mph (32 kph) on motor power only, as well as a pedal assist mechanism capable of powering the rider up to 28 mph (45 kph). In parts of Europe, where throttles are less common, most Class 3 electric bikes only offer pedal assist.
Trek sells Class 1 and Class 3 products in the US. I'm not surprised that they shy away from Class 2 and anything with a throttle. Thanks for the tip on this, Lance! I had never asked before.
Good video and thanks for raising some important points. One thing that I would suggest when ordering an ebike online is to read their assembly instructions ahead of time. Are the instructions well done, and does this look like something you can handle?
I start by looking in the support section of their web site. As you know, you should also be comfortable with things that go a little beyond assembly, such as truing wheels and straightening brake rotors.
That's an excellent tip, Ken! We also upload some manuals to reviews and the forums occasionally. Sometimes you can ask people in the forums or see other unboxing videos as well.
Great segment, nice change of flow. It’s very hard to predict where and if E-Bike companies will be in five years.
Kettler of Germany looked like a great, well made product in the Kettler Twin; loved it.
After they were bought out, the US leg became history.
My Twin, $3500 when purchased six years ago from NYCE Wheels, has electric power no more; the controller/display bit the dust.
The cycle parts manager could tell me the part number, saying i had to order from a retail store in Germany, and gave several store locations.
The eight retailers i called in Berlin, Hamburg, etc. all informed me that they do not do business with the US, (guess why).
So i have a very well designed e-bike that is no longer electric.
Good points. I own a 2018 juiced Ripcurrent S. I love the bike. I have put in over 1000 miles on the bike, riding in snow, dirt and paved roads. Has a huge 52 volt battery with hydraulic disc brakes. Tough to beat or find something similar at the LBS for the price i paid and its a very good looking bike. I have had a few minor issues with the bike but i think Juiced CS is getting better and they were able to help me out. The bike came with the broken rear fender. They sent me a new one. I needed to do some touch up paint and they send me small bottle of paint. I try to learn from other youtubers to do most of works/maint myself. I recently up graded my tires to maxxis, and changed the disc brakes with no problem. i really appreciated when people put these "how to do" videos online. You could learn a lot. Anyway...Thanks for the video.
Thanks for posting this honest assessment of dealer vs online. My first ebike was an online fat tire hub motor bike from an online dealer located in China. The build quality is terrible, tolerances poor, many of the parts (like fenders, lights, etc) frustratingly do not fit the bike, and the bike is very heavy and unstable. The build quality is so poor that I actually feel uncomfortable riding the bike in anything but ideal conditions and gave up using it on trails. The only appeal of this bike was the price and is now the bike I ride around town and don't care (too much) if it gets stolen. Follow on bike was purchased from a local dealer, who is diligent in ensuring the bike is assembled correctly and is available to help me with occasional maintenance. The bike is 2-3X more expensive than the online bike, but experience is 10X better, with real suspension, dropper, and lighter weight. It performs similar to my Yeti MTB, although heavier, and trails are tons of fun. I would definitely buy from a local dealer when possible, and when not possible buy a known quality bike from a reputable online dealer.
I have ordered a juiced cycles hyper scrambler from indygogo, so far the customer service and communication has been amazing
i ordered a camp scrambler i think its gonna be great
I got in on a scrambler, also. I'm not expecting to get it for months, but I'm ok with that.
Good luck 😂
Brent McCluskey - Electrified Reviews I believe they’re claiming early fall that the bike will be delivered
Juiced Bikes any chance of adding fenders to the scrambler ?
Joined EBR forum - had not posted a single message and was banned a week later, stating I was spamming them. And being banned from EBR means you can't even browse their forums and read other posts. Sent message to admins asking to unban if thast's the word. 3 weeks passed by - not a word back from EBR. Great way to deal with your clients guys!
I've ordered two from Rad power, couldn't be happier. Great customer service!
Put together a radpowerbike for a friend and the work I needed to do was mostly for efficiency I'm guessing 3hrs of shop labour to make the bike work well.im a motorcycle mechanic as a trade.so that was the trade-off for mail order on 1 machine.im sure there all different.and a side note radpowerbike stood 100% behind all work done.everyone was happy in the end.
Hi Mark! Would you please edit your comment to have spaces after the periods? It is creating weird links because it thinks you are typing URLs. Anyway... yeah, Rad Power Bikes is one of the leaders in direct sales and they offer great customer support in my experience.
Any ebike that takes 3 hours to assemble correctly should be given one star so that people clearly know BEFORE they purchase.
I put together two Rad Power Bikes in under 30 minutes without any bike knowledge. Dunno what you did for three hours....
Yamaha mechanic here, takes me about 20 minutes.
Thanks Court and Brent...I appreciate all your efforts and I have watched/watch many of your reviews. Unfortunately the local bike shops offer electric bikes/trikes at ridiculous prices (overhead I guess) and they often don't have them in stock so you are also taking a chance on what they will look like when received even though they will put them together. To me, it is better to use your reviews rather than listen to the local bike shops and take your chances on an online bike/trike. In my case a trike because of my balance issues. I purchased a liberty trike which has been a godsend but I am considering an additional trike for the beach since I live just a few blocks from the beach. In any case, you guys are doing a major service for us little guys in an industry that is taking off...keep up the great work!!!
Thanks for the heads up .. I was about to put a deposit on a bike due to ship in about a month's time and then found out it was a crowdfunding site and the alarm bells started ringing. They are obviously using the deposits to build the product but what if they don't get enough orders? Without orders there's no bikes, even for those that have paid a deposit. I'm buying from a dealer, I'm not taking the risk of forking out money and then having to wait for months worrying if I'm ever going to receive the bike. You might have just saved me a shed load of money .. thanks guys keep trucking.
You didn't mention about spotting phishing sites that copy genuine bike websites and just steal your money and never deliver the product. You can spot them by the ridiculously cheap prices that no manufacturer could even make the bike for ! They pop up on facebook in the marketplace sponsored ads. Report to facebook when they do.
I highly recommend Biktrix (www.biktrix.com) who are located mid-Canada (I'm in the US). Great deal (I went for the cruiser), but more importantly great service. When I got the bike I felt the brakes weren't quite right and they offered to pay for me to take it to the shop to calibrate it. They respond very quickly to any question you might have. Also this was one of those 5 minute setup ones, you just put the front wheel on, slip the handlebar stem in and tighten, then attach the pedals... amazing. (and of course check tire inflation, battery power levels etc!)
Cool, I've met the Biktrix folks on a couple of occasions and they seem like great people :)
I'd say this is expected in the bike industry in general. It's just that people new to ebikes are often new to cycling. One big pro in the cycling community to use a dealer is that you are usually supporting a local business or your "LBS" (local bike shop). For many cyclists this is very important.
Juiced Bikes - direct order and manufactured in China BUT; custom batteries built in-house, purpose-built frames, ship to US in bulk, 5-minute assembly, free 7-10 day shipping, company owner is a native English speaker that is fluent in Mandarin and very active online, and has been very successful on IndieGoGo.
If you do not want to service, the bike yourself, then I advise you to try to find a bike shop that is willing to service a bike you buy online.
My girlfriend had a flat, and the neighborhood bike shop immediately told us they do not service electric bikes. Luckily, her bike is made by Giant, and the shop we bought it from had no problem servicing her bike.
I have a Juiced Hyper Scorpion, and I was very lucky to find a local bike shop that would work on it.
I bought an Ariel Rider Grizzly, and after 2 months the bike failed after 1 month of sending emails, I am still waiting for them to determine what is wrong with my bike.
At this point, I am looking to take this bike to the same shop that worked on my Hyper Scorpion.
If I could do it all over again, I would buy the bike from a local electric bike shop. As stated above, this is what I did with my girlfriend's bike, and the bike was ready in 1 day.
In contrast, after 1 month, I am still waiting to find out what is wrong with my Grizzly. And, if I did not have a local bike shop willing to work on this, I would be really worried.
I have always worked on my None-Electric bikes, but Electric bikes are at a different level and there are some things I just don't want to do. Try looking at the video for changing the controllers on an Ariel Rider Grizzly, it's madness.
Also, for the cost of my bikes, $2,800 for the Hyper Scorpion and $3,300 for the Grizzly, I could have bought a Peugeot Liberty 150 for $2,999 and fees about $4,000 OTD. The scooter will not come with a side order of Range Anxiety.
Liberty 150 goes 60 mph and gets about 100 mpg with a 1.5 gallon tank.
Hyper Scorpion goes 25-30 miles range at 30 mph.
Grizzly goes 40 miles range at 35 mph.
I made a big mistake. The Liberty 150 goes faster, it goes farther, it has a 2-year warranty, and there are several dealers that sell and service these scooters in San Diego.
The reason I bought my bikes online is that they go faster than a bike you buy in a store.
My advice is if you want to go faster than a bike you buy in a store, skip the online bikes and get a scooter from a local dealer that will service it.
I will never buy another one on line since dealing with JUICED BIKES. They really have a lot to learn about customer service.
Unfortunately, I've heard this a couple of times... and even saw some inconsistencies and performance issues on a review sample product. That surprised me, because lots of people will see that bike and I will be showing it on camera?! Perhaps they are struggling with growing pains right now. I do like their designs and admire the people on the team, who work hard and seem to have integrity.
Juiced Bikes glad I could help you guys grow up.
@@edwinpringle7342 grow up
There’s a lot of great affordable ebikes out this year, but I still dread my bike getting stolen by bike thieves.
That's just happened to me, a pair of bolt cutters and my bike was gone. It was like a kick in the guts seeing my beloved bike gone and knowing some arsehole was riding it. I'm obviously going to have to buy another one but I'm worried like crazy now it could happen again. If someone is determined enough they'll have the right tools and take it, no matter how well it's protected. It's a head fuck for sure.
Pedego is so confident in their branded Foldy Lock that they give you a 5 year warranty against theft. You have to buy the lock when you but the bike. Couple of caveats, you have to get a police report and the thief has got to leave remanants of the lock. Also if you take the battery off the bike the bike is not as desirable.
THIS GUY IS RITE ON..BRINGS UP VERY GOOD POINTS/GOOD OVERALL COVERAGE
Thanks for the video guys. My experience with a direct to consumer has been great. I bought 2 M2S All terrain Fat Tire bikes. Both came with all parts exactly as advertised and were simple to put together. Do your research read others reviews and direct to consumer should work out well for you. Shout out to my local Bike shop Competitive Edge in Rancho Cucamonga. They have been really great whenever service, accessory parts, or an issue arises.
Good warning guys. It shows your integrity. That is how it supposed to be, many thanks!
Thanks, we're doing our best :)
Got a RadPower and it was great, so far. A friend, thought, bought a Swytch kit, through a campaign, by the time he got it price had gone up twice as much due to duties at the border (EU). And service is a big issue. Most dealers and repairs shops will not touch eBikes they don't sell.
2 months ago I purchased 2 DG bikes. The first bike took me 1 hour of work, including adjusting the brakes and rear derailleur. The second bike was a little longer to setup, as the bolt holding the front light was too short, the front light was missing and the front disk brake was a little bent. Also the tires on both bikes were 26x1.75" instead of the advertised 26x1.95". I'm satisfied with the bikes, but, even if the problems were minor, the next bikes will be purchased from a local shop.
Oups, I meant DJ Bikes.
That is an excellent assessment of how it works especially the crowd funding aspect. I would go further with the last part and say that you can't even be sure when the crowd funding ends and direct marketing has begun. I have had a very bad experience of this with a bike that has received a lot of interest with a lot of videos on U-tube so that I thought all the crowdfunding purchases had received the bikes. This turned out not to be true and in fact the bikes coming through now bear very little relationship to what was promised with very inferior parts. I don't wish to say more at this stage. I will comment again when this is finally resolved either way.
I ordered a bike online and when it arrived it was smashed to pieces by the shipper (UPS). It took 2 weeks to get a response from customer service and I'm still awaiting the arrival of my replacement bike. Not sure how much I would have paid to avoid this headache, but buying online is a gamble. My bet didn't pay off very well.
I backed the Mate e bike on Indigogo and it was my first ever venture on crowd funding, would I do it again ? Absolutely not! It took over14 months to receive the bike it was a very frustrating experience. I urge you all to be aware of the waiting time involved and even the possibility of not receiving the bike at all if the company fails to raise enough funds. Having said the the bike itself Mate, has been a joy to ride, I had a problem with power from the electric motor but after sending a quick video to Mate support they diagnosed a cable problem and shipped out the replacement parts along with a video tutorial of how to change the cable. So in terms of support Mate do seem like they are heading in the right direction as a proper e bike company....Court and the team, I salute you ! You do a great service to the e bike community carry on the great work, but unfortunately your constant reviews on all the wonderful e bikes are going to cost me a fortune on future up grades !
One problem I noticed is that no shops around here in RI will work on bikes they don't sell. I did finaly find one shop, but they know nothing about ebikes, so I am now doing my own work.
I had damage on my RadRover I bought last year, both brake rotors were bent and had some paint wear on the frame, but indeed that is the risk of buying online. I cant really fault Rad since it's ultimately the carrier's responsibility for proper package handling. Joined the crownfunding campaign for the Juiced Hyperscrambler and really excited for it to arrive. They've got 30 out already so I'm confident it'll show up at my door, it just sucks having to wait and with a "late fall" ETA it'll practically be winter by the time it's here.
Agreed!! I thought I bought my 1st e-bike from cyclesuk but 1 week later they calling me to inform me that the bike that I ordered had a technical fault and they don't have the relevant parts to fix it. Also, that was the last bike In stock (bull crap). After, they gave me 2 options - either cancel the order and get a refund or look for an alternative bike BUT I would have to pay the difference on the new bike. Their responsibility and mistake (might be a scam to get additional money from you after you've already paid the original price on the bike) but they still wanted me to pay extra/the difference on another bike that I didn't even want! Luckily, I recorded all the call conversations as evidence. CyclesUK let me down big time, the only reason I bought this folding bike was to commute to London City for work. (Congestion charges, traffic etc. makes it difficult to drive in the city). I haven't received my refund yet so I'll wait a few days before I contact them again. I'm happy that Fullycharged e-bike company gave me good customer service and offered me the bike that I want and I'll collect it today. I'M GOING TO SHARE MY STORY ON TH-cam - A COMPARISON VIDEO ON BOTH COMPANIES AND REVIEW MY BIKE ASWELL.
My 2 cents , I bought the v1 flash thru crowdfunding. The price was phenomenal, I think it was $1000. It goes an average 25 mph with me pedaling. Last a good 30 miles. I’ve also own the elby bike. Also a fantastic bike but the top speed is 20 mph and was more then double the price, I think closer to $3000. I’m happy with both. But I did have to pay about $100 to put the flash together.
Brent and Court, very helpful advice. A piece of advice I have from personal experience with purchasing small electric bikes (my price range is low end) is that sometimes the weight of the bike is incorrect. I am interested in a bike currently for which I found 3 different weights for the same model on three different websites! Anyway, keep up the good work, guys!
Thank you for weighing them. I am an older woman with wimpy arm muscles who carries her bikes up a flight of steps so weight is a deal breaker for me. :-)
Me too! This is one of the big reasons I got into ebike reviewing... to bring some credibility and consistency to the details :D
Everything here is pretty much on the money with an added caveat. Direct order bikes can be MUCH harder to have serviced. If you are ordering online it means there may be no local shop willing or even capable of fixing issues with your bike and many of these shops will provide no support at all once their warranties are over. I am currently totally unable to get my VOLTBIKE fixed because of the shop pretty much vanishing from existence. I'm just trying to source some replacement parts and am fully willing to pay, but they have spent months essentially lying to me or dodging calls and email messages.
Thanks for this chaps, it's a very important subject. Here's my experience, in the hope it helps others...
Along with many others I bought Urbanext wheels from Indigogo only to discover later, when only 1 damaged one turned up, that what was billed as a brand new invention was, in fact, a rebranded 'imortor' available direct from China at the same or less cost. The people behind the scam disappeared of course & Indigogo turned out to be completely uninterested despite their own rules being broken. I believe these scammers are now operating under the name 'pedalease' but I may be wrong. Certainly pedalease are offering the same product on ebay. I was taken in because Urbanext had reached their funding goal & it didn't occur to me that they could simply pocket the cash & disappear. That is a real risk with crowdfunding, once the funds have been released from the platform, the platform has no responsibility or legal obligation to protect you. If Urbanext had genuinely failed to bring their product to market & had explained the reasons to their backers that would have been ok by me, even though I lost my money. But they used the trust inherent in the crowdfunding model to steal.
Thanks for that feedback. Really love your reviews. Wondering if you have an opinion between Super 73 S2, Ariel rider D class and Juiced Camp Scrambler? Thx a bunch for any feedback
I was contemplating buying the Rad mini, but the last china bike I bought came all broken up from shipping it. And it turned out to be a POS. I was thinking of calling Velocity; we have one in the SLC area. Would you recommend Velocity?: For repair or are they just for the bicycle purists. I only wish we had electric bike shops in SLC. But if we do they are definitely the same as the china scooter people; here today gone tomorrow.
Hi Kevin, I've had great experiences with Rad and consider them one of the leaders for direct sales... but I don't know much about Velocity yet. I welcome your feedback here, if you go that route :)
Is the Sondors a good company to deal with? I am wondering, I am interested in buying one.
I live in Canada, I hope there are no Cons in my Pros.
I got my answer, but if you like to add that would be awesome.
Have you heard of electric bike pros? I ordered a bike from them a week ago and have not heard anything about my bike being shipped..they claim to ship orders within 1-2 days after purchase.
Just put together a radpowerbike cargo for a friend and being a mechanic I was put to work for 2 days ..it would run but I'm guessing in my initial around the block run it would go 8 miles.the efficiency was stone age.got it running the way it should be.most work was on axles brakes,then the rest.
Not sure if this was mentioned, but with buying online you can't try out the bike till it gets there. So you run the risk of buy a bike that is too uncomfortable to ride.
Crowdfunding > if you like to get scamed
Shop > if you want to pay 500% markup for mediocre performance and capacity.
Just build it yourself bro...
And I will understand if some of you flame me for this. But since I'm a noob with electric bikes.
How bad are those $99 bikes you see from a company called "E bike" advertised on the Facebook advertisements?
This guy does an excellent job, reviewing bikes.
Hey Guys, great and interesting videos. Do you have any experience of Swytch bikes you could share? Thanks. I am waiting for mine to arrive.
Bought my bike at Rad Power bikes Austin after testing driving them.
Fidelity...also known as bait and switch.
So which bike do you suggest is the best substitute for an Arrow 7 ...that I can use for food delivery that is also legal in NYC 2019 PLUS it is also fast enough and has a large enough battery and is under $2000 ?....pls help lol
The video doesn't show you putting it together, it was obviously already assembled, then packed for shipping. I'm not going to pay a bike shop over $1000 for what I can get on eBay for $500, got mine in 3 days FedEx.
If there's no dealer you really don't have a choice but to buy online if you really want the merchandise badly. But there's one thing I won't buy is an electric car online.
This might a bit of a nieve question but I came across an electric bike in style of an American chopper bike And it says reduced from €157 to €54 is this a scam or is it possible for any reason to be able to get at this price as I'd luv one but normally can afford and even €54 is slot of money to me but if I knew it was possible to get at this price I'd definitely buy obviously but don't want to throw away money that I can't afford can u let us know plz
I've asked this question for some time now, but nobody seems to want o help me with an answer: I own a Citizen Miami folding bike which I'd like to convert to e- bike. I really like this bike but would like pedal assist as i'm getting on in years. If you're familiar with these bikes, is there a kit or company that you could recommend? I'm a partially disabled senior living on Soc.Sec. benefits, so price ( the lower, the better) is of importance. Thanks.
Check out Leaf bikes.
Thanks! I can find 26 inch kits all over, but I'm looking for kits for 20 inch wheels.
Thanks, Paula. Which Kit would you recommend? Link?
Yes, I purchased mate x at indiegogo in April, it was supposed to come in June. I am still waiting.
Who is responsible my mental anguishment for these months???
did you get your Matex ebike in the end? was it what you expected?
Ist time visit, good vid...I'm now one of ur peeps. Just started ebike researching. Recommending checking local regs [e.g., watt, speed] so you're not classed as motorbike.
I just bought two bikes from volt bike out of Vancouver. The down side was it took a little over a month to receive my bikes. The up side was they gave me better parts on my wife's bike. A twist throttle vs a trigger and a better charger. So all in all I am happy with the experience.
Hmm, I think they've been selling through inventory pretty quickly and doing iterative updates. I'm glad the bike came and that you're both enjoying them :D
There are reason people choose one over the other; big box vs brick and mortar. I recently got into the ebike craze and have been watching ebike videos on youtube for all but of two years. After looking at many bikes from companies like Giant, Trek, Hiabike, Specialized and even Reise and Muller had my heart set on a Reise and Muller Delight HS Touring for its rohloff and range. After realizing that I'd never be able to afford it, I became hooked on Raliegh Lore DS ie. One thing that always lingered in the back of my mind however, was the fact that none of these Brands offered a throttle! And there motor output was limited to 350 Watts nominal! After digging around and looking at more videos I determined that going the bafang route was the way to go for me considering that I could get a powerful mid Drive motor with a throttle for the moments I just didn't feel like pedaling and as of lately they've even added not just at Aiden sensing but torque-sensing as well narrowing the gap between themselves and the German Motor Company that is Bosch. One thing that is not being pointed out in this review and in the comments section is that you have different types of ebike buyers. Those that don't like restrictions and want all their cake and eat it too! And those that just want the name and to be seen at the local trail head when they pull their shiny new made in Taiwan frame Trek or Raleigh bike off their kuat bike carrier. If you think for a minute these big box stores don't Source their frames from China or Taiwan you are mistaken. As far as pit falls of using online companies, the vast majority of them utilize some form of bafang motors in their build and the online community for repair, tinkering, get a fix is there is you simple do the research.
im trying to find some online stores that ship to canada, most of the stores here are way to expensive and not enough variety models. Most gear best and online stores ive found doesnt even ship to canada but does ship everywhere else
Wait what is crowed funding?
Im waiting on my ariel rider D Class
Just ordered mine :) finally found the perfect ebike, cheers
Is he the same person from Electrified Reviews, Brent McCluskey?
I weigh around 250 lb and have some heels in the town I live in how many watts do I need Honda motor less peddling more cruising and can I pull a trailer with a child in it
What about no test drive?
Thanks for the great information! I see that if you give up putting your bike together, you can make a heart ❤️ out of your unassembled chain.
Hi EBR I order a joulvert playa desert ebike have not received as yet I was wondering if you have reviews about this bike ?
I've been in touch with that team, they don't share their information very freely and the website didn't have a good contact point the last time I checked... but the bikes look cool, great setup for Burning Man if you're going :)
I'm from New York they do have a store here at New York the owner is really cool and really helpful .
I have a dillenger kit ive put 2k miles within a few months love it.
Wrong
What city are you located in?
Hi Les, I'm traveling a lot... pretty much constantly. Currently sitting in an AirBNB in Seattle, Washington and then heading to Colorado for a bit, Reno for Interbike, Los Angeles, maybe Vancouver for some legal stuff, that's where my apartment is... lots going on ;)
Thanks, I was asking Brent where he was based out of. I know EBR is in Vancouver.
somebody know Ouka ebike?
No mention of buying frm shop waffle on and waffle on ...no stars
net it out!
Juiced bike are faster
Andy Martinez juiced Bikes suck.
edwin pringle what happened? Can u explain thanks
Andy Martinez I bought a juiced Bikes ocean current and have had a ticket on it for an LCD display for a year and nothing. Turns out my frame was obsolete 2 months after I bought because you can't upgrade the controller due to size issues. They had to redesign the frame to except the upgraded controller and they just hung me out to dry. Needless to say, it left a bad taste in my mouth. Bottom line is juiced customer service sucks.
edwin pringle thanks for sharing your story I was about to buy one but then I decided to get something else .