IGO bikes are declaring bankruptcy. From what I've read Costco which has a generous return policy has a couple thousand returns on their hands. One recommendation is IGO owners try to learn where to source parts. I imagine they mean controllers, etc. The e bike universe continues to evolve. Makes me glad I take my bikes and add motor kits to them plus build my own trikes from the ground up.
another one bites the dust
- Thread starter hugh
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wow didnt lowes carry those too at one point?
JerryB
Well-known member
I hope the Costco wine producers never go bankrupt......that would really piss me off.
M
MikeDuf
Guest
Also I think I heard Stromer e-bikes are pulling out of the USA. And there's another company as well that was fairly popular. So it seems to be a trend of probably pre-pandemic Stock that companies have been trying to offload with these rock bottom prices that we see now. Yamaha's pulled out of the US.
I kind of feel what I'm seeing right now in the industry is a big dump of old stock. And most likely after the new year you're going to see a lot more folding and or leaving the USA. But that's just my two cents and I'm not an economist! I'm just a lowly consumer that hopes I'll be able to find a screwdriver when the part falls off!
I kind of feel what I'm seeing right now in the industry is a big dump of old stock. And most likely after the new year you're going to see a lot more folding and or leaving the USA. But that's just my two cents and I'm not an economist! I'm just a lowly consumer that hopes I'll be able to find a screwdriver when the part falls off!
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MikeDuf
Guest
LECTRIC is the other eBIKE company that is folding up and going out of business
BIG-DUKE-6
New member
No need to be so confrontational and aggressive.
Show your source! Or you are a troll .
My first e bike was an EVO road bike with a Bion X 500 watt direct drive hub motor. It was a very nice bike to ride and at the time appeared to me to be better than other brands that were available locally. Then they went out of business. It would have been fine except they had designed their system so their battery "talked" to the motor. Once the original battery started to decline I decided never again would I get caught in that situation. So now I only buy motor kit's that can be self installed and can use any 48V battery. I know I don't speak for others but seeing all those generic e bikes in the market just makes me cringe. I've already told a few people I know sorry, can' (or won't) fix your bike electronic components
Annieolnie
Well-known member
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MikeDuf
Guest
Annie, I feel the same way I think there are some good ebike components out there like Hub Drive mid Drive and battery packs that are Universal can you help me by giving me a couple of leads to a few manufacturers that will offer that type of compatibility. I am struggling finding the right setup. Thank you
BIG-DUKE-6
New member
Thanks Annie for your detective skills. I swear some people have no lives. All of his posts are negative.
RoostChucker
Member
I suspect IGO won’t be the last, and this trend isn’t going to slow down. For example, it seems unlikely that people will continue paying thousands of dollars for hub motor bikes when similar options from lesser-known pop-up e-bike brands are available for less than half the cost. The era of loyalty to a specific manufacturer seems to be fading as e-bikes become everyday commodities.
This mirrors what happened with flat-screen TVs. For many years, they cost thousands of dollars and were dominated by just a few manufacturers—Sony, Samsung, and Pioneer. Then, as other companies began producing glass panels, the market quickly expanded. I remember paying $2,800 for a 50-inch Samsung TV, but today you can get a far superior model from a relatively unknown Chinese brand for $250. I believe e-bikes are headed in the same direction.
There will likely always be boutique brands, but they’ll struggle to stay competitive unless they lower prices to match the market. I think most nicely equipped hub motor bikes are going to settle into the $600 to $900 range for a while and then possibly even drop further as the market expands . It's already happening. Like many places in Europe, America is going to start seeing e-bikes out sell pedal bikes if they aren't already.
This mirrors what happened with flat-screen TVs. For many years, they cost thousands of dollars and were dominated by just a few manufacturers—Sony, Samsung, and Pioneer. Then, as other companies began producing glass panels, the market quickly expanded. I remember paying $2,800 for a 50-inch Samsung TV, but today you can get a far superior model from a relatively unknown Chinese brand for $250. I believe e-bikes are headed in the same direction.
There will likely always be boutique brands, but they’ll struggle to stay competitive unless they lower prices to match the market. I think most nicely equipped hub motor bikes are going to settle into the $600 to $900 range for a while and then possibly even drop further as the market expands . It's already happening. Like many places in Europe, America is going to start seeing e-bikes out sell pedal bikes if they aren't already.
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MikeDuf
Guest
Hey I don't want to be a troll! So all of my readings have been mixed. This link below from Electric says that they are in fact giving it away but the other link I sent and I'm not sure of the source on that one if it's reliable says that all is good. Here is the link.
I believe they're stopping their international shipping.
sorry if I misspoke or scared anyone.
But keep in mind I am not a blogger for any e-bike company nor do I give a crap what they do.! I am just really leery of many of these eBike companies that are marketing really strong and pushing it out to the consumer only to go belly up later. Just my two cents not here to offend.
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m@Robertson
In Memoriam 1962 - 2025
Lectric is one of the few ebike companies that is doing well during this market shakeout. Probably because they focus on value and low price. Companies like Stromer on the other hand went for premium pricing and upscale clientele (and reportedly had quality issues) and went down in flames as a result.
Sondors made plenty of mistakes on their own, but the Costco return policy is specifically what drove them under. When they started selling the 36v/250w Step thru Costco, people learned how little assist a bike with EU specs and a hub motor provides, and returned them by the container-load, and Costco's arrangement with their suppliers requires that supplier to eat the cost and take the return back..
Sondors made plenty of mistakes on their own, but the Costco return policy is specifically what drove them under. When they started selling the 36v/250w Step thru Costco, people learned how little assist a bike with EU specs and a hub motor provides, and returned them by the container-load, and Costco's arrangement with their suppliers requires that supplier to eat the cost and take the return back..
Maybe it goes without saying, but part of the Value equation is decent quality and good customer service.
Lectric's competitors can match the price, but quality is sketchy and customer service is a farce, so Lectric is almost single-handedly driving them out of business. I think it has to do with Lectric's executive management understanding that customer service is important in the American market, whereas the Chinese mushroom brands think they're going to trick us into buying and then disappear quickly. Generally speaking, in America, we want cheap products and will overlook some minor quality issues, but we also won't tolerate bad after-sale support.
RoostChucker
Member
Sadly, I think those two specific components of the value equation are what is becoming extinct in the e-bike market. The quality part will settle itself out to "good enough" and the customer service part will vanish for the most part. You'll be talking to an Amazon bot who is eager to process your return, instead of a customer service rep from the manufacturer. When presented with purchasing similar products, the herd will almost always choose the less expensive option.... and so it goes.
There is some hope because there likely will be specialty niche manufacturers though. But the concept of "name brand" is going to fade like Levi's used to make uniquely well crafted jeans and Maytag once built appliances that lasted.
Capitalism has a way stripping out the things that made stuff especially appealing and unique over time. However, the masses will be satisfied with their cheap bikes.
m@Robertson
In Memoriam 1962 - 2025
Exactly this. In the early days of the ebike market, Rad Power Bikes was very service-centric. But that didn't last by any stretch. Hopefully for Lectric's sake they can continue to be service centric AND profitable, which I think played a big part in RPB's paring back of customer service efforts, as well as quality issues.
Chuy
Well-known member
You further miss read that Lectric message. They are not stopping international shipping - they are stating they don't have shipping beyond the continental US, which includes no shipping to Alaska and Hawaii, but hope to some day. In other words they have never had international shipping, is how I’m reading it.
Lectric sure shows me a lot of ads. I think I have visited their website 2X. Looks a good product, just not my style, from what I remember. They have sold enough units that if they get in financial trouble there should be some company to buy it out.
I have bought products from a number of established bicycle companies over the years, and I think Specialized is the most aggressive with emails and directed ads. How often should one have to Unsubscribe?
What is the bad rap on RadPower Bikes? They were 'early market' hot, sold a lot, faced some lawsuits over crashes, survived .... Did customer service fall apart?
Winter is traditionally tough on bicycle companies, not fully established. Not sold for Christmas?, or to the Year-End Clearance buyers = makes J/F/M dismal. Add in some bad reviews from 1st time e-bikers (justified or not) and the Company better have reserves or loyal backers.
I have bought products from a number of established bicycle companies over the years, and I think Specialized is the most aggressive with emails and directed ads. How often should one have to Unsubscribe?
What is the bad rap on RadPower Bikes? They were 'early market' hot, sold a lot, faced some lawsuits over crashes, survived .... Did customer service fall apart?
Winter is traditionally tough on bicycle companies, not fully established. Not sold for Christmas?, or to the Year-End Clearance buyers = makes J/F/M dismal. Add in some bad reviews from 1st time e-bikers (justified or not) and the Company better have reserves or loyal backers.
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MikeDuf
Guest
Yeah I've been shopping around quite a bit. I looked at track and actually rode a couple of them. Didn't care for the class one mph! As I can ride my analog road bike at 17 to 18 miles an hour so why push around a 55 lb bike. I did try their class 3, but did not like the specific paint Scheme they used on The Verve + for there were some other models but the wheels were too small coming in at 27.5. I looked at Specialized they're quite exotic with different types of Motors, carbon frames etc etc.
Too much money for my blood! Then I looked at a few of the other off Brands and found that they were mostly mail order and there was no specific local support..
it would be a mail back to the manufacturer for any type of warranty. Which becomes usually very costly.
So I looked at the gazelle ultimate T10 plus which is a class 3 very solidly built with top end components, and the Black Friday price was right at my budget, so I pulled the trigger on a gazelle.
Big time warranty and they have been in business for 120 years in the European market those bikes are all around and they have the Bosch system, which is green belted meaning you can't have any other type of batteries that go with their system but I'm okay with that.
Just going to ride the heck out of it and see how well it fares out. This is the first time ebike for me so I think I did enough research to give myself a overload of knowledge. Party on!
Too much money for my blood! Then I looked at a few of the other off Brands and found that they were mostly mail order and there was no specific local support..
it would be a mail back to the manufacturer for any type of warranty. Which becomes usually very costly.
So I looked at the gazelle ultimate T10 plus which is a class 3 very solidly built with top end components, and the Black Friday price was right at my budget, so I pulled the trigger on a gazelle.
Big time warranty and they have been in business for 120 years in the European market those bikes are all around and they have the Bosch system, which is green belted meaning you can't have any other type of batteries that go with their system but I'm okay with that.
Just going to ride the heck out of it and see how well it fares out. This is the first time ebike for me so I think I did enough research to give myself a overload of knowledge. Party on!
Gazelle is only selling e-bikes in USA. At least that's my take from the US site. Seems funny not to sell analog bikes. I must be missing something. Regardless, clearly a big company in for the long run with a record of successes.
Class 1 (20mph, no throttle) is fine for me. In fact, when I had th EU 20kph I got more exercise on a 30lb bike. Orbea.
Class 1 (20mph, no throttle) is fine for me. In fact, when I had th EU 20kph I got more exercise on a 30lb bike. Orbea.
