eBike choices and Local Bike Shops

[portjon]

I'm wife rides a rad mini and loves it. I ride a wtva fat tire folding step thru and have for 2 years $1300.00) amazon .it's been a great trouble free bike ,except for squeeking brakes (mechanical) to which I installed hydraulic cable pull.now it's quiet.throttle only moves my 255 pounds to 33 mph on flat ground . This is similar if a clone of several other bikes rattan,vtuvia .The bike is made from parts right off the shelf .so no waiting for special parts.

 

[artfull dodger]

Locally here in Kokomo, Indiana we have a pair of shops, the Schwinn shop barely even stocks the non ebike Schwinns. Does have the Electra Townie and can order the E version. But I dislike its styling personally. From online shopping the Indy shops, they are just the $3k and up ebike prices from brands like Giant, Specialized ect. The Schwinn Coston dx, Mokwheel Basalt and the Magicycle Cruiser Pro are on our radar for ebikes. Just not sure we need fatty tire ones for 98% paved rail/trail riding/neighborhoods. Very little dirty/offroad riding here, its totally flat for the most part. Just unsure of the non name brand hub motor and battery on the Schwinn. Mokwheel uses Samsung battery cells. Ebikes in the 2k price range are a confusing mess of new pop up direct to customer companies and lagging features on well known name brands like Schwinn, which I grew up riding for the last 50 years. Asthma and age is making a bike with assist very intersting to me and my wife.

 

[Hoggdoc]

I am often leery of “not sold in stores” brands, but these days, even the very established companies are not coming through for their customers. Trek has a high end gravel ebike that seems sketchy and from what I have heard, Trek isn’t making things right, or at least not yet. Specialized and Cannondale have in the past let bikes with proprietary parts become obsolete, making the bike useless in some cases. I wouldn’t trust them do treat the ebikes differently

I went with Yamaha partly because they have been around for so long and will probably be around long after I am gone. That said, I damaged my rear rim in early July and my dealer told me that they weren’t likely to get a replacement this year. I spoke with Yamaha and they told me that I had to go through my dealer and that they were currently back ordered until September, but that was likely to move further out. We have a very good, local wheel builder, but he wouldn’t be able to do anything for at least a few weeks.

The real issue came down to the Yamaha hub. The flange has a groove that locates the Yamaha specific speed sensor. Fortunately a DT Swiss CR1600 is a good, heavy duty gravel wheel that has a flange with no features, so I was able to machine the proper groove and get back on the bike. The moral of the story is that you can’t count on an established company to provide you with an needed part.

There was a person on another forum that had a broken Yamaha speed sensor and had been waiting for a replacement for more than a year. He finally got one through a Yamaha outboard motor dealer. Go figure.

What people seem to not understand is virtually all these ebikes are from China or Taiwan. Both places suffer from lack of spare parts. SO IMHO there is no advantage to buying an overpriced ebike from your LBS.

 

[artfull dodger]

That goes for pretty much any bicycle, name brand or not, come from someplace in the far east unless you paying BIG$$ for something very special. The majority of us are just looking for a solid ebike to better enjoy the outdoors. Its the huge number of start up companies, most less than a year or barely a year old that leaves one's head spinning. Name brands are lagging behind in features or are overpriced due to the "Name" on the bike. I am leaning toward a Mokwheel Basalt step over or me and step thru for my wife as of right now. If the Schwinn Coston dx had a bigger battery capacity and bit larger motor, then it might compete for our $$ a bit more as we do really like its style.

 

[Django]

That goes for pretty much any bicycle, name brand or not, come from someplace in the far east unless you paying BIG$$ for something very special. The majority of us are just looking for a solid ebike to better enjoy the outdoors. Its the huge number of start up companies, most less than a year or barely a year old that leaves one's head spinning. Name brands are lagging behind in features or are overpriced due to the "Name" on the bike. I am leaning toward a Mokwheel Basalt step over or me and step thru for my wife as of right now. If the Schwinn Coston dx had a bigger battery capacity and bit larger motor, then it might compete for our $$ a bit more as we do really like its style.

I think that for Class 1 and Class 3 bikes that Yamaha has done a great job. Their prices are low compared to brands like Trek and Specialized, and their systems work very well. They have been in the ebike power supply business longer than anyone else and they have been around for a very long time.

My wife and I chose Cross Cores. Because of the reasonable price, I was able to upgrade them into very capable flat bar gravel bikes. They are both down to about 40 pounds with 40 mm tires and Cane Creek suspension seat posts and Red Shift stems. They have been converted to 1x11 Shimano SLX drivetrains, DT Swiss wheels and TRP Spyre brakes, (and other upgrades as well).

I have always looked at a bike as a work in progress. The upgrades that I made have made these bikes much more versatile while keeping the expenditure reasonable. I also have the Yamaha dealer network if needed, (which it has not been needed). They also have a three year warranty on the motor, battery and frame.

 

[HumanPerson]

Can I come there and pan for some gold with ya @Django

 

[chuckpurvis]

My e-bike shopping strategy was to focus on local bicycle shops who sell, test ride, assemble AND service affordable brands. I ended up purchasing my Aventon Sinch from a dealer 25 miles from my house. A long distance, but not prohibitively long.

I then just discovered that my LOCAL bicycle shop (0.6 from my house) is now carrying Aventons. (Not sure when this happened: past couple of months, it seems.) My lucky day!

 

[Django]

Can I come there and pan for some gold with ya @Django

I have a good friend that pans near here. He does ok, but there is some dredging involved.

 

[kmccune]

When I started getting into eBikes one of the first things I did was a tour of all of my "local" bike shops. FIVE different places within a reasonable driving distance and the results just couldn't be more different yet with frustrating similarities.

Shop #1: (Very old, hole-in-the-wall place), "eBikes? EWWWWW! I wouldn't have that crap in my shop on a bet, I only sell/work on REAL bicycles".

Shop #2: (Very old business, but nice clean modern layout) Sells Specialized and Cannondale brand eBikes with a price range of $3,200 to $13,000 USD. Willing and happy to work on any eBike but will only do "electrical" work on brands that they sell.

Shop #3: (Ancient hole-in-the-wall with equally ancient staff) "What's an eBike"?

Shop #4: Relatively new business, physically the largest with a clean, modern, "showroom" style front and a large repair area to the rear. Sells Giant and Trek brand eBikes with a price range of $2,900 to $15,000. Willing and happy to do any non-electrical work on any bike. After a conversation with the owner found out they would also be willing to do "very-limited" electrical work on brands they don't sell as long as the battery is easily removable and (some blunt honesty here) the owner of the bike doesn't seem like a jerk.

Shop #5: New business. Literally still setting up the store and the staff doesn't have a freakin' clue what they are doing, I wouldn't send an enemy to this shop at this time but we'll see once they get their act together. Sells only high end road-bikes for rich yuppies and currently only carries "Bulls" eBikes. Nice bikes but the price range of what they have is around $5,000 period.

Dis-honorable Mention: Dicks Sporting Goods. The one near me "pretends" to have a cycling section. It's an absolute joke.

Believe me I understand the philosophy that causes a bike shop to focus on eBikes that are $3k and up, especially a wish to avoid clunkers that need constant repair with limited parts supply from someplace overseas, but I feel like people need to realize that there are some really excellent Sub-$2k range bikes out there (FLX Babymaker II, I'm looking at YOU) that would get a lot more people started into the eBike arena. I mean I would have absolutely LOVED to get a Specialized Turbo Vado 3.0, but $3,500 was just plainly too much to invest in something I was uncertain about so I took a risk and ordered a $1500 bike online.

I'll be blunt, I got lucky. My bike came quickly, was in perfect condition (though the box looked like it had gone through a war zone) and so far everything has functioned exactly as it should. I also have the advantage of being a long time cyclist and an electronics hobbyist to the point that I'm considering building my own home brew control computer for the bike. In other words I'm very well positioned to handle just about any issue with my bike up to, and including, rebuilding the battery pack or in fact the entire electrical system. Unlike most I am in no-way limited by relying on the actual manufacturer.

A significant percentage of people here and in other forums have absolute horror stories about the condition their bikes arrived in, or issues shortly after taking ownership that have taken extended (or infinite) periods of time to resolve. Therein lies the significant value of buying from a local bike shop... but is it $2,000+ in added value vs the cost of the Amazon Order bikes? In summary, I feel like my local bike shops are coming along fast in the eBike arena, but that they also need to get a little more brave and offer some cheaper options.

U R lucky to have an LBS, MY CLOSEST ONE IS 50+miles ) The proprietor screwed me on a used tire the other day(mostly my fault-OTH not a good way to grow a business) The shop owner has a bunch of overpriced parts and accessories, He is now selling Aventons They were going to sell an almost new bike for me( a NCM for a 30% consideration) next day had a change of Heart and told me to come get it, I sort of understand they claimed if they sold it the buyer would want them to service it( not) so 2 strikes. The other bike shop in WVa , the owner seems to be a Lance Armstrong wannabe doesn't seem a good bet either. Perhaps my expectations are too high, I sold that NCM to a very happy Facebook buyer, my Quandary is this I suppose-unless I open a bike shop myself most of my future dealings will be online'
Up to few years ago I make allowances and do most anything for other people, till the public became" Fortunato" to me( ever read the "Cask of amontillado" by EA Poe? I just will not suffer fools gladly at this stage and the BS can walk. The worst online bike I ever received was a trike by "BeeCool" it looked to have been dropped from about 10 feet in the air by a forklift, incredible amount of damage. To close, yes you can do alright online, perhaps you can be one of those people who get bikes for free just to voice your opinion of them.-Kevin

 

[HumanPerson]

U R lucky to have an LBS, MY CLOSEST ONE IS 50+miles ) The proprietor screwed me on a used tire the other day(mostly my fault-OTH not a good way to grow a business) The shop owner has a bunch of overpriced parts and accessories, He is now selling Aventons They were going to sell an almost new bike for me( a NCM for a 30% consideration) next day had a change of Heart and told me to come get it, I sort of understand they claimed if they sold it the buyer would want them to service it( not) so 2 strikes. The other bike shop in WVa , the owner seems to be a Lance Armstrong wannabe doesn't seem a good bet either. Perhaps my expectations are too high, I sold that NCM to a very happy Facebook buyer, my Quandary is this I suppose-unless I open a bike shop myself most of my future dealings will be online'
Up to few years ago I make allowances and do most anything for other people, till the public became" Fortunato" to me( ever read the "Cask of amontillado" by EA Poe? I just will not suffer fools gladly at this stage and the BS can walk. The worst online bike I ever received was a trike by "BeeCool" it looked to have been dropped from about 10 feet in the air by a forklift, incredible amount of damage. To close, yes you can do alright online, perhaps you can be one of those people who get bikes for free just to voice your opinion of them.-Kevin

Yeah, I was lookin for a water bottle holder cage thing and went into that bike shop you speak of....they wanted $50.00 + for what i remember to be
$7 or $8 dollars for the same thing last year....

 

[artfull dodger]

Our one LBS that will order them(does not stock them) will only order the Electra Townie, and its a Schwinn dealership. I was not impressed and the owner/sales guy didnt really instill a sense of trust that he knows the Ebike world very well. The hunt continues for a couple months till I get my profit sharing check from work.

 

[artfull dodger]

There are shops about an hour away that carry Aventon and Gazelle E bikes.

 

[chuckpurvis]

Why do you need a bicycle shop for service. Use a Mobile Bicycle repair service. They can assemble and service your ebike no attitude. I have purchased several ebikes throught direct to consumer companies. I have lived in Denver and Albuquerque and have found that using a Mobile Bicycle Repair Service is a 21st century solution. If bicycle shops want to go broke by not supporting a 300% growth in ebike sales. Let them.

I would also say that Legacy bicycle companies are not fully sold on ebikes and you get better capability on direct to consumer brands.

I REALLY like the idea of using a mobile bicycle repair service. I think there are a few around me (SF Bay Area / East Bay), and I'd love to build rapport with some. GREAT idea to enlist (pay for) their services to assemble, fine tune, and repair your e-bike!!!!

Hints to Business: Mobile bicycle repair services should highlight to their customers what brands of e-bicycles they're willing to service, or have experience servicing said brands!

(Perhaps, to the Mobile Bicycle Repair Service: I'm looking to buy XXX brand of e-bicycle from Amazon / Direct-to-Consumer Manufacturer. What do you think? Would you be willing to assemble and service this XXX brand?)

But I'm also lucky that my VERY local bicycle store (LBS, 0.6 miles!) is now selling (I'm guessing servicing, too) my e-bike brand (Aventon). They're just new to my brand....

 

[Bobby44]

I am often leery of “not sold in stores” brands, but these days, even the very established companies are not coming through for their customers. Trek has a high end gravel ebike that seems sketchy and from what I have heard, Trek isn’t making things right, or at least not yet. Specialized and Cannondale have in the past let bikes with proprietary parts become obsolete, making the bike useless in some cases. I wouldn’t trust them do treat the ebikes differently

I went with Yamaha partly because they have been around for so long and will probably be around long after I am gone. That said, I damaged my rear rim in early July and my dealer told me that they weren’t likely to get a replacement this year. I spoke with Yamaha and they told me that I had to go through my dealer and that they were currently back ordered until September, but that was likely to move further out. We have a very good, local wheel builder, but he wouldn’t be able to do anything for at least a few weeks.

The real issue came down to the Yamaha hub. The flange has a groove that locates the Yamaha specific speed sensor. Fortunately a DT Swiss CR1600 is a good, heavy duty gravel wheel that has a flange with no features, so I was able to machine the proper groove and get back on the bike. The moral of the story is that you can’t count on an established company to provide you with an needed part.

There was a person on another forum that had a broken Yamaha speed sensor and had been waiting for a replacement for more than a year. He finally got one through a Yamaha outboard motor dealer. Go figure.

Yep! The new world. It is getting like the 'old' world. The better you can do your own repairs the better off you are. I like products the use generic parts. They will be on the shelf someplace. Some times they are not the best but you can fix them. Rode Specialized for many years - never was stuck for a part, but??

 

[Bobby44]

When I started getting into eBikes one of the first things I did was a tour of all of my "local" bike shops. FIVE different places within a reasonable driving distance and the results just couldn't be more different yet with frustrating similarities.

Shop #1: (Very old, hole-in-the-wall place), "eBikes? EWWWWW! I wouldn't have that crap in my shop on a bet, I only sell/work on REAL bicycles".

Shop #2: (Very old business, but nice clean modern layout) Sells Specialized and Cannondale brand eBikes with a price range of $3,200 to $13,000 USD. Willing and happy to work on any eBike but will only do "electrical" work on brands that they sell.

Shop #3: (Ancient hole-in-the-wall with equally ancient staff) "What's an eBike"?

Shop #4: Relatively new business, physically the largest with a clean, modern, "showroom" style front and a large repair area to the rear. Sells Giant and Trek brand eBikes with a price range of $2,900 to $15,000. Willing and happy to do any non-electrical work on any bike. After a conversation with the owner found out they would also be willing to do "very-limited" electrical work on brands they don't sell as long as the battery is easily removable and (some blunt honesty here) the owner of the bike doesn't seem like a jerk.

Shop #5: New business. Literally still setting up the store and the staff doesn't have a freakin' clue what they are doing, I wouldn't send an enemy to this shop at this time but we'll see once they get their act together. Sells only high end road-bikes for rich yuppies and currently only carries "Bulls" eBikes. Nice bikes but the price range of what they have is around $5,000 period.

Dis-honorable Mention: Dicks Sporting Goods. The one near me "pretends" to have a cycling section. It's an absolute joke.

Believe me I understand the philosophy that causes a bike shop to focus on eBikes that are $3k and up, especially a wish to avoid clunkers that need constant repair with limited parts supply from someplace overseas, but I feel like people need to realize that there are some really excellent Sub-$2k range bikes out there (FLX Babymaker II, I'm looking at YOU) that would get a lot more people started into the eBike arena. I mean I would have absolutely LOVED to get a Specialized Turbo Vado 3.0, but $3,500 was just plainly too much to invest in something I was uncertain about so I took a risk and ordered a $1500 bike online.

I'll be blunt, I got lucky. My bike came quickly, was in perfect condition (though the box looked like it had gone through a war zone) and so far everything has functioned exactly as it should. I also have the advantage of being a long time cyclist and an electronics hobbyist to the point that I'm considering building my own home brew control computer for the bike. In other words I'm very well positioned to handle just about any issue with my bike up to, and including, rebuilding the battery pack or in fact the entire electrical system. Unlike most I am in no-way limited by relying on the actual manufacturer.

A significant percentage of people here and in other forums have absolute horror stories about the condition their bikes arrived in, or issues shortly after taking ownership that have taken extended (or infinite) periods of time to resolve. Therein lies the significant value of buying from a local bike shop... but is it $2,000+ in added value vs the cost of the Amazon Order bikes? In summary, I feel like my local bike shops are coming along fast in the eBike arena, but that they also need to get a little more brave and offer some cheaper options.

Was in a newer bike shop a couple months ago. Big sale on Ebikes! I got the 'we build them here' kind of vibe. I took a peak in the back. The sale models were in boxes from China - the same way you get them from direct sellers. 10 minutes of assembly, put Slime and air in the tires and out the door. I hear they are selling lots of them too. Will they know what to do with a bad controller?

 

[portjon]

What people seem to not understand is virtually all these ebikes are from China or Taiwan. Both places suffer from lack of spare parts. SO IMHO there is no advantage to buying an overpriced ebike from your LBS.

I have a online purchased ebike (7/1/2021. Wtva ) and it's been great.no problems at all

 

[portjon]

Yep! The new world. It is getting like the 'old' world. The better you can do your own repairs the better off you are. I like products the use generic parts. They will be on the shelf someplace. Some times they are not the best but you can fix them. Rode Specialized for many years - never was stuck for a part, but??

So true.Getting readily available bike parts is very important .Even the $3299.00 ariel rider grizzly had basic pedals, gear selector, sprockets,derailleur, throttle and the hydraulic brakes and tires can be bought from eBay or Amazon. My neighbor buys BIG to impress. My $1299.00 wtva bike is as good as his $5000.00 specialized .and my grizzly will out run his impressive over priced bike.and my battery will be alot less in price to replace . So I'm impressed with the $ I've saved and have just as a good time as crazy priced bikes.BY THE WAY MY WTVA HAS GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE .

 

[Bobby44]

Why do you need a bicycle shop for service. Use a Mobile Bicycle repair service. They can assemble and service your ebike no attitude. I have purchased several ebikes throught direct to consumer companies. I have lived in Denver and Albuquerque and have found that using a Mobile Bicycle Repair Service is a 21st century solution. If bicycle shops want to go broke by not supporting a 300% growth in ebike sales. Let them.

I would also say that Legacy bicycle companies are not fully sold on ebikes and you get better capability on direct to consumer brands.

Yep! Do whatever you need to do. There are people in the business think you will just toss a 2K bike and buy new because it is 'broken'. There is a market for that but it is not for most of us. I am a farm boy from the 50s. If you could not fix it you did not deserve it. So if LBS don't care about service or parts you become a survivor and rely on forums like this for information to help you survive. 2003 I bought my first Shwinn E bike. It was big and heavy welded steel with a 24v lead acid battery box behind the seat post. Wore out chains and sprockets and of course brakes, but zero E problems. The Ranger with fat tires and center drive (love that bike) now with several thousand miles on it. When I bought the new folder I knew what I wanted and bought online because of availability. Stay with generic or replaceable e parts and the rest is just 'bicycle'. It may be tough to know what you want to buy but when you do look at the LBS and give them a chance for a sale, but be ready to be on your own. Mobile service is part of that.

 

[socialfilter]

Locally here in Kokomo, Indiana we have a pair of shops, the Schwinn shop barely even stocks the non ebike Schwinns. Does have the Electra Townie and can order the E version. But I dislike its styling personally. From online shopping the Indy shops, they are just the $3k and up ebike prices from brands like Giant, Specialized ect. The Schwinn Coston dx, Mokwheel Basalt and the Magicycle Cruiser Pro are on our radar for ebikes. Just not sure we need fatty tire ones for 98% paved rail/trail riding/neighborhoods. Very little dirty/offroad riding here, its totally flat for the most part. Just unsure of the non name brand hub motor and battery on the Schwinn. Mokwheel uses Samsung battery cells. Ebikes in the 2k price range are a confusing mess of new pop up direct to customer companies and lagging features on well known name brands like Schwinn, which I grew up riding for the last 50 years. Asthma and age is making a bike with assist very intersting to me and my wife.

In the last year or so alot more bike shops, that used to be snobby about ebikes, now service and sell several brands. Parts are always an issue with Chinese off the shelf bikes though. I think bike shops are going to have to adapt and a lot have though atm they're expensive. There have also been several new mobile ebike maintenance companies but, again, models they work on and part availability are still an issue. Businesses will fill the growing need for ebike repair imho

 

[Bike Tourist]

I'm not on the position of many of you here. I'm going to be 87 next month. I'm not motivated to do my own wrenching, in fact I don't see myself repairing a tire on the road. I have ridden a trike for the last ten years. Last year I converted to an ebike. It was hard to get Catrikes at the time so I thought why not get an ebike? It was easier to obtain and I liked the idea of being back on a regular frame bike as long as I didn't have a serious fall and distrurb my pacemaker. Ha, ha.

And so I purchased a store-bought Specialized Turbo Vado 4.0. What a bike. Absolutely perfect for me!

But I had forgotten how a regular bike tested my body. I hurt everywhere I touched the bike, After10 months it was still painful to ride. I sold the bike to a lucky guy who was younger and used to road bikes. By that time Catrikes were a little more available. I purchased a Catrike Expedition with Bosch drive. Everything works as it should. The battery pack will not explode. I've been very happy with it through 2000 miles.

What's the moral here? Some people, for whatever reason, may have to suck it up, bite the bullet and buy a major brand, relatively reliable and able to be serviced by the dealer. The cost may be worth it for some.

On the other hand, I admire the do-it-yourself people and their interesting solutions!