Luna Bikes customer service not the best

[richj8990]

So I finally have enough money to do a conversion. I really wanted to do a mid-drive, but not being mechanically inclined, and the local bike shops wanting a ridiculous amount for the conversion, $500-800 labor only, I wussed out and bought a front hub wheel for $425 off Amazon (Bafang 48V 500W). I was going to buy a Luna one, because supposedly their hub wheel is lighter, but their customer service is terrible, not sure if this has been brought up before on here.

They have one phone number. No one answers. I left a message, saying I wanted to buy their smart pie V5 front hub. Hours roll by. No response. I try to e-mail them. They have a 'support' webpage. A legitimate business (and I know, because I'm self-employed), will have a contact page where you can type in your request and then get a response back within 48 hrs. Luna doesn't even have that. They redirect you to a technical support Q and A page and hope you can find some archived answer to your problem. What a joke. I don't understand how they can stay in business with such a terrible communication system. And it's not hard to spend a couple of hours making a contact webpage. They must really be understaffed. Anyway, they lost my business because they were a lot more unprofessional than I originally thought. If they are the best American E-bike DIY distributor, we have some very serious problems, folks.

People bash on cheap Chinese products, but in America you are supposed to call a business during business hours and have a fellow human answer the phone. That's just doing good business. I wanted to spend my American-earned $$$ with an American company, but guess what, they blew it, so now I buy a Chinese product by default. This should be a lesson learned for my fellow small-business compatriots in this country. Practice good customer service, answer phone calls, contact pages, e-mails promptly. Otherwise you get rants like this one, and lose business in more ways than one.

 

[Barryboy]

It's a common complaint on other forums. They're growing like mad and should really hire a GM to build the infrastructure while they continue to play with new toys. The owner isn't that kind of guy though

 

[18/21]

In my experience, none of the diy distibutors are very good, except Grin. The Luna website does say to email, not call, and I’ve always gotten a fairly quick reply to emails. They are not the typical business model though for sure.

 

[Bigwheeler]

"the local bike shops wanting a ridiculous amount for the conversion, $500-800 labor only"

Must be some high overhead in your area. You can get one done here where I live same day for $200 even if you bring the kit in yourself.

Converting to a mid drive isn't that hard. It does help to know what you are doing though and have the right tools to do the job. Just like any type of mechanics. At least now there is you tube and it doesn't take any particularly different tools than normal bike tech.

Trick is getting the person wanting one the right one for their intended purpose. Most people read about the BBSHD and must have only that. I installed one a few weeks ago on a GT Outback from the early 90's with canti brakes. Made sure I put on both brake cutout levers and they were nicer than the OEM ones on the bike.

There are other options available including in the Bafang line that would satisfy most anyones needs. Unless you don't like cadence sensing then I would stay away from Bafang altogether.

I would suggest a torque arm install on your front hub build. Use washers fit inside the lawyer lip recess then the nut, not just the nut. Try the axle in the drop out first as there is a good chance the 10mm on the hub won't fit your dropout. I use a 10mm rotary burr file in a die grinder and it does the job in about a minute. The tabbed washers are worthless for engaging the drop outs thus the need for a torque arm but they are nice and beefy so use them. You might have to play with the washer config to get the wheel center and to properly allow the rotor to engage the caliper if you have disc. A washer inside the dropout is not unusual. Grease the axle threads lightly and crank the nuts down tight, really tight and check them once in awhile. Your smile will thank you. Otherwise a front hub conversion can work just fine and co-exist with the front fork just fine if properly installed. I have over 2k none too easy miles on a 1000w front hub on a CF fork with no issues using the above method.

Stock up on zip ties in several sizes as the cables will be way too long going to all points. If someone is willing to pay for an extra hour I'll cut and splice them using solder and heat shrink to size. Makes for a much cleaner look even if they aren't routed through the frame. Other wise gather all the slack you can in one place and bundle it with zip ties, hopefully somewhere inconspicuous. I use under the battery if it is mounted to the dt and sometimes above the bb. I use Anderson 30A Power Pole connectors for the power transfer from the battery to the controller. Takes a special set of pliers to get it done right but they are very reliable and easily dis/re connected.

BTW the 25% tariffs affect the Chinese kit motors and batteries as of 7/6 so they won't be as cheap from now on.

 

[18/21]

Very good info BigWheel. I just installed a direct drive front hub on a rigid steel mtb fork, and had most of the issues you just described! Axle did not quite fit all the way up into the fork drop outs, so I had to grind it slightly with an angle grinder (should’ve used a die grinder). A little bit unnerving to be taking material off an axle, but the thing is massive.

Mine had two sets of washers; one pair with the tabs, one regular pair without tabs. The regular washers (I guess) are supposed to go to the inside of the dropout like you said, so that’s where I put them. The tabs on the other washers don’t even contact the fork, not sure what the tabs purpose is. Put them outside of the dropout. Used a torque arm for sure.

I test rode the bike with the hub installed but no battery yet, to see how rideable it is unpowered. I don’t notice any drag at all from the DD hub, which was weird. What I do notice is how insanely heavy the hub is. My steel fork is flexing all over the place over bumps, and riding out of the saddle is not even possible, because the fork turns into a wet noodle. Any thoughts on that? The bike is a late 80s Mongoose ATB, basically your typical triple-butted chromoly tig frame, with an xtracycle longtail kit attached. I would love a stouter fork.

 

[Whiptastic]

I’m a Luna battery customer. They make good solid constructed quality BMS Panasonic GA battery packs (my favorite). Personally I run into simple issues ordering from them that many small companies have like: out of stock, partial orders filled, wrong item received, etc... In each instance the issue was easily resolved with an email and more recently using their 30 minute response forum that they refer you to on their site, that the OP doesn’t mention.

Granted this is not the best high end customer service, but very cost affective for a small fast growing business and better than many other larger businesses I tried to get resolution from. Sometimes the 30 minute response will simply recommend you email the link they provide; which I do and resolution follows over time. Nothing is typically same day and if you are on a time schedule (planned trip, etc...) it can be frustrating to have an issue with any business that does get timely results.

That said, I rate them as average on time resolution and above average on actual resolution. Many other businesses simply don’t provide any resolution. Luna usually does very well in the end. I highly recommend them for quality USA seller batteries.

OP - Sorry to hear about your issues. Did they get resolved in the end?

 

[PierreR]

I am a Luna customer having bought 8 kits so far. I kind of agree with Harryman. I know what I am doing so it has not been an issue. E mail is easier with them. Printed material is not their strong suit. If you want all the bells and whistles you will likely pay for it. That is what commercial bikes are all about.

 

[Deleted member 4845]

They will refuse to honor their warranty, they do not manufacture anything, the owner Eric Hicks has mental problems, and has placed a criminal, $1,000 bounty on two different people.

I am one of them.

Suggest you do some serious research before purchasing anything from these folks, he pays for good reviews, he pays for others to push his products, and falsely posts under multiple screen names and fake identities.

One of his avatars, when using his real identity, was Darth Vader. My avatar, is Palpatine, at Vader's termination.

Dude is a serious sick puppy.

Then there is the Xiongda two-speed story. A piece of total crap with a nearly 50% failure rate that he pushed hard for quite a while. He finally had to give up lying and pushing this crap, because somebody kept pointing out the facts and NUMEROUS problem reports. Cue the $1,000 cash offer for my personal identifying information.

 

[Member 4888]

...I wanted to spend my American-earned $$$ with an American company, but guess what, they blew it, so now I buy a Chinese product by default. This should be a lesson learned for my fellow small-business compatriots in this country. Practice good customer service, answer phone calls, contact pages, e-mails promptly. Otherwise...

Bussiness like Luna started out talking to every person that called without trying to screen them in any way. Soon every Nimrod too lazy to do the research was calling with questions. They like almost every other large business started triaging with email over having to yammer on the phone. It probably takes them a fraction of the time to answer a question by email. The important thing is that Luna, like other reasonably good businesses, is there when/if you have an issue with one of their products. They aren't there to teach people about ebikes or how to build one. I found California-Ebike in 2016 and have given Doug Snyder all my business since. They answer questions, offer suggestions and support along with videos on how to use/install their products, and they even reward return customers with discounts. If you want a more expensive rebranded version of a BBSXX tuned to burn out faster Luna is the place to go. If you want Bafang drives and parts at a fair price California-Ebike is the place to start.

 

[bigoilbob]

They will refuse to honor their warranty, they do not manufacture anything, the owner Eric Hicks has mental problems, and has placed a criminal, $1,000 bounty on two different people.

I am one of them.

Suggest you do some serious research before purchasing anything from these folks, he pays for good reviews, he pays for others to push his products, and falsely posts under multiple screen names and fake identities.

One of his avatars, when using his real identity, was Darth Vader. My avatar, is Palpatine, at Vader's termination.

Dude is a serious sick puppy.

Then there is the Xiongda two-speed story. A piece of total crap with a nearly 50% failure rate that he pushed hard for quite a while. He finally had to give up lying and pushing this crap, because somebody kept pointing out the facts and NUMEROUS problem reports. Cue the $1,000 cash offer for my personal identifying information.

Another disappointed Xionga 2 speed owner. I bought mine from Xiongda so I can't blame Luna. It's too bad because the concept is so slick. If only they would have supported it with a properly greased assembly with strong enough clutch bearings and nylon gears.

 

[munirider]

I wonder if they are going out of business, I have tried to do business with them but they don't have motor kits in stock. Last October they didn't have any and they still don't. I looked at batteries and they are also out of stock.