Gary - Sorry to hear about your misfortune with Ariel and hope it gets resolved soon. I almost bought the M but decided against it because I thought the narrow 20" wheels might not give a good ride. I had a 'bad battery' experience with one bike I bought online and it was addressed immediately by Juiced Riders. My guess would be that a capacitor blew somewhere on your bike. Maybe it was installed backwards or a solder splash shorted it out. Juiced sent me a new battery when mine went bad, no questions asked and before I returned the old one. IMO, Ariel should send you a replacement bike. The hardware issue you've experienced could happen with any bike - especially one built to a low price point. What matters is how the issue is resolved.