I am going to tell a story about Ariel Rider for a friend who is under gag order. Several years ago he bought a "class c" bike from them. The unit had a geared hub and center drive. The hub had no idler and the chain line was out of place. The cable leading to the hub had several sharp bends. The chain would fall off on any hit unless it was very tight. When tightened, a speck of dirt between the chain and sprocket would cause the motor to go into overload protection. It's not a good thing. Ariel could have sent new offset chain rings and instructions to reroute the cable (which, as it stood, wouldn't allow the IGH to consistantly change). The bike was pretty useless. Some owners said they were going to throw them in the trash. My friend took Ariel Rider to court because you cannot sell a consumer good in this country that is not fit for its intended use (called a guarantee of merchantability). Look it up in the Palm Beach County florida Courthouse. It was settled somehow. Ariel sold 7,500 of these, I think, and left them all hanging. The rest of the owners should start a class action lawsuit.
ariel rider watch your back
- Thread starter rickyg
- Start date
Hmmm. I have an Ariel Rider class c. It has been a great ebike. Something tells me your story is off. Geared hub and center drive??? Mine has a mid-drive and Nexus 7 IGH. Both have performed flawlessly. Hub idler??? What is that? My chain line is near perfect. Zero owners I know would trash their AR class c. Palm Beach, Florida? Isn't that the anti-truth, anti-reality city/state? BTW, what color is your friend's class c?
My story is much the same. Only problem I had out of the box was the speedo pickup magnet was rotated 180 deg. out of alignment. Super easy fix, once I found out what the problem was.
My only wishes would require a much higher financial outlay, namely a battery of bigger capacity, an adjustable suspension fork, and a lower seat post (I'm a short guy, and have had to modify an aftermarket seat quite a bit. The only suspension is in the seat itself, and surprisingly it doesn't do too bad a job comfort wise. I wouldn't say actually comfortable, but not torturous, either). A little modification of the frame would have given me much more freedom to use a suspension post. Even more would let me use a dropper post, the best of all possible worlds.
But the bike has nice features, including hydraulic disks, 7 sp. IGH, bar with a lot of adjustability (I ride in an upright posture) and a good sturdy rack. I have come to like the Nexus gearbox so much, I would be reluctant to go back to a derailleur.
The one concern I have is that sometimes while riding it will lose power. It does not pedal so easily that I don't fail to notice it right away. Resetting the battery usually fixes the problem. I have cleaned the contacts with denatured alcohol a couple of times, which definitely helps.
So, anyhow, I'm not ready to leap into any class action suits. One thing occurs to me, however; the bike your friend had may have been an older model. The newer one (mine is a 2019 or 20, I think) sounds like a different bike.
I and a friend purchased two Ariel Rider City e-bikes in March 2021 for an epic motorhome/e-bike tour throughout the United States.
My Ariel Rider City e-bike has not worked properly since it was purchased, while my friend's Ariel Rider City e-bike has worked without any MAJOR problems. Ironically, I have ridden my friend’s Ariel Rider City e-bike more than my Ariel Rider City e-bike as she travels with me infrequently and therefore I used her Ariel Rider City e-bike while mine was not working.
However, during that time, we had to delay, change, or cancel our travel plans numerous times while waiting for parts or repairs to be made on my Ariel Rider City e-bike.
Ariel Rider replaced the motor on my Ariel Rider City ebike which failed after just two weeks. Ariel Rider would not state where the motor came from after repeated inquiries. So, in addition to the frustration, time lost, and missed e-bike riding opportunities, I have spent over $550 to date on local e-bike repair labor charges. My Ariel Rider e-bike has been unrideable for the last 8 months and is once again in a repair shop waiting for a motor that is unavailable.
My Ariel Rider City e-bike was never fixed during the warranty period and has not worked for the vast majority of the time since it was delivered. It has been a tremendous disappointment. This is unacceptable and must be resolved.
See the numerous complaints about Ariel Rider on the Washington BBB website:
www.bbb.org
A legal action seems to be the only recourse.
My Ariel Rider City e-bike has not worked properly since it was purchased, while my friend's Ariel Rider City e-bike has worked without any MAJOR problems. Ironically, I have ridden my friend’s Ariel Rider City e-bike more than my Ariel Rider City e-bike as she travels with me infrequently and therefore I used her Ariel Rider City e-bike while mine was not working.
However, during that time, we had to delay, change, or cancel our travel plans numerous times while waiting for parts or repairs to be made on my Ariel Rider City e-bike.
Ariel Rider replaced the motor on my Ariel Rider City ebike which failed after just two weeks. Ariel Rider would not state where the motor came from after repeated inquiries. So, in addition to the frustration, time lost, and missed e-bike riding opportunities, I have spent over $550 to date on local e-bike repair labor charges. My Ariel Rider e-bike has been unrideable for the last 8 months and is once again in a repair shop waiting for a motor that is unavailable.
My Ariel Rider City e-bike was never fixed during the warranty period and has not worked for the vast majority of the time since it was delivered. It has been a tremendous disappointment. This is unacceptable and must be resolved.
See the numerous complaints about Ariel Rider on the Washington BBB website:
Ariel Rider e-Bikes | Reviews | Better Business Bureau® Profile
View customer reviews of Ariel Rider e-Bikes. Leave a review and share your experience with the BBB and Ariel Rider e-Bikes.
A legal action seems to be the only recourse.
I have the same bike. The only issue I had early on was the pickup for the speed/odometer display on a rear spoke which wasn't aligned properly. A phone call got me the needed answer very promptly. Out of curiosity, I asked what motor they used. The told me it was a Tongshen (sp?). I just turned over 1900 miles (not a lot, I admit, but I'm an old guy and ride primarily for errands, not for mere joyrides). Bottom line: I like the bike very much. It gives me the best cardio workout of any exercise I can do--I habitually ride in assist level one, only briefly going up one or two levels when necessary.
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