Bolton Bikes

Ccount

Active Member
I am wondering why there is no thread available for Bolton Bikes in the section dedicated to the many bike manufacturers? They have some pretty cool stuff, and probably sell more bikes than 90% of the companies listed?
 
I am wondering why there is no thread available for Bolton Bikes in the section dedicated to the many bike manufacturers? They have some pretty cool stuff, and probably sell more bikes than 90% of the companies listed?
You've done the research on that? 90%? LOL Everybody that asks why their favorite eBike doesn't have a dedicated section says that.
 
Well, it looks to me like maybe Ccount had done his homework. BOTH of the now existing notes were started the DAY AFTER Ccount's question regarding why there were none! Let's cut him a little slack....
 
Well, it looks to me like maybe Ccount had done his homework. BOTH of the now existing notes were started the DAY AFTER Ccount's question regarding why there were none! Let's cut him a little slack....
Noticed the same thing... that being said, are Bolton bikes THAT popular in the US? I'm pretty sure their sales outside the US are pretty insignificant, if I'm judging by what people in Toronto are riding. :)
 
I don't know any better one way or another, but I knew Bolton for his Pedegro, then Rad, hop up kits LONG before I knew he was selling his own line of bikes.

He's just a small business. Wish him all the best, but he's got a tough nut to crack competing heads up with Chinese competitors who are working on profit margins that he may not be able to survive on.....

Though my fingers are crossed hoping he can pull this off successfully, it's be interesting to see how it works out/unfolds. -Al
 
I don't know any better one way or another, but I knew Bolton for his Pedegro, then Rad, hop up kits LONG before I knew he was selling his own line of bikes.

He's just a small business. Wish him all the best, but he's got a tough nut to crack competing heads up with Chinese competitors who are working on profit margins that he may not be able to survive on.....

Though my fingers are crossed hoping he can pull this off successfully, it's be interesting to see how it works out/unfolds. -Al
I hope my post didn't come off as too snarky. :)

Before getting my first e-bike, I found some great, informative videos from Bolton that weren't just sales pitches.
 
I think he may succeed on the lower priced offerings as he's offering something of value at reasonable prices. When it comes to rebadging the Frey AM1000 and slapping on a $1,000 premium it seems like he's going after less sophisticated buyers that would otherwise throw money at quietkat or backou. The warthog belt drive offering has me scratching my head whether he's done his due diligence on some of these bikes. But again he's throwing on a significant premium to cover potential issues supporting these bikes and I think he will have quite a few with this particular model. Similarly the enourau rebadgings. I wouldn't go near any of those bikes and don't see where he's really making any money on them particularly if he needs to support them. He's basically offering them at the same cost as if you purchase directly from enourau.
 
Fortunately, Kyle at Bolton seems very busy and stays away from Forums. He could spend a lot of time addressing baseless accusations and uninformed opinions. Since this thread was based upon a question, there is a Bolton Thread in the Discussion by Brand and User Reviews section of the EBR Forum.
 
What are the baseless accusations? I think it's reasonable to question the choice of IGH on the $4,500 warthog but again, he's just reselling the bike and throwing a big premium on it. Don't really see where the value is to the end consumer in contrast to the lower priced offerings. If I'm dropping $4,500 on an ebike I can think of many better choices.
 
I hope my post didn't come off as too snarky. :)

Before getting my first e-bike, I found some great, informative videos from Bolton that weren't just sales pitches.

Not too snarky here. Not at all. -Al
 
Fortunately, Kyle at Bolton seems very busy and stays away from Forums. He could spend a lot of time addressing baseless accusations and uninformed opinions. Since this thread was based upon a question, there is a Bolton Thread in the Discussion by Brand and User Reviews section of the EBR Forum.

There is now, a day AFTER the question why there wasn't one came up.
 
What are the baseless accusations? I think it's reasonable to question the choice of IGH on the $4,500 warthog but again, he's just reselling the bike and throwing a big premium on it. Don't really see where the value is to the end consumer in contrast to the lower priced offerings. If I'm dropping $4,500 on an ebike I can think of many better choices.

I'm not trying to justify his pricing, but you are saying he's tacking on 1000 for a re-badged bike. While it is obviously more than the base priced AM1000, I'm left wondering how much of this 1000 you're talking about is to pay for little extras, like freight?
 
Bolton could just stay as an ebike tuner.

There are tons of motorcycle tuners making a good business out of it, why not ebikes?

That said, it seems like Bolton's ebikes are selling fast.

Would not surprise me if he fully intended to stay small, while taking advantage of the current bike shortage while he can....

Wouldn't surprise me either if he were holding a day job down as well as his "shop".....

There are a LOT of guys, myself included, that pulled themselves up from very poor beginnings doing something like that, or very similar. It's a pretty commonly traveled path to get ahead. Does require some busting your butt for a few years..... and a lot of luck!
 
I'm not trying to justify his pricing, but you are saying he's tacking on 1000 for a re-badged bike. While it is obviously more than the base priced AM1000, I'm left wondering how much of this 1000 you're talking about is to pay for little extras, like freight?

I don't know how much it costs to ship a container of bikes. Per alibaba the cost for 31+ AM 1000 bikes is $2820 per bike. So even if you conservatively assumed shipping at $500 per bike you're still at more than $1K of padding per bike. He is adding a few upgrades, but I would still guess the $1K padding per bike is conservative. Not saying this is a bad thing, it's pretty much the game for a lot of ebike companies, just don't see it adding long term value to the end consumer other than those wanting local support given that Frey is a known quantity. In the short term it may make sense if you want your bike faster than ordering from Frey.
 
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Would not surprise me if he fully intended to stay small, while taking advantage of the current bike shortage while he can....

Wouldn't surprise me either if he were holding a day job down as well as his "shop".....

There are a LOT of guys, myself included, that pulled themselves up from very poor beginnings doing something like that, or very similar. It's a pretty commonly traveled path to get ahead. Does require some busting your butt for a few years..... and a lot of luck!

Well based upon his model sell out rate and the production quality of his Youtube videos and his subscribed presence there, I'm pretty sure he doesn't need another job. I have visited his good sized shop for a test ride on the bike I ordered (great area for test rides!) and got to talk with him a bit. I can safely say that staying small is not his goal.
 
Thanks for the fun read. ;)

Nice to see there is a Bolton section now. It probably wasn't there before because I've never paid for an EBR review and have no plans to do so. Consider me old fashioned in that sense. Currently we don't pay for any advertising.

I do intend on continuing to make parts for ebikes. Lots of ideas on the drawing board, but bringing them to production takes time. I hope 2021 will be full of surprises, for DIYers and people buying bikes alike.

Bikes are selling very fast for everyone right now, Bolton Ebikes included. We released a batch of the Blackbird bikes for November shipping 2 days ago. I personally would rather wait until I get them in stock, but customers literally beg daily to place an order and are willing to wait. It's a strange time and demand for bikes. In 48 hours we've sold more bikes than I used to sell in an entire year. Its all a bit hectic and I've hired a lot this year, but good to see things progressing across the industry. That being said, I do intend on keeping things smaller and different than most. I don't want or need a 100+ employee company, or anywhere remotely close.

For those that think I can have a weekly youtube channel, podcast, field hundreds of phone calls and emails (sometimes per day, and with full time staff doing the same) and manage new parts and bike production whilst having a family with kids... well that's a bit nuts. But there may be other businesses in the mix I keep quiet.... for now. ;)

I'll try to check in on the forum more often now that there's a Bolton section. I can also learn a lot from everyone here too. Anyone who says they know everything about ebikes surely doesn't!
 
What are the baseless accusations? I think it's reasonable to question the choice of IGH on the $4,500 warthog but again, he's just reselling the bike and throwing a big premium on it. Don't really see where the value is to the end consumer in contrast to the lower priced offerings. If I'm dropping $4,500 on an ebike I can think of many better choices.
Biktrix Beast is a Warthog without a belt drive and its $3900, I don't think Bolton's pricing is to crazy,although it could be a lower
 
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