Buying an e-bike on-line: some considerations for decision making

[larry-new]

So, anyone wanting to try out Mike's idea regarding having a complete set of electrical components for a Rad bike on hand (minus battery), including a complete motor w/26" rear wheel for a City, I can help you out very reasonably. I removed them all from a 1 month old bike I wanted done "my way". Shoot me a PM with your offer.

As soon as my warranty runs out...keep me in mind.

 

[AHicks]

Larry, I was kidding. I'm not big on the idea of keeping an entire selection of parts for every bike I purchase. Though I do have them, I believe having all that stuff on hand in case there's some sort of break down is really big time overkill. Many components, like the throttle, the motor itself, brake levers, and the PAS sensor, ARE able to be checked with a meter. Things like the display and the controller are where things start getting complicated. I could see the paranoid keeping a set of those on hand. The rest of us though, would likely do well to wait until we had some sort of unexplainable issue going on, where we could then order out a set, and would likely reap the benefit of knowing we had the latest and greatest software/firmware updates included in the purchase price. That's my opinion anyway....

Absolute worst case? You could do something similar to what I did very reasonably. A kit that includes a display, a controller, PAS sensor, brake handles, all with matching connectors, is maybe somewhere around 150 or less. All you would have to do is adapt the 3 wires coming from your motor to the 3 coming from the controller. Everything else is plug and play.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

It's not the bike I'm worried about...it's the time it takes to contact technical support while I'm sitting here fuming with a problem.

As far as build your own goes, I note an ebike built from the ground up is SOLID...welded bits everywhere..a torque arm for the reverse forces generated with regen braking, etc.

Pedego bikes have an extensive dealer network and a generous warranty. Many criticize them for being overpriced and having tired designs, but their customer support and dealer network are excellent. So I do think that purchasing a Pedego through Amazon isn't exactly like purchasing a no-name brand online.

The AddMotor bikes, while generally well-made, do seem to have many of the customer support issues you would associate with purchasing online.

 

[Nova Haibike]

The AddMotor bikes, while generally well-made, do seem to have many of the customer support issues you would associate with purchasing online.

I can't stand the department-store-bike graphics of AddMotor bikes. LOL

 

[rannyv]

I've already said my piece on supporting your LBS above, but I think buying spares of all the parts is over kill. If you have a bike with a hub motor, chances are you can find suitable replacements on the after market. Same thing with controllers and batteries. Or let's say the bike has a Bafang mid-drive. Those are easily sourced from many places online. Sure, if you don't want to do DIY, not every LBS will service for you, but if you're in a reasonably sized town, there will be many bike shops and surely one will want to help out and make some money on repairs. E-bikes may not be that standardized yet, but there are a limited number of battery, controller and motor suppliers out there and chances are the online bike will use one that is readily available. Worst case scenario, your online bike looses a controller, battery and motor. It would not be cheap, but all of those things can be replaced when and if they are needed rather than stock piling them when the bike is first purchased. And batteries don't store well and prices are coming down.

 

[Addmotor]

Pedego bikes have an extensive dealer network and a generous warranty. Many criticize them for being overpriced and having tired designs, but their customer support and dealer network are excellent. So I do think that purchasing a Pedego through Amazon isn't exactly like purchasing a no-name brand online.

The AddMotor bikes, while generally well-made, do seem to have many of the customer support issues you would associate with purchasing online.

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