Confessions of an ebike startup owner - Watt Wagons

[pushkar]

Is it just me or does Watt Wagons sound like a company that would specialize in cargo bikes like this as opposed to a company specializing in high end spec ebikes with lots of power and range?

Yeah - the "wagon" may be throwing you off Not in cargo yet - we are still young. Hopefully some day soon.

My only other comment is I'm not keen on externally mounted batteries. In this price range I'd want something cleaner looking with integrated battery and rear suspension. Make something like a Riese & Muller Superdelite with suspended rack and you probably wouldn't be able to keep up with demand. That said, congrats on what you have accomplished so far and wishing you continued success.

One of the core tenets of starting Watt Wagons was to provide an easy path for customers to upgrade and swap out components. Lets say you get a nice integrated frame battery and 3 years from now you need a new one. At this point you have to buy the same custom battery at market price (or even a premium, see Stromer batteries), but more importantly you are paying a premium for 3 year old tech.

For me, the integrated batteries are nice to have, but an acceptable trade off for the long term use / advantages. That doesnt preclude us from getting / developing an integrated frame. If I AM able to come up with an end user upgradeable option for an integrated frame /battery, we have the commuter companion program. Customers can replace just their frame / battery and move over all other components to a new bike.

We are still in the process of growing as a company. We are trying to do the right things - with a lot of constructive feedback from our customers.

 

[Ayl]

...If I AM able to come up with an end user upgradeable option for an integrated frame /battery, we have the commuter companion program. Customers can replace just their frame / battery and move over all other components to a new bike.

I almost forgot to register with the Commuter Companion Program, but thanks for the inadvertent reminder Pushkar!

 

[webcurl]

webcurl... Your looking at the wrong motor

But same company!

 

[FlatSix911]

Yeah - the "wagon" may be throwing you off Not in cargo yet - we are still young. Hopefully some day soon. One of the core tenets of starting Watt Wagons was to provide an easy path for customers to upgrade and swap out components. Lets say you get a nice integrated frame battery and 3 years from now you need a new one. At this point you have to buy the same custom battery at market price (or even a premium, see Stromer batteries), but more importantly you are paying a premium for 3 year old tech.

For me, the integrated batteries are nice to have, but an acceptable trade off for the long term use / advantages. That doesnt preclude us from getting / developing an integrated frame. If I AM able to come up with an end user upgradeable option for an integrated frame /battery, we have the commuter companion program. Customers can replace just their frame / battery and move over all other components to a new bike.

We are still in the process of growing as a company. We are trying to do the right things - with a lot of constructive feedback from our customers.

Great idea to offer the commuter companion program!
https://wattwagons.com/collections/select-your-watt-wagon

Commuter companion - infinite upgrades! We are happy to launch a program to help our customers keep up with the advancements in e-bike technologies.

The easy part - components
As we develop new parts, packs, enclosures, and work with new components, we will provide our customers a pathway to upgrade. As an example, if we come up with a new battery pack with cool features, or higher capacity, we will try to make it backward compatible, and you can buy it from us at a discounted price.

The cool part - frame and motor
If in the future we work with a new motor which means getting a new frame, OR the same motor but a better frame design/capability, we will offer our customers the option to upgrade to a new frame and/or the new motor!

How will this work?
The program will have a nominal annual charge of $10/yr to cover administrative costs. You must enroll in the program within 90 days of getting the bike using the following

• The Order number
• Frame serial number
• Motor serial number

At the moment the registration will be processed manually by sending an email to [email protected] . Once we launch a customer portal, we will send you a link to register your bikes online. We do not want our customers to have upgrade anxiety or new bike envy. It is important to note that all this is only possible if we keep an open platform.

 

[tomjasz]

We have a new bike - the CrossTour https://wattwagons.com/products/cross-tour , the first fat tire with a commuter geometry! You will love the ride. We are posting a bunch of pics on instagram (@wattwagons) and there will be a couple of reviews coming out soon.

Mean ice machine!

 

[tomjasz]

I am a Wattwagon owner and have been super happy with Pushkar and my bike

have not had time to write up a review because of work but Pushkar has been great to work with

YIKES! Congratulations.

 

[Feliz]

I've posted about this before here but the best way to break in a Brooks without any discomfort is to fill a suitably sized container with warm water and put the saddle, which can stay attached to the post, in it for about 10-15 minutes checking for pliability every so often. When it starts to feel pliable put it on the bike and go for a decent length ride and when you come back your saddle will fit your backside like a glove. In fact that trick has been used for leather gloves as well as boots for years. It will dry out overnight and after dry apply Proofhide and every so often re-apply it. I always found that it takes warm water to get the leather moving in a pliable direction and never had issues with riding in natural wet conditions. I used B17's and Pro's for years on my mountain bikes and broke in about 4 saddles in this manner and never had any failures.

Watch the older video out there that shows how Brooks makes their saddles. The first thing they do is soak the leather in, you guessed it, warm water.

I do that with all the western/cowboy boots I purchase and they always fit like a glove. I'm told that real cowboys ( not wannabe's ) would urinate in their new boots right before putting them on and jumping in the saddle for the first time.