Just started looking into e bikes. Live in Ontario Canada and the LBS are limited in e bike choices. So my concern is the longevity of some e bike companies. How can you tell if a certain company is in for the long haul? Many companies seem small and run by the owners/ employee. It is nice to have the owner involved but does this really ensure it's longevity? What would indicate that a particular e bike brand is going to be in business in 10 years?
With over 100 different ebike brands, and nearly a new one coming out every month on Indiegogo, or Kickstarter, and barriers to entry so low, the odds are very high that 25% to 50% of the e-bike brands won't be around in 5 years or less. Its a LOT of competition for such a small North American market thus far, so a lot will come and go. I wouldn't worry so much about that though, as long as you spend enough money to get quality components such as Samsung or Panasonic batteries, High quality brake brands like Magura, or Avid, and if its a mid drive you prefer stick with a name like Bosch or maybe Yamaha or Shimano Steps. If you don't mind paying a premium, larger names like Trek, Giant, Raleigh, Fuji etc are likely to be around to support their e-bikes with a large enough dealer structure and base to offer some level of security they will be around at least as long as you want to use your e-bike. Since this is still an emerging technology concept (motors and li-ion batteries on bikes), there are going to continue to be a lot of improvements in a fairly short time frame, so whatever you buy today will likely be out done by new models and brands in a few short years. With that in mind, you may want to keep your budget low (say stay below $2500) and plan on upgrading to a new ebike in 3 or 4 years. (that is if you find you really want to keep e-biking). Maybe plan on handing your ebike off to another family member at that time, or trading it in for less than half what you paid which is likely to be the case, as used e-bikes do not hold their value very well. I get quite a few people to my shop who bought ebikes 3 or 4 years ago, that have issues, and the brands are no longer around, or the models have been discontinued. For repairs, the hardest part is getting an exact replacement to fit the battery compartment design, or the motor replaced with the right connections and controller match, because there are so many different ways these OEMs have found to connect the various components electronically. the safest approach would be to stick with a rear hub motor design, as those are the most common and dont require a special frame design (which these frames vary significantly for mid drive motors), and a rear rack battery mount (despite those are not aesthetically the best looking), as frame integrated batteries are varying a LOT in their designs, and the casings are evolving a lot, and very unique. Which could make battery replacement fairly challenging in a few years, if that OEM went out of business, or simply stopped making or supporting a particular casing design. Which would only leave the option of getting the battery rebuilt if it failed.
If you prefer Canadian OEM, check out Surface 604. They have been around a few years, but use very good components, offer a lot of value for the price point (below $2000), and have some very good reviews here by Court. Fairly sturdy frames, thicker tires, robust motors, for an ebike that should last awhile.
