A Nireeka will be at my shop Mid December, to evaluate as I always do with every possible new product line. It's early stage company, but there are some interesting attributes, not just the looks, that have impressed me enough to spend my own money and see it in person. And yes normally they sell on line, but I've established an agreement with the CEO to see how being local could work out for the both of us.
For certain online only ebike firms, it could be extremely advantageous to have strategically located shops in major metro areas, that could compliment before the sale support such as custom ordering kiosks (the Nireeka has some interesting custom options that could be the source of questions) , become showrooms for test rides and in person size fit determination, and then most importantly become after the sale service centers covering a broader geography than a traditional bike shop. The industry at present is still early stage enough to where this makes sense until at least ebike adoption gets into the phase of mainstream. With a reported 85% of the general population in the US not being aware that Ebikes exist, we are far from the mainstream phase.
Personally I don't view on line buying as any threat to my business, and rather the industry is still young enough where it will likely find a merged co existence between on line and local. For Ebikes it's such a large financial purchase for most, also a large physical item, and I strongly believe consumers make the best buying decisions when they can see them physically in person, ride them, compare fit and feel, and make sure they are spending their money, not just on a good quality ebike but one that truly is a fit for their own body geometry. This one size fits all approach may be good for the vendor to keep his skus down, and thus manufacturing costs lower, but man it sure is not helping the consumer all that much. Another example of being local and importance of seeing in person, is how pictures or even videos don't really demonstrate physical size very well. This happens ALL the time when people come to my shop to check out Aventons Sinch. Almost everyone says it is much larger proportionally in person, than they ever imagined from on line imagery. The Sinch could easily be a choice for much taller people, so how many would buyers, just ignore it completely when searching on line ? And on the other end, you probably want to be at least 5' 3" to handle it well, though the seat does get very low and height above the ground makes it easy for shorter people to get on. I watched a 12 year old begging his dad to buy one for him, and he was barely 5'. He thought it was so very cool looking. It apparently reminded him of a Star Wars like vehicle. ( Maybe it was the gloss white and big black accent ? Or aerodynamic looking swooped frame ? Lol) But definitely Way too much ebike for someone his size to handle. It's also 62 lbs.
Anyway, on line purveyors aren't likely going away, and they likely aren't going to knock out LBS's either. Both will co-exist, do quite well if both have good business models, and both will likely evolve considerably from what we have been used to in on-line versus local shops in the past. There aren't a lot of product analogues out there like the size and cost of an ebike, where the product needs to be 'tested' and so this is really new territory for all sellers and even buyers.
Nobody can really forecast who will be winners or losers, and I don't think there are any historical benchmarks from other industries anyone can extrapolate from, especially not from pure analogue bikes. My opinion of course, but forecasting something like this at such an early stage is basically a roll of the dice. Perhaps Entertaining, but not likely any more meaningful that what you get out of a trip to Vegas.
Ps. When you see me knocking on line firms, I'm really just having a little fun (like pro athletes jawboning each other on the field) , and it's my own small way of MAYBE nudging at least one of them, to evolve from some really stupid stuff they are frequently doing that are not helping on line consumers one little bit. (Nor the industry as a whole) It's stuff like be more than just a proverbial price whore and add more value than just a low price (but cheap build quality) or free shipping as their primary reason for being. You know, stuff that can be changed easily, if they really wanted, but be of much more benefit to the consumer. I realize a number of you will say I'm being a hypocrite. Thank you kindly ...
...but You have no idea of my intentions.
