Experiences with Aventon customer service and support?

[Aarin P]

Aventon reviews online are largely positive, which is why I purchased a Pace 500 in the first place. However, while reviews cover topics like performance, quality, and value, I didn't see much about customer service AFTER the purchase. This would seem to be a critical area of interest to buyers.

My own recent experience has been very unsatisfactory. I purchased a Pace 500 in Dec 2020 for my 16 year-old son. It is his primary mode of transportation. He is in his critical junior year of high school, he works, he runs XC, and he tries to have somewhat of a normal teen social life. He needs his bike...which has been in a shop...for three weeks.

He damaged the LCD unit and needs a new one. Not covered under warranty, no problem, it was my son's fault and we didn't expect it to be covered. I have already paid the bike shop ahead, and they're highly recommended and very reputable. Aventon still hasn't shipped the part. I used their live chat (which was extremely slow and frustrating), got disconnected about three times, was promised a one-hour follow-up that I never received, and ultimately it just felt like amateur hour. It turns out that they couldn't find a record of the order. The bike shop had a record, with confirmation number. Aventon eventually admitted fault, after two days of chasing them, several hours of live chat, three reps, and one supervisor. Now (apparently) the part is being shipped to the bike shop so the simple repair can be completed.

My son shouldn't have been without his bike for three weeks (a month or more by the time this is done). I have heard that Aventon is known to be extremely slow and unreliable (from the shop owner, before I did further digging). Can anyone share other experiences, good or bad? I will soon be in the market for another ebike for my 14 year old son, but it is not likely i will take a chance on another Aventon.

 

[drotim]

I guess the people that are happy with their Aventon bikes are out riding them because nothing has gone wrong yet. They're writing glowing reviews after a short time of ownership and not surfing and posting on forums like this.
My first experience with Aventon customer service was calling their 1-800 number to get an answer on assembly of the fork in the head tube. Their web site doesn't include any documentation on the headset or any other components of the bike. The voice mail for their 1-800 number said they weren't taking calls and to submit an email request. They replied the next day with a series of photos that confirmed I put it together correctly while waiting on a reply. Checking their website now they have abandoned all pretense of answering their phone. "To better serve our customer in a more timely manner,
Aventon phone support will be suspended for the time being."
My next experience with Aventon customer service started after I realized that the front tire, that was flat right out of the box, wouldn't hold air overnight after being pumped up. To be able to ride my new bike I would pump up the tire with the slow leak, but the bike very quickly developed a problem with the front tire. Typical email response from Aventon runs from 1 to 3 days. I started working this issue on 7/26/21 and they have yet to resolve it to my satisfaction.
I haven't tried the Aventon live chat, but based on the experience of the original poster of this thread I don't see the point in trying.
The LCD display issue is worthy of its own post, but basically the display is a fragile piece of electronics mounted in a location so that it sticks out like a sore...thumb. If you put your bike on the ground you're almost guaranteed to break the display. Aventon is unable and / or unwilling to stock this item. I checked with Aventon and they claim there is no aftermarket substitute. So you break it you're SOL.
Unfortunately my experience with Aventon has been poor since I took the bike out of the box. Since it was delivered on 7/22/21I have put a total of 18 miles on the bike. if you are looking for a dependable bike to ride as your primary mode of transportation look elsewhere.

 

[Coco123!]

I do not typically post negative reviews but I think potential buyers need to be aware that Aventon is not taking any calls. I wish I had known this when I placed my order.

I purchased an Aventon Level from their site this month - and regret it. I read the EBR and was assured by the review. The bike came quite quickly but I had to report broken protection pieces during shipping. I got the bike checked over by my bike shop without them riding it. Since then, I have taken it for a test run for about 3 miles and the motor is ridiculously loud, even in PAS 1 or 2. I stopped the ride as I don't think believe this can be normal. This is certainly not what I expect of a near $1700 bike (I've been using e-bikes for years).

My experience with Customer Service is terrible. You cannot speak to anyone. The chat rep would not address my concerns and told me to wait for the tech guys to email me even though I requested someone call me. I have already waited almost a week to hear back from my report of the broken pieces and concerns about the rear hub being damaged.

Nowhere on their order page states you cannot speak with anyone. Chat is a waste of time. Email does not get you anywhere. I now have what another reviewer describes as a "60 pound paper weight", not a cool bike that I had expected.

EBR - please update your review as after sales service is important and it seems Aventon's is non existent.

 

[Aarin P]

I do not typically post negative reviews but I think potential buyers need to be aware that Aventon is not taking any calls. I wish I had known this when I placed my order.

I purchased an Aventon Level from their site this month - and regret it. I read the EBR and was assured by the review. The bike came quite quickly but I had to report broken protection pieces during shipping. I got the bike checked over by my bike shop without them riding it. Since then, I have taken it for a test run for about 3 miles and the motor is ridiculously loud, even in PAS 1 or 2. I stopped the ride as I don't think believe this can be normal. This is certainly not what I expect of a near $1700 bike (I've been using e-bikes for years).

My experience with Customer Service is terrible. You cannot speak to anyone. The chat rep would not address my concerns and told me to wait for the tech guys to email me even though I requested someone call me. I have already waited almost a week to hear back from my report of the broken pieces and concerns about the rear hub being damaged.

Nowhere on their order page states you cannot speak with anyone. Chat is a waste of time. Email does not get you anywhere. I now have what another reviewer describes as a "60 pound paper weight", not a cool bike that I had expected.

EBR - please update your review as after sales service is important and it seems Aventon's is non existent.

This is very much in line with my own experience with Aventon's customer service. I purchased the Pace 500 because it received fantastic reviews and it seemed to be a great entry-level ebike at an affordable price. I neglected to consider how critical customer service after the purchase is, and none of the online reviewers seem to address this factor. It would have made al
l the difference to me. I now wish I had gone with a more reputable company which has been in business for a long time.

 

[scottjpeter]

I purchased both a Pace 500 and a Level Aventon in June and have been incredibly disapointed in both the quality of the bikes and the horrible customer service. The Pace 500 has a battery that at about 80% charge misteriously just stopped working. I checked every connection on the bike and they are all connected properly and the battery will not show it's charging now and does not light up at all. We've had multiple error codes on both bikes in less than 150 miles each. Trying to contact customer support with not allowing phone conversations and the online messaging not for Bike Tech's is ridiculously bad. I called yesterday then chatted online to be told they can't help me with the battery issue and I need to just wait at least 72 hours for them to get back to me via email. I would recommend not having anything to do with this company to anyone who wants a decent bike and also anyone who wants any support after the purchase. We've been stranded multiple times in the short amount of time we've had both bikes - they can't go up hills without overheating (level) and the Pace 500 is not working at all now.

 

[Jbiker1]

I purchased a Aventure in late june. I have usually gotten good support. Once I finally hear from Aventon. I logged a call a week ago. So far no response. Mon. Will be 10 days. If they are this busy. due to bike sales, they need to grow their support staff ? And,or change their support model to support continued growth? I was in Tech support for 30 plus years. This doesn't make for happy, maybe not repeat customers ? I do really like my bike. And this problem does not appear as serious as I thought it might be, THIS TIME!! If I were even considering getting rid of my car and using my bike , I would require much better support.

 

[Daibidgh]

I have had nothing but trouble with their, ahem, customer support people, I bought my Aventon from the local bike store and have had no issues with the bike itself. I ordered front and rear racks over a month ago and have had different stories and absolutely no 'help' from their CS people. at this point I submitted a complaint about them to BBB to warn others from wasting their hard earned money with them. When I come to replace the bike I will steer clear of Aventon.

 

[Jbiker1]

I ordered a rear rack when I bought my bike. It didn't come with the bike and it got lost? I think they were back ordered at the time. also? When I was able to contact support. They finally ordered another one for me. I finally got it. It took about 2 months or so. My rear tire also had a slow leak out of the box. had it fixed at a LBS, ordered new tube. Aventon eventually reimbursed me for most of the cost.. It took a while.

 

[Jbiker1]

14 days still no call back! It seems once they make the sale and get your money. They are not very interested in your ebike issues. I logged a 2nd call several days ago. Also no reply.I'm beginning to think I need to try to sell my ebike before it has a serious problem. And go to a company thats interested in customers after the sale. Likely a LBS?? I like the Aventure LBS higher price. I am interested in trying out some of the mid drive Brose ebikes if I can't get support when needed.. I wish I had saved the name of the new manager involved in support in a recent email. So far luckily my original problem hasn't came back.

 

[Daibidgh]

While my Aventure is a really fun bike to ride, I am also concerned by the lack of interest from Aventon for supporting their product line and I won't be recommending the bike or buying another from them in the future.
I bought this one from my LBS so haven't had any of the delivery issues that others have written about, and the bike has performed very well, since I got it. But I won't buy their products again after the appallingly bad customer service they have.

 

[Jbiker1]

Out of curiosity. I looked up Aventon and Rad on LinkedIn. I know RAD is bigger, I don't know how current this info is. Aventon shows 32 employees total, RAD shows 384. I believe you can list company employees ,or at least some managers. For someone having major support problems you might be able to find a support manager and get help, just a idea?
I believe job title is Director of Customer Experience. The next bike I buy I'm going to look deeper into the company in addition to researching the bike in depth.

 

[Daibidgh]

Thats a great idea I will give that a try, thanks

 

[Jbiker1]

3 plus weeks, still no email from support. Thankfully my problem was hopefully 1 time, or maybe intermittent. I'm not as concerned with this problem now as I am support when I have more serious problems. The likelihood that I would purchase another Aventon ebike is dining Islington rapidly if this is what I can expect. Hopefully folks with major problems now are getting help from support. What's the procedure if your battery or motor dies. Junk the ebike ? When possible , any bike gear i buy will be from someone else.

 

[mudcamper]

3 plus weeks, still no email from support. Thankfully my problem was hopefully 1 time, or maybe intermittent. I'm not as concerned with this problem now as I am support when I have more serious problems. The likelihood that I would purchase another Aventon ebike is dining Islington rapidly if this is what I can expect. Hopefully folks with major problems now are getting help from support. What's the procedure if your battery or motor dies. Junk the ebike ? When possible , any bike gear i buy will be from someone else.

The battery on my brand new Aventure appears to be dead. Given that the bike also arrived with broken and missing parts, and they still haven't managed to ship those to me yet, and those parts are IN STOCK, and it's been 3 weeks, I am not holding my breath on this problem. This company is definitely a very bad company when it comes to standing behind their product. Yeah they are innovative and cool designs, but what good is that whey you can't ride it and they won't help you fix it?

 

[Daibidgh]

exactly

 

[LimboJim]

For those of you still trying to get a response (or parts etc.) from Aventon, write a review on the BBB site. The company seems to pay attention to them, and has responded to each review thus far.

Aventon Bikes | Reviews | Better Business Bureau® Profile

View customer reviews of Aventon Bikes. Leave a review and share your experience with the BBB and Aventon Bikes.

www.bbb.org

Not sure if that means it'll accelerate their actual response to you, but maybe worth a shot?

I hope they can hire more CSRs and start answering their phone!

 

[Jbiker1]

I hope you get the issue resolved. This is one of the times when I wonder if a integrated battery is a good thing, otherwise alibaba might have them. But you shouldn t be out a dime on a new bike that dont work .

 

[I_Am_Thee_Walrus]

They will also reply on Reddit in the Aventon sub. That’s how I got my case escalated.

 

[mudcamper]

For those of you still trying to get a response (or parts etc.) from Aventon, write a review on the BBB site. The company seems to pay attention to them, and has responded to each review thus far.

Aventon Bikes | Reviews | Better Business Bureau® Profile

View customer reviews of Aventon Bikes. Leave a review and share your experience with the BBB and Aventon Bikes.

www.bbb.org

Not sure if that means it'll accelerate their actual response to you, but maybe worth a shot?

I hope they can hire more CSRs and start answering their phone!

Thanks! Will do.

 

[Jbiker1]

I noticed via email that Aventon is having a live event on Facebook Live. Sounds like it may be a good time for someone with support issues to bring this up? I'm not on Facebook.it seems like they are selling more bikes than they have staff to support? If they plan to keep selling lots of bikes, especially to repeat customers. It would be good to see how or if they plan to resolve this?