Randpost
New Member
- Region
- USA
Just posting my first experience with an Ebike. I purchased a bike from Fahrbike earlier this month. The bike arrived double boxed with no box damage. The bike arrive promptly.
After assembling the bike (putting front wheel and stem on) I eventually took my first ride. The bike was at 12 miles on the odometer on a canal trail when the bike caught on fire. It wasn't a large fire and it was contained to the controller compartment and the battery compartment. I was able to remove the battery while it was smoking and throw it in the dirt. I seriously considered tossing the battery in the canal, but I am glad I didn't. The battery was smoking but I didn't see fire coming from the battery. I am not sure if the cells were damaged or if the wire and controller fire burned the battery casing.
The issue was that the internal metal frame in the battery and controller compartment are unfinished and all of the edges are sharp. Not razor blade sharp, but more like a serrated saw. That along with the loose controller in a large controller compartment made the unsecured wires slide back and forth on the edges. I was wondering what all the rattling was, and it was the controller.
After my experience I left a review on the Fahrbike website and it was deleted within a few hours. I tried a few more times and the same thing. They only having 99% 5 star reviews should have been a dead give away. They are not the only company that does that so not that big of a deal I guess.
I tried many emails and web correspondence via the Fahrbike website and there was no reply. I tried again after a week and they finally replied saying their computer system was having troubles. I provided dozens of photos and anything they requested. After a few days they responded with the email in the screenshot attached. They confirmed what occurred and accepted compensating me. I asked for a refund.
They sent me a $15 refund total.
I have emailed them a few times after the compensation email and they are now ghosting me. It is fine as I used a credit card and I can dispute with plenty of evidence. This is my first CC dispute and have received the conditional chargeback credit. I will wait for the final credit card resolution before I close the door on this bad experience.
I just wanted to give my experience so others would have this post to digest when researching Fahrbike for their bike purchase. I do recognize that my bike issue could be a one off, but I doubt the customer service experience is.
After assembling the bike (putting front wheel and stem on) I eventually took my first ride. The bike was at 12 miles on the odometer on a canal trail when the bike caught on fire. It wasn't a large fire and it was contained to the controller compartment and the battery compartment. I was able to remove the battery while it was smoking and throw it in the dirt. I seriously considered tossing the battery in the canal, but I am glad I didn't. The battery was smoking but I didn't see fire coming from the battery. I am not sure if the cells were damaged or if the wire and controller fire burned the battery casing.
The issue was that the internal metal frame in the battery and controller compartment are unfinished and all of the edges are sharp. Not razor blade sharp, but more like a serrated saw. That along with the loose controller in a large controller compartment made the unsecured wires slide back and forth on the edges. I was wondering what all the rattling was, and it was the controller.
After my experience I left a review on the Fahrbike website and it was deleted within a few hours. I tried a few more times and the same thing. They only having 99% 5 star reviews should have been a dead give away. They are not the only company that does that so not that big of a deal I guess.
I tried many emails and web correspondence via the Fahrbike website and there was no reply. I tried again after a week and they finally replied saying their computer system was having troubles. I provided dozens of photos and anything they requested. After a few days they responded with the email in the screenshot attached. They confirmed what occurred and accepted compensating me. I asked for a refund.
They sent me a $15 refund total.
I have emailed them a few times after the compensation email and they are now ghosting me. It is fine as I used a credit card and I can dispute with plenty of evidence. This is my first CC dispute and have received the conditional chargeback credit. I will wait for the final credit card resolution before I close the door on this bad experience.
I just wanted to give my experience so others would have this post to digest when researching Fahrbike for their bike purchase. I do recognize that my bike issue could be a one off, but I doubt the customer service experience is.
