Frey price hike + distributor fee = unjustifiable cost?

[mudflinger]

It appears that prices of all of their bikes have raised by at least $1,000 in the last year. As of this very moment, to get a Frey Ex from a UK distributor will cost you over $7,000, and Frey refuse to let anybody from UK order from them and refer to the distributor.

My question here: Is that price justified? To me, it doesn't seem it, but maybe I'm missing something. I know they come as standard with decent shocks, brakes, etc, but they also use stock Bafang parts everywhere, standard motor, thumb throttle, crank arms, display, etc. The bikes generally seem to lack the finesse that you'd get buying a US/EU bike for the same price. I saw a video of someone removing their motor from the Frey Ex and Frey had left all loose connectors unsealed etc. just lacking attention to detail on these bikes which for the kind of money you're paying seems absurd. Also no local support/servicing/etc is a concern. I know their support typically do respond to queries fairly quickly but I've seen some less than satisfactory correspondence between owners on this forum and the support team in the past. They don't fill me with confidence.

Maybe I'm just salty and need a reality check, but I can't justify pulling the trigger for $7,000 when I see the market of ebikes right now.

I'd love to hear your opinions!

J

 

[retiredNH]

So what's the problem? No one is forcing you to buy one, and you have more, and better choices in UK than you would here in the USA. Maybe you should read a basic economics book, or read about "consumer choice"? You still live in a market economy, don't you?

 

[scrambler]

Welcome to a severely messed up supply chain. where prices for parts and shipping have increased up to 10 folds....
Impossible to know the bottom line for every single company, but no one can stay in business without adjusting prices for their costs explosion.

 

[mudflinger]

So what's the problem? No one is forcing you to buy one, and you have more, and better choices in UK than you would here in the USA. Maybe you should read a basic economics book, or read about "consumer choice"? You still live in a market economy, don't you?

There's no problem, I'm curious to see what others think. As far as I'm aware, one of Frey's main selling points was bang for buck, which doesn't seem to be so much the case anymore. Whether there are better options in UK/EU is subjective, not many options here for >250w nominal mid-drives that I'm aware of.

 

[retiredNH]

Do you have an ebike? Do you realize that advertised wattage has little to do with real life performance, not to mention real life power output?
Either Frey knows what they're doing regarding pricing or they'll be out of business soon enough. I'm betting the former. We may not like these price increases, but they're not limited to ebikes, are they?

 

[mudflinger]

Do you have an ebike? Do you realize that advertised wattage has little to do with real life performance, not to mention real life power output?
Either Frey knows what they're doing regarding pricing or they'll be out of business soon enough. I'm betting the former. We may not like these price increases, but they're not limited to ebikes, are they?

It's almost funny how condescending you come across. Yes, I own an e-bike, have owned several. So what 250w nominal motor do you know that can match the "real life performance" of an Ultra?
I understand that the global economy has been a mess over the last couple of years but my point is it's becoming exponentially more expensive to buy a Frey over say sourcing your own alu frame and parts for an equivalent bike. There are even readily available bikes that are cheaper and more powerful than a Frey in the west now. But Frey obviously continue to sell bikes, I just can't understand the appeal to the consumer anymore. What am I missing?

 

[Surly]

If you are handy with tools get an e22 from dengfu, parts are coming back to the shops now, what can't be got from here you will find in the EU on sites such as bikester. Shipping from dengfu is consistant and has been running at 4 weeks for frames and 5 for motors all during the pandemic. emtbforums is full of v happy dengfu owners.

 

[DavidRvR]

Stop debating and order one.. The sooner you order the cheaper it will be... Our materials have gone up over 400% in the last year and a half.. guess who pays for that? The consumer... Welcome to the real world...

BTW I bought 4 Frey bikes last year... last 3 received feb I believe it was... Not long after I ordered they started going up in price but like I said.. wait a little longer it you will pay more... Just the way things are right now.

 

[retiredNH]

It's almost funny how condescending you come across. Yes, I own an e-bike, have owned several. So what 250w nominal motor do you know that can match the "real life performance" of an Ultra?

Condescending? Of course. It's a feature, not a bug, aimed at someone who seems to be on a vendetta against one company. As I said at the beginning, you don't like it? Then don't buy. You have a choice. Criticizing a company's pricing decisions is just plain crazy, almost as crazy as I am for being dragged into such an inane discussion.

 

[TomD]

No I don't think they are worth it (especially if you get a canbus motor). My Frey bike was just ok until I upgraded the controller. If you want finesse roll your own with a motor from Innotrace.