Haters Lost my Business

[ChezCheese:)]

I bought my ebike from Seattle Ebike in Pioneer Square. That is their specialty. They don't sell acoustics (at least that I could see). Every business has the right to choose their business model, and they don't have to make every nickel there is to be made - - they merely have to make a living.

 

[Deacon Blues]

Acoustics means non-powered bicycles? Guitars (acoustic and electric) I can see, but bicycles? Acoustics has to do with sound.

 

[AlanDB]

Yeah, I find the "acoustic" adjective to be inappropriate too. I would prefer "conventional" or non-electric", but I guess as long as we all know what it means it doesn't really matter.

 

[ChezCheese:)]

I didn't invent the nickname - - I learned it here at EBR

 

[Deacon Blues]

By definition acoustic doesn't fit at all.

Webster's definition:

1. of or relating to the sense or organs of hearing, to sound, or to the science of sounds.

2. of, relating to, or being a musical instrument whose sound is not electronically modified.

 

[6zfshdb]

By definition acoustic doesn't fit at all.

Webster's definition:

1. of or relating to the sense or organs of hearing, to sound, or to the science of sounds.

2. of, relating to, or being a musical instrument whose sound is not electronically modified.

I agree but by default, it's become the way many here refer to a conventional bike.

 

[ChezCheese:)]

It's amusing. Better than dinobikes.

 

[Dhaner]

It's not just ebikers they are rude to, too many shops have rude arrogant elitist employees or owners who look down on anyone who they deem less knowledgeable or unworthy of their time. Some shops won't even service an ebike or a Walmart bike. The ones that don't evolve will not survive. https://www.bicycling.com/culture/a27496999/bike-shops-need-change/

 

[ilanarama]

Acoustics means non-powered bicycles? Guitars (acoustic and electric) I can see, but bicycles? Acoustics has to do with sound.

I know, I know! But I find it charming. Like @ChezCheese:) I first saw this usage here, and enthusiastically adopted it. (Better than 'analog', which some people use, because that's the opposite of digital, not of electric.) In fact it kind of reminds me of the back-formation 'cisgender', which admittedly took me a while to warm up to, because cis- as the opposite of trans- refers to molecular composition in chemistry. And more people are familiar with the musical usage of acoustic vs electric than with organic chemistry isomers: when I tell people I have an electric bike and an acoustic bike, everyone knows what I mean!

 

[smorgasbord]

When I hear "acoustic bicycle" my mind conjures up this image:

then again, I suppose the amplifiers disqualify that, too.

 

[AlanDB]

On a forum like this, it does seem like we could come up with a better name than acoustic or analog for a pedal only bike. Maybe pob (pedal only bike) or hop bike (human-only powered). Oh well, all of us who regularly follow the forum know what is meant by acoustic, analog, non-e, regular, pedal only, or any of the other terms we use.

 

[Deacon Blues]

I like to keep it simple. I call a bike without a motor a bike and a bike with a motor an ebike.

 

[ChezCheese:)]

That works. I still like acoustic/electric....

 

[Browneye]

First bike shop I visited...had bought new Speicalized bikes from them a couple of years ago...
Me: Do you have this type of electric with a thumb or twist throttle?
Them: No, they're becoming less popular.
Me: Do you have any ebikes that are less than $3000?
Them: We have these - a Fuji 250w and a Aventon Pace 350w. We could order you a Pace 500 - they took my name and said they would be getting one in. Never called. Their competitor that only sells ebikes has a half-dozen of them in stock.
Me: I was thinking of a nice pedal bike I could convert.
Them: We don't recommend that - there are lots of problems with breakage.
Me: Where do they break?
Them: Oh, the bottom bracket, the forks, the gears strip out.
Me: Oh.
Me: So bigger tires, a suspension fork, add a mid-drive or hub drive. Like this Trek Pitch.
Them: Well, this 'Pitch' is really a ladies bike - see how the top bar curves down? And they're discontinuing them next year.

I was tickled to have found Aventon there. I would buy one over a Rad Power, but gee, I have two really nice bikes that can easily be converted, especially the one with fat tires and disc brakes. And this older 'big' shop was not much help at all. Mostly they had 3 to 8 thousand dollar Trek and high end electric mountain bikes.

Second bike shop - the 'ebike' shop....
Me: Do you carry a bike called Aventon?
Them: Why yes, we do - it's our best seller of all ebikes. They're right over here, why don't you take one for a spin and try it out. You'll love it.
Me: I tried the Pace 500. Liked it a lot. Thought it was a little too 'zoomy'.
Them: Try the Pace 350. Based what I knew at the time, looking at websites on ebikes, I didn't think a 36v 350 hub drive would be enough. But it was plenty fast for what I want.
Me: We'll let you know. I'm looking at converting one and buying another.
Them: Great. Come back and check them all out again.

Website selling kits...
Me: You have hub kits for every size EXCEPT 650b - 27.5, that's what's on our Roll.
Them: There are very few bikes with that size wheel so we don't offer them. They could have offered to build me one, but no, it's easier to just turn business away.
Another seller...
Me: You have all the Bafang mid-drives but no hubs?
Them: Well, our wheel builder flaked out on us so we don't have hub-drives. Besides, we just sell what sells the best. Everything is fifty percent more than you can buy it online elsewhere.

I find the business accumen of these shops to be sorely lacking. Kind of like the HVAC industry - steeped in their process that generates a profit level they can live with - and don't dare deviate away from that in any possible way.