How much is nearby dealer worth?

[Bobsiii]

My Velo D1 got stolen so I'm in the market for a new bike, riding a low-end Amazon special for transport in the interim and hoping nothing breaks.
I'm looking at a D2, and the Ride1Up Vorsa with similar features caught my eye.

The D2 would basically be $2k out the door from a semi-local dealer/shop I have been working with since my first bike in 2019.

The Vorsa would be $1595+tax so around $1750-1800, assemble myself with help from mtn biker relative, and I live in a bike shop desert, the nearest that might work on it would be the the aforementioned dealer 15 miles away.

I'm a low income retiree so $200 matters, a bunch. Basically I could get the Vorsa for 10% less, and ca 20% sooner but could well be on my own for any repair work. Not sure what means more to me at this point, saving some money or a degree of peace of mind. Anyone faced similar choice? How'd you go? Results?

Lucky it will take me several months to save enough either way. Who knows what will happen in this business.

 

[zbikeman]

Problems that can't be solved on your own. That's my biggest concern with having a not having a dealer close by.

We recently purchased two used Specialized e-bikes (Vado & Vado SL) from Upway, even though the nearest Spesh dealer is a half hour away.

We could have gone with new Trek e-bikes from a dealer about a mile away, but I wasn't impressed enough by their lineup to want one.

Time will tell if we made the right choice. I think we got the right bikes, but servicing the electrical system might be more of a chore than we anticipated.

 

[RunForTheHills]

Your semi-local dealer may be willing to work on the bike. Especially since you already have a relationship with them. You could ask them. The Vorsa looks like you could easily do most of the maintenance yourself. The Ride1Up website allows you to order parts for the bike without going through a dealer.

As someone who has all the tools and works on his own bikes, I would feel comfortable with it. But that is a personal call you have to make. You should be able to get most of the basic tools you need for under $100. Of course, you can never have too many tools. The biggest risk is Ride1Up going out of business and being unable to get parts for it, but that is a risk with any company. Less so with a major bicycle manufacturer like Trek or Specialized.

 

[Marcela]

What's your time worth? I find the older I get, the more valuable it is.

 

[RunForTheHills]

What's your time worth? I find the older I get, the more valuable it is.

Even old people need a hobby. That said, there are plenty of things I pay other people to do that I used to do myself just because I don't like doing them. Like crawling under a sink to change a faucet. But OP is a low income retiree, so their situation is different.

 

[Slaphappygamer]

With a proprietary bike like a $pecialized or Bo$ch, you’d need a bike shop where they have a warranty contract and the like. I don’t think those caliber of bike manufacturers work with the actual riders, just the mechanic at the shop where they have a service contract.

I saved my money and spent time. I have a Ride1Up and it’s mechanically been great. Super easy to work on. I do everything myself. I did replace all the electronics and even added some. Including a temp sensor inside my motor. I love learning new things.

What really drew me to this brand was all the support documents on their site. With that info (and some YouTube), I was able to grasp the concept of how everything is wired to the controller. Even emailing the company, I get pretty quick responses. No more than 2 days.


The thing I like about the Vorsa is its ability to be changed from cadence sensing to torque sensing.

I did email Ride1Up to ask about the BB measurements. They responded with the info I was looking for. I know now that I can install the torque sensor from their Roadster V3. The BB width is the same as the 700 Series that they used to sell. Of course it’ll be up to me to wire it in and get it all to work, but that might be worth it. I also love to breathe new life into old things.

 

[harryS]

Maybe a used Velo or Ride-1up for half price will come around, Maybe you'll come to like your beater amazon bike,