Karmic Koben

[IRS4]

Haven't seen much activity out of them since February-May. Anyone have any feelers on how they are doing with a delivery schedule? Anyone been on a demo bike?

http://www.karmicbikes.com

http://indefinitelywild.gizmodo.com/what-s-wrong-with-electric-bicycles-1702986234

 

[George S.]

This was posted on their Kickstarter site as an update.

Hi Karmic Backers,

I know a lot of you have been waiting for our bi-monthly updates, and it's been a month since I last posted. Its just been a really tough month. We did finally get our first production frame sample from the factory, even if it was very (very) late. I'm going to build it up this weekend and start final testing before we give the go-ahead for our full production order.

I was supposed to have it built up last month, but I wasn't able to (waiting on parts).

I was supposed to show the Koben at The Feast in NYC, but the event was cancelled.

I was supposed to fly to Taiwan for Taichung Bike Week, but I couldn't make it.

I was reluctant to post an update because I was waiting for good news to share. But the realities of manufacturing hit and it was one unexpected delay after another. A factory pulled out, a tsunami hit Taiwan, a fork supplier went dark and we had to find a new source. The bike business is turning out to be a lot more difficult than I expected. I wrote a longer post about ithere if you'd like to read more.

Rest assured that we're still doing everything in our power to get the bikes to you. The unspoken goal was to ship bikes by Christmas, but that doesn't look like it will happen. We are still on track for delivery by Spring 2016. We may need to push availability to the public back until Summer, but that doesn't affect our backers and website pre-orders.

I will be sending out a survey at the end of the month to get colors and sizes. Please keep an eye out for that. Thank you again for your continued patience as we work to deliver on our promises. We want you to be proud of the work we're doing, and ecstatic when you get your Koben.

 

[Adrian]

The problem with crowd funding seems to be that they make promises and, no matter the integrity and good intentions of those involved, they are at the mercy of fickle manufacturers and supply lines to mention just two of the unknown quantities they have little control over. Not a position I'd want to be in when making "promises".

 

[IRS4]

I'm planning on upgrading my izip Treking for Christmas, seems as though Karmic won't be ready in time. I'm wanting a 28 mph street commuter in the $2-3 range.

 

[George S.]

These guys have pushed their 28 mph bike out a couple of months:

http://www.juicedriders.com

 

[IRS4]

Maybe I should wait for Spring. Is that new-bike Season ?

 

[Nirmala]

These guys have pushed their 28 mph bike out a couple of months:

http://www.juicedriders.com

That Crosscurrent looks like a nice bike for the money. I just wish it had a little bigger motor, maybe 500 watts.

 

[MLB]

The problem with crowd funding seems to be that they make promises and, no matter the integrity and good intentions of those involved, they are at the mercy of fickle manufacturers and supply lines to mention just two of the unknown quantities they have little control over. Not a position I'd want to be in when making "promises".

I think the biggest problem is you have people starting businesses that don't have a finished product concept, much less a finished product.
"the bike biz turned out to be a lot harder than I expected" - go figure.

 

[George S.]

That Crosscurrent looks like a nice bike for the money. I just wish it had a little bigger motor, maybe 500 watts.

Over in the Juiced Rider forum there is a video of the bike and motor moving at 26 mph, with shots of the watt display. It hits almost 700 watts, which is enough for the rated speed. A lot of these geared motors will do more than the rating. They are stuck with 750 watts in California, new regs.

Have to see if it trades the speed on the flat for less than stellar climb. Good price.

 

[Cameron Newland]

Over in the Juiced Rider forum there is a video of the bike and motor moving at 26 mph, with shots of the watt display. It hits almost 700 watts, which is enough for the rated speed. A lot of these geared motors will do more than the rating. They are stuck with 750 watts in California, new regs.

Have to see if it trades the speed on the flat for less than stellar climb. Good price.

True, it is wound for higher top speed, but I figure that any geared 350W motor would do okay on hills compared to a DD hub.