No more SparkBike, now it's Rize

[scout592]

Antboy, I thought you were looking at the Rize RX which is $2,599 and has the mid drive 750/1000 bafang ultra motor. If you are looking at the Rize X for $1,999 then there is a large price difference like you say. Hard choices I agree.

 

[antboy]

Antboy, I thought you were looking at the Rize RX which is $2,599 and has the mid drive 750/1000 bafang ultra motor. If you are looking at the Rize X for $1,999 then there is a large price difference like you say. Hard choices I agree.

Oh, I am. I'm kind of all over the map, though trying to narrow my focus.

I'd love to find a local dealer to test ride a bike with the Bafang Ultra just to know the difference in feel, as well as battery efficiency, since I've got a good idea what to expect out of a Bafang rear hub bike.

 

[bigwhitey]

Isn't it so that they aren't screwing customers over for selling Spark Bikes and not taking care of warranty?
I think they're doing the right thing.

I'd be pretty pissed if they sold me Spark Bikes, change name to Rize and not take care of Spark customers.

I made that comment before they updated the Spark website to what it is now

 

[Ericsuave]

I bought a brand new Spark City Nov. 2019.

3 weeks later, i lost autonomy day-by-day + i cannot shut down the bike unless i remove the battery, or it will not reboot.

5 weeks later and the bike is dead. Full battery but lcd display indicate zero, so, no motor !
____________
Mid December : email for support (week zero).
Email back and forth (no faster than once a week).

After 5 weeks of email they asked for my battery for testing.

After 7 weeks they want me to pay for sending me back my battery (she's fine) and they will include a new lcd display.

I pay the 30$.

10 days later… nothing. No email, no battery, no bike.

9 weeks without bike and still counting...

 

[bigwhitey]

I bought a brand new Spark City Nov. 2019.

3 weeks later, i lost autonomy day-by-day + i cannot shut down the bike unless i remove the battery, or it will not reboot.

5 weeks later and the bike is dead. Full battery but lcd display indicate zero, so, no motor !
____________
Mid December : email for support (week zero).
Email back and forth (no faster than once a week).

After 5 weeks of email they asked for my battery for testing.

After 7 weeks they want me to pay for sending me back my battery (she's fine) and they will include a new lcd display.

I pay the 30$.

10 days later… nothing. No email, no battery, no bike.

9 weeks without bike and still counting...

This story is definitely concerning. I'm still deciding what bike to buy, and this isn't good. Btw, is it you that has been making comments about your dead bike on all of the Spark YouTube reviews?

 

[HKPolice]

I bought a brand new Spark City Nov. 2019.

3 weeks later, i lost autonomy day-by-day + i cannot shut down the bike unless i remove the battery, or it will not reboot.

5 weeks later and the bike is dead. Full battery but lcd display indicate zero, so, no motor !
____________
Mid December : email for support (week zero).
Email back and forth (no faster than once a week).

After 5 weeks of email they asked for my battery for testing.

After 7 weeks they want me to pay for sending me back my battery (she's fine) and they will include a new lcd display.

I pay the 30$.

10 days later… nothing. No email, no battery, no bike.

9 weeks without bike and still counting...

This is to be expected, you get what you pay for. Spark/Rize bikes are cheap because they don't budget for customer service/support. Clearly it wasn't a battery issue from the beginning so there was no need to send that in. Personally I would've just asked them to send me a replacement LCD and offer to pay for it, that'll reduce delays in diagnostics etc.

 

[HKPolice]

I disagree.

Other cheap bikes, or more of budget conscious brands like Rad Power, Amego, Juiced, Surface 604, Eunorau, Voltbike, etc... they all have similar business model; Selling ebikes online.

When Rad Power bikes have problems, they do actually respond to their customers in timely manner and take care of issues.

If I was buying ebikes from Alibaba / AliExpress, yeah those are more like China direct, without including "middle man" (aka North American brand) no you can't expect too much customer care, but if I was buying an ebike from North American brand, I'd expect actual customer care.

I have never seen people saying "Oh, you bought a Rad Power and they don't respond to you? Those are cheap bikes, you get what you paid for"
Anyways, I don't think that's a good excuse for not responding.

The brands you mentioned all sell for at least $2000 CAD, spark bikes were going for $1200-1500 during their clearance sale last year.

Spark bikes is also the new kid on the block compared to the established brands you mentioned. Anyone expecting actual customer service from a start up with the lowest price is delusional.

Granted, Rize bike pricing isn't much cheaper than competing brands now so there is no reason to choose them today.

 

[HKPolice]

The Rad Power just had $1399 Canadian ($999 US) sale on Rad Rover, Rad Mini, Rad Mini Step Thru, and Rad City for 2019 models.
I don't think Spark's clearance prices were any better.

As you mentioned, Rize's prices aren't THAT much different than any other brands.

Rize Mini - $1899
Rad Mini - $1999

Rize Leisure - $1999
Rad Rover - $1999

Although prices are pretty much the same, Rize tend to have 16Ah battery (optional 19.2Ah / hydraulic brakes for added price) instead of 14Ah on Rad.

Yes I'm aware of the rad sale but even then, spark bikes offered more bang for buck.

For $1400, Rad bikes offered 14AH batteries, 40nm direct drive hub motors & mechanical disc brakes.
For $1500 spark bikes offered 17AH batts, 65nm geared motors & hydraulic brakes.
For $1200 spark bikes offered 13AH batts, 65nm geared motors & mechanical brakes, a full $200 cheaper than Rad.

I've ridden on a 45nm geared hub motor before (bafang swx02) and it really struggled on moderate hills, requiring a lot of pedaling to maintain speed. Rad's direct drive hub is even worse since it has no gearing to multiply torque and is only rated for 40nm. The ebike I rode also had mechanical disc brakes which while adequate for stopping the bike, requires a lot more squeezing force from your hands especially since ebikes weigh a good 20-30lbs more than a regular bike. Hydraulic brakes make a huge difference in both braking feel & stopping power.

Personally I wouldn't even consider Rad bikes as a good buy even @ $1400 due to the lack of hydraulic brakes and/or weaker hub motor. Their only upside is good customer support.

 

[antboy]

I bought a brand new Spark City Nov. 2019.

3 weeks later, i lost autonomy day-by-day + i cannot shut down the bike unless i remove the battery, or it will not reboot.

5 weeks later and the bike is dead. Full battery but lcd display indicate zero, so, no motor !

9 weeks without bike and still counting...

Sucks about your customer service experience.

Just out of curiosity, did you try opening up the housing where the controller is (behind the crankshaft on the City IIRC) and check/reseat all the connections?

While my Spark Mini was fine in this regard, I did what I could to reduce moisture ingress to the housing since I planned on doing winter riding. There was an extra connector (not sure what it was for) so I sealed it off as well.

 

[Grump010]

This customer service issue should be in it's own thread, there is important information for present and future customers that is otherwise buried in a name change thread.

 

[Ericsuave]

This story is definitely concerning. I'm still deciding what bike to buy, and this isn't good. Btw, is it you that has been making comments about your dead bike on all of the Spark YouTube reviews?

Yes it's me on you tube review. I receive my new component and the problem persist. Now 11 weeks without motor and for how long ?

 

[Ericsuave]

Sucks about your customer service experience.

Just out of curiosity, did you try opening up the housing where the controller is (behind the crankshaft on the City IIRC) and check/reseat all the connections?

While my Spark Mini was fine in this regard, I did what I could to reduce moisture ingress to the housing since I planned on doing winter riding. There was an extra connector (not sure what it was for) so I sealed it off as well.

 

[Ericsuave]

Of course i have check all connectors. The extra one (blue) is for programming.

 

[Roy777]

I bought a brand new Spark City Nov. 2019.

3 weeks later, i lost autonomy day-by-day + i cannot shut down the bike unless i remove the battery, or it will not reboot.

5 weeks later and the bike is dead. Full battery but lcd display indicate zero, so, no motor !
____________
Mid December : email for support (week zero).
Email back and forth (no faster than once a week).

After 5 weeks of email they asked for my battery for testing.

After 7 weeks they want me to pay for sending me back my battery (she's fine) and they will include a new lcd display.

I pay the 30$.

10 days later… nothing. No email, no battery, no bike.

9 weeks without bike and still counting...

I have had something similar; but so far it has only been a week; so far they've been alright-now I'm just waiting for a new battery-will keep posting and you can judge for yourself

 

[bigwhitey]

I have had something similar; but so far it has only been a week; so far they've been alright-now I'm just waiting for a new battery-will keep posting and you can judge for yourself

I'd love to know what ended up happening with Eric's bike.

 

[Roy777]

Since I last posted on Saturday; yesterday I received an update Rize bikes and a tracking number from courier-My new battery is on the way. To me seems like pretty good service