I am about to purchase an E-Bike but one of the concerns I have is that the make of bike (Ride 1 Up) are only sold online. In researching the company, I found them to have excellent reviews along with quality bikes. On a personal level, any email I sent to them was answered within minutes. I am very mechanically inclined so assembly and adjustments would be no problem. I'm hoping that other issues within the electronics of the bike will be able to be remedied online with their customer support. One of the LBS around who sell some better brand E-Bikes have a policy of not repairing an E-bike that they don't sell. I will do my homework and call other LBS to see their repair policies. I do feel more confident buying online knowing the company I am purchasing from will provide good support, but there is always some risk involved. Like most, I love getting good deals, but when it comes to a purchase like this, I would gladly pay a premium to buy locally but this particle bike does not give me that option. Any input would be appreciated.
RISK FACTOR OF BUYING AN E-BIKE ONLINE
- Thread starter wings02
- Start date
Dewey
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Arlington, Virginia
Might be worth posting in the Ride1Up brand forum here on EBR https://electricbikereview.com/forums/forum/ride1up/
Ask for owners opinions of troubleshooting, parts availability, etc.
To be fair even the big manufacturers change their model lines every few years, and the ebike world is volatile, for example the first generation Specialized Turbo ebikes used a hub motor from a company called GoSwissDrive. That company has now folded but Specialized built up a stock of parts to provide warranty support to owners for a few years.
I have a DIY Bafang kit motor made in 2013. The manufacturer changed the controller design in 2015 without telling their retailers, it was only because I bought it from a responsible company that kept a stock of spare parts stateside I was able to replace the controller in 2017. Those parts are all gone now and only available used so I bought a 2nd gen motor cheap to swap in when mine wears out.
When BionX went bust DIY genius Grin Tech posted a video showing how you could open the motor to change wiring to support generic controllers.
There are companies that will repack proprietary battery cases with new cells. I went with Bafang in part because they do not use proprietary battery packs and I can crimp on new power connectors and use any generic 36v pack.
That being said some companies have been able to keep earlier motors going through sheer size of distribution. You can buy 1st gen Bosch motor cores from Germany, they created a special power adapter so 1st gen owners could use chargers from their current inventory, I’m sure companies like Yamaha and Shimano will have similar migration strategies.
Ask for owners opinions of troubleshooting, parts availability, etc.
To be fair even the big manufacturers change their model lines every few years, and the ebike world is volatile, for example the first generation Specialized Turbo ebikes used a hub motor from a company called GoSwissDrive. That company has now folded but Specialized built up a stock of parts to provide warranty support to owners for a few years.
I have a DIY Bafang kit motor made in 2013. The manufacturer changed the controller design in 2015 without telling their retailers, it was only because I bought it from a responsible company that kept a stock of spare parts stateside I was able to replace the controller in 2017. Those parts are all gone now and only available used so I bought a 2nd gen motor cheap to swap in when mine wears out.
When BionX went bust DIY genius Grin Tech posted a video showing how you could open the motor to change wiring to support generic controllers.
There are companies that will repack proprietary battery cases with new cells. I went with Bafang in part because they do not use proprietary battery packs and I can crimp on new power connectors and use any generic 36v pack.
That being said some companies have been able to keep earlier motors going through sheer size of distribution. You can buy 1st gen Bosch motor cores from Germany, they created a special power adapter so 1st gen owners could use chargers from their current inventory, I’m sure companies like Yamaha and Shimano will have similar migration strategies.
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