Sondors Ebike Review Now Live

[wa5]

A nice balanced review, The bike does look like a pretty good thing for the money. IF Sondors can deliver them all, he will have done pretty well indeed.

Court, hate to get on the bandwagon, but I'd like to see a straight up range test, without the sand, stopping and starting and junior guest reviewers. just a run along bike tracks till it rolled to a halt.

 

[Fofer]

Court, at 19:07 in the video review, you say you paid $250 for perk insurance.

Did you misspeak? Perk insurance for the Sondors eBike was $120.

http://techcrunch.com/2015/02/18/in...d-money-if-crowdfunded-project-does-not-ship/

 

[Fofer]

wa5, for a "straight up range test" check out this report: http://thebikethatchangedmylife.blogspot.com/2015/07/sondors-ebike-no-pedaling-range-test.html

 

[pxpaulx]

Court, not everyone is an ebike expert and astute observations of minor details can make a difference for sure. Glad you mentioned the importance of animals!!!! I think it is better that the more experienced sift through the details to get what they want out of a review and people such as myself aren't put off immediately with how many teeth they are running on sprockets, battery specs, tubing etc. but are eased in to a review.
Sondors bike is certainly reasonable value for money for those that have received them, however personally I doubt even 6-700 ebikes have been delivered.

I think you're probably wrong on the # of bikes delivered. There are between 250-300 plotted deliveries over at that ebikeforums.eu website - even if you could assume 50% of the people who received their bikes, you'd already be at the number you doubt. More than likely participation rate would be 20-25% at most on that secondary forum to the facebook owners page.

 

[JoePah]

Well done

I was in the first wave and happened to pick the Black/Yellow combo, so I received my bike last week and was pleasantly surprised. I've no e-bike experience and following the campaign (with a little skin in it) was a good diversion for the last 5 months. I have a road bike (cannondale R700) and a mountain bike (cannondale F600) and probably ride 1-2k miles a summer, trainer in the winter. Anyway, gave my money away to Indiegogo/Sondors on a complete whim, which was crazy because I never get sucked into these things, completely aware of the “too good to be true” rule. I’ve always spent money on bikes though, and have never regretted it, so I thought, what the hey. I thought of the commute to work being a bit easier.
So far, I prefer to pedal my road bike when I do commute (18 mi. each way), but would have no problem packing the charger and charging at work with no worries about range.
I've only ridden it about 4 times and only a couple miles, and at first was shocked at how easy it was to pedal without using the throttle. The weight and those huge tires? It was about as easy as my road bike, if not easier. Well, obviously, when I took it out again the second time, I turned off the controller and realized I was experiencing the pedal assist. It’s obvious now, because if you only turn the crank with very little human assist, the bike will begin to accelerate on its own. Being new to e-bikes, what a great feature.
Just this last weekend, my wife took it when I went on a quick 15 mile ride on my road bike and she primarily used the peddle assist and occasionally using the throttle and it really opened up a new option for us to get out together when exercising. She’s a runner, I’m a biker and we rarely exercise together, except when walking.
This whole campaign has really opened my eyes to the potential of e-bikes and can see myself buying another this summer, currently checking out the new Specialized road bike and the Easy Motion Neo.
Anyway, it was great to finally see Court’s review and really appreciated the honesty and even addressing some of the concerns regarding theoretical battery issues and the general use of inexpensive components.

But, like some of the other posters, I think missing the pedal assist (for whatever reason) really misses one of the primary features of the bike. Would it be possible for him (whenever convenient) to take another spin and evaluate how it works compared to the other bikes?

Well Done! You've described what most of us have come to appreciate about eBikes. A little bit of exercise and a lot of enjoyment from pedal assist.. You don't have to twist a throttle and the bike mulitplies your effort. The only downside to the Sondors is that the PAS is not adjustable (from what others have told me).. When Sondors starts selling the display LCD, it supposedly will allow for different assist levels.

I have a Stromer Elite, and I bet the difference in enjoyment between your $700 bike and my $3500 bike isn't worth it!

 

[Adrian]

I have a Stromer Elite, and I bet the difference in enjoyment between your $700 bike and my $3500 bike isn't worth it!

Yes, expensive bikes aren't worth it at all. We should all get rid of our overpriced Junkers and buy top quality, low end, single speed fatbikes with low power hub motors and batteries with a 15 mile range. Eventually, we'll even be able to pay extra to get an optional display that will let us adjust the PAS (assuming we're among the lucky ones that get one with PAS in the first place).

Lol

Sorry, I just couldn't resist.

 

[PowerMe]

Any ebike that gets the end user on the bike and pedaling and enjoying themselves is valuable, especially for those who have been sedentary. Cheap or expensive, the important thing is enjoying and moving forward.

 

[Bike_On]

not so fast. Court's reviews are usually short and to the point. This Sondors review was a departure. It is half an hour. I simply did not have the 30 minutes yesterday. I have a pretty busy life.

I think the review was extended because of all the pre-hype. I'm glad he did it. This bike made some claims that needed to be vetted.

 

[Adrian]

Any ebike that gets the end user on the bike and pedaling and enjoying themselves is valuable, especially for those who have been sedentary. Cheap or expensive, the important thing is enjoying and moving forward.

Absolutely, but to say (as JoePah did) that bikes more expensive than a Sondors aren't worth it because cheap bikes make people happy too is a little simplistic and disingenuous at best.

 

[JoePah]

Absolutely, but to say (as JoePah did) that bikes more expensive than a Sondors aren't worth it because cheap bikes make people happy too is a little simplistic and disingenuous at best.

Hope you aren't involved in retailing and marketing because you don't seem to understand the Sondors bike is a case of excellent perceived value.

What Sondors has done, which basically kicked all the eBike retailers between the legs, is to design a bike that is attractive to a younger crowd, and is therefore more attractive to the older crowd. Look at all the ebikes on EBR and 80% of them are just plain ugly, dorky, techy whatever.

And the effect is obvious: A very cheap eBike that people are proud to be seen on. And their enjoyment is clear.

My Stromer is a fine bike and I always get compliments on it.. Most people don't even know it's an eBike at first. It just looks impressive. The price doesn't bother me, and I plan on keeping it until there is something radically better.

I am mature enough not to look down my nose at cheap eBikes or the people that buy them.. And their enjoyment parallels mine, just for a lot less money.. That is value and what marketing is all about.

 

[Adrian]

Hope you aren't involved in retailing and marketing because you don't seem to understand the Sondors bike is a case of excellent perceived value.

What Sondors has done, which basically kicked all the eBike retailers between the legs, is to design a bike that is attractive to a younger crowd, and is therefore more attractive to the older crowd. Look at all the ebikes on EBR and 80% of them are just plain ugly, dorky, techy whatever.

And the effect is obvious: A very cheap eBike that people are proud to be seen on. And their enjoyment is clear.

My Stromer is a fine bike and I always get compliments on it.. Most people don't even know it's an eBike at first. It just looks impressive. The price doesn't bother me, and I plan on keeping it until there is something radically better.

I am mature enough not to look down my nose at cheap eBikes or the people that buy them.. And their enjoyment parallels mine, just for a lot less money.. That is value and what marketing is all about.

I fully understand what Sondors did. I also understand that inexpensive, low spec bikes have their place but, so do bikes with a higher spec. I think it's a certain person that's making out the Sondors' bike to be something that it isn't. Seriously, it just wouldn't cut it on my commute with my hills in the summer let alone in mid winter with snow on the ground.

Let's be realistic, the reason it's cheap is because it has a steel frame, cheap mechanical brakes, a cheap hub motor, and no gears among other things.

 

[Bike_On]

I fully understand what Sondors did. I also understand that inexpensive, low spec bikes have their place but, so do bikes with a higher spec. I think it's a certain person that's making out the Sondors' bike to be something that it isn't. Seriously, it just wouldn't cut it on my commute with my hills in the summer let alone in mid winter with snow on the ground.

Let's be realistic, the reason it's cheap is because it has a steel frame, cheap mechanical brakes, a cheap hub motor, and no gears among other things.

Double like and spot on! It is what it is, and that ain't much, but it's something!

 

[pxpaulx]

Absolutely, but to say (as JoePah did) that bikes more expensive than a Sondors aren't worth it because cheap bikes make people happy too is a little simplistic and disingenuous at best.

Perhaps simplistic, but hardly disingenuous - that would imply he was being insincere, which he was not! @JoePah has obviously already defended himself with a perfectly worded retort, but I just had to chime in on this one

 

[Ann M.]

I think the review was extended because of all the pre-hype. I'm glad he did it. This bike made some claims that needed to be vetted.

Folks, the review was extended by about 12 minutes beyond his usual video length to include the whole assembly process of Court's bike. (Sped up of, course since it took about 30 minutes or so to do) He notes at the beginning of the assembly portion how far to move forward in the video to bypass the assembly. Since there had been questions about what had to happen to build it, Court included frames showing the tech building his Sondors bike.

 

[pxpaulx]

Folks, the review was extended by about 12 minutes beyond his usual video length to include the whole assembly process of Court's bike. (Sped up of, course since it took about 30 minutes or so to do) He notes at the beginning of the assembly portion how far to move forward in the video to bypass the assembly. Since there had been questions about what had to happen to build it, Court included frames showing the tech building his Sondors bike.

I sort of get the point of doing that - but not everyone has the benefit of having an e-bike shop nearby to get their bike assembled. My point in stating that is many people order bikes online (both electric and non), and when any bike is shipped like so it requires assembly. Nothing that I saw done was any different than the three bikes I have assembled myself. I'm not knocking that he included it - because you can only get the Sondors bike direct delivered, actually I think it would have been helpful to include a full, real time video guide rather than a flight of the bumblebee-esque timelapse. The placement of that segment, and delivery of the how-to assembly aspect I don't think were delivered in as beneficial a way as it could have been.

Regarding the review in general, this is one bike that maybe was deserving of a bit more meat. @Court does a ton of reviews, and so in general I can understand the general go over, riding, experience and moving on aspect of what the reviews generally accomplish here. Maybe the next step for the website is a long term/ongoing section. Some of the bigger car review websites keep random cars around for long term testing, letting their employees drive them for periods and write their experiences, good and bad. I honestly can't think of a better bike to have started something like that with. A long term test would truly take the bike in for what it is. Let's face it, the review was overall pretty positive, but there was some hmming and hawing about the campaign itself in there too. That is obviously a fine line to have to walk, and I understand addressing it (would have liked that to be more brief I think, it did take away from the discussion of the bike itself just a little), but in the end most of us are here for the bikes. If the bike were around for a long term review, things like the PAS could have been properly addressed, along with other details of both praise and concern in the long term use of a bike at this price point.

I do hope some sensible owners step up with a positive attitude, come out of the shell of the owners group and join to give us an honest peek into their experience over the long haul (it seems some have, so I am holding out hope!).

 

[Ann M.]

Kinda have to mention the campaign, @pxpaulx since that has been a point of contention concerning the construct of this bike from the beginning. Please remember that Court did mention towards the end, that the long term view of the bike would need to be presented by owners (hopefully, they will choose to share on EBR). Unlike many other ebike reviews that Court does, there was no precedent Sondors bike to compare the newest version, thus no history of a bike. It takes a considerable budget to keep a lot of product & employees around and a consistent manner to measure performance for a long term view. I know Court would like to be able to do more extensive testing but he's pretty much a one person show wrt the testing and videos. It's a time consuming process that involves a lot of travel to get to the bikes, verify specs, shoot the video, write the review, find funding...etc. everything involved with running EBR; that's a lot on one plate!

 

[EULITTLB]

Trev, I simply do not believe there have been 5-6500 bikes delivered. I know zero bikes have been delivered to EU Customers/International Customers - the bikes is what it is, a decent cheap ebike which doesn't live up to the stated claims and never would. I am beginning to think that the numbers of sales have been inflated at the very least......... that US donators are happy with their bikes should not distract from the very evident flaws in this Campaign IMHO

 

[Admin]

Hey guys! Update, I was able to track down the Sondors and film more content on the pedal assist design here. Sorry for the limited understanding on my part during the first review. @Ann M. had joined the Sondors Facebook group a while back to catch up on how the bike was evolving but they kicked her off after a day or two unfortunately based on her involvement with the EBR forums. I hadn't been keeping up with their blog or other sources of info based in part on that negative experience and my own desire to come in without any preformed opinions. So I missed the cadence sensor announcement a few months back . I've missed stuff on other ebikes in the past and also misquoted my insurance price in the video, thanks @Fofer (I think I was mixed up with additional battery pricing perhaps?) I go into each review with many of the stats memorized as best I can to create a natural, smooth and efficient video as I explore and test them. I could definitely edit more, do voice overs and re-cut stuff but that would limit how many ebikes I could cover and I enjoy the feedback that is offered in comments and in the community when shared constructively. Anyway, I simply misunderstood the pedelec design and hope that this new video (which is linked in the review, updated on my first post in this thread and referenced in the original video) will help to clarify things.

If there's anything I've taken away from this experience it's that I appreciate manners. The way you say something is important and has an impact on how effectively the content of your message will be received. It's easy to type these lines and dots, perhaps forgetting that they can inspire or oppress a fellow person. I've tried to remember that when filming my videos and constructing my articles because I don't want to hurt feelings or polarize the space. Perhaps Storm and his team estimated the range of this bike at 30 to 50 miles based on the slower pedal assist feature? Perhaps the weight designation was just missed with all of the commotion of design, manufacture and shipping (just like I missed the pedelec sensor). Perhaps what I've admittedly viewed as misleading and hurtful marketing at times is actually more of a miscommunication or misunderstanding. I've spoken with Storm numerous times on the phone and once in person. I've shared ideas freely about how his new site could be designed, where to get help doing it, which accessories people might like and what concerns the community has as I perceive them and he has always been very polite and thankful. I'm happy for him and those who will get this or other electric bikes because they have the potential to improve health, independence and social interaction. In closing, I'd like to thank Arnold Schwarzenegger for being inspiring, Taylor Swift for being vulnerable and all of you for being engaged and involved here

 

[ebikedelight]

Hey guys! Update, I was able to track down the Sondors and film more content on the pedal assist design here. Sorry for the limited understanding on my part during the first review. @Ann M. had joined the Sondors Facebook group a while back to catch up on how the bike was evolving but they kicked her off after a day or two unfortunately based on her involvement with the EBR forums. I hadn't been keeping up with their blog or other sources of info based in part on that negative experience and my own desire to come in without any preformed opinions. So I missed the cadence sensor announcement a few months back . I've missed stuff on other ebikes in the past and also misquoted my insurance price in the video, thanks @Fofer (I think I was mixed up with additional battery pricing perhaps?) I go into each review with many of the stats memorized as best I can to create a natural, smooth and efficient video as I explore and test them. I could definitely edit more, do voice overs and re-cut stuff but that would limit how many ebikes I could cover and I enjoy the feedback that is offered in comments and in the community when shared constructively. Anyway, I simply misunderstood the pedelec design and hope that this new video (which is linked in the review, updated on my first post in this thread and referenced in the original video) will help to clarify things.

If there's anything I've taken away from this experience it's that I appreciate manners. The way you say something is important and has an impact on how effectively the content of your message will be received. It's easy to type these lines and dots, perhaps forgetting that they can inspire or oppress a fellow person. I've tried to remember that when filming my videos and constructing my articles because I don't want to hurt feelings or polarize the space. Perhaps Storm and his team estimated the range of this bike at 30 to 50 miles based on the slower pedal assist feature? Perhaps the weight designation was just missed with all of the commotion of design, manufacture and shipping (just like I missed the pedelec sensor). Perhaps what I've admittedly viewed as misleading and hurtful marketing at times is actually more of a miscommunication or misunderstanding. I've spoken with Storm numerous times on the phone and once in person. I've shared ideas freely about how his new site could be designed, where to get help doing it, which accessories people might like and what concerns the community has as I perceive them and he has always been very polite and thankful. I'm happy for him and those who will get this or other electric bikes because they have the potential to improve health, independence and social interaction. In closing, I'd like to thank Arnold Schwarzenegger for being inspiring, Taylor Swift for being vulnerable and all of you for being engaged and involved here

And as Ive said before, thank you for doing your ebike reviews...it is appreciated , but please consider restructuring the info you present in your videos , to outline the more important aspects of a ebike purchase from the start.....model, cost, motor power, battery capacity.......followed by the less important aspects like ..reflectors, horn, grips, bottle holder....

IMHO..this only makes logical sense because this is how almost any high ticket consumer item, is presented and sold to the public. When a person goes to buy a new car, the most important aspects are what is disclosed in the beginning.

 

[J.R.]

I don't think that's true! Sex sells, you sell the sex and then you say; oh he/she has B.O.!

And as Ive said before, thank you for doing your ebike reviews...it is appreciated , but please consider restructuring the info you present in your videos , to outline the more important aspects of a ebike purchase from the start.....model, cost, motor power, battery capacity.......followed by the less important aspects like ..reflectors, horn, grips, bottle holder....

IMHO..this only makes logical sense because this is how almost any high ticket consumer item, is presented and sold to the public. When a person goes to buy a new car, the most important aspects are what is disclosed in the beginning.