I purchased an ASB-EB-31 from the Suzhou Ansbern Sports Co., Ltd.
Bafang G510 Ultra Max Mid Motor 1000W
48V 17ah Samsun Cell
Gates CDX Belt
Sturmey-Archer 5 speed
BUT - BE WARNED: STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!
Here’s why.
Airfreight delivery was supposed to be 3 weeks – the bike took 12 weeks to arrive.
On arrival, the first thing I noticed was that the RST Renegade front fork was damaged. I contacted Tony Wong from Suzhou who kept saying that they will speak to their “engineer”. Nothing happened. I eventually sourced spare parts from RST Germany. (I live in Canada.) I repaired the fork and on the first test ride noticed that the 5-speed Sturmey-Archer RSX-RK5 gears were slipping. Once again I got no response from Suzhou so I contacted Sunrace USA. Their technical person said that it sounded like the gears were broken.
I managed to make contact with Lily Qui, the sales director and founder of Suzhou. That was back in August 2020. All they say is that they will speak to their “engineer” and that’s all you hear from them. When I suggested that they honour their warranty and send me a replacement wheel and hub and I would return the damaged one, they stopped all communication.
By the way, the bike does not come with mudguards. I ordered and paid for them, then they told me that they can’t fit them to the bike – to date I have not received a refund. That’s who you are dealing with. Also don’t think that you are protected by Alibaba, you are not. Alibaba is there to protect the seller. Trust me I learnt that the hard way!
My take is that Suzhou Ansbern Sports Co., Ltd. are “drop shippers”, who probably operate from their apartment, and not a bicycle manufacturer as they make out to be.
I thought that I was being smart by “going direct” but honestly, it’s been heartache since day 1. My suggestion is – do yourself a favour, pay the premium, and buy locally from a reputable dealer and stay away from Alibaba – you don’t know who you are dealing with and like me you could be taken for a ride (excuse the pun) by charlatans like the Suzhou Ansbern Sports Co., Ltd.