The Sondors Bike is Unravelling a Bit

[JRA]

It is prominent on the campaign bike also.

 

[Brambor]

wow. I did not even register that. Amateur hour.

 

[EULITTLB]

Business as usual
Lol


You’ve Received a Campaign Update!
Hello Ian,

Here’s an update for you from the ‘Sondors Electric Bike’ team:

1 new Announcement:



Storm is back with the manufacturing team in China and has an awesome update on the Sondors eBike production!

From Storm: I’m very excited to share several images from the battery box molds (cavity and core) being machined at the tool shop from early last week.

What’s Next?

When the machining is completed the tools will be polished and engineering pilot parts will be evaluated. When the parts are approved the molds will be delivered to the factory for production.

The tools have been machined with CNC machining process. First production parts will be ready for evaluation and approval soon!

Visit the ‘Sondors Electric Bike’ campaign.

Comment on or view this announcement here.

Respond directly to the campaign owner here.

Help spread the word about the campaign!

Note: To stop receiving updates from Sondors Electric Bike, click here.

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[George S.]

My thought on this is that there will be a HUGE reckoning at IGG, and other crowdfunding sites. IGG is breaking numerous consumer laws by pretending that taking customers' money and then calling them "backers" exempts them from retail and consumer laws. What IGG is really doing is marketplace retailing, just like Amazon, ebay or Aliexpress. They should be subject to the same rules, and there should be strict limits set on whose products they can market, and when the customer's money changes hands (how about "not until the vendor can prove they have the product as advertised, ready to ship"). This premeditated fraud of thousands of customers is going to hit the media bigtime, and then there will be public outrage and regulatory fallout.

I suspect that when they all realized what a windfall they had scored, IGG, Ivars and 2.0 all decided they wanted a bigger cut. "Absolute wealth corrupts absolutely". Perhaps if Ivars et al had been denied access to all funds except what's needed to manufacture and deliver the product, we wouldn't be seeing this avaricious infighting. Instead, a huge pile of our money is being squandered on lawyers by greedy vultures, as if it were a rotting carcass. Nothing will be left for customers but the bones, unless we hire lawyers ourselves and join in the fray.

I guess when CF's work they work, but the percentages are not great, especially for IGG. Storm has the money and he is not saying much. The last time I checked, a civil trial in that part of California could take 1 to 5 years to get on a calendar. About 97% are settled, but filing gets everybody's attention.

If Storm is on the lam, I would not recommend China. They have tremendous problems with corruption and fraud. I think they use capital punishment liberally right after trial.

Storm might be buying time to get to Brazil or he might be hard at work building up gosondors into a real ebike company. Maybe he will hire Phil and Bruce. Three months later there are better bikes run by better qualified people, even on IGG. I'm bored. There must be a more interesting story than this, out there. I hope you get your bike and that it is about what they said.

 

[Brambor]

this is the biggest knock against crowdfunding that I could think of. By the time you get your stuff (if you ever do) there are better competing products out there already.

 

[pxpaulx]

this is the biggest knock against crowdfunding that I could think of. By the time you get your stuff (if you ever do) there are better competing products out there already.

The first run of Radrover bikes is slated for delivery at the end of June - not only that, but I don't have to pay the balance (I got in relatively early and only put $599 down) until it the bike is built and ready to ship. I do still hope everyone that contributed to the Storm campaign gets their bikes without delay from the civil suit.

 

[EULITTLB]

Er.... BMW Cruise ebike? I mean Radrover

 

[EULITTLB]

The first run of Radrover bikes is slated for delivery at the end of June - not only that, but I don't have to pay the balance (I got in relatively early and only put $599 down) until it the bike is built and ready to ship. I do still hope everyone that contributed to the Storm campaign gets their bikes without delay from the civil suit.

I agree but Agency 2.0 aren't suing for $10,000 are they? They want their big fat piece of pie which I accept they are entitled to given the amount of money raised on the basis of a single bike, false claims and exaggerations.

Sondors hasn't taken their chunk into consideration so what impact does this have on the costs and profits that Ivars hoped to make? Clearly a big impact, there is no money in a $499 ebike built to any standard anyway, the cost of the battery will be significant too.

 

[pxpaulx]

I agree but Agency 2.0 aren't suing for $10,000 are they? They want their big fat piece of pie which I accept they are entitled to given the amount of money raised on the basis of a single bike, false claims and exaggerations.

Sondors hasn't taken their chunk into consideration so what impact does this have on the costs and profits that Ivars hoped to make? Clearly a big impact, there is no money in a $499 ebike built to any standard anyway, the cost of the battery will be significant too.

I would bet 2.0 offered to work on the campaign for either a flat rate or a % of the sales (or combination thereof) - Sondors probably went with the % of sales assuming it would be a lower out of pocket - now that they sold likely way beyond expectation, that % rate might have hurt in his pocket a bit too much to fork over. It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out.

 

[EULITTLB]

If it contractually agreed, there is nothing Sondors can do about it in a Court of Law. If there was a % of sales agreed, it should have had a minimum figure to be paid and a maximum ceiling, but then there would be no incentive for Agency 2.0 to keep driving the campaign for Ivars.

I can see a big fat chunk of pledgers funds legally due to Agency 2.0, no contest at all.

 

[EULITTLB]

...how did I miss this? $50 for the extra battery "shipping perk" - lol how can shipping be a "perk" when it clearly isn't? It is a service, and the sale of the bike that may never be is retail, therefore taxes and duties are due - the Lawsuit will certainly rouse the attention of the relevant authorities.

To quote Flathill from endless sphere......

Agency 2.0 is getting paid in cash. This lawsuit is a setup so they can claim plausible deniability. It "proves" they had no knowledge this was a fraud all along since they got scammed also (nonpaymemt claim).

The reason Ivars went to China and bought some tooling was to provide receipts/proof during his visit to Indiegogo so they would unlock the rest of the cash in the paypal account. Now that the account is no longer frozen the cash is already offshore and will never be recovered. Now he is a legend. Way to go man!

 

[J.R.]

For any SS backers here on EBR, is anyone considering a purchase of the insurance while it's still available? Can a real contract insurance policy be purchased? Or is it just that 15 word "perk" that can be purchased? If you can purchase real insurance for $120 on $900+, may be worth it....

 

[EULITTLB]

This story has more twists and turns than....... a story with more twists and turns. Note that the Opel logo has been removed! Who is doing the Campaign promotion now, surely not Agency 2.0?

I don't see any reflectors on the wheels or side-illumination but this is just nit-picking, probably just the same old trusty bike buffed up with cardboard around the forks.

Note to Chinese contacts, make sure you get paid first!!!

11 minutes ago
Hi Sondors eBike Backers … get excited! Storm just emailed over this photo from the factory floor of the first production bike! This is the completed bike for Storm to test, give feedback to the manufacturing team and approve for the final run.

Make sure to spread the good news! Use hashtag #GoSondors

Storm Sondors

 

[J.R.]

I don't think it's the old bike, compare the rim-strips (color) in the rim cutouts.

 

[pxpaulx]

Well that is encouraging for those who contributed. Definitely looks like there are a bunch of actual sondors bikes in the near background as well. I doubt it will live up to all the claims, but I'm glad to see the actual bikes for those who contributed.

 

[J.R.]

The bike on the stand with the two workers can't be a Sondors. They wouldn't mount the battery on the down tube then remove and reinstall into a battery-box.

 

[EULITTLB]

@Bruce Choate - why does this Journo claim that the fat tyres on the Ivars ebike won't help the mileage - surely he knows nothing about ebikes like me, I am going to pass him your details so you can correct him and educate him about all things ebikes ok? BTW You are kinda quiet lately....

http://www.afr.com/technology/storm-clouds-keep-gathering-above-sondors-ebike-20150422-1mqhep

 

[pxpaulx]

I don't think it's the old bike, compare the rim-strips (color) in the rim cutouts.

The front disc is also a different cutout pattern.

 

[J.R.]

Pedals and seats generally aren't installed at the factory level either.

 

[EULITTLB]

Relatively easy to swap these pieces out, this Campaign is founded on deception remember - what does that picture prove? Nothing.... but it is impressive. I am using a fairly powerful piece of software that analyses photos and allows you to see to the rear of subjects, I can see the usual characters hanging out of Storms backside but also a copy of the Lawsuit in his back pocket......