Well ebike risk takers I took the plunge and purchased a Jet Performance Ebike from Volition
https://volitionebike.com/product/jet-electric-bike-bafang-australia/ after doing a lot of research and they seemed to have the best fit for me. I’ve been riding it now for about 3 weeks, here’s my initial report, I also intend doing YouTube reviews. Firstly the customer service after sales support has been poor in my opinion. They don’t take phone calls and dealing with them via email has been less than adequate. The bike is pretty good, though some of the bolts have already started to rust, I would have thought if I’m spending over Aus$7K on a bike, you would at least expect stainless steel fittings. The main issue has been power consumption. I was told based on the average weight of a male in Australia of between 70-80 kilos by them which is incorrect, the average weight of a man in aust is 87kilos, I’m 105kilos, I should expect to get between 30-50kms on sports mode from my 21amp 48volt battery with the 1000 -1500w nominal bafang ultra motor drawing around 30amps. I’m getting about 15kms in sports mode before the motors starts significantly reducing in power to conserve itself. In an attempt to work with Volition on a dual battery solution, they’re telling me I can’t set up dual batteries because a second battery physically won’t fit anywhere, which is not true as there’s room on the rear rack or the void under the cross bar and I should buy another battery and just carry it in my rear paneer bag. I mean seriously, is that all they can come up with in this day and age, that just seems naff. Currently it’s like having a Ferrari I have to drive like a hyundai to conserve power so I can get a decent distance out of my ride, my work ride is 25kms each way, so I have to be very considered with my power management instead of just enjoying my ride. While I appreciate a dual battery set up has its challenges, I just don’t get why Volition won’t work with me to come up with a better solution than that. Violition go on to say if I go else where to seek a 3rd party battery solution I’ll void my warranty, keeping in mind I’m 5000kms from their shop! They just seem obstinate about this issue and won’t answer my questions. I’m hoping they will put on their customer focus hat at some point and at least be easier to deal with. So their bad reviews about their customer service unfortunately has come to pass for me so far. Other than that the bike is very nice to ride, the one size fits all frame is a bit small for me, I’m 180cm, so I’m going to get a post riser and thinking about a Jones bar for handle bars. If I’m stuck with having to contemplate carrying a second battery, I’m thinking of holding it in a front handle bar bag to keep the weight down on the rear so I can still carry things. It’s a belt drive which is nice, no greasy chains and rear cassettes you have to change every 2 months. It has a 7 speed internal Alphine gears, which are smooth enough, but a little inadequate at higher speeds, I’m looking at replacing this with a Rolhoff 14 speed internal hub. I’d also love to upgrade the motor to Wattwagons X1 controller which might help with my power issues too, but these upgrades will be very expensive adding another 5k at least, to the 8k Ive already spent on the bike! If I’m spend that sort of money, perhaps I could have gone straight to Wattswagons and got everything I wanted from them, arguably a better product, but that an international purchase then with customs issues to consider etc. Also equally I've found Wattswagons to not be very responsive when contacting them with questions. What is it with bike shops and their shabby customer service, I’ve found common across many bike shops. I dont find this issue generally dealing with other businesses, those thinking it’s just me being a pain. Sorry Volition, but over this battery issue, you've been very difficult to deal with, when I just want help, not more problems placed in front of me or not answering questions or providing me with out of the box solutions. Will keep you posted how things progress.