Who is , or will be , the Dell of ebikes ?
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motostrano
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why does that matter?
mrgold35
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I matters to me because I would like to know who has the resources, innovation, capital, standardization, technology, and flexibility to drive ebikes and components forward while bringing down prices. I don't want to invest in an ebike that is crowd funded and non-existent later with proprietary parts that make the ebike useless when parts start to fail. I want ebikes to become as mainstream and normal as internet, smartphone, HDTV, and personal computers are now days.
Having the "Dell of ebike" with a marketing campaign and plenty of $$$ can make ebike ownership with supporting bike/ebike rules and infrastructure as common as cars/SUVs are now.
Having the "Dell of ebike" with a marketing campaign and plenty of $$$ can make ebike ownership with supporting bike/ebike rules and infrastructure as common as cars/SUVs are now.
WilliamT
Active Member
My vote would be for Luna Cycles. There are plenty of bikes to choose from and you get to pick what you want on the bike. Most places either sell pre-built bikes or just the kit. They don't do both.
At the same time, they sell e-bikes at reasonable prices and have lowered the prices of their kits as the product matures.
At the same time, they sell e-bikes at reasonable prices and have lowered the prices of their kits as the product matures.
Is this even possible in the US at the moment? Unlike Asia and Europe where bikes are actually seen as a legitimate means of transportation most of what I've seen in the States is that biking is seen more as a recreational activity with only a tiny number (relatively speaking) of users. This isn't just limited to ebikes, when I ride a bike in my small town for every 5 persons who actually seem to be using their bikes to go to the market or work or whatever there seem to be 15 bikers riding high-end road bikes with the spandex getup which I just can't see being apoted by non-entusiasts. Even in places like Washington DC and Portland that are seen as super-bike friendly the number of bikers you see are a very small number compared to car users. So long as gas costs are so low here and the use of cars so high what little infrastructure there is for bikes seems to be, at best, an afterthought. Hopefully I'm totally wrong but seeing how the bikes that are talked about the most are high priced, very top of the line bikes it seems that the bike makers are looking to become the next Ferrari and not too concerned about building the next Toyota Corolla.
Denis Shelston
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I don't think there is a Michael Dell for E-bikes currently. Not in the US or Canada.
North America, that is US and Canada, has this passion for cars like no other place in the world. It is a constant struggle with all levels of government to have anything to do with bicycles recognized. We have not embrassed trains either. I would bet dollars for donuts that E-bikes will be the centre of many heated discussions in city halls over the next years. Should we allow or should we ban the E-bike, does it have pedals? does it have a throttle? etc.
If anything, there could be a knight in shining armour, on his white E-bike in Europe or Asia . They accept cycling as a true form of transportation, truly. Let's hope we get an E-bikewagen of sorts, priced right. There is a market there, socially acceptable.
North America, that is US and Canada, has this passion for cars like no other place in the world. It is a constant struggle with all levels of government to have anything to do with bicycles recognized. We have not embrassed trains either. I would bet dollars for donuts that E-bikes will be the centre of many heated discussions in city halls over the next years. Should we allow or should we ban the E-bike, does it have pedals? does it have a throttle? etc.
If anything, there could be a knight in shining armour, on his white E-bike in Europe or Asia . They accept cycling as a true form of transportation, truly. Let's hope we get an E-bikewagen of sorts, priced right. There is a market there, socially acceptable.
Dewey
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Eric Hicks (Luna Cycle) has a list of his personal favorite ebike influencers who are not ebike company owners. Several people not on the list who do own ebike businesses or provide services are also mentioned in the comments including Court Rye. This is a North America focused list but the next Michael Dell is surely going to be some nameless executive in an Asian ebike manufacturing company. If you want a list of North American ebike resellers/assemblers who are committed to making ebikes affordable you might include from the US Tora Harris (Juiced), Mike Radenbaugh (RadPower), Storm Sondors, Jason Kraft (Electric Bike Technologies), and from Canada George Krastev (Voltbike), Gary Salo (Golden Motor Canada), Justin LeMire-Elmore (ebikes.ca), Roshan Thomas (Biktrix), also a bunch of other worthy individuals.
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jazz
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Sondors has arguably had the most success in the past couple of years and continues to release new models. He's designs are fairly unique though basic and the price is right. Most of the others mentioned in the post above me like Biktrix, Volt, Rad, Tao sell good ebikes but they are mostly rebadged off-the-shelf bikes that look the same.
If Sondors can pull off the electric car he's building, he will be at another level
If Sondors can pull off the electric car he's building, he will be at another level
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I think the lesson is software, and it's commonality across different lines. Dell was made possible because there was first a stable, widely accepted operating system. Microsoft Windows enabled many hardware vendors to reach a wide market at ever increasing bang for the buck. Once you get past the operating system and applications (software) it boils down to the integration of hardware.
About the closest approximation I currently see in the e-bike market is the Bosch system. True, they provide not only the software (firmware) but the core gear motor and related controls. They, like Microsoft, act as gatekeepers to their system, and allow few, if any, customization to the core elements. Beyond that, however, you can couple any number of derailleurs, IGH's, brakes, lights, etc to attach to your customized frame made of various materials. One might mention Brose here, but their very liberal allowance of manufacturer customization will only dilute the brand, thus keeping it from ever becoming another Dell.
About the closest approximation I currently see in the e-bike market is the Bosch system. True, they provide not only the software (firmware) but the core gear motor and related controls. They, like Microsoft, act as gatekeepers to their system, and allow few, if any, customization to the core elements. Beyond that, however, you can couple any number of derailleurs, IGH's, brakes, lights, etc to attach to your customized frame made of various materials. One might mention Brose here, but their very liberal allowance of manufacturer customization will only dilute the brand, thus keeping it from ever becoming another Dell.
Dewey
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I'm interested to see when the North American market will get ebikes using the Bosch generation 3 Active Line Plus motor that is supposed to bring down prices.
Cameron Newland
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I think it's down to either Juiced Riders or Rad Power. Both are relatively small, but I imagine their growth rates are much higher than existing stalwarts like Haibike and Stromer, and considering that Juiced and Rad Power have adopted direct sales as their primary model (although Juiced also has a dealer network), I think Juiced Riders and Rad Power are the only disruptive innovators in the industry (when it comes to direct sales, at least).
Sondors might also qualify, however, I think they're more like the Walmart of ebikes, since their models are more bare-bones.
Sondors might also qualify, however, I think they're more like the Walmart of ebikes, since their models are more bare-bones.
rich c
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Sondors is really just an shipping company as well as I can tell. You order, you wait while China builds, they ship, something like a 1 or 2 person customer support, and a 30 day warranty. If it wasn't for the Facebook owner's page, they would only have about half the success. Sondors even tells people to subscribe to the Facebook page for help! How the hell will that work with a car? I can't imagine you will have people that want to troubleshoot their car like we have to do now on Facebook!
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George S.
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Sondors knows China and has cute designs. He has a car company and wants to raise 30 million for that. Raising money to get rich and get big is the Dell game. Rad is not controversial. They are easy for Wall Street to understand. They could raise money, among the companies under discussion. Wall Street does not want illegal stuff or weird management or weak management. Juiced is a nice operation but I don't know what they are doing with the HF. The guy that raises the money buys everyone else out, more or less. Or drives them out of business. So yes, it is a great question.
Denis Shelston
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Someone needs to get Elon Musk excited about E-bikes...
emco5
Active Member
Behemoth companies let small companies do the groundwork and pay the dues. Once the market has been established they step in and vaporize the little guys. Brands like Juiced and Rad, and dozens of others currently visible, are just worker ants in the game. Giant in Taiwan is a major bicycle fabricator who builds other labels worldwide. Trek is also a big player in the bicycle industry and now has 16 eBike variants in their line. When their bean counters see favorable income potential, expect them to dominate. The motorcycle industry is watching, too. If Honda ever gets the eBike bug, the whole marketing scene could change. Tesla could be a force, as well, but they have a lot of other irons in the fire and have cash flow problems.
Trek has an Active Line bike coming out soon , it’s not the Plus , it’s the basic Active Line with 400w battery .
Bike is priced at $2300 I think .
Dewey
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Interesting, Trek uses Shimano Steps for their lower priced ebikes, but the price range mentioned in the article from this years Taipei bike show suggested the new Active Line Plus ebikes could be in the $1,500-1,800 price range. It would be good to see Bosch and one of the big three selling in volume under two grand.
elyhim
Active Member
Trek used Shimano in 2015 which is why those bikes are discounted (I don't believe they use Shimano in 201718) Look at Europe for Treks 2018 line - 12 NEW E MTB MODELS. The big bicycle companies are doing really good things, have the infrastructure, have the technology. If you want cheap (the Walmart version) go with a new start-up. If you want a quality bicycle that will perform with the best of regular bicycles then check out the old school companies. I'm so glad I spent the money on a Full Suspension bicycle from a company that knows trail bikes.
Looks like Trek is dropping Shimano’s e-drive and stepping up it’s game with Bosch
I read that the Active Line is very quiet with a natural ride like a regular bicycle .
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