George S.
Well-Known Member
Some one posted this in the Currie Forum, but it has a general interest:
I was thinking of getting the 2015 Path at a local dealer and called them today,
they said they were getting out of the E bike business not because of the bikes, they are getting better
every year, but because it is hard to find a bike mechanic who can work on the electrical, wiring etc.
So who would buy an E bike if there is not a dealer within a 200 mile radius?
It seems to me this is really a European thing, the Accel/Currie stuff, and their 63 other brands. You start making bikes with mid-drives and auto-shift, it gets complicated, and there are more parts, more electronics. People say the Stromer was a revelation, but surely there was a cost in terms of problems and finding people, on the ground, to fix problems. When the marketing says "Latest and greatest" the reality is that no one in most of the country will be able to fix it.
If you look at the two solid kits, the MAC and the BBS02, they are pretty simple. There are parts you can replace, but anyone with some time and motivation can probably do the repairs. At the same time, the prices are so much lower, you can almost own a 'spare' motor and then deal with the problem on the failed component.
People have problems with battery connections. Kits are completely accessible. If the controller fails, lay down $70 for a new one. That will be the labor on a bike from the big boys. My controller is right there, and all the connections are plugs. Batteries are the worst thing in ebikes. You can find options that are low cost, but there are going to be negatives. But again, if someone is committed, there are options. If you are just buying a pack it's obvious what the connections are. There are various ways to attach a battery to an ebike. Yeah, a fancy integrated frame is nice, but then you are stuck with a special pack that costs what it costs.
People endlessly gripe about the Sondors bike. But, it's simple. It isn't a kit, but it is similar. There is a community to help on anything that goes wrong. Hopefully, there will be parts. I hope the Sondors is a bike people can ride and when the time comes to move on, sell for a reasonable price. In general, frames don't fall apart and motors don't fail.
The Eurobike contingent increasingly seems to want to offer a luxury product, or a high margin product. Speed, styling and status. Very appealing stuff. The goal, however, is to get people riding ebikes. CF is strained. Building a kit is probably where the long term value is. Just knowing a little bit about a bike, and keeping it simple, makes it so much easier as you put a few thousand miles on the bike.
In the end, it wasn't the year of the Stromer. It was the year of the Storm. Simplicity won. Really, Europe lost.
I was thinking of getting the 2015 Path at a local dealer and called them today,
they said they were getting out of the E bike business not because of the bikes, they are getting better
every year, but because it is hard to find a bike mechanic who can work on the electrical, wiring etc.
So who would buy an E bike if there is not a dealer within a 200 mile radius?
It seems to me this is really a European thing, the Accel/Currie stuff, and their 63 other brands. You start making bikes with mid-drives and auto-shift, it gets complicated, and there are more parts, more electronics. People say the Stromer was a revelation, but surely there was a cost in terms of problems and finding people, on the ground, to fix problems. When the marketing says "Latest and greatest" the reality is that no one in most of the country will be able to fix it.
If you look at the two solid kits, the MAC and the BBS02, they are pretty simple. There are parts you can replace, but anyone with some time and motivation can probably do the repairs. At the same time, the prices are so much lower, you can almost own a 'spare' motor and then deal with the problem on the failed component.
People have problems with battery connections. Kits are completely accessible. If the controller fails, lay down $70 for a new one. That will be the labor on a bike from the big boys. My controller is right there, and all the connections are plugs. Batteries are the worst thing in ebikes. You can find options that are low cost, but there are going to be negatives. But again, if someone is committed, there are options. If you are just buying a pack it's obvious what the connections are. There are various ways to attach a battery to an ebike. Yeah, a fancy integrated frame is nice, but then you are stuck with a special pack that costs what it costs.
People endlessly gripe about the Sondors bike. But, it's simple. It isn't a kit, but it is similar. There is a community to help on anything that goes wrong. Hopefully, there will be parts. I hope the Sondors is a bike people can ride and when the time comes to move on, sell for a reasonable price. In general, frames don't fall apart and motors don't fail.
The Eurobike contingent increasingly seems to want to offer a luxury product, or a high margin product. Speed, styling and status. Very appealing stuff. The goal, however, is to get people riding ebikes. CF is strained. Building a kit is probably where the long term value is. Just knowing a little bit about a bike, and keeping it simple, makes it so much easier as you put a few thousand miles on the bike.
In the end, it wasn't the year of the Stromer. It was the year of the Storm. Simplicity won. Really, Europe lost.
