Electric bikes spare parts and support

[Canardly]

I am considering buying an electric bike as I am not getting any younger. They are not cheap and yet I am coming across examples of poor customer support, together with a lack of spares availability from some manufacturers. This seems to suggest box shifting is all that counts for these manufacturers.  Does the panel have any thoughts as to any EV brands which do not exhibit poor customer service and are worthy of my attention? I am thinking of a hybrid somewhere around the £2.5k mark.

[L CC]

I have had excellent after sales service from Infinity Cycles. I don't know how much of that is the shop and how much is Specialized.
I paid more than your budget though.
Do you have an LBS who is trusted and does ebikes?

[Canardly]

Yes we have Rutland cycles just up the road and also a very good bike mech nearby. I see that Spesh have stated that parts will be available for a minimum of 10 years for the Vado. Worth a look at perhaps. Tredz have them on offer atm.

[Kim]

A mainstream system from the likes of Bosch or Shimano probably helps.  It'll still become obsolete at tech speed, but hopefully there will be enough of them in the wild that a sufficiently determined dealer might be able to scrounge up parts from somewhere...

[Canardly]

Seems I might have to review the budget a tad. 

[JenM]

Spoke and Motor in Bury St Edmunds have a really good reputation for the bike they sell, advice and willingness to send you off on test rides. Without looking I don't know if their bikes fit in your price bracket. Think that Wowbahger bought his bike from BSE.

[Canardly]

Thanks Jen will have a look. Shame that Farrad don't seem to make an electric bike. Beginning to focus on this.....
https://www.rutlandcycling.com/electric-bikes/electric-hybrid-bikes/crossbar-hybrid-bikes/specialized-turbo-vado-4.0-2022-aluminium-electric-hybrid-bike/95022-540.html
My first house mortgage was £4500.

[hubner]

I got my ebike from Decathlon. I think they say spare parts are available for 10 years, or was it 5?

Anyhow they replaced the charger under warranty after one and a half year, no questions asked.

[L CC]

Thanks Jen will have a look. Shame that Farrad don't seem to make an electric bike. Beginning to focus on this.....
https://www.rutlandcycling.com/electric-bikes/electric-hybrid-bikes/crossbar-hybrid-bikes/specialized-turbo-vado-4.0-2022-aluminium-electric-hybrid-bike/95022-540.html
My first house mortgage was £4500.

You're paying a lot for the additional battery vs the vado 3. Do you need that extra range?

(I have nothing bad to say about mine - it's an SL 4 EQ)

[Canardly]

Would be very interested in an SL but the battery is non removable thinks.

[L CC]

Sort of correct.
I can't think of an occasion when I would want to remove it but it can be taken out with screwdrivers etc.

[Wowbagger]

I did buy my R & M from Spoke & Motor.

Have you had a word with our mutual fiend Pat Hart, from just down the road from you? He and his missus each ride pretty decent e-bikes. I'm sure he'd share his expertise. He's been riding an e-bike for a lot longer than I have. He did tell me the make once and I recall thinking it seemed pretty good, but I can't recall what it was.

I would think that a removable battery is a good idea if you want to do a multi-day tour. A B & B or a campsite would find it much easier to charge the battery off the bike than on it. I did a ride with Jane last year in which I removed the battery and topped it up whilst we ate our lunch. I didn't need the electrons but wanted to see what the pub staff's attitude was. They were perfectly agreeable. (The Hare, Long Melford).

[Paul H]

Do try and get some test rides, I found there was more difference between motors than there was between the other attributes of the hybrid style bikes I was looking at.  Whilst I was looking, a couple of years ago, Bosch upgraded their CX line via software from 70 something Nm to 85, it made a huge difference for my use (Urban deliveries) so much so that I decided on that motor before the bike.

[T42]

I would think that a removable battery is a good idea...

That.  No matter how new they may be, I don't like charging lithium-based batteries where I can't see them.

[quixoticgeek]

Sort of correct.
I can't think of an occasion when I would want to remove it but it can be taken out with screwdrivers etc.

Depends where you're using the bike, and what your charging options are.

Staying in a hotel with a bike store in the basement, but you have to take the battery to your room to charge?

Live in an apartment and can't carry the bike up 4 sets of stairs?

Being able to take the battery to the charger is a very useful feature.

J

[robgul]

Sort of correct.
I can't think of an occasion when I would want to remove it but it can be taken out with screwdrivers etc.

Depends where you're using the bike, and what your charging options are.

Staying in a hotel with a bike store in the basement, but you have to take the battery to your room to charge?

Live in an apartment and can't carry the bike up 4 sets of stairs?

Being able to take the battery to the charger is a very useful feature.

J

I had an Orbea Gain with integrated battery (saved weight for the bike but a PITA to charge in situ) - now have a Fazua motored machine with removable battery - much more convenient (and I'm saving up for a second battery when they become available again)

[hubner]

I think the main reason for a non-removable battery is so that the bike doesn't look like an ebike. That would be the stripped down sporty type of ebike, sensible bikes have the ideal place on top of the rear rack to mount the battery.

If you lock your ebike in the street for more than a few minutes, it's best to remove the battery.

[L CC]

My e-bike is a car replacement for utility rides. It always comes home at night. I see other people might need a removable battery, but as I said, I can't see when *I* would want a removable battery.
In the vanishingly unlikely circumstance I was touring (my knees will never let me camp again), I'd be on a muscle-bike.
I think the risk of a battery being nicked outside the pool in Stanley or Consett would put me off anyway.

[Canardly]

I hear that Specialized have taken ownership of Rutland Cycles. Not that surprising given the location of the huge Giant Store at Rutland Water.