Hi!

I plan to buy an e-bike (Specialized or Cube ) this season (I hope for a huge discount). Anyone know the best store for that?

One you can take it back to easily when (not if) you need warranty work.

Be sure to demand the huge discount from the outset too, let’s them know you are serious…

(I hope for a huge discount).

LBS with chocolate hobnobs should do the trick.

With an e bike you have to buy local! Every single manufacturer has problems with e bikes. Best have a shop you can easily take the bike into. Sometimes it worth spending that extra £100 or £200.

35% off enough?
https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/cube-stereo-hybrid-120-hpc-slt-500-zeroblack-771993

46%?
https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/focus-jam-c-plus-pro-912995

One you can take it back to easily when (not if) you need warranty work.

Be sure to demand the huge discount from the outset too, let’s them know you are serious…

Correct!

Best, or cheapest, OP? They’re not the same thing.

Where are you ? someone might be able to recommend a good shop .

Spesh for sure. The top 3 are I believe Berkshire cycles, don skeene and raceco.
Would not order an ebike mail-order, as it will go wrong at some point.

Anyone else think it’s a bit odd that a company the size of Specialized just sells one hardtail e-bike in their range – the LevoHT? It’s bottom end stuff as well, Alivio and Suntour fork. Even the rims are relatively narrow for what the gains might be with wider tyres. You can’t buy a well specced Spesh e-bike hardtail if you wanted to. It’s a £400 bike dressed up, retailing at £2250 with a motor. They’d be better off selling it as an e-bike frameset. Is there no market for e-bike hardtails?

I think it’s a bit odd that it’s impossible to buy an ebike that isn’t going to need to be warrantied at some point.

Freeborn, Horsham. Cube and Spesh dealer and they offer 15% off every bike, based on a cunning trade in policy that allows then to be cute with Specialized’s rather aggressive price protection. Great guys too

Freeborn, Horsham. Cube and Spesh dealer and they offer 15% off every bike, based on a cunning trade in policy that allows then to be cute with Specialized’s rather aggressive price protection. Great guys too

This is good to know but in the cloak & dagger world of lbs pricing, they might not like this to be public knowledge?
Regardless thanks for posting, a kenevo expert for under 6K, better check my bank account!

They don’t make any secret of it on their website! Take a look. You can trade in a balance bike and get 15% off your Kenevo 🙂

BruceWee
I think it’s a bit odd that it’s impossible to buy an ebike that isn’t going to need to be warrantied at some point.

Really? You can’t think why there may be issues with electronic equipment being used in frankly horrible conditions, with little or no regard to their care? I have no doubt that there are plenty of e-bike owners that never have any issues, my own ‘replacement’ unit has been solid for 2 years but then the original was faulty out of the box. It’s just recommened to buy from a a LBS, as issues can take ages to sort*, my own took 8 weeks before they just replaced the whole bike, 2 of those being down to the courier.

* Some brands are better at sorting warranty than others… I picked my latest bike partly due to warranty performance

Freeborn FAQ…

Can I Part Ex against a 2020 Specialized
No sadly you can’t.

I’ve run far more sensitive electronic devices in far worse conditions and they didn’t fail every time, even if they were run out of spec.

I would expect a certain rate of failure with e-mtbs but what people here are saying is don’t buy online because it will fail.

Selling products that are virtually guaranteed to fail within the warranty period doesn’t seem like a very sustainable business model so I’m questioning if it’s actually true.

Selling products that are virtually guaranteed to fail within the warranty period doesn’t seem like a very sustainable business model so I’m questioning if it’s actually true.

Find me anyone who has got to the end of their ebikes warranty with no motor/battery issues and I will happily concede that they might not all need warranty work. But as a buyer, it’s still definitely something to consider.

I’m on my 3rd motor and 2nd battery. Motors all done under (rolling) warranty, battery not so, so £450 if I sent back the old one.

Do you mind me asking what E bike you ride?

I’m on my third motor and I don’t expect it to last the winter. My battery is nearly out of warranty, so I’m going to pay a few quid to have it checked, just in case.

Do you mind me asking what E bike you ride?

2016 Specialized turbo levo FSR.

1st motor was replaced when I took it in to check it, just before the warranty ran out last May, bearings were a bit grumbly, so they replaced it, 2nd motor failed the other day, diagnostic said the torque sensor was out of range (?) it’s getting replaced now.
My issue with the battery wasn’t something that could be checked for wear, one day the power button stopped working. Could be charged up but no way of diagnosing a fault, as it has to be turned on to check…

Thanks 👍

Sounds to me like the technology isn’t there yet. Best bet is probably to buy a bafang mid-drive and build it myself. No way would I pay £5000 for something which I knew was going to break.

No way would I pay £5000 for something which I knew was going to break.

That’s kind of why manufacturers are doing better than normal warranty ts&cs, such as restarting warranties when parts get replaced. My levo is 3.5 years old now, yet I’m covered for the next 2 years wrt the motor, and 22 months on the battery (admittedly because I’ve paid, at a decent discount, for it)

I wouldn’t touch the Bafang, and similar, kits with a 10 foot pole. Ymmv.

That’s kind of why manufacturers are doing better than normal warranty ts&cs, such as restarting warranties when parts get replaced.

If that’s common I have no idea how manufacturers are making money. Unless the cost of manufacturing the bikes are actually very small and the profit margins are huge.

I wouldn’t touch the Bafang, and similar, kits with a 10 foot pole. Ymmv.

If I’m buying something that is going to break I think I’d rather just fix it myself than bring it back to the shop every time. From the sound of it Shimano, Bosch, etc are using a closed system whereas bafang is open. If that’s the case then bafang is the only sensible option.

Like I said, from the sounds of it the technology isn’t mature enough yet.

Selling products that are virtually guaranteed to fail within the warranty period doesn’t seem like a very sustainable business model so I’m questioning if it’s actually true.

Early adopters of the Rockshox Reverb can atest that this is not true. I got 3 of those for the price of one, seemed like everybody did. I guess in a fast paced industry there is big plus to getting your products out there first. You can do this by developing stuff quickly, let your customers beta test but offer great support to keep them on side.

Thanks for the tips! Wonder if I find any deals on coupon code websites for that.

Use code T16HT4R53 for the best deals.

Selling products that are virtually guaranteed to fail within the warranty period doesn’t seem like a very sustainable business model so I’m questioning if it’s actually true.

You tell SRAM that, doesn’t seem to have stopped them!

Early adopters of the Rockshox Reverb can atest that this is not true. I got 3 of those for the price of one, seemed like everybody did.

Don’t forget Monarch shocks as well. The warranty department must have been snowed under, busiest in the industry! The design team responsible for those two **** ups need their arses kicking right out of the building.

I’ve had my ebike for 3 years, with no issues of any kind.
I’ve replaced consumables, tyres, chain cassette etc.
But no faults at all.
Btw, mine used to be chipped, and im a fat knacker.
It’s a cube stereo race 120 nyon.
I’d still recommend buying local though, much easier if you have some kind of issue.