I am a big fan of bikes. I have tried and rode all kinds of bikes and I have a wide grip on the knowledge of them. This is because I did not belong to a very well-off family.
And when in high school, I couldn’t afford to have a car so I experimented with all kinds of bikes.
I used to keep selling my bikes online and buying new ones just so I could have a little fun with what I had.
Safe to say, I have experimented with more bike selling and purchasing than any other person can claim. And this kind of makes me an expert in this business.
How I realized bike sellers are not always telling everything:
During this phase of my life where I was selling and buying bikes, I learned a lot of things.
Things about the bikes, and things about the sellers as well.
I used to make all kinds of deals, online through the internet, in the second-hand market or through a friend of a friend.
I have been involved in all kinds of markets and I have dealt with all kinds of sellers.
Over the years I have learned that there are some things that the bike sellers will never tell you about when buying an ebike.
List of the facts, sellers won’t tell you about:
Intrigued by my quest, I made a list of all the facts about e-bikes that sellers won’t tell you about. Give a read to my list and tell me what you think about it.
The spare parts are scare:
One of the major things that ebike sellers tend to not tell you is about the availability of the spare parts in case of need.
Ebikes are relatively newer in the market and it is justified that every market doesn’t have all of the spare parts and tools needed for ebike maintenance.
It is, therefore, necessary to become aware of the spare part market in your region before you buy a particular ebike.
The correct type of motor for your use:
Mostly, the sellers are so eager to sell off their bikes for whatever reasons that they often fail to guide you through what type of motor is it that you need.
Normally, there are three types of motors:
the geared hub motor, the direct-drive hub motor, and the mid-drive motor.
I personally use and recommend the mid-drive because I have been more adapted to it through years of usage.
But for people who want reliability and all-around capability, the geared hub motor is the best choice.
The direct-drive hub motor is also very efficient but for people who want power and heavier applications.
These are the motor types and I learned it the hard way because the ebike sellers generally don’t tend to guide you through the types.
The mileage claims are not reliable:
Not only the e-bike sellers but also the manufacturing companies don’t tell you about the true mileage of an ebike.
As a matter of fact, they cannot even. You see, cars have an MPG standard to which they are tested. But e-bikes have no such standard to measure them.
All the claims made by the manufacturers are made by themselves and may or even may not be true.
However, as a buyer, if you really want to measure the range of an ebike, compare the battery energy in kilowatt-hours.
In this way, you will get a better comparison of the range.
The speed claims are also capricious:
Just like the mileage and range, the claims made by the sellers or the manufacturers for that matter, about the top speed also may or may not be genuine.
There is also no standard measure on which we can compare the top speeds of e-bikes. It varies greatly owing to the terrain, the weight, battery power, the type of motor and the list goes on.
So, it’s safe to say that the speed claims are also not completely reliable.
Bike needs vary according to the person riding them:
The ebike users know through their experience that different bike users have different bike needs according to their body and usage of the bike.
I once tried to gift an ebike to me and my girlfriend for her birthday.
Naturally, I wanted us to have the same bikes and did a lot of planning into buying them.
Only after using them for some time did I realize that not everybody needs the same bike.
This is something that I told every other buyer after me. I wish somebody had told me too.
The battery quality:
ebike sellers do not tell you about the battery type they are using because this can make or break the price they are claiming.
The battery is the soul of the ebikes and is automatically the most expensive component.
Genuine branded batteries are more in price as compared to the local batteries who can make the work go, but they are not of excellent quality.
So, the e-bike sellers tend to hide the type of battery so they can make money out of the name as naïve buyers do not know anything about it.
The kind of sensor you should pick:
ebike sellers generally don’t put any thought into this matter but it might mean everything to the buyer if they are planning to be a high-end rider.
Basically, there are two types of sensors. The torque sensor and the rotation sensors.
High-end riders should use bikes with torque sensors as these detect the amount of pressure with which you are pedaling and then give you more assistance according to it.
When the sellers are making the deal, they tend to forget about this detail as they are not the ones who are going to use the bike later, but the buyers should always know about it first.
The best type of battery for your use:
I would suggest to never rely on the sellers when it comes to the information about the battery type.
They do not tell you what kind of battery is the e-bike engaging, whether it’s a generic style battery or if it’s a brand name battery.
This little thing makes all the difference when it comes to replacing the battery.
If the ebike has a generic style battery, you can easily replace the parts that need to be replaced and you’re good to go.
However, that is simply not the case when using a brand name battery as then you have to replace the entire battery and pay a huge sum of amounts for it.
So, this is my review of the 8 facts that ebike sellers won’t probably tell you about.
Either because they don’t consider them important enough or because they want to make the money by keeping the buyer in the dark.
Sometimes they just don’t pay enough attention to the needs of the buyer and make the sale.
In this scenario, it is the buyer’s duty to be completely aware of what is he getting himself.
I have tried to help all the buyers out there. For any further queries, feel free to question me!