Availability of electric bike parts in the UK

[danielrlee]

I listed some really nice controllers and motors on Ebay at more or less the same price as I paid for them plus Ebay and postage. They sold about one a month. There were other sellers selling more or less the same stuff at double the price. I bought 10 motors and 20 controllers to help out people on the forum with a cheap high quality kit, but virtually no interest. After 6 months, I still have several controllers and one motor left.

Cyclotricity and 8funbike are selling kits at prices close to those direct from China. You'd have to compete with them. Unless you go big and stock everything to become a one-stop shop and do a lot of marketing, you might be able to make a bit of pocket money, but not a living wage.

Dave, out of interest, what is the model of motor you have left?

 

[Cyclezee]

John but tell me honestly, was it enough for a fish and chips mate

That depends on the fish Andrew

 

[Cyclezee]

Out of interest, what gears are you referring to? Recently I've been getting through nylon planetary gears for a Bafang SWX series motor at an alarming rate (I like to mod things to destruction). I've currently got 12 spares, but unless I manage to burn out the windings on this motor, I'm sure I'll be requiring more at some point.

The gears that I am referring to are for eZee motors.
Now they are made from hard wearing composite rather than nylon.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Dave, out of interest, what is the model of motor you have left?

It's a MXUS XF07C cassette motor. No rubbish free-wheel gears.

 

[danielrlee]

The gears that I am referring to are for eZee motors.
Now they are made from hard wearing composite rather than nylon.

Ahh, that's a shame. I'd have had 'em otherwise. Hopefully somebody sees your post and requires them from you soon.

 

[EddiePJ]

Everyone is out to save money, and given that without any discount, bikes from say Germany can be purchased retail at the same price in euros as they can here in pounds, there is quite an end user saving to be made. If a deal could be struck with sellers, there must be bigger savings to be made.
I was referring to both current UK imported bikes, and bikes that would need to be for off road use only due to the UK power restrictions.
I have no idea how any of this could be put into operation, but there has to be an angle somewhere for an agent.

 

[danielrlee]

Everyone is out to save money, and given that without any discount, bikes from say Germany can be purchased retail at the same price in euros as they can here in pounds, there is quite an end user saving to be made. If a deal could be struck with sellers, there must be bigger savings to be made.
I was referring to both current UK imported bikes, and bikes that would need to be for off road use only due to the UK power restrictions.
I have no idea how any of this could be put into operation, but there has to be an angle somewhere for an agent.

I appreciate your input, but IMO, a business that relies on maintaining an 80% value currency fluctuation is non-sustainable. What happens when 1EUR = 1GBP?

 

[eHomer]

It's a MXUS XF07C cassette motor. No rubbish free-wheel gears.

I bought the previous one from Dave, with a controller and panel.
A very nice motor, it took my original 9 speed cluster without needing to spring the frame. Quiet and plenty of power, even at my 36 volts. Very lightweight too.

(the spots are dirt from the maiden voyage !)

 

[danielrlee]

I bought the previous one from Dave, with a controller and panel.
A very nice motor, it took my original 9 speed cluster without needing to spring the frame. Quiet and plenty of power, even at my 36 volts. Very lightweight too.

(the spots are dirt from the maiden voyage !)

View attachment 7679

Looks nice. If I owned a better bike, I'd probably have the last one off of him

 

[Clockwise]

These are the holster things, I'm guessing a quid or so to make them but a huge gamble if you are making 1000s.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Leather-bike-lock-holster-for-U-lock-strap-holder-belt-olock-o-ulock-fixed-gear-/171033804039?pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&var=&hash=item27d268bd07

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-CSR-Mini-U-Lock-Holster-For-Kryptonite-Fixed-Gear-Bike-Fixie-BMX-Holder-/271353994615?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f2df55d77

On another note once I can be bothered to get a smaller d lock then I will get one lol

 

[Cyclezee]

Ahh, that's a shame. I'd have had 'em otherwise. Hopefully somebody sees your post and requires them from you soon.

Hi Daniel,

We don't have many in stock, I find the lack of demand is rather reassuring.

 

[Oxygen Bicycles]

Been reading this post with interest and I have to say now it clearly looks (shame to say) that us, we are too stingy to pay a slightly higher price to a UK supplier when it comes to buying a components for e-bikes. Trying to save few pence and probably thinking that
- ohhh maybe I'm not get get caught with duty and VAT upon arrival
- ohhh maybe the plane won't burn if my li-po catches fire.
- ohhh maybe shipping won't cost that much
- ohh maybe I won't get screwed by the Chinese when my parts don't work
- ohh maybe I won't have to wait for 5 weeks to get my parts

As far as I know loads of members have been sourcing bits and pieces from Chinese vendors such as BMSbattery etc but our UK sellers seems to struggle selling the parts at almost the Chinese prices.

great example of Dave who sourced some great products from China and selling them at pretty much at the purchase cost after paying shipping and duty. Selling on the average one motor per month.

So to anyone thinking of selling a components you can only do it as operating from a bedroom and surely not as a full time job

all the best

Andrew

 

[eHomer]

....Trying to save few pence......

If only it was just a matter of a few pence, then I'd gladly support UK suppliers and buy from them.

I've followed the links on this thread so far and bookmarked the UK suppliers for future reference, but none of the websites appear to stock the items I'm likely to buy in the near future, and the prices of anything similar seems to be a great deal more than a few pence, even allowing for postage and import duty, (which I always seem to end up paying).

My current potential "Christmas list" for instance:

48v 20ah Lithium Ion battery with BMS and charger,
£225 from BMS plus £60 postage plus £17 duty plus £62 vat
This gives a total landed value in the uk of around £364.

I can't find any UK supplier anywhere near that figure ?

Then the small cheap parts, like:
half twist throttle £2.40
Switched brake levers £1.83
PAS sensor £1.16

I recently bought a Q100 328rpm motor laced into a 20" front wheel, which cost £60, and ended up as about £175 landed in the UK with duty paid. I couldn't find a UK supplier for that size and RPM, and the nearest equivalents were much dearer here.

Looking on Ebay, there seems to be a growing number of EU sellers stocking Chinese ebike parts, which are almost as competitive, and without attracting further customs or vat duty.

If I could find a UK based ebike parts supplier, selling at UK landed BMS prices plus, say 20%, I would gladly use them.

The warranty issue would be much more reassuring. My only Chinese loss so far is the Conhismotor controller and panel at £60, which failed to work, and no refund.

 

[trex]

...
Trying to save few pence and probably thinking that
- ohhh maybe I'm not get get caught with duty and VAT upon arrival
- ohhh maybe the plane won't burn if my li-po catches fire.
- ohhh maybe shipping won't cost that much
- ohh maybe I won't get screwed by the Chinese when my parts don't work
- ohh maybe I won't have to wait for 5 weeks to get my parts

As far as I know loads of members have been sourcing bits and pieces from Chinese vendors such as BMSbattery etc but our UK sellers seems to struggle selling the parts at almost the Chinese prices.

great example of Dave who sourced some great products from China and selling them at pretty much at the purchase cost after paying shipping and duty. Selling on the average one motor per month.

So to anyone thinking of selling a components you can only do it as operating from a bedroom and surely not as a full time job

all the best

Andrew

substantially untrue.
1. only a tiny number of us buy direct from China
2. cost isn't the only issue
3. we buy mainly new technology or difficult to find items
4. if compatibility issues arise, they are similar to buying from ebay sellers and just as messy to solve

The real problem is the market size. Niche of a niche market, too many sellers, not enough buyers. Even sellers on aliexpress don't sell that many units per line.

 

[Oxygen Bicycles]

E-homer if you were after 48V 20Ah pack then obviously no chance of finding a UK supplier as this is highly unlikely anyone would decide to stock that type of packs. (not a very common type is it?) Pack should be sold within 1 year period and that may not gonna happen.

I'm talking about suppliers like 8FUN Europe who sell kits at around £429 and that's including VAT an the ebay, paypal fees. if you look at the number of units sold the statistics are not that impressive, are they? I bet these guys do not make more then £80 on selling each unit and they take all the responsibility for the product, warranty, support etc etc. Even though the price is low not many sales, why is that? Is our UK market so poor

 

[Oxygen Bicycles]

The real problem is the market size. Niche of a niche market, too many sellers, not enough buyers. Even sellers on aliexpress don't sell that many units per line.

agree with you on this Trex, seems like there more of us then buyers

the fact that so many UK companies over years went bust is also the evidence that electric bike business is not as lucrative as many thinks. Having been in the industry for nearly 7 years I can tell you that if you wanna be a millionaire go and find another business. This one is barely paying for its bills.

 

[eHomer]

E-homer if you were after 48V 20Ah pack then obviously no chance of finding a UK supplier as this is highly unlikely anyone would decide to stock that type of packs. (not a very common type is it?) ........

.......I'm talking about suppliers like 8FUN Europe who sell kits at around £429 and that's including VAT an the ebay, paypal fees.......

My impression since reading this forum is that 48v 20ah battery packs are now very popular with DIY converters, representing the best compromise of capacity range with the 48v to get the best performance out of lightweight motors, compared to 36v.

Coincidentally, my first DIY ebike build, a couple of years ago, was using a genuine UK seller's kit, via Ebay. It was a 250w geared hub motor laced into a 700c front wheel, with controller, brake levers, PAS, throttle, and a very neat lockable rack with alluminium cased 36v 10ah lithium ion battery. It cost £399, including delivery, and arrived within two days.

I was very impressed with it, and still have it, installed in a very lightweight full suspension German Alubike, (which I bought secondhand for £120).

It has a 7 speed sram hub gear, making a very nice rideable ebike for a total of £520.

I still keep checking the UK and EU based ebike component sellers on ebay hoping to find a wider range of parts.

 

[trex]

...
I'm talking about suppliers like 8FUN Europe who sell kits at around £429 and that's including VAT an the ebay, paypal fees. if you look at the number of units sold the statistics are not that impressive, are they? I bet these guys do not make more then £80 on selling each unit and they take all the responsibility for the product, warranty, support etc etc. Even though the price is low not many sales, why is that? Is our UK market so poor

I think Chinese bikes suffer from the credibility gap. First time buyers generally can trust German engineering but not Chinese.
Therefore, you (Oxygen) need to sell an awful lot more bikes than your competitors to offset that credibilty gap. The gap accounts easily for 20-30% premium on retail price. It's a difficult chicken and eggs situation.

 

[flecc]

if you wanna be a millionaire go and find another business. This one is barely paying for its bills.

I've been posting as such over the seven years life of this forum. The best any e-bike business has achieved during that time has been the odd lucky short spell when a particular make or model caught the imagination. Overall though, it's a very tough one, particularly when trying to get through the winters while remaining viable for the forthcoming season.

 

[trex]

the OP is looking for a living wage and I guess he is in his 40s, still a good 20 years to become a millionaire, so selling e-bikes is still a possibility.
While I was looking for explanations why the UK e-bike market is so small, I came across some statistics: we buy 3.4 millions bikes a year but only ride 15 times on average per annum.
It's OK VFM if it's a £99 push bike but not if a £2,000 ebike. The average cost per ride is too high.

danielrlee,

the best suggestion I can make is for you to open an e-bike shop in Wiltshire and good luck for the future.