Double thanks to OnBike... again!

[halfer]

One of the things I like about the e-bike community is that we seem to get a good number of reports of shops willing to go the extra mile or three in the name of looking after customers. I expect I am not the only one to have great, on-going, completely undeserved service from Martin and Mike at OnBike, but sometimes it's worth noting it in public, since "thanks" won't do on its own.

A few weeks ago I took my trusty KTM Action Macina into the shop, as it had developed a crunchy noise emanating from the pedals, and swapping them out didn't seem to help. It's done 5.2K+ miles over two years, and the warranty - from another seller - is probably exhausted by now. Anyway, Martin put it up on the stand, stripped it back to the crank drive internals, and discovered the motor frame bolts needed some torque-wrench TLC. Twenty minutes later (during which I blinked greedily at the shiny toys in the showroom) it was all re-assembled, with not a squeak or a crunch to be heard in the house.

All this work, at Mike's insistence, for just the cost of the inexpensive parts fitted - bargain! And not for the first time too - OB have been very happy to help, gratis, with Bosch electronics glitches in the past.

Why double thanks? Well, 'cos OnBike also organised a demo day the Sunday before last. I got to try a few new KTMs, a couple of fantastic Scotts, a bunch of Moustaches, two rather posh Riese & Mullers, and some BH Emotions too. Bundled with a good chat with product experts and fellow enthusiasts, it was a rather splendid day out, just for the cost of a train ticket. Even the rain agreed, and was good enough to hold off.

Nice one guys!

 

[STEVEMANFA]

Happy days
It's great when you get a fab service.

 

[Crockers]

One of the things I like about the e-bike community is that we seem to get a good number of reports of shops willing to go the extra mile or three in the name of looking after customers. I expect I am not the only one to have great, on-going, completely undeserved service from Martin and Mike at OnBike, but sometimes it's worth noting it in public, since "thanks" won't do on its own.

A few weeks ago I took my trusty KTM Action Macina into the shop, as it had developed a crunchy noise emanating from the pedals, and swapping them out didn't seem to help. It's done 5.2K+ miles over two years, and the warranty - from another seller - is probably exhausted by now. Anyway, Martin put it up on the stand, stripped it back to the crank drive internals, and discovered the motor frame bolts needed some torque-wrench TLC. Twenty minutes later (during which I blinked greedily at the shiny toys in the showroom) it was all re-assembled, with not a squeak or a crunch to be heard in the house.

All this work, at Mike's insistence, for just the cost of the inexpensive parts fitted - bargain! And not for the first time too - OB have been very happy to help, gratis, with Bosch electronics glitches in the past.

Why double thanks? Well, 'cos OnBike also organised a demo day the Sunday before last. I got to try a few new KTMs, a couple of fantastic Scotts, a bunch of Moustaches, two rather posh Riese & Mullers, and some BH Emotions too. Bundled with a good chat with product experts and fellow enthusiasts, it was a rather splendid day out, just for the cost of a train ticket. Even the rain agreed, and was good enough to hold off.

Nice one guys!

Nice to hear.....can you also give us your views on those bikes you tried.

 

[halfer]

Nice to hear.....can you also give us your views on those bikes you tried.

Sure thing. Firstly, I have a terrible memory, and having tried 10+ bikes I can't give an accurate model-by-model list. However, since a number of the brands are ready to switch to their 2017 designs, I rather considered the day a way to "try the brand" to see how each generally handles and feels.

In no particular order, I ambled over to chat with the BH Emotion chap, who was very amiable and knowledgeable. They had a fixed gear bike, which is well worth a try for the weight saving, though I admit I feel lost on bikes where I can't change gears (or, for that matter, where gears are changed automatically for me). For people in flat terrains, that's a nice piece of technology.

In general I like BH Emotion, though I recall when I tried them a couple of years ago, I was of the (subjective) view they tended to specify components (e.g. front forks) that were a bit below the price bracket they were entering into. However, one could argue that the gorgeous moulded-in-frame batteries rather make up for this. I think if I were to look at their 2017 models when I next upgrade, I'd be keeping an eye on the price-spec ratio. Anyway, the rear hub drives offered the usual zip, and the MTB models were the usual pleasure to ride.

The Moustaches win for design elegance, and were some of the most striking bikes at the show. I did enjoy my ride on the one model available, though most were "show only", and one full-suss was £8K and not worth trying (though it looked lovely, and was I think already purchased). Moustache look like they have a splendid commitment to quality, but for me, they need to bring their weight levels down before I'd consider their MTBs. I did grab a magazine though, which shows a 2017 city hybrid that gets things down to, if I recall correctly, an impressive 18kg.

Col and Louise at KTM were great to talk to, and as I expected they had some great bikes on offer. I am completely unable to give an unbiased opinion as I currently ride KTM anyway, so I was expecting to like the models on offer, and they did not disappoint. Jointly with Scott, KTM mountain bikes look great, and keep the weight circling around the magical 20kg mark.

Scott brought along a city hybrid, and a couple of full suss bikes, if memory serves. I keep saying I can't justify rear suspension since 90% of my ride is on tarmac, and yet they were such great rides that I was at one point willing to consider them anyway. But, Scott are definitely also in my line of sight for a hardtail, maybe next year.

I tried a Riese & Muller at the top end of the market, and these bikes just reek of quality. Integrated locks and bullet-proof construction, and one of them had a semi-concealed rear suss unit, despite being equipped for road. One was an S-Pedelec too, and great fun to ride! Unfortunately both were too heavy for me - I would guess 23kg for one and 25kg for the other, and for the budget I could be looking at sub-20kg models elsewhere. Would be great for people looking for a reliable tourer e.g. people who like Kalkhoff.

Was really impressed with a £1K bike offered by R&M, the name escapes me at present, and I'll know it when I hear it - very good quality for the price.

Think that was about it. Next time I'll bring a notepad, so I can actually remember better what I liked! Nevertheless, a good way to understand the ideology of each design house, so as to inform future purchasing and test-riding.

 

[martin@onbike]

One of the things I like about the e-bike community is that we seem to get a good number of reports of shops willing to go the extra mile or three in the name of looking after customers. I expect I am not the only one to have great, on-going, completely undeserved service from Martin and Mike at OnBike, but sometimes it's worth noting it in public, since "thanks" won't do on its own.

A few weeks ago I took my trusty KTM Action Macina into the shop, as it had developed a crunchy noise emanating from the pedals, and swapping them out didn't seem to help. It's done 5.2K+ miles over two years, and the warranty - from another seller - is probably exhausted by now. Anyway, Martin put it up on the stand, stripped it back to the crank drive internals, and discovered the motor frame bolts needed some torque-wrench TLC. Twenty minutes later (during which I blinked greedily at the shiny toys in the showroom) it was all re-assembled, with not a squeak or a crunch to be heard in the house.

All this work, at Mike's insistence, for just the cost of the inexpensive parts fitted - bargain! And not for the first time too - OB have been very happy to help, gratis, with Bosch electronics glitches in the past.

Why double thanks? Well, 'cos OnBike also organised a demo day the Sunday before last. I got to try a few new KTMs, a couple of fantastic Scotts, a bunch of Moustaches, two rather posh Riese & Mullers, and some BH Emotions too. Bundled with a good chat with product experts and fellow enthusiasts, it was a rather splendid day out, just for the cost of a train ticket. Even the rain agreed, and was good enough to hold off.

Nice one guys!

Hi Jon,
Thank you for your kind words, we were glad to be of help with the bike- always happy to keep the ebikers wheels turning!

Also thanks go to you and all the others that attended our very pleasant and successful day at the track...It was a great example of variety of Electric Bikes, with every quality motor system available to ride, and in the sunshine too!

We couldn't have done it without the support of our various suppliers, and very much appreciate their efforts on the day.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Was really impressed with a £1K bike offered by R&M, the name escapes me at present, and I'll know it when I hear it - very good quality for the price.
.

Hi Halfer, thanks for trying out the Riese & Müller bikes and for your kind comments!

Was the £1K bike a Wisper SE?

All the best, David

 

[Crockers]

Wish I had known about this day.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Our sales manager Al Greene was there, he said it was first class. Very friendly and a lot of interested people to talk to. Our bikes were out being ridden all day!

Thanks again to Mike and Martin, but what else would you expect from a part if the team that bought us the legendary Presteigne events.

All the best David

 

[halfer]

Was the £1K bike a Wisper SE?

Aha, that's the one! Excellent to see good bikes being offered at an affordable level.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Aha, that's the one! Excellent to see good bikes being offered at an affordable level.

Thanks Halfer! We are particularly proud of the bike, although unless the £ continues to strengthen after Brexit, the price tag may have to go up to £1,099 pretty soon.

All the best, David