First Ebike Purchase review: ex demo KTM

[Staffordshirehills]

Bike: ex demo KTM eCross P

Good: I had my first trip out on my "new" bike and loved it, so fingers crossed for many happy, trouble free miles. I will continue to report and review in due course.

Bad: I purchased the ex demo KTM advertised on this forum by FLIdistribution. Having talked to Colin over the phone and being reassured that apart from a few scratches it was in great condition and had done less than 4km, I parted with my hard earned cash over the phone.
On receiving the bike, I was disappointed in the fact that it had been sent out with the thread smooth on the crank (drive side) and no pedal could be fixed to it. Colin was instantly defensive over the phone (and in my mind quite aggressive on a further call, saying he didn't have time to speak - amazing as I'd probably taken less than 20 minutes to buy the bike and spent £1450) but Tom sent out replacements for both sides (and pedals which apparently aren't usually included?) after I sent him photographs. The replacement cranks were scratched to bits but at least had decent threads. I got a good mechanic to swap them over and he also gave the bike a once over, spotting a catching rear disc which he duly adjusted.
The key also took a while to arrive (9 days).
My other concern was the odometer which unless I am mistaken real 15.4km.

So, all in all, a disappointing buying experience. I feel FLI should have taken a little more pride in how they sent out the bike because in effect it wasn't roadworthy. It was also a bit grubby and if I am reading the display correctly had a higher mileage than claimed. The pre sales attitude of Colin was not matched by his post sales manner, which was gruff and rude.

However, I like the bike and hopefully have a good machine for my money. Tom's email responses were also prompt and polite.
Advert
Original crank Meter reading
Replacement cranks

 

[Kinninvie]

They must have known they stripped the threads removing the pedal!
If they normally supply bikes without pedals I am surprised they sell any at all!
If it was me I would be taking it back and getting a BBS01 bike for half the money and thats with a 16Ah battery included.

 

[Artstu]

KTM bikes are good, but as you've found out very badly let down by the attitude of FLi.

 

[SRS]

Colins too worried about his business to care for his customers.
KTM produce excellent bikes so I am sure that you will have many happy miles out of it.

 

[Staffordshirehills]

For just a little more effort and attention to detail, it could have been a great experience and I would have shouted from the rooftops. As it is, I felt very upset and let down. If he's worried about his business, then he needs to put his customers first, know his business values/ pledges and ensure that these are met at each customer touch point ie before, during and after. At no point did I receive an apology - why on earth would someone not be honest in a description? And if they have been, hold their hands up, apologise and make it right in the best way possible. It has left me flabbergasted.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Colin, come on here and give the lovely girl what she deserves and make us all happy.

 

[KTM Bike Industries UK]

Hi....

Firstly, can I apologise. Last week was insanely busy, we were running around like headless chickens loading and unloading lorries for the Cycle Show and to get the bikes in and then back to Austria. So when I said I didn't have time to speak, that was correct because there was a lorry waiting and I was one of the people supposed to be loading it as part of a fairly lengthy human chain.

However, you have raised some points that do need responding to:

I'm afraid we don't supply pedals with bikes, this is normal for a high end brand because generally our customers have specific needs for pedals and don't just want some generic flat pedal.

The bike was at our place when the 4km picture was taken. It turns out it was lent to a dealer over the weekend and returned to us, which I wasn't aware off. It was this dealer that put the extra km's on the clock and also fitted and removed pedals. So I'm sorry the threads were damaged, but I can promise you it wasn't done at our place, and we will be speaking to the mechanic at the dealer who returned the bike to us in that state.

Replacement crank arms were sent out as soon as you made us aware of the problem and I hope this will sort the issue out.

I'm now off out, so can't respond in more detail. But I'll get back to this as soon as I get into work in the morning.

Regards
Col

 

[Artstu]

Replacement crank arms were sent out as soon as you made us aware of the problem and I hope this will sort the issue out.

So do you think the ones you sent are acceptable then?

 

[KTM Bike Industries UK]

I was walking out of the door for a swift drink with a friend, so no I'm afraid I didn't see the photo. I'm walking back now, so working from a phone.

They will have been sent off another demo bike i suspect as thats all we have in at the monent so this will have been the only option to help this customer get riding before the weekend.

Is there a problem with them, or is your issue the scuff marks?

 

[dinger19]

They must have known they stripped the threads removing the pedal!
If they normally supply bikes without pedals I am surprised they sell any at all!
If it was me I would be taking it back and getting a BBS01 bike for half the money and thats with a 16Ah battery included.

I totally agree with the above as its disgusting/untruthful the description of the bike when the sale was made seems so far from the truth I would be demanding my money back because if this is the treatment when you first received the bike what is the attitude going to be like in months to come if the dealer in question wants to restore your faith in his business he would put his hands up and would apologize and give you a replacement whether it's new or nearly new the other thing that would worry me in the long term is the mileage and the battery as well...........

I know the KTM are a great bike brand,but sadly let down by shoddy aftercare from the dealer who thinks it's more important to get new sales rather than look after existing customers that would probably generate more sales as I was one day going to swap my Kalkhoff for a KTM would I now yes if I could guarantee I got good aftercare service,but by going how badly you have been treated has given me second thoughts .

 

[Geebee]

I would be p-ssed if the shown cranks were sent for a bike with ~15 km on it, unless as a temporary measure if that was stated?
My trike with 15,000 km on it had much better looking cranks (wear wise) on it.

High end bikes are often sold without pedals or with some crap plastic ones to get you to a shop to buy proper ones, I have had both, cheaper bikes come with passable standard pedals normally.
The milage difference is really not much although would have been a surprise not in a good way when not expecting it.
Sounds like otherwise the bike is pretty good, always disapointing when expectations aren't met.

 

[KTM Bike Industries UK]

ok, I'm in work now, so can respond with a few points.

Firstly, we're not a dealer! We only sell about 20 bikes a year direct to the public, and all these are ex display / used bikes in a wide variety of condistions. This is always a tricky thing because everyone has a different idea of what to expect from an exdisplay / demo bike, so we use photos to try to show condition. In this case the photos were taken, and then the bike loaned to a dealer. I'm really angry that they damaged the pedal threads and didn't tell us about it. Systems will be put in to place to ensure this can't happen.

When we sold the bike to this customer she was clearly told that we were about to shut the offices for a few days because we were off to the NEC, so if she took the bike if after receiving it she wasn't happy with the condition, we'd arrange collection and refund her in full. This isn't something we normally offer, but because we didn't have time to allow her to come and view the bike, we thought it was fair.

When she phoned the other day, I was very stressed and didn't have time to talk, but I did again say that if she wasn't happy we can collect it, and refund in full - that offer still stands.

The wear on cranks can happen after one ride if the person riding the bike rides with their ankles in on a wet day. Its one of the problems with black cranks, if you ride ankles out it never happens. As far as I can tell they were sent as a replacement, and the customer hasn't emailed or contacted us to say she isn't happy with them.

If she contacts us direct in the proper manner we will of course do everything to resolve the situation. But this is an exdisplay / used bike, so the condition is never going to be as new... and the photos were taken to show this, this is the reason it was £800.00 off.

 

[One_Box]

Luckily my own experience buying an ex-demo bike was entirely different.
I purchased a Ezee Sprint Primo LS from Cyclezee with less than 50 miles use. The bike was pristine with no scratches whatsoever and was fitted with an unused battery imported in July. The bike was delivered well protected in a substantial bike box with all the manuals and bits and bobs. A discount of 17.6 % on the then retail price plus the normal bike warranty completed the deal. I must add that they responded in a professional and timely fashion to the queries I had both before and after purchase.
I don't think it is even necessary to comment on the performance of the KTM "dealer".

 

[KTM Bike Industries UK]

quick point... this bike had over 35% discount applied and a small mileage on the clock. This is because the bike had been to a number of shows and transported around, by one of our reps. Hence low mileage, but cosmetic markings.

The full warranty is included as the owner is the "first owner" so no problems with that.

If the customer has a problem, we'll collect and provide a full refund.

Regards
Tom

 

[trex]

where can one buy a pair of new crank arms and how much are they?

 

[KTM Bike Industries UK]

Its a Shimano Chainset, so I'm guessing you can get it from any bike shop, and they'll be able to advise if the crank arms are available on their own. We're not a shimano dealer so I don't if Madison supply them as a stand alone item.

We supply the complete chainset to our dealers, and have good stock... the complete chainset is all we offer, RRP on them is £149.99

That includes all the chainring, and both crank arms.

 

[jackhandy]

where can one buy a pair of new crank arms and how much are they?

I had to replace the crank arms on my Gt bouncer, coz some muffin managed to screw the left pedal into the right crank etc
Deore chainset for less than £50 delivered from Germany, so I have a spare set of chainrings which, fortuitously, are different teeth count to those I already have so I can fiddle about with gearing if bored

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Don't forget that you need a special crank extractor for Octalink cranks. Don't try and use a normal one.

 

[Artstu]

Don't forget that you need a special crank extractor for Octalink cranks. Don't try and use a normal one.

A normal one works perfectly as long as you pop a washer snugly into the hole with a dab of grease to hold it in place, before fitting the puller.
Obviously the correct puller is better.

 

[trex]

https://www.e-bikeshop.co.uk/bosch-ebike-crank-arms
They are £40 a pair, so the discount is £660 over RRP, still good value although Col could have offered a new pair to keep the forum happy.