New Gtech ebike

[anotherkiwi]

Funny thing is that Brompton sells 2,300 € bikes that don't even have a motor. "Moulton bicycles range in price from £950 to £15,500 depending on the model and specification" from their web site. There are British companies capable of selling quality "Made in the UK" bikes over £1,000. Even to clients in the UK!

I don't buy (pun intended) your "client will only pay £1,000" argument. Why would a German client be prepared to spend more? Hey even the French "whose economy is on the rocks" according to the UK press buy pedelecs from 1,495 € and up... And the Spanish (who are so ruined that there are 20,000 new millionaires since the beginning of the year) can afford 1,495 € pedelecs.

 

[Nigel01]

All cheap rubbish. Get a Kalkhoff and have quality.

 

[anotherkiwi]

My ignored user list just got a new member...

 

[Crockers]

How do you ignore someone? Does that mean his klak trap won't appear on !y screen...

 

[Crockers]

Done it......he's gone...Yippee.

 

[Kudoscycles]

Funny thing is that Brompton sells 2,300 € bikes that don't even have a motor. "Moulton bicycles range in price from £950 to £15,500 depending on the model and specification" from their web site. There are British companies capable of selling quality "Made in the UK" bikes over £1,000. Even to clients in the UK!

I don't buy (pun intended) your "client will only pay £1,000" argument. Why would a German client be prepared to spend more? Hey even the French "whose economy is on the rocks" according to the UK press buy pedelecs from 1,495 € and up... And the Spanish (who are so ruined that there are 20,000 new millionaires since the beginning of the year) can afford 1,495 € pedelecs.

I sell KTM £1700-£2600 to UK clients but if you want to sell volume £1000 is the max. That should change in the future as customers buy 2nd and 3rd generation e-bikes.
Sports bikes are a different world,I was chatting to Sigma Sports their customer spend is average £5k and they celebrated their first £20k bike sale recently.
I wonder what would happen if say McClaren or Bentley badge engineered a very special e-bike,I could see that selling for lots of money.
If Brompton made an electric Brompton it would probably be priced at £2.5k,it will be interesting how it sold at that price.
I am really surprised as a marketing guy that you don't appreciate why a German would be prepared to pay so much more...the German market is 400,000 units per annum,it is also a very mature market,that means there are many customers who are on maybe their 5 th e-bike and are prepared to pay top money for something special (in their eyes),we are not in that position in the UK.
I thought the Coboc was crazy money for its spec,they threw me off the stand at Eurobike because of my reaction when they told me the price,has anyone in the UK bought one?
The Freigeist had some clever engineering to achieve the simple and uncluttered appearance,but you have to remove the forks to remove the battery,not sure about that ?
KudosDave

 

[Crockers]

The Coboc is also a single speed....so it's a Gtech in drag....

It is very light though.,.but battery can't be removed to charge which can make it awkward in some situations.

 

[oldtom]

I must be missing something here as I just can't see the attraction in the Gtech bike. Granted, it's not a lot of money, (these days), but my gut instinct is that it's another of those triumphs of hype over substance.

It's got to be a niche market proposition surely, as most of the demographic interested in EAPCs want/expect/need a selection of at least a handful of gears. Cytronex were early pioneers in single-speed, lightweight Ebikes and have been copied by several other makers but they really don't sell in big numbers. I'll take a guess and suggest that Cytronex sell fewer single-speeders than any of their other models.

Although I have two dozen gears on my main bike, I only use half a dozen at most in my typical riding. I do need them though and I'd struggle in a lot of places round my neck of the woods if limited by a single speed transmission.

Their vacuum cleaner isn't as great as the advertising says it is, so I have grave doubts about their foray into the EAPC market.

My comment is made without benefit of a test-ride.

Tom

 

[Gubbins]

I must be missing something here as I just can't see the attraction in the Gtech bike. Granted, it's not a lot of money, (these days), but my gut instinct is that it's another of those triumphs of hype over substance.

It's got to be a niche market proposition surely, as most of the demographic interested in EAPCs want/expect/need a selection of at least a handful of gears. Cytronex were early pioneers in single-speed, lightweight Ebikes and have been copied by several other makers but they really don't sell in big numbers. I'll take a guess and suggest that Cytronex sell fewer single-speeders than any of their other models.

Although I have two dozen gears on my main bike, I only use half a dozen at most in my typical riding. I do need them though and I'd struggle in a lot of places round my neck of the woods if limited by a single speed transmission.

Their vacuum cleaner isn't as great as the advertising says it is, so I have grave doubts about their foray into the EAPC market.

My comment is made without benefit of a test-ride.

Tom

I think you are right Tom but what you are missing is the fact that 99% of potential ebike buyers don't have access to your experiences so comparing the gtech to an ordinary bike makes it appear really good. This isn't helped by the lack of advertising by the competition..

 

[Gubbins]

Just to add to that. Its got nothing to do with the bike itself...
If advertising campaigns like this didn't work, the people that are paid huge wads of cash to come up with them wouldn't have a job, but they do.. and they do...

 

[soundwave]

that was the fist vid i seen of them SOLD

 

[Gubbins]

that was the fist vid i seen of them SOLD

Yes but I have never seen that on tv or pushed through my letterbox and it's not likely to apeal to someone who wants to cycle 10 miles to work.
Let's face it they did a good job!

 

[soundwave]

haibike will not even reply to emails lol i dont think they care about the uk market tbh.

 

[anotherkiwi]

I sell KTM £1700-£2600 to UK clients but if you want to sell volume £1000 is the max. That should change in the future as customers buy 2nd and 3rd generation e-bikes.
Sports bikes are a different world,I was chatting to Sigma Sports their customer spend is average £5k and they celebrated their first £20k bike sale recently.
I wonder what would happen if say McClaren or Bentley badge engineered a very special e-bike,I could see that selling for lots of money.
If Brompton made an electric Brompton it would probably be priced at £2.5k,it will be interesting how it sold at that price.
I am really surprised as a marketing guy that you don't appreciate why a German would be prepared to pay so much more...the German market is 400,000 units per annum,it is also a very mature market,that means there are many customers who are on maybe their 5 th e-bike and are prepared to pay top money for something special (in their eyes),we are not in that position in the UK.
I thought the Coboc was crazy money for its spec,they threw me off the stand at Eurobike because of my reaction when they told me the price,has anyone in the UK bought one?
The Freigeist had some clever engineering to achieve the simple and uncluttered appearance,but you have to remove the forks to remove the battery,not sure about that ?
KudosDave

My experience is with France, huge bike market, tiny e-bike market but growing 30% per year. France manufactures and exports e-bikes. The trade balance in units is negative but I think it may be positive in value as China is the main source of imports. A Matra folder parked around the corner got me interested in pedelecs as a means of transport.

Germany is a whole other kettle of fish. They are a green country and have been for some time. People earn decent wages. People commute by bike...

I think you should be comparing your market to the French one rather than the German. Government (local) financial incentive to buy of up to 400€ depending on the city you live in. 25¢ a kilometer tax rebate for riding to work. With all that the bikes you see people actually using on the street are mostly 1500€ and up bikes not 795€ supermarket specials.

I tried converting to £ but the result scared me so I have stuck with €...

 

[Kudoscycles]

The KTM bikes at around £2k are I think very nice bikes,I especially like the Fun model,we could produce similar quality bikes but they would be similarly priced,KTM have a strong historical branding,so why would customers look elsewhere.
Dave

 

[trex]

..
I think you should be comparing your market to the French one rather than the German. Government (local) financial incentive to buy of up to 400€ depending on the city you live in. 25¢ a kilometer tax rebate for riding to work. With all that the bikes you see people actually using on the street are mostly 1500€ and up bikes not 795€ supermarket specials.

I tried converting to £ but the result scared me so I have stuck with €...

sorry to hijack the thread, just a quick question.

I wonder if you get yourself into a business converting push bikes to electric - would your customers get the 400 Euros premium?

 

[anotherkiwi]

Nope. And yes.

If you convert a bike which the client already owns, no. You are providing a kit and mounting service not a pedelec.

If you buy a new brand new bike and sell it converted with an invoice, full documentation et al under another commercial name yes. Your client will provide a copy of your invoice to city hall. So the bike will have to comply to EN certification, luckily an "artisan" can self certify one offs.

For both of the above and for ordinary bikes too the other bike to work financial encouragement started out well then was axed by the govt in 2015 when they limited it to 200 € a year (800 km under the old scheme). OK so that covers tyres, chain and cassette replacement in many cases. "Hello François! Remember what you said at the COP21?"...

 

[toulky]

If looking for a lightweight ebike then look no further than.....

https://www.eta.co.uk/2016/01/28/freygeist-the-electric-bicycle-that-changes-cycling-forever/

Yes at more than twice the price of GTECH

 

[LeighPing]

Yes at more than twice the price of GTECH

Welcome aboard. You'll soon get accustomed to the daylight robbery prices around here.

 

[Crockers]

Yes at more than twice the price of GTECH

Plus €250 for delivery. No UK support. What's the problem. Lol n