Passing on enthusiasm and bike sales. Being pro active.

[EddiePJ]

Despite the hassles that I have had with BH as a company, I have always been very quick to explain the merits and fun of general e-bike ownership to anyone that has shown an interest. The Wiggle rides are a very good example of this, and so far amongst many conversations about the bike, two separate people said that they were going to investigate buying one.
Frequently my chats also involve me letting the odd person take the bike for a spin. Last week I took the BH along to a local motorcycle meet at a pub. The BH created more interest than the motorcycles that were on display! I had one smart arse from a group who said that it was cheating, and my reply was a quick, thank f**k that you weren't around the day that someone decided to put an internal combustion engine into a cycle frame. With that one comment out of the way, questions fired from all directions. The clincher was when I let someone have a go, and even I had never previously noticed just how quick that the bike is from a standing start in boost mode. It just seemed to shoot off like a bullet. The lad concerned came back laughing and grinning, saying that his got to get one. We all say things like that, so I have no idea if he will or won't, but one lad that was there who used to own an early e-bike, sauntered off, and has now bought one.
I also managed to sell another new BH today to a lad who is on the same job as me. It only took the photos to convince him, as he had been desperate to find a new hobby, wanted to get back into cycling, but his fitness wasn't up to it. I should be out for ride with him, some time over the next few weeks.
The bike shop have also said that that through me, three other people to date have made enquiries.
Jokingly It would be nice to get a bit of commission, but in reality I'm pleased that my enthusiasm has rubbed off, and that there are now at least a couple more pedelec riders out there to share the fun. )

I didn't have quite so much luck with the neighbour who I had hoped to be able to pass the Haibike onto though. My mistake was letting him try the BH first.

 

[stevieb]

in the short time i have had my kit at least one diehard cyclist has now ordered a complete bike after trying out .
everone who has tried mine has been impressed and its easy to extole the virtues of an e bike after they have had a try.
the cheating comment is common but usualy from non cycling car drivers
i think the main problem is when you tell interested people the price of a kit or complete bike.
thats usualy when they loose a bit of interest.
i don,t need to preach to the converted on this site about them being value for money in the long run but it,s sometimes hard with joe public.

 

[D C]

.
everone who has tried mine has been impressed and its easy to extole the virtues of an e bike after they have had a try.
the cheating comment is common but usualy from non cycling car drivers
i think the main problem is when you tell interested people the price of a kit or complete bike.
thats usualy when they loose a bit of interest.
i don,t need to preach to the converted on this site about them being value for money in the long run but it,s sometimes hard with joe public.

Exactly my own experience.
Round here it's mainly folk of advancing years and/or with health problems who show great interest. I know you can get a good bike for around the £600 to £700 mark, Woosh for instance, and that seems to be acceptable for most folks until you tell them it's internet sales only and there's nowhere you can actually go to see and buy the bike.
There's sales to be made in this price range up here but only from a sales point where folk can talk face to face with someone, actually see and try a bike and be able to then place an order personally.
Dave.

 

[Electrifying Cycles]

We have a referral scheme so anyone one in our neck of the woods or people located elsewhere can benefit from. We promote this to people who buy our bikes essentially you get £50 worth of accessories free (both person buying bike and person refering) or £30 cash/cheque.

Having a dealer network does add on more money but there are bikes at a similar price to Woosh with local dealers - Kudos, FreeGo, Juicy Bike etc.

 

[D C]

We have a referral scheme so anyone one in our neck of the woods or people located elsewhere can benefit from. We promote this to people who buy our bikes essentially you get £50 worth of accessories free (both person buying bike and person refering) or £30 cash/cheque.

Having a dealer network does add on more money but there are bikes at a similar price to Woosh with local dealers - Kudos, FreeGo, Juicy Bike etc.

That seems like a good and very generous system, do you have anyone with sub £700 bikes within say an hours drive/60 mile radius of Inverness?
I'm not just being curious, I genuinely would like to be able to point folk in the direction of somewhere they could try a reasonably priced bike and I'm sure after speaking to an enthusiastic owner there would likely be a sale.
I've let several folk try my bike but of course it's a kit and so far I've not met anyone who's prepared to go down that route their self.
It is very difficult when running a business to decide where best to spend the money to get more sales, I've been there myself until i quit the rat race a few years back. Your referral scheme does seem a worth while solution for areas of low population such as where I now live, once you have sold enough bikes to supply the network (in these parts particularly at the lower end of the price range). Word of mouth in the Highlands has a massive influence on what folk buy and who off, a reputation for good service and goods can be achieved very quickly over a large area and the more a particular product sells the more will be sold in the future.
Dave.

 

[EddiePJ]

We have a referral scheme so anyone one in our neck of the woods or people located elsewhere can benefit from. We promote this to people who buy our bikes essentially you get £50 worth of accessories free (both person buying bike and person refering) or £30 cash/cheque.

Having a dealer network does add on more money but there are bikes at a similar price to Woosh with local dealers - Kudos, FreeGo, Juicy Bike etc.

That's a brilliant scheme.

A simple thanks is more than enough for me, but a financial incentive is even better.

 

[stevieb]

i don,t think people would mind paying a bit more for a bike from a dealer if it gave peace of mind for aftersales and warranty issues .
even if the dealer was not experienced in e bikes and had to send the bike away for repair at least the customer would not have this hassle themselves.
also having a range to try before you buy is a huge selling point
i think someone like woosh would do very well if they supplied a bike dealer with bikes in scotland for the exact reasons DC has mentioned.
once a few bikes are on the go and people have had tried them then they can always go for the cheaper online sale

 

[trex]

I was talking to Hatti @ Woosh not so long ago about this same question. Their point is they can't control the quality of after sale support of independent dealers. If some customer needs a repair to be carried out, they can arrange for a local bike shop or a mobile mechanic to sort it, much easier than a hand off solution via the local dealer. The other issue is space. They need at least 700 sqf for showroom and local stock. No dealer is going to give them that much. Their Cambridge shop is owned by a friend and an old partner of Hatti, who owns a large computer business in Cambridge, the place is 10,000sqf, space isn't a problem. The bikes are delivered there fully assembled, only the pedals are not on. Staff is borrowed from the main computer business. Keeping cost low is their secret.

 

[stevieb]

thats interesting about the mobile mechanic and makes me wonder if contact details of experts in ebike repairs could be supplied.
if i knew about an expert in repairing a bike that lived nearby then i would possibly buy from the likes of woosh [ after trying one by some means].
i don,t think it would go down too well if you took a mail ordered bike to a local ebike seller to repair and i wouldn,t blame them if the refused on the grounds that you hadn,t bought from them in the first place.
so does anyone know of a person that does ebike repairs in the central belt of scotland and to help others in more remote parts maybe a list of ones in all area,s of the uk.
knowing that you have some technical back up can mean the difference between a sale or a potential customer going elsewhere.

 

[Electrifying Cycles]

That seems like a good and very generous system, do you have anyone with sub £700 bikes within say an hours drive/60 mile radius of Inverness?
I'm not just being curious, I genuinely would like to be able to point folk in the direction of somewhere they could try a reasonably priced bike and I'm sure after speaking to an enthusiastic owner there would likely be a sale.
I've let several folk try my bike but of course it's a kit and so far I've not met anyone who's prepared to go down that route their self.
It is very difficult when running a business to decide where best to spend the money to get more sales, I've been there myself until i quit the rat race a few years back. Your referral scheme does seem a worth while solution for areas of low population such as where I now live, once you have sold enough bikes to supply the network (in these parts particularly at the lower end of the price range). Word of mouth in the Highlands has a massive influence on what folk buy and who off, a reputation for good service and goods can be achieved very quickly over a large area and the more a particular product sells the more will be sold in the future.
Dave.

I will be honest I have sold a few bikes in Scotland but our range starts at £799. The reason being all our bikes have a 2 year guarantee on the batteries and we buy through distributors. Also we offer free collection and return for warranty problems which can not be solved remotely this includes local and non local customers.

We have considered buying our own range and selling direct but I would prefer to do this at the premium end of the market. However I am yet to find anything which has met our requirements on price, quality and guarantee.

 

[trex]

if i knew about an expert in repairing a bike that lived nearby then i would possibly buy from the likes of woosh [ after trying one by some means].
i don,t think it would go down too well if you took a mail ordered bike to a local ebike seller to repair and i wouldn,t blame them if the refused on the grounds that you hadn,t bought from them in the first place.
so does anyone know of a person that does ebike repairs in the central belt of scotland and to help others in more remote parts maybe a list of ones in all area,s of the uk.
knowing that you have some technical back up can mean the difference between a sale or a potential customer going elsewhere.

Why do you need an e-bike expert?
I actually can't see a problem that cannot be sorted out locally.
nowadays, all the control instruments are on short lead push in connectors.
Even the motor is plug and play.

This is a typical wiring:

 

[stevieb]

i would like an e bike expert localy because i,m not one myself
if the bike just stops working then where do i start?
or are e bikes so simple that anyone can fix them with a little bit of electrical knowledge?
or can folks on this site diagnose problems and talk me through repairs?
if this is the case then thats great
as far as problems being sorted out locally a well known bike shop near me ventured into selling e bikes but gave up because although the mechanics could fix standard problems most electrical issues involved sending back to manufacturers or supplier and the time scale for repair was unexeptable to their customers
i bought my kit from alien just before they ceased trading
i bought from them because they are local to me and i,m simply asking if there is an independant person that i can hand my bike over to localy and they will repair it if i cannot.
thanks
.

 

[trex]

every seller has support staff and a phone number. If you have a problem, call them, they diagnose the fault and arrange to get it fixed.
If you get it from a shop, you call the shop, the dealer may know the answer if not, he'll call the vendor's support then come back to you. One extra step usually.
More importantly, if you get it from the internet, parts will be sorted immediately by the vendor's own support staff and own stock. If you buy from a shop (we have had a long discussion about the KTM and BH distribution model), your dealer contacts whoever is the representative for the brand of the faulty component eg Shimano if it's their brakes, and get Shimano to sort it, that can take days because Shimano do not know you or your dealer. Direct vendors like Freego can sort it out on the same day.

 

[stevieb]

yes i can totally understand your answer to part of the question i have asked .and i thank you for that.
but i think you are missing my point.
my seller has ceased trading so i don,t have their support staff and their ability to diagnose the fault.
i didn,t get it from a shop so i cannot call the shop.
i,m not doubting the support that existing vendors will give but what if they also ceased trading .
again all i,m asking is there independant e bike technicians out there who will fix my bike because non of the solutions you have provided are available to me as alien have ceased trading
thanks

 

[flecc]

again all i,m asking is there independant e bike technicians out there who will fix my bike because non of the solutions you have provided are available to me as alien have ceased trading
thanks

There are some, for example the Electric Transport Shop will tackle any e-bike, read the home page blurbs on this link.

And on this link in particular.
.

 

[trex]

...
my seller has ceased trading so i don,t have their support staff and their ability to diagnose the fault.
i didn,t get it from a shop so i cannot call the shop.
i,m not doubting the support that existing vendors will give but what if they also ceased trading .
again all i,m asking is there independant e bike technicians out there who will fix my bike because non of the solutions you have provided are available to me as alien have ceased trading
thanks

sorry I misunderstood you. There are more e-bike experts on here than in any shop, you'll always get help.
bigroy is the expert on all alien bikes and kits.

 

[stevieb]

thanks for the very useful link flecc and also thank you trex ,
thats the reassuring info i,m looking for ,
not had any problems yet but it,s great to know i can get a helping hand if i need it.
it can seem a bit daunting to a newbie like myself
anyway i seem to have strayed off topic on this thread which was about passing on enthusiasm and bike sales and being pro active.
so with what i have learned from the helpful folks above i can now inform potential new owners of e bikes that if they want to buy from one of the suppliers mail order then there is back up support .
thank you.