Look forward to 50% price hikes - followed by 33% off. (Assuming that hasn't already happened.)
Alternatively, it might encourage large-volume sellers to enter the market with a discount business model.
Can certainly hope that the market becomes more accessible to more people - however that happens. So long as it doesn't sell bikes but leave buyers without adequate support. Big boys have a tendency to be very effective at supplying the products, often at good prices, and very poor at providing any form of ongoing support.
You only have to read many threads on this forum to see that an awful lot of people buy e-bikes solely on the low advertised price (Hands-up... I'm as guilty as any). Any form of after-sales service costs money: A fair margin would need to be added to that ticket price if support is what you want/expect.
When you look at the top end of the market, an (un)fair margin has already been added, and yet you don't seem to get much support. "Sorry sir/ madam, we'll have to send it back to the factory for repair"....
The biggest problem, as I see it, is that bikes with problems just get dumped. Selling the idea of e-bikes as a green measure, then seeing untold numbers dumped, scrapped, well before their potential lives undermines all that justification.
Agreed. And not just bikes, every consumer item in the modern world.
I see the point you're making, but that seems to relate mostly to premium mid-motored e-bikes. Granted, local bike-shop knowledge on "electrics" is sadly lacking beyond "replace the motor, replace the controller, replace the display, replace the battery", but is that the fault of the dealer? Bosch certainly insist on a return to factory policy not only for e-bike motors, but also their professional power tools (as another example). I'm told they do that to understand where the problems are and likely causes "for future product development". Yes, it's a great inconvenience, but if you don't like that policy don't buy their products. So I don't.
Are they really all dumped though? The problem is most likely caused by people like me with mid-drive e-bikes, where the motors employed will become obsolete very quickly, and the frames then useless (although could be stripped of other useful parts). Maybe there's a future industry in someone grinding off the obsolete motor mounting brackets, welding on new ones that fit new motor models, and refinishing the frame?
I'm curious @cyclebuddy , what makes a motor (or anything on a bike) obsolete?
Don't forget that the interest free loan is an equity loan. So if the value of your house goes up, so does the loan when you payback or sell. But if the value of your house goes down, the loan stays the same!
The right to repair... What's the betting that Dominic won't let Bozzer take it on board, its an EU thing, we will be out on our own dealing with a major recession. Still, Chlorinated Chicken will be cheap.
IMO, new technology which so far surpasses the original that it's worth making a swap. Eg 12v lead acid batteries don't cut it these days (ditto incandescent bulbs, 'E' efficiency home appliances, etc).
I agree with everything you say. What I really meant was when that bike becomes beyond economic repair... i.e. it's going to cost more to fix than it's worth.
Would it be possible to add a hub motor to a mid drive bike, of coarse using a different battery, display and controller.
Oh dear, it doesn't say much for Bosch's brand when their customers are planning how to fix their products before they've even broken!
No, unless you are almost 100% sure something will be reliable for a reasonable period (say 10 years) a sensible buying decision will consider possible repair inconvenience and cost. Sadly, both of these are high on Bosch systems.
