Yoikoto

[Leedspete]

Well where to start with this company. I brought a Kristal e5 from for £789. I know it’s cheap but its what I could afford and it’s been a little bit of hell.
First things were I had to replace the brakes as they weren’t good enough and broke. They refunded me the price. Thank you kindly I thought.
But now I have 2 more problems. The derailleur is not working as it should and the suspension forks are rocking on the bushes, which a cycle mechanic has told me isn’t good.
My question is should both of these be covered by the warranty or not? I have had the bike 4 months and it’s been as bad as the oxygen bike I brought.
Shouldn’t the forks and derailleur last longer than 4 months?

Ps. I do use this bike for commuting and deliveries. If that makes a difference

There endeth my rant and questions. Good day to you all

 

[matthewslack]

Well where to start with this company. I brought a Kristal e5 from for £789. I know it’s cheap but its what I could afford and it’s been a little bit of hell.
First things were I had to replace the brakes as they weren’t good enough and broke. They refunded me the price. Thank you kindly I thought.
But now I have 2 more problems. The derailleur is not working as it should and the suspension forks are rocking on the bushes, which a cycle mechanic has told me isn’t good.
My question is should both of these be covered by the warranty or not? I have had the bike 4 months and it’s been as bad as the oxygen bike I brought.
Shouldn’t the forks and derailleur last longer than 4 months?

Ps. I do use this bike for commuting and deliveries. If that makes a difference

There endeth my rant and questions. Good day to you all

A lot of cheap stuff, not just bikes, is built to the minimum quality to get enough of them through the warranty time at a manageable failure rate. For example, DIY power tools only need to last 10 hours or so of actual use because that's about all they get in the one or two years warranty period. So buy a Makita or De Walt if you need a dependable tool.

When you say deliveries, do you mean e.g. deliveroo? Which might be riding several hours a day, on a bike the maker expects to be used probably less than an hour a day? If so, that will make a difference. It may also be outside warranty cover as 'commercial' use.

If the basic bike and the battery/motor/electrics are good, I would just replace the rubbish forks with something from bankruptbikeparts.co.uk or secondhand but good from ebay, and the bottom end derailleur with basic Shimano. Won't cost a lot, less hassle, and you'll have a better bike.

 

[Leedspete]

I don’t understand the commercial use of a bike. i only use it on delivery 7.5 hours a week on deliveries. But surely a bike is supposed to be ridden as reasonable quality.
what if my commute was 2.5 hours each way every day shouldn’t I expect the bike to last longer than 4 months

Where do I find out this commercial exclusion on the warranty if it exists.
Appreciate the reply but it confuses me.

 

[flecc]

I don’t understand the commercial use of a bike. i only use it on delivery 7.5 hours a week on deliveries. But surely a bike is supposed to be ridden as reasonable quality.
what if my commute was 2.5 hours each way every day shouldn’t I expect the bike to last longer than 4 months

Where do I find out this commercial exclusion on the warranty if it exists.
Appreciate the reply but it confuses me.

Long ago there were trade bikes, those deliberately made tough for working use. They had such things as wider chains and sprockets, often heavier duty rims and tyres. All others were regarded as leisure bikes.

As Matthew has remarked, many bikes bought for leisure cycling get remarkably little use, so cheap Chinese components like the Sensah groupset and Z.Star brakes on your Kristal e5 can be good enough for that sort of occasional user wanting to save on the bike price.

But if you are going to do some real work with a bike and need it to last, best pay more for a better equipped model.

As for warranties, they are all carefully written to be able to exclude anything when the manufacturer needs a cop-out.
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[sjpt]

How much do you stress your bike? For example regularly jumping on and off pavements, or changing gear while pedalling hard with assistance under full power. As you suggest a bike should last a lot more than 4 months (even 4 years). Harsh handling will cause more issues than extended use.

 

[StuartsProjects]

I don’t understand the commercial use of a bike.

Your using it for 'deliveries' so sounds like your a business, in which case the rights that would apply to an indivdual under the Consumer Rights Acts dont apply.

So what 'rights' you have are all down to the contract between the business that sold you the bike and your business.

 

[Leedspete]

How much do you stress your bike? For example regularly jumping on and off pavements, or changing gear while pedalling hard with assistance under full power. As you suggest a bike should last a lot more than 4 months (even 4 years). Harsh handling will cause more issues than extended use.

I don’t jump on or off pavements as the most power I use is assist 3. My bike had 5 power assist levels and I change gears as needed. There is nothing in the warranty to exclude commercial use. I still don’t understand how this Can be used against us.

 

[Leedspete]

Your using it for 'deliveries' so sounds like your a business, in which case the rights that would apply to an indivdual under the Consumer Rights Acts dont apply.

So what 'rights' you have are all down to the contract between the business that sold you the bike and your business.

I thought consumer rights applied to anyone who brought anything.

 

[Leedspete]

Your using it for 'deliveries' so sounds like your a business, in which case the rights that would apply to an indivdual under the Consumer Rights Acts dont apply.

So what 'rights' you have are all down to the contract between the business that sold you the bike and your business.

Business to business rights when buying goods
In the case of goods, unless otherwise stated, you are entitled to demand that your purchases:

• correspond with the seller's description
• are of satisfactory quality - safe, in working order and free of minor defects etc
• are fit for purpose - capable of doing what they're meant to do

I am listed as a sole trader as well not a business

I think I may have confused the issue. I use the bike mainly to commute to my full time job which isn’t deliveries but do the deliveries as a side hustle to top up. I have registered as a sole trader so under the cra I come as a individual.

However, individuals who act as sole traders can benefit from the same rights and remedies if they purchase goods and services for a purpose that is mainly personal rather than professional. The Act requires that goods and digital content must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose, and as described

 

[StuartsProjects]

I thought consumer rights applied to anyone who brought anything.

Business to Business purchases are not covered under the Consumer Rights Acts.

A sole trader is a business.

 

[flecc]

I don’t jump on or off pavements as the most power I use is assist 3. My bike had 5 power assist levels and I change gears as needed. There is nothing in the warranty to exclude commercial use. I still don’t understand how this Can be used against us.

"Fair wear and tear" is often used in this context.

The company has made a very cheap e-bike one can use for leisure rides. Social, Domestic and Pleasure is the usual phrase to describe this sort of usage. That doesn't include use for working purposes as you are doing, so any failure isn't necessarily due to fair wear and tear.
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[matthewslack]

I don’t understand the commercial use of a bike. i only use it on delivery 7.5 hours a week on deliveries. But surely a bike is supposed to be ridden as reasonable quality.
what if my commute was 2.5 hours each way every day shouldn’t I expect the bike to last longer than 4 months

Where do I find out this commercial exclusion on the warranty if it exists.
Appreciate the reply but it confuses me.

7.5 hrs a week is not a lot. Some delivery riders are probably doing that per day, so your use is modest.

The warranty may not mention commercial use explicitly, there may be general terms that might cover it. In a I think Bosch warranty I saw it was two years for private use but only one for commercial i.e. bike hire or delivery company.

By all means try using the warranty, the main point I'm making is cheap bikes are made from cheap components, and in the 'active' parts like forks and derailleur, their design is full of compromises to get the cost down. So they don't last.

A warranty replacement part will not be any better than the first, so I'd just get better parts and move on.

 

[flecc]

I have had the bike 4 months and it’s been as bad as the oxygen bike I brought.

This is what makes me suspicious. Oxygen make good e-bikes and are highly respected by many in here. One of the most skilled and knowledgeable tech helpers in this forum was d8veh and he always had a very high regard for Oxygen e-bikes, recommending them to many members.

Yet you tell us you found an Oxygen as bad as this Kristal e5! Something isn't adding up.
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[Andy-Mat]

Well where to start with this company. I brought a Kristal e5 from for £789. I know it’s cheap but its what I could afford and it’s been a little bit of hell.
First things were I had to replace the brakes as they weren’t good enough and broke. They refunded me the price. Thank you kindly I thought.
But now I have 2 more problems. The derailleur is not working as it should and the suspension forks are rocking on the bushes, which a cycle mechanic has told me isn’t good.
My question is should both of these be covered by the warranty or not? I have had the bike 4 months and it’s been as bad as the oxygen bike I brought.
Shouldn’t the forks and derailleur last longer than 4 months?

Ps. I do use this bike for commuting and deliveries. If that makes a difference

There endeth my rant and questions. Good day to you all

Interesting and very sad.
Speaking ONLY for myself, I have never heard anything about this make, neither good, bad or indifferent.
But when I decide to buy something, often on the internet, I do some research first, especially for hi cost ticket items.
Over the years, I have not only bought one cheap e-bike (totally happy with it still!), but even both new and 2nd hand cars. I start with using Microsoft software to make comparisons of all the knowledge that I can find for each and every possibility, and let the comparison direct my purchase, and I must say that I am generally very happy with the results and purchase. Over the years, I know of quite a number of people follow a similar method of decision making before purchase.
But in a quick internet search, I could not find any negative reviews of the Kristal e5 online, so my method may have not helped you much in this particular case, though the lack of infos (positive or negative) on e-bike web sites, might be interpreted as a possibly a negative aspect - number of bikes actually sold?
Hopefully, you can with a bit of money and some DIY effort, replace and repair any parts that are of low quality.....probably saving a good bit of cash over buying a more expensive model with NO problems......
regards and best wishes
Andy

 

[matthewslack]

The bike I am lucky enough to rent for not much a month has a list price of £2699, yet only a Shimano Altus rear mech, £13.99 new on ebay. The forks are similarly low end Suntour, and poor, so I imagine things will be worse on a £800 bike.

 

[Leedspete]

This is what makes me suspicious. Oxygen make good e-bikes and are highly respected by many in here. One of the most skilled and knowledgeable tech helpers in this forum was d8veh and he always had a very high regard for Oxygen e-bikes, recommending them to many members.

Yet you tell us you found an Oxygen as bad as this Kristal e5! Something isn't adding up.
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It wasnt the name I was against it was the state of the bike when I got it. The pictures and description didn’t correspond with each other. And the state of it was terrible. I would surely buy an oxygen ebike new but not second hand. Nothing against the brand.

 

[Leedspete]

7.5 hrs a week is not a lot. Some delivery riders are probably doing that per day, so your use is modest.

The warranty may not mention commercial use explicitly, there may be general terms that might cover it. In a I think Bosch warranty I saw it was two years for private use but only one for commercial i.e. bike hire or delivery company.

By all means try using the warranty, the main point I'm making is cheap bikes are made from cheap components, and in the 'active' parts like forks and derailleur, their design is full of compromises to get the cost down. So they don't last.

A warranty replacement part will not be any better than the first, so I'd just get better parts and move on.

At least I can claim the repairs as expenses. Lol

 

[Leedspete]

The bike I am lucky enough to rent for not much a month has a list price of £2699, yet only a Shimano Altus rear mech, £13.99 new on ebay. The forks are similarly low end Suntour, and poor, so I imagine things will be worse on a £800 bike.

What bike do you rent?

 

[matthewslack]

What bike do you rent?

A Ridgeback X2, large.

Pure chance, I was not involved in the selection, just what came along in a community ebike scheme.

If I was spending my own money, I'd be wanting better componentry, so learning from here I would be looking at Wisper and Woosh, Haibike and Giant for starters. But my next will be old MTB 26er with TSDZ2 kit.

Edit: add Cube to that list.

 

[flecc]

It wasnt the name I was against it was the state of the bike when I got it. The pictures and description didn’t correspond with each other. And the state of it was terrible. I would surely buy an oxygen ebike new but not second hand. Nothing against the brand.

Understood Pete, that wasn't at all clear before.

I must say I would never buy a cheap e-bike like the Kristal e5 for commuting. The components on an e-bike at that very low price are nowhere near good enough for year round daily use, especially if doing additional work with it.

Even with well known brands like Shimano one has to choose carefully, since they make items at all quality and price levels. Even with a budget item like a multi sprocket freewheel they offer a choice from £12 to £35. You can guess which will fail first.
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