The true cost of cheap E-bikes

How well do you know your E-bike? How well do you know your kid’s?
Each week, Minnesotans walk into bike stores seeking repairs on their E-Bikes unsure of exactly what they are riding.

Details of top speed, pedal assist versus throttle and wattage limits can be hard to find for each make and model.

And each week, Bill Findling, owner and founder of Watt Cycleworks, a solely E-bike focused bike shop, has to tell customers that his store can’t make those repairs.

“There’s plenty of times we have to call somebody and say ‘Hey, this bike is not repairable,’” said Findling.

Between proprietary electronics, brands refusing to sell spare parts, or cheaply made E-bikes, a growing number of E-bike riders are discovering that even simple breaks can permanently ruin their E-bike, or that the bike they are seeking to repair was never legal to ride on Minnesota streets and trails to begin with.

“The brands, I think they prey on people a little bit by not really telling folks that if the bike breaks, they can’t get parts or can’t get repairs anywhere and they’re unsafe or even illegal in some states,” said Findling.

Repairs in an electric world
Across the Twin Cities, bike stores have taken different approaches on how to repair E-bikes.

“Most bike shops are not equipped to properly do electrical repair. We are bike shops not electricians,” said Hans Meyer, service lead at Freewheel Minneapolis.

Stores like Express Bike Shop in St. Paul refuse to work on any E-bikes unless its strictly mechanical repairs.

At Angry Catfish, technicians only work on the brands sold in-store, similar to Freewheel which mostly focuses on in-house brands.

Others like Watt Cycleworks, have a growing list of brands they don’t work on due to lack of spare parts.

“It’s not an issue of quality. It’s truly just too much of a hassle to find these parts that might be specific to this brand […]. It’s easier to say no,” said Findling.

A common example of a simple break that can completely ruin an E-bike is an issue with the controller. An E-bike’s controller functions as the brain of the E-bike, controlling power to throttle and pedal assist. If it breaks, those systems stop working. If a replacement controller for that specific make and model of bike isn’t available, replacements can often cost more than the E-bike itself.

“If that controller isn’t available, then the bike is dead weight unless you replace the entire system,” said Findling.

The BiC Lighters of E-bikes
When it comes to E-bikes that are difficult to repair, the worst offenders are the cheapest E-bikes on the market. Usually ranging from $600-$1000, the technicians at Watt called this price range “the BiC lighters of E-bikes” because once they break, they cannot be fixed.

“Once its broken, once it doesn’t work, you throw it away and you get another,” said Findling.
This price range consistently has lower-quality parts like weak forks and brake kits which can more easily malfunction under stress or simply make slowing down more difficult.

“Inferior brakes are something that I’ve seen that I’m frankly fearful of,” said Meyer.

Direct-to-consumer E-bikes that require assembly in this price range are especially egregious. Many feature “shockingly low quality,” components and are “simply not safe,” said Sam Golden, manager at Express Bike Shop.

“Let’s say it can go 36 miles per hour, and this person doesn’t know how to tighten a front wheel in, it’s incredibly unsafe,” said Findling.

Compounding both of these issues is that many of the most aggressive riders are the youngest who put more stress on E-bikes which can lead to worse failures and therefore accidents.

“Not every E-bike, I feel, truly takes into account the extra speed, weight and forces that are really needed to support somebody who’s going up to 28 miles per hour,” said Meyer.

A legal gray area
Due to the increase of E-bikes across the country, in 2002, the United States set out three federal classes to describe what exactly is an E-bike. These classes are:

• Class 1: a bike with electronic assistance only when pedaling with an electric motor that automatically shuts off above 20 miles per hour;

• Class 2: a bike with a motor featuring throttle assistance that can function even when the user is not pedaling that cuts off at 20 miles per hour; and

• Class 3: a bike featuring a motor that only assists when the user is pedaling, no throttle, and cuts off at 28 miles per hour.

Outside of these classes, what might be sold as an E-bike, might actually be something else, usually an off-road vehicle or all-terrain vehicle that might require registration or be illegal to ride on public roads and bike paths.

“People think they are buying a bike, but its technically an off-road vehicle because of top speeds or throttle,” said Findling.

This issue doesn’t extend just to consumers, but also for technicians, who might not be able to find information for a make and model that is brought into their store for repairs.

“We oftentimes have no way of knowing whether this is really an E-bike or if it is an E-motorcycle or E-moped,” said Meyer.

According to Meyer, newer E-bike brands taking advantage of the growing market are more likely to lack information or bend regulatory rules: “The problem is not the established bike brands. The last thing they want is to get in trouble with the law.”

Already states have taken different approaches to regulating E-bikes. California does not allow class 3 E-bikes to be marketed as “electric bicycles” due to their high speed and bans them from most trails and bike paths. New Jersey treats class 2 and 3 E-bikes as motorized bicycles requiring registration, insurance and a driver’s license. Across the country, police departments are also using tools to test E-bike top speeds to make sure that what is being ridden on public roads is allowed to be there.

In Minnesota, municipalities across the state have scrambled to create local laws governing where E-bikes can be ridden, but there is still confusion what can be ridden where, and what exactly is beneath a rider’s pedals.

For Meyer, the best way to go about getting an affordable E-bike is to speak with a professional who can recommend brands and models. While they might be more expensive, “in just about every instance, they are going to end up paying for it one way or the other.”