[Jack Hass]

Is there any chance the Alibaba E-Bikes are ok?
Something like this Joykie High Quality Double Shock Frame 500w 48v Bafang Motor Dual Suspension E Mtb Mid Drive Ebike - Buy Ebike Mid Drive,Dual Suspension Ebike,Double Shock Ebike Product on Alibaba.com

 

[Sparticus]

Looks good from here.
The review on their site gives them 5 stars.
I say go for it.
=sParty

 

[Jack Hass]

Looks good from here.
The review on their site gives them 5 stars.
I say go for it.
=sParty

Can't tell if that's sarcasm.

 

[Sparticus]

Can't tell if that's sarcasm.

It is.
=sParty

 

[BicyclesOnMain]

Go for it. Everyone knows that ebikes from your LBS are the exact same thing marked up 3x the cost so they can pay for a new pool house.

 

[Jack Hass]

Go for it. Everyone knows that ebikes from your LBS are the exact same thing marked up 3x the cost so they can pay for a new pool house.

again, I think that's sarcasm, but it's true, only the LBS doesn't have the new pool house, Specialized and Giant does.

 

[Sparticus]

Over the course of my many years on this planet, I've known several people who owned bike shops.
One of my fav quotes comes from one of these guys.
One day I asked one of my bike shop owner buddies how business was going.
In reply, he asked me if I knew how to wind up with $1,000,000 working in the retail bike business.
I said, "No. How?"
He said, "Start with two million."
=sParty

 

[Jack Hass]

seems odd to me that the segment of mountain bikers (e-bikes) that many purists think is an abomination are bike snobs about where the abomination bikes come from.

 

[Sparticus]

You talkin' ta ME?

 

[BicyclesOnMain]

A customer brought in one of those abominations yesterday and was mystified why the chain caught on the fat tire while in low gear. I tried to explain these things are thrown together without any planning. It's a $400 machine sold to him for $2000. The Turbo Levo type bikes are a far better value, even though they cost $5500 you're getting your money's worth. Those fake chinese ebikes are false economy. The amount of nearly new budget bikes like Rad Power failing within a few miles is astounding.

 

[Jack Hass]

A customer brought in one of those abominations yesterday and was mystified why the chain caught on the fat tire while in low gear. I tried to explain these things are thrown together without any planning. It's a $400 machine sold to him for $2000. The Turbo Levo type bikes are a far better value, even though they cost $5500 you're getting your money's worth. Those fake chinese ebikes are false economy. The amount of nearly new budget bikes like Rad Power failing within a few miles is astounding.

This reminds me of the bike snobery back in the late 1990's when everyone tried to justify in their mind paying $3,000 for a mountain bike. I didn't have it like that back then but I could keep up with them on my $500 GT that I bought from Walmart.

 

[r-rocket]

This is the problem with Alibaba. Nobody can tell if this is a good bike or not without having their own expert QA's on site inspecting samples off the assembly line.

 

[stripes]

This reminds me of the bike snobery back in the late 1990's when everyone tried to justify in their mind paying $3,000 for a mountain bike. I didn't have it like that back then but I could keep up with them on my $500 GT that I bought from Walmart.

Sounds like you’re here to pick a fight with people rather than trust their opinions.

If you trust your life on some clapped out POS with zero quality control go for it because it’s cheaper, go for it.

Just don’t rub everyone’s face in it on how much better you are than everyone else who’s giving your their honest thoughts—that you asked for.

 

[ungod]

It's impossible for us to say whether that's a good bike or not, but I think you guys are being overly harsh.

For one thing, Bafang makes good motors and controllers. I have one on my converted e-bike commuter and it's been (and is know to be) bomb-proof.

I'd bet that the battery on this thing is made with cheap cells. It probably also comes with a cheap charger. That's going to be the two achilles heels of this bike.

Other than that, it's not rocket science to make a bike these days. Most of the frames are all made in the same dozen factories. They probably just took any one of their hundreds of already-designed bike frames and turned it into an e-bike.

Would I take this bike out on my local trails (which are very rough and technical)? No. Would I ride it to work on a paved road, or along a gravel path or an easy XC trail? Hell yeah. So I would ask OP what the intended use is before bashing it.

 

[mtnbkrmike]

This reminds me of the bike snobery back in the late 1990's when everyone tried to justify in their mind paying $3,000 for a mountain bike. I didn't have it like that back then but I could keep up with them on my $500 GT that I bought from Walmart.

Go for it then. Go kick a little a$$ with it.

Not sure what you’re looking for here. You ask. We answer. You crap all over us. Personally, I wouldn’t waste space in my garage with a bike like that but that’s just my opinion, which is what I thought you were seeking here. If not, maybe go write a blog post or something?

Edit: a few of my less salty thoughts, for what they are worth, are as follows:

1. I would not be comfortable riding the terrain I ride with that bike. It would not be enjoyable, worrying constantly whether something was going to explode on impact, or whether I was going to get stranded in a remote area in bad circumstances, even if neither of those things happened.

2. I suspect that the rear d and shock are not manufactured by Shimano and RockShox. The online description of this bike and it components, is a complete fail.

3. Replacement components - how are you going to get that fork serviced/rebuilt? What about the myriad of other non-standard components? What is the shock size? Is a replacement shock readily available?

4. Electronics. Lots of things to go wrong here.

5. No LBS support/product knowledge.

6. I don’t enjoy riding bikes that don’t have decent forks. As I mentioned, it’s not clear how easily this one can be replaced, even if one were inclined to sink more money into this purchase.

7. I am pretty picky about my saddle and tires. I am pretty sure I would not be happy with either on this bike. Wheels too. What about tubeless? Likely out of the question unless…more money. And hubs - if the rear hub goes, then what? Pay to get the wheel rebuilt? What size is that bar?

I can go on and on. In my view, these are all very real concerns. They don’t amount to chasing ghosts.

Regardless of whatever success you may have had conquering overspending snobs back in the good old days, if you are a serious rider, I doubt this bike would last very long on onything but paved pathways. But like I said - go for it!

 

[noapathy]

I've purchased things before.

 

[BicyclesOnMain]

This reminds me of the bike snobery back in the late 1990's when everyone tried to justify in their mind paying $3,000 for a mountain bike. I didn't have it like that back then but I could keep up with them on my $500 GT that I bought from Walmart.

It's not always a race.

 

[BicyclesOnMain]

It's impossible for us to say whether that's a good bike or not, but I think you guys are being overly harsh.

For one thing, Bafang makes good motors and controllers. I have one on my converted e-bike commuter and it's been (and is know to be) bomb-proof.

I'd bet that the battery on this thing is made with cheap cells. It probably also comes with a cheap charger. That's going to be the two achilles heels of this bike.

Other than that, it's not rocket science to make a bike these days. Most of the frames are all made in the same dozen factories. They probably just took any one of their hundreds of already-designed bike frames and turned it into an e-bike.

Would I take this bike out on my local trails (which are very rough and technical)? No. Would I ride it to work on a paved road, or along a gravel path or an easy XC trail? Hell yeah. So I would ask OP what the intended use is before bashing it.

To be fair, I only see the problem cases since we are a repair shop. There may be 10x as many that are working without a problem. But from what I've seen I wouldn't waste my money on any of the direct to consumer ebikes. If I was on a budget I'd either stick to normal bicycles, buy a used motorcycle, or build a good used bicycle with a Bafang kit.

 

[SpinFactor]

battery fires suck

 

[chazpat]

Is there a chance they're ok? Yes, a chance and it depends on your definition of ok. Personally, I wouldn't buy a hardtail bike off of Alibaba. Now throw in rear suspension and a motor and all the electronics, just a lot of areas that might not be ok.

It also has a 220V charger. Do you have a convenient 220v outlet? I supposed you might be able to swap the plug and charge at 110V but it would take a lot longer (?)