Which brand to sell!

[BBB]

I have been selling electric bikes for a number of years, and would like to take on a high end brand. After-sales as a dealer is so important .
I cannot do Giant as there is a dealer in our area, so what brand would retailers recommend, I have Powabyke and Powacycle already, so Whisper, Heinzmann, or similar brands would fit the bill.
We did have a customer in with a Heinzmann that he bought on line, but we were not impressed with the Jockey wheel system used to guide the chain, which made it difficult to set the gears.

 

[flecc]

Although the Heinzman kit quality is unquestionable, they are an old design brush motor single spur gear design, so there are the implications of brush wear and higher than average motor noise. Since they are also extremely expensive they wouldn't be my sole choice as a high end brand.

Fron a retail point of view the most attractive is probably Wisper for a couple of reasons. They do not compete directly with sales online or by phone, sending all inquiries to the nearest retailer. They have a very wide range of hub motor models now, covering all options, front or rear hub motor, different frame sizes and step through, crossbar or folder styles, various batteries including long range. There are however minimum stock range and level requirements to ensure good customer service.

You can also have a crank drive agency with the well made Gepida e-bike which has a system very similar to the Panasonic one.
.

 

[eddieo]

Hi and where is your shop?

You cant go wrong with a Wisper so would recommend them, they have some exciting bikes coming out, on top of excellent existing range. Plus an interesting kit due out soon as well.

You also need to offer a Panasonic crank drive bike I would think, So E Motion, Gespida something like that......

 

[Scatty]

gespida ?? is that new??

 

[eddieo]

gespida ?? is that new??

No, not really...East European using a Yamaha sytem similar to Panasonic I fink...There is a link on top of this page

(I posted my contribution before e I saw Fleccs, see I am learning......Monkey see monkey do!lol. I did think the gespida were Panasonic though so not there yet master )

 

[Scatty]

No, not really...East European using a Yamaha sytem similar to Panasonic I fink...There is a link on top of this page

(I posted my contribution before e I saw Fleccs, see I am learning......Monkey see monkey do!lol. I did think the gespida were Panasonic though so not there yet master )

To Gepida

 

[flecc]

gespida ?? is that new??

Gepida are a Hungarian bicycle manufacturer who use the new Yamaha crank motor system, which is very similar to the Panasonic one but with some variation in the way the power is delivered. The difference is quite subtle so it's best to try both types.

The model marketed here is the Gepida Reptila, made to the usual high European standards that we see in the Kalkhoff e-bikes.
.

 

[Bigbee]

I have been selling electric bikes for a number of years, and would like to take on a high end brand. After-sales as a dealer is so important .
I cannot do Giant as there is a dealer in our area, so what brand would retailers recommend, I have Powabyke and Powacycle already, so Whisper, Heinzmann, or similar brands would fit the bill.
We did have a customer in with a Heinzmann that he bought on line, but we were not impressed with the Jockey wheel system used to guide the chain, which made it difficult to set the gears.

Where are you based?

 

[BBB]

I am in the Channel Islands, so a few Hilly area's, which the old Powabykes seem to cope with quite well, despite their weight.

 

[Mussels]

You don't need long range batteries then or do tourists use them to tour the island?
I'm surprised there is more than one ebike shop on an island that size.

 

[flecc]

I am in the Channel Islands, so a few Hilly area's, which the old Powabykes seem to cope with quite well, despite their weight.

Yes,the old Powabykes are great climbers, partly through power and partly through fairly low motor gearing biased more for climb ability that speed. The main Wisper 905 line tends to bias the other way, with good speed ability and average hill climbing, though the new Dapush motors in the 906 series are said to be good climbers, but I haven't tried them so can't say.

The Gepida with the Yamaha unit has all the climb ability that the Panasonic powered bikes are famed for, no slope too steep, so within a limited area they could be a good choice as a quality brand.
.

 

[Elcycoltd]

Elcycoltd

We are a company in Scotland selling Giant, Trek, and Wiper bikes and about to add Raleigh to our Brands.
You might like to try Raleigh as they have been distributing Powabyke through their Retailers but are about to introduce their own crank driven model which has been sold previously by Raleigh Germany. It looks like a Kalkhoff with a Raleigh badge but will know better when they introduce at their Show in a couple of weeks.
Take a look at the Raleigh website then click on Raleigh Germany to see the models sold there.

 

[flecc]

sold previously by Raleigh Germany. It looks like a Kalkhoff with a Raleigh badge but will know better when they introduce at their Show in a couple of weeks.

These are basically the same bikes produced by major manufacturer Derby Cycles of Germany who own many brand names including Kalkhoff and Raleigh gmbh, so it's "badge engineering".

Fine quality e-bikes though, using the Panasonic drive through the gears unit.
.

 

[BBB]

Unfortunately we cant do Raleigh, but we are sole agents for powabyke , so should get any new models. No one hires out electric bikes on the island, someone tried and bought a lot of cheap ones in, they went bust! The trouble with hiring is what do you do after a few hours when the battery is flat!
Our customers do use their bikes as main transport, so taking into account the hills range is important. The Powacyle although being of slightly better quality than the Powabyke is slightly worse for real steep hills.
Some of our old Powabyke customers have covered thousands of miles having had their bikes 5 years or more and use them daily.
The downside for us is sometimes it can take hours to find a simple fault, and we do not usually charge the customer for all this time.so would like a slightly more reliable bike. Saying that, there are a lot of our customers who swear by the old Powabyke and want us to try and get them a new one. but i think Powabyke were only going to do a limited production in the future.
Frank from Powabyke is a fantastic guy, i hope the new owners appreciate him.

 

[flecc]

Unfortunately we cant do Raleigh,

The Gepida with the Yamaha power unit that I mentioned above is very close to being the same thing, the power unit works almost the same as the Panasonic one, though it's 8 Ah battery doesn't produce quite the range of the Panasonic 10 Ah one.
.

 

[BBB]

Thanks for all the input, I Had decided to add Wisper to my range of electric bike to give my customers a choice of an upmarket bike. My decision was based on the excellent after sales that wisper seems to offer, which is important for us as dealers.
Saying that having personally met Frank from powabyke, and sunk a few beers with him after a cycle show, I can say he is one of the nicest guys in the trade. I wish him well with his new bosses, and hope to do even more business with him in the future, no powabyke seem to be on an even keel again.

 

[Gepida uk]

Thanks for all the input, I Had decided to add Wisper to my range of electric bike to give my customers a choice of an upmarket bike. My decision was based on the excellent after sales that wisper seems to offer, which is important for us as dealers.
Saying that having personally met Frank from powabyke, and sunk a few beers with him after a cycle show, I can say he is one of the nicest guys in the trade. I wish him well with his new bosses, and hope to do even more business with him in the future, no powabyke seem to be on an even keel again.

Hi BBB,

My name is Aidan and work for Gepida UK, Our bikes our renowned for their quality and are complimented by the Yamaha battery and crank driven motor, they are as good as they get for their hill climbing ability. We are always on the lookout for repeatable dealers across the country to retail our brand, Our spares back up is all held here in the UK so no problems on parts, but having said that the only thing we have had go wrong with the bikes we have sold since we have been selling them is 1 x side stand & 1 x lights bulb. They are also used more for commercial use because of their robustness. We are also bringing out 2 new models this year, The MTB Gepida Sirmium & the Gepida Nedao Beach cruiser

 

[Gepida uk]

The Gepida with the Yamaha power unit that I mentioned above is very close to being the same thing, the power unit works almost the same as the Panasonic one, though it's 8 Ah battery doesn't produce quite the range of the Panasonic 10 Ah one.
.

Hi Flecc,

I really appreciate you support and comments for Gepida.

Thanks Aidan

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Wisper

Thanks for taking is on! I look forward to working with you in the future.

Re Frank at Powerbike, I absolutely agree he never has a bad word and is very knowledgeable and popular, if the new owners don't appreciate him, we would!

Best regards

David

 

[gbeton]

Frank Curran Appreciation Club

Re Frank at Powerbike, I absolutely agree he never has a bad word and is very knowledgeable and popular, if the new owners don't appreciate him, we would!

Can't deny that. As a person thats new to e-bikes and has chosen an X-6 as his first foray into this world, I have found Franks help and advice most useful with the customer service role he provides being second to none! Even the bloke at Halfords who built my X-6 appreciates him and his knowledge!

Regards

Graeme