Hi oldtimer,
Hi Oldtimer, I have to agree the Chinese have taken over much like the Japanese did years ago, they took the technology of the west, copied it , improved on it and did it at a fraction of the cost.
Years ago I used to buy from a company called Tandy, you may remember them. They traded under the name Radioshack in the USA as far as I recall.
They used to sell a series of video recorders under the Memorex brand name, a basic single speed model, an upgraded sp/lp model and a top of the range model which for the life of me I cannot remember its redeeming features. The only difference between the three models available was the remote control, the actual video recorders were identical internally.
Similarly the Victor company of Japan used to and probably still does, manufacture near every well known brand of electrical equipment available, JVC, Ferguson, Akai etc. As does Matsushita whom produce Panasonic and Technics to name a few.
So, Brand names hold little importance to me as they're mostly applied after the manufacturing process by the relevant importers.
A couple of years ago I purchased a Pentax digital slr camera. It was their first digital slr and got rave reviews. One month later Samsung released the identical camera under their name, but cheaper. Neither were the manufacturer.
I think its common practice, manufacturers produce a multitude of products and sell to the highest bidders who put their own name to them.
I'm now chomping at the bit to try my ebike out but we're 6ins deep in snow at the moment with more on the way. As soon as I get it outside I'll take some pics to post on here for everyones opinion. Its an unbranded bike but appears to be reasonable specs. I'm a little worried after reading that there are copycat versions of these bikes and their components. I have to wonder why anyone would go to the expense of setting up an industry to make inferior copies, are the copies in fact inferior? A friend of mine used to bring back clothes and handbags from Thailand, all copies but so good it was difficult to tell them from the originals. Some were even better than the original.
I'm going to have to study the workings of the forum features to make my posts more attractive, I don't even know how to add a quote to my post.
Thats about it for now, time for a cuppa. Cheers from me all.
Just a quick question before I go. Where do ebikes fall in the greater scale of things? They're not cycles as such, as in racing cycle, tourer, mountain bike etc. Neither are they motorcycles/mopeds. I also wonder at the term greener way to travel, how so? A cycle is green, add an electric motor and batteries that need charging and its no longer as green. Taking a bus is actually greener because the bus will still run irrespective of whether I use my ebike, so using my bike will add to my co2 footprint. Maybe I should return it for a refund. Course I will?
Hi Oldtimer, I have to agree the Chinese have taken over much like the Japanese did years ago, they took the technology of the west, copied it , improved on it and did it at a fraction of the cost.
Years ago I used to buy from a company called Tandy, you may remember them. They traded under the name Radioshack in the USA as far as I recall.
They used to sell a series of video recorders under the Memorex brand name, a basic single speed model, an upgraded sp/lp model and a top of the range model which for the life of me I cannot remember its redeeming features. The only difference between the three models available was the remote control, the actual video recorders were identical internally.
Similarly the Victor company of Japan used to and probably still does, manufacture near every well known brand of electrical equipment available, JVC, Ferguson, Akai etc. As does Matsushita whom produce Panasonic and Technics to name a few.
So, Brand names hold little importance to me as they're mostly applied after the manufacturing process by the relevant importers.
A couple of years ago I purchased a Pentax digital slr camera. It was their first digital slr and got rave reviews. One month later Samsung released the identical camera under their name, but cheaper. Neither were the manufacturer.
I think its common practice, manufacturers produce a multitude of products and sell to the highest bidders who put their own name to them.
I'm now chomping at the bit to try my ebike out but we're 6ins deep in snow at the moment with more on the way. As soon as I get it outside I'll take some pics to post on here for everyones opinion. Its an unbranded bike but appears to be reasonable specs. I'm a little worried after reading that there are copycat versions of these bikes and their components. I have to wonder why anyone would go to the expense of setting up an industry to make inferior copies, are the copies in fact inferior? A friend of mine used to bring back clothes and handbags from Thailand, all copies but so good it was difficult to tell them from the originals. Some were even better than the original.
I'm going to have to study the workings of the forum features to make my posts more attractive, I don't even know how to add a quote to my post.
Thats about it for now, time for a cuppa. Cheers from me all.
Just a quick question before I go. Where do ebikes fall in the greater scale of things? They're not cycles as such, as in racing cycle, tourer, mountain bike etc. Neither are they motorcycles/mopeds. I also wonder at the term greener way to travel, how so? A cycle is green, add an electric motor and batteries that need charging and its no longer as green. Taking a bus is actually greener because the bus will still run irrespective of whether I use my ebike, so using my bike will add to my co2 footprint. Maybe I should return it for a refund. Course I will?
