Thought I'd share my bad experience in the hope others can learn from my mistake and at least something good will come of it.
So two years ago, I bought an UltraMotor Hybrid 26. It dropped in price, probably due to UltraMotor/A2B going bankrupt and being bought out by HeroEco, so seemed like a good deal. Was similar price to a Giant Express, but with bigger battery (I rue the day I didn't get the Giant, I was suckered in by the Ultramotor aesthetics). Problems started from day one..
* The safety cut off in the brake wouldn't always work, which was reassuring. Luckily my commute was 98% off road on a special cycle path.
* The fan in the charger makes a very loud whirring noise.
* After two months the battery died. The shop replaced it.
* Three months the display died, after much chasing (weeks) HeroEco, and the shop getting thoroughly fed up of chasing them (they stopped stocking HeroEco after a while), and dealing with their lies of saying it was "all sorted" (they never even contacted me).
* After 6 months the torque sensor would go crazy for days at a time. I ended up just having to turn the bike off and lug the 30kg lump of metal the commute.
* By this point, I thought I would delay sending it back as I wanted to wait and see what else would go wrong and get it all fixed/replaced at the same time. As sending it back means getting the bus, and £32/week.
* After about a year the second control unit started showing a corrupted display.
* After about 14 months, the rear LED light stopped working.
* Then one day the safety cut off and the torque sensor failed at the same time (torque sensor had behaved for a while now, and I got in the habit of recalibrating it for every ride), which resulted in an out of control bike that almost threw me onto a road. A hilarious sight (for everyone else) ensued of me trying to physically wrestle the bike under control as it was going maximum power. I thought at this point, when it became a literal death trap, that I would move to another bike.
It would be a couple weeks before my replacement came, and I very cautiously used the bike in the meantime (I hated the bus), only ever using it on it's lowest power setting, and with well maintained brakes. I would have cycled, but using the bike with leg power is an absolute joke. You'll be lucky if you can walk by the end of it.
* But before the new bike could arrive, the speed sensor died (last component of the electronics that hadn't failed so far), showing 0 speed at all times. So it was useless as an electric bike at this point.
So, those were the problems. Now the fun of returning it began. Firstly, if you get a reply at all, you're lucky. Had emails completely ignored before finally responding after many weeks. First hit is they want you to pay the postage, which was £60 for me. Ok it's not the law they pay postage, but many companies do, and I'm only returning it because of their failings in the bike manufacture. Once it was back, I was told it was all fixed and good to go, saying they replaced the control unit (3rd time lucky?), and that older ones had bad firmware on. I asked if this also fixed the torque sensor.You know, the part that tried to kill me. I was assured it was. I think I got about 6 miles before it started acting up. I could tell they hadn't fixed it at all, probably did once around the car park and thought it was good enough. After a few more miles of erratic behaviour, I turned the bike off at the battery. And despite being off, yes OFF, it turned itself on and got a sudden unexpected impulse!
Compounding matters, as since the bike was used for a couple years now, it was a bit dirty and the sprocket and chain were a bit worn and in need of replacement. The bike was still rideable just fine. However it was said that because of this, they would not normally honour the warranty, and would need an "elite" servicing. Despite there being nothing said of how it could possibly effect things such as the control unit and torque sensor, which are sealed away. Nor does it say anything about this in the warranty information I got with the bike. So I think I can safely read between the lines and see the game he was playing, that if I wanted anything to be fixed, I would have to pay a substantial sum for a servicing first. In addition to paying the £60 postage, again. Making it basically uneconomical to get it fixed.
So in summary, if you find commutes too boring and not filled with enough random difficulties and the excitement of wondering what component will die next, or perhaps you're tired of life and want to make it look like an accident, then by all means, buy from this company.
If the above does not apply, then I strongly recommend you tell friends/family to avoid this brand.
I now have a Kalkhoff Pro Connect Impulse Alfine G8, and I could not be happier. Infinitely better designed in every conceivable way.
So two years ago, I bought an UltraMotor Hybrid 26. It dropped in price, probably due to UltraMotor/A2B going bankrupt and being bought out by HeroEco, so seemed like a good deal. Was similar price to a Giant Express, but with bigger battery (I rue the day I didn't get the Giant, I was suckered in by the Ultramotor aesthetics). Problems started from day one..
* The safety cut off in the brake wouldn't always work, which was reassuring. Luckily my commute was 98% off road on a special cycle path.
* The fan in the charger makes a very loud whirring noise.
* After two months the battery died. The shop replaced it.
* Three months the display died, after much chasing (weeks) HeroEco, and the shop getting thoroughly fed up of chasing them (they stopped stocking HeroEco after a while), and dealing with their lies of saying it was "all sorted" (they never even contacted me).
* After 6 months the torque sensor would go crazy for days at a time. I ended up just having to turn the bike off and lug the 30kg lump of metal the commute.
* By this point, I thought I would delay sending it back as I wanted to wait and see what else would go wrong and get it all fixed/replaced at the same time. As sending it back means getting the bus, and £32/week.
* After about a year the second control unit started showing a corrupted display.
* After about 14 months, the rear LED light stopped working.
* Then one day the safety cut off and the torque sensor failed at the same time (torque sensor had behaved for a while now, and I got in the habit of recalibrating it for every ride), which resulted in an out of control bike that almost threw me onto a road. A hilarious sight (for everyone else) ensued of me trying to physically wrestle the bike under control as it was going maximum power. I thought at this point, when it became a literal death trap, that I would move to another bike.
It would be a couple weeks before my replacement came, and I very cautiously used the bike in the meantime (I hated the bus), only ever using it on it's lowest power setting, and with well maintained brakes. I would have cycled, but using the bike with leg power is an absolute joke. You'll be lucky if you can walk by the end of it.
* But before the new bike could arrive, the speed sensor died (last component of the electronics that hadn't failed so far), showing 0 speed at all times. So it was useless as an electric bike at this point.
So, those were the problems. Now the fun of returning it began. Firstly, if you get a reply at all, you're lucky. Had emails completely ignored before finally responding after many weeks. First hit is they want you to pay the postage, which was £60 for me. Ok it's not the law they pay postage, but many companies do, and I'm only returning it because of their failings in the bike manufacture. Once it was back, I was told it was all fixed and good to go, saying they replaced the control unit (3rd time lucky?), and that older ones had bad firmware on. I asked if this also fixed the torque sensor.You know, the part that tried to kill me. I was assured it was. I think I got about 6 miles before it started acting up. I could tell they hadn't fixed it at all, probably did once around the car park and thought it was good enough. After a few more miles of erratic behaviour, I turned the bike off at the battery. And despite being off, yes OFF, it turned itself on and got a sudden unexpected impulse!
Compounding matters, as since the bike was used for a couple years now, it was a bit dirty and the sprocket and chain were a bit worn and in need of replacement. The bike was still rideable just fine. However it was said that because of this, they would not normally honour the warranty, and would need an "elite" servicing. Despite there being nothing said of how it could possibly effect things such as the control unit and torque sensor, which are sealed away. Nor does it say anything about this in the warranty information I got with the bike. So I think I can safely read between the lines and see the game he was playing, that if I wanted anything to be fixed, I would have to pay a substantial sum for a servicing first. In addition to paying the £60 postage, again. Making it basically uneconomical to get it fixed.
So in summary, if you find commutes too boring and not filled with enough random difficulties and the excitement of wondering what component will die next, or perhaps you're tired of life and want to make it look like an accident, then by all means, buy from this company.
If the above does not apply, then I strongly recommend you tell friends/family to avoid this brand.
I now have a Kalkhoff Pro Connect Impulse Alfine G8, and I could not be happier. Infinitely better designed in every conceivable way.
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