I have had good service from Onbike but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Mark and his team at Cytronex. I have had pretty good service from 50 cycles too but they were not that keen on selling me a bike this time - not good on price and availability (Onbike were much more upfront about when the bike I wanted was going to be in stock compared to 50 cycles for example). I would highly recommend a visit to PowaRider - Electric Bikes and I think it is Steve who runs it, who is very helpful. A good selection and plenty of honest opinion about the bikes - no pressure for a sale etc.

WOW. This thread has turned into quite something...

 

Well deserved praise for all mentioned parties, especially OnBike and 50cycles!

 

Please don't forget the dealers who quietly go about the business of promoting the use of electrically assisted bicycles in their local areas. One such dealer who deserves to be included in any future data-base is 'Powered bicycles in Nottingham'.

 

Powered bicycles

 

Regards

Bob

 

"Quietly" on the forums perhaps, but their website certainly gets a lot of traffic.

50cycles get my vote.

Hmmm... how about creating a ranking system? Best Electric Bike shop in the UK, as voted for by The Pedelecs Forum?

 

So far,

 

8 - Onbike

5 - 50Cycles

1 - The Electric Cycle Company

3 - Electric Transport Shop

2 - E-BIkes Direct

2 - Powarider

1 - Eco-Republic

1 - ElectricMountainBikes

1 - E-motion Electric Vehicle Company

1 - Powered Bicycles

1 - Cytronex

 

EdBike, while I think I understand what you seek to glean from those willing participants in this exercise, I'm bound to say I'm not fond of this kind of straw poll for the following reasons:

 

1) Respondents are inevitably hugely subjective with their choice as they, in most cases, don't or can't possibly get around all the dealerships around the country for any kind of proper comparison.

 

2) Not all respondents are interested in the same machines therefore, by way of example, those buying 13Kg Cytronex bikes will probably not be looking at "sit-up-and-beg" Panasonic powered bikes weighing in at 25Kg or so.

 

3) In cases where a dealer has outlets in multiple locations around the UK, it may not necessarily follow that because respondents have had excellent service at Oxford, those using the Cambridge branch receive equally good service.

 

4) In short, the question you pose and the answers received can be very misleading when you go on to tabulate the findings in some sort of league table. In some ways, this survey if I can call it that, is comparing apples with pears so has little value. Given also that many forum members, like myself, buy privately, the number of respondents qualified to comment fully on dealers must be limited as only some of those will ever go near a dealership, preferring to deal with repairs & maintenance themselves.

 

5) Another point I feel is valid in this matter is the fact that seeking opinions about dealers ignores the great work done by hundreds of non-dealing local bike shops around the country, many of whom are unfamiliar with the electronic aspects of our machines.

 

Obviously, everyone would like to know who the good, reliable dealers are and who might be the ones to avoid but geographical location plays a large part in any case if we all follow the advice to go out and test ride the bikes which whet our appetite. While I welcome information about dealers and I applaud you for attempting to provide us all with that, I hope you understand the points I make and realise that information thus acquired may be skewed and not actually of any real value to potential ebike purchasers.

 

Regards,

Indalo

Going off at a tangent slightly, does this site rely on those advertisers listed on the right-hand side of this page?

 

Or, put another way: is this site able to support itself without the advertising revenue which I presume the site receives? Just curious!

 

Indalo

I would say my local shop poweredbicycles.co.uk . Nice to see im not the only one too .

My Recco - www.NipNip.co.uk

 

Hi all, I've been browsing the forum for a while now and have finally decided to join and type my first post seeing as the moderators want us to recommend ebike retailers.

 

So, I thought I'd share my experience with a company I used to purchase my first ebike. They are called nip nip and are London based.

 

Firstly you should know that I live just outside of central London and used the tube (20 min journey) each day and had been flirting with the idea of getting an ebike for a while.

 

I recently (last September) went to the London sky ride with a pal of mine. We came across two fellas who were riding ebikes whist handing out leaflets.

 

Anyhow, it turns out they were advertising a new ebike retailer called nip nip. I had a good chat with them and they even let me have a go of two of the bikes there and then ( a mountain ebike and a fold up city type bike)

 

I took their details and checked them online when I got home and noticed they were doing a trial day in London where I could test other ebikes and even purchase with a discount on the day.

 

Ok, so to cut a long story short I went along, met the owner of nip nip called David (good chap) and he gave me great advice on which bike to choose (although my mind was pretty much set on a particular model). About an hour later I walked away with my new mountain ebike.

 

Since that day, my daily commute to work has been fantastic. I simply jump on my ebike, pull the grip back and I'm there in 30 mins max! I don't think I will ever use that miserable underground again.

 

I took the bike back to nip nip after 4 weeks to take advantage of their free mini service where they tightened everything up and just gave it a good look over to make sure everything was spic and spam - which it was.

 

Overall I had a great buying experience from nipnip, a very smart and simple company. Great after sales and friendly customer service.

 

Im Looking forward to their website update where I can purchase some accessorises with my 10% voucher still valid to June 2011!

 

Cheers all be sure to check them out, Nip Nip : Electric Bikes, Electric Powered Bicycles & Pedal Assist Bikes :D :D

Edited January 17, 201115 yr by 2jabs

 

Or, put another way: is this site able to support itself without the advertising revenue which I presume the site receives? Just curious!

 

Indalo

 

Probably. Russell Scott, eZee Torq rider/commuter and e-bike enthusiast founded the site in September 2006 and for a very long time supported it entirely from his own resources. He has other commercial interests and I'm sure this site is a hobby interest as much as anything else to him, so I doubt the limited advertising is anything like essential.

 

The site commercial rules show an uncompromising attitude to any intrusion of commercial interests into the threads.

.

I would recommend Top Gear of Mountsorrel, Leics. They have a great range of bikes to choose from and test ride and their after sales service is good too. I purchased my Wisper from them

EdBike, while I think I understand what you seek to glean from those willing participants in this exercise, I'm bound to say I'm not fond of this kind of straw poll for the following reasons:

 

1) Respondents are inevitably hugely subjective with their choice as they, in most cases, don't or can't possibly get around all the dealerships around the country for any kind of proper comparison.

 

2) Not all respondents are interested in the same machines therefore, by way of example, those buying 13Kg Cytronex bikes will probably not be looking at "sit-up-and-beg" Panasonic powered bikes weighing in at 25Kg or so.

 

3) In cases where a dealer has outlets in multiple locations around the UK, it may not necessarily follow that because respondents have had excellent service at Oxford, those using the Cambridge branch receive equally good service.

 

4) In short, the question you pose and the answers received can be very misleading when you go on to tabulate the findings in some sort of league table. In some ways, this survey if I can call it that, is comparing apples with pears so has little value. Given also that many forum members, like myself, buy privately, the number of respondents qualified to comment fully on dealers must be limited as only some of those will ever go near a dealership, preferring to deal with repairs & maintenance themselves.

 

5) Another point I feel is valid in this matter is the fact that seeking opinions about dealers ignores the great work done by hundreds of non-dealing local bike shops around the country, many of whom are unfamiliar with the electronic aspects of our machines.

 

Obviously, everyone would like to know who the good, reliable dealers are and who might be the ones to avoid but geographical location plays a large part in any case if we all follow the advice to go out and test ride the bikes which whet our appetite. While I welcome information about dealers and I applaud you for attempting to provide us all with that, I hope you understand the points I make and realise that information thus acquired may be skewed and not actually of any real value to potential ebike purchasers.

 

Regards,

Indalo

 

You've got a point, yes, so perhaps a survey isn't necessarily the best idea with a small sample of folks on here. Although I do think praise for OnBike and 50cycles is in order given relatively high level of "votes".

 

I disagree that this has no value what-so-ever to the potential buyers though. You've got a series of buyers all standing up and suggesting one-or-two brands. As a researching buyer, what you're looking for is traces or clues to guide you in the direction of purchase. And two clear names come out of this...

Which Dealer Would I Hesitate to Recommend?

 

Sorry guys, I know I said in the past I wouldn't disclose the dealer of my bike, but I now feel obliged to, as I won't be able to sleep knowing that someone else might get ripped off by the same company.

 

Those of you who saw my initial posts on this forum will know some of the issues I had with the bike, mainly the battery, which was 2.5 years old when they delivered the bike, and the tamper seal was broken. I didn't think that they'd do this to me though. If you don't know, then check my post history and see the first ever thread I made.

 

Those who mentioned Poweredbicycles earlier didn't say they bought a bike from them. Unfortunately I did, the Ninja (lithium battery version). The shop itself is called Scattergoods and is of course located in Nottingham, and they trade under Poweredbicycles.co.uk and topelectricbikes.co.uk.

 

They sold me a bike with an ancient battery, which caused many problems. A bike I cannot pedal because the chain constantly slips, even my local bike shops had a go and only eased the problem a bit. A bike with no manual whatsoever, no service manuals either. I phoned them for a manual, and they said one would be emailed, of course never got it. TETS told me its illegal to sell an ebike without a manual, though I don't know if that's true! I managed to get a PDF of a manual for a similar bike being sold in the USA, which was somewhat useful. God help me when my bulbs blow, as I have no idea how to get to them or what type they are. If I require any parts, I'll have to beg the manufacturer in China. They also charged me £70 for the privelege of delivering my Ninja from Nottingham. They refused to put up my review, but said they'd look at it for no extra charge, if I bring it to their shop myself. I haven't found a way of doing that yet.

 

They are indeed a big company, I spoke to a lady in Tesco's car park who was riding one of their ebikes, her son got it for her in Nottingham apparently. They might be good for local sales, but I strongly advise against buying anything from them if you're not local to the area. P.S. I also have Asperger's Syndrome, so I don't like speaking on the phone to people I don't know. They never replied to my emails or letters, only got a response when I submitted a negative review, which was just after the warranty expired on the battery. They had 2 months to write, phone or email me during that time when I sent my first letter of complaint before the 6 months was up. Letter was typed and printed, with ALL my contact details on perfectly. I saved all correspondence.

 

Cheers.

Edited January 19, 201115 yr by Synthman

onbike

 

I wouldnt hesitate to recommend Onbike as i had visited a few dealers but Onbike by far has the greatest selection and a shop full of demo bikes. they are in a good place to try them as well along the country lanes and hills. the staff are all very friendly and very knowledgeable to.

 

John

My personal recommendation is 50cycles for service that is second to none.

 

J:) hn

best dealer bikesandbatterys.co.uk

 

i bought a powabyke new euro 24 speed from berni at bikesandbatterys last week and i had trouble getting the battery lock to engage he did a 100 mile round trip in the evening to help me out ,all this with a smile and a friendly attitude i would not hesitate to recommend him

Sorry guys, I know I said in the past I wouldn't disclose the dealer of my bike, but I now feel obliged to, as I won't be able to sleep knowing that someone else might get ripped off by the same company.

 

Those of you who saw my initial posts on this forum will know some of the issues I had with the bike, mainly the battery, which was 2.5 years old when they delivered the bike, and the tamper seal was broken. I didn't think that they'd do this to me though. If you don't know, then check my post history and see the first ever thread I made.

 

Those who mentioned Poweredbicycles earlier didn't say they bought a bike from them. Unfortunately I did, the Ninja (lithium battery version). The shop itself is called Scattergoods and is of course located in Nottingham, and they trade under Poweredbicycles.co.uk and topelectricbikes.co.uk.

 

They sold me a bike with an ancient battery, which caused many problems. A bike I cannot pedal because the chain constantly slips, even my local bike shops had a go and only eased the problem a bit. A bike with no manual whatsoever, no service manuals either. I phoned them for a manual, and they said one would be emailed, of course never got it. TETS told me its illegal to sell an ebike without a manual, though I don't know if that's true! I managed to get a PDF of a manual for a similar bike being sold in the USA, which was somewhat useful. God help me when my bulbs blow, as I have no idea how to get to them or what type they are. If I require any parts, I'll have to beg the manufacturer in China. They also charged me £70 for the privelege of delivering my Ninja from Nottingham. They refused to put up my review, but said they'd look at it for no extra charge, if I bring it to their shop myself. I haven't found a way of doing that yet.

 

They are indeed a big company, I spoke to a lady in Tesco's car park who was riding one of their ebikes, her son got it for her in Nottingham apparently. They might be good for local sales, but I strongly advise against buying anything from them if you're not local to the area. P.S. I also have Asperger's Syndrome, so I don't like speaking on the phone to people I don't know. They never replied to my emails or letters, only got a response when I submitted a negative review, which was just after the warranty expired on the battery. They had 2 months to write, phone or email me during that time when I sent my first letter of complaint before the 6 months was up. Letter was typed and printed, with ALL my contact details on perfectly. I saved all correspondence.

 

Cheers.

 

Very odd if you ask me, I've been there on numerous occasions and received nothing but professional and courteous service from them.

 

The guy who delivered my bike was also very helpful and explained everything I needed to know (I even made him a cup of tea:D ) in a calm and detailed manner.

 

Sorry to hear of your woes, but it sounds like a case of "You can please people some of the time.....".

 

I do hope you get a satisfactory outcome.

Arkwright.

So do I, the problem was I ordered from the internet, I didn't visit their shop in person, though that shouldn't warrant the way they treated me. Because they have not resolved the two biggest problems with the bike (battery & slipping chain) I cannot recommend Poweredbicycles at all, especially if someone wishes to buy something without visiting the shop like I did.

 

If I knew I was going to have this much trouble, seriously I wouldn't have bothered at all.

I wouldnt hesitate to recommend Onbike as i had visited a few dealers but Onbike by far has the greatest selection and a shop full of demo bikes. they are in a good place to try them as well along the country lanes and hills. the staff are all very friendly and very knowledgeable to.

 

John

 

Agreed! YET, I tried to obtain a discount on one of their high end models and was met with a complete refusal.

 

Service and choice is subjective. There are many IBDs out there who will and have offered me substantial discounts on models and including some models from the 2011 ranges yet to be delivered.

 

Whatever choice you make ask for a discount particularly if there is competition on any particular model.

 

Of course, if the model is specific to one retailer then they can and will stand firm on price. So, service is subjective yet there are IBDs out there who will offer you both good service, a discount and a trial run.

Regards

vectra

Eddie and Jamie at the Electric Transport Shop, Cambridge shop.

 

Went out of their way to rectify a fault on my second-owner bike.

 

Shame they got pulled into a public dispute on this forum.

 

I found them extremely accommodating especially if you approach the problem with a bit of understanding.

 

I for one would like to see their return into active participation in this forum.

Edited February 23, 201115 yr by shemozzle999

The Electric Transport Shop very good service, very helpfull great bike build no issues at all with my custom made Giant Seek 0 24v Bafang setup.

 

Also Steve at Electric Mountain Bikes very helpfull also very good with off road and custom setups. Great if you want to try things out before you order.