Manufacturers/Dealers to Gravitate Towards

[happyjohnrn]

I purchased a Bionx PL 350 SL special edition. I expected a well engineered kit, what I got is seemingly endless problems. First throttle problems and intermittent power issues. Now the bicycle computer is not recording milage correctly. OMG it has been very frustrating. I purchased the kit because it was supposed to be the BEST. I am now wondering if I was not better off just keeping my old Ebike Kit with a new battery.

[amberwolf]

Since you are posting in the "Manufacturers/Dealers to Gravitate Towards" thread, I assume that this means that despite the problems you are having with your BionX, you are still very happy with the company in general?

I purchased a Bionx PL 350 SL special edition. I expected a well engineered kit, what I got is seemingly endless problems. First throttle problems and intermittent power issues. Now the bicycle computer is not recording milage correctly. OMG it has been very frustrating. I purchased the kit because it was supposed to be the BEST. I am now wondering if I was not better off just keeping my old Ebike Kit with a new battery.

[TonyReynolds]

Since you are posting in the "Manufacturers/Dealers to Gravitate Towards" thread, I assume that this means that despite the problems you are having with your BionX, you are still very happy with the company in general?

Well, it sems that the thread "Manufacturers to Gravitate Away From" no longer exists, or is buried somewhere, was taken down?

[amberwolf]

I think it was titled something like Manufacturers to Avoid, and a quick search reveals it is still there, just for some reason no longer stickied. Dunno why, but it's still easy enough to find (knowing it's there, anyway, which a new poster might not). (but still, why would you put a gripe about a manufacturer or dealer in a thread about good ones, unless you still like them despite the problems?).

[miro13car]

Now "manufacturers to avoid" is buried down even on previous page , how new member is going to know that it even exists.
So rightly he posts here , I want and many members want to read about bad experiences also.
Constructicve complaining improves the world.
Now since a crappy manufacturer knows there is not sticked thread to critizise...on such busy forum he might think what the hell...

[tuxman]

I want to thank the staff at http://www.e-bikekit.com for the quick turnaround and low price. I broke a gear in my Bafang BPM and need a replacement rear wheel with motor asap.

E-bike Kit is located in New Jersey USA which is only a few days by UPS ground shipping vs a few weeks if from overseas.

I put my order in online Sunday and it shipped out Tuesday. According to UPS online tracking, it is scheduled to arrive Thursday.

$218 shipped.

Thank you E-Bike Kit.com

[carl2.0]

Ive purchased a kit and throttle from conhis... I was fairly pleased with the purchase overall tho the shippin was a lil steep and their was a slight wiring error

http://www.conhismotor.com/


Anyone know about these guys BMSbattery.com ? Im checkin their sight n seeing some good prices for battery stuff
http://www.bmsbattery.com/

[kmxtornado]

I already said a few good words about Terry from Hightekbikes whom I recently bought my Mini Mite kit from. I just noticed something on his website recently that makes me feel a bit less special. He now offers FREE delivery to SF or Berkeley for everyone - not just me. He'll deliver it to your house! Just thought I'd share the good news in case any of you Bay Area folks are looking for kits but don't want to pay shipping, drive way out there to another dealer or wait for crazy long delivery times from other countries.

I don't know of any other dealer who will deliver kits directly to your doorstep free of charge. Of course prices are typically higher than found online, but that's the premium you pay for service and support. I found it was worth it and that's why I made the purchase from him. Prices are competitive to "local" dealers as far as I know. No regrets. He seems to be updating his website quite often. It's good to know a dealer is aimed on improving his company. Two thumbs up for Terry!

[neptronix]

Would just like to throw a shout-out to geoman gear. They replaced both of my magicshines *out of warranty* when they decided to quit working as soon as i moved to 6500ft. elevation from 100ft. elevation.

I could have saved $10-$15 buying magicshines from a Chinese vendor.. And i would have been sitting on $80 worth of dead equipment.

Consider buying your lights there.
( note: i am not affiliated with any vendor, just trying to shine a light on the good ones.. pardon the pun )

[chwalker]

Ecospeed is great for recumbents. Expensive but is great.

I've heard the same thing about EcoSpeed! They sound like a helpful, great company. (And I have a bias towards recumbents and trikes)

[sn0wchyld]

.......
Anyone know about these guys BMSbattery.com ? Im checkin their sight n seeing some good prices for battery stuff
http://www.bmsbattery.com/

ive purchased two bulk chargers from 'em, both work great. they're a little underspec'd, so if you buy a 900w unit expect it to put out about 10% less than that... mine puts out 8.1A at 100V. took em about 2 weeks to build, test and ship. their shipping is kinda pricy unless you buy a few things at once. Customer service has been quite good, genurally less than 48 hours response, often less than 24 hours (mon-fri).

Ive spoken to a number of members who report the same as me re their chargers.

I also purchased some spare throttles, switches and other bits and pieces. quality was ok, though for $4 for a throttle, and $1 for a switch, im pretty damn happy.

Ive heard from others that their BMS systems are a bit touch and go, a few reports of 'em killing cells ... Stick with the simple stuff like chargers, and test 'em before you use 'em and they're great.

[dkw12002]

Bestbuy.com is selling Ezip bikes for $349.

[dkw12002]

For simplicity, Clean Republic makes the Hill Topper...a 250 watt front hub motor kit. http://www.electric-bike-kit.com/hill-topper.aspx

[The Stig]

Anyone know about these guys BMSbattery.com ? Im checkin their sight n seeing some good prices for battery stuff
http://www.bmsbattery.com/

I think BMSbattery.com aren't in this thread for a good reason. I have one their batteries and some of their motors and its generally low quality. I'm having problems with the battery now and its a weak cell. Theyre also very slow and unreliable when it comes to delivery and afterwards with support.

[amberwolf]

ive purchased two bulk chargers from 'em, both work great. they're a little underspec'd, so if you buy a 900w unit expect it to put out about 10% less than that... mine puts out 8.1A at 100V. took em about 2 weeks to build, test and ship. their shipping is kinda pricy unless you buy a few things at once.
<snip>
Ive spoken to a number of members who report the same as me re their chargers.
<snip>
Stick with the simple stuff like chargers, and test 'em before you use 'em and they're great.

So basically what you seem to be saying (at least about the chargers) is that they lie about the charger ratings by a significant amount, take quite a while to get around to starting the shipping process after you order, and that you don't trust using them without testing them first.

Personally, I'd call that dodgy, despite anything else good they have going for them. Especially with the track record they have had with other items in various ES threads.

[wesnewell]

I don't think he's saying that at all. And here are the specs from there website;
LiFePO4/Lithium Ion/Lead Acid 900W Battery EV Charger. 12V40A, 24V25A, 36V18A, 48V15A, 60V12A, 72V10A, 84V9A, 120V5A
He says he gets 8.1A at 100V. That's seems right in line with the specs to me. Maybe even a little better. One reasopn the shipping takes longer is because these units are custom adjusted per order. Although I'll admit 2 weeks to ship does seem longer than it should take. Others ordering from them have had faster ship times. As for testing them, well I test everything I buy before I use it. Maybe I shouldn't trust any vendors.

[neptronix]

Not sure if i ever posted here. I do regularly talk crap about certain vendors in the past. Now it's time to give props.

1) Cell man / emissions-free - put up with my endless questions via email, always had my back with support issues & replacement parts, knows his products in and out ( he's the engineering type ), offers great prices & good stuff, and is very flexible with shipping types/costs as well. >5 orders with this guy now.

2) Ken / itselectric.ca - always willing to chat a little pre-sale and make sure you're getting the right thing. Real helpful to the community, and decent prices too.

3) Gary / Golden Motor Canada - was straight up with me when i called him and said i was from ES and quizzed him on the phone about the new Magic pie 3 and other stuff before he had even announced it. Even answered the phone on a hockey day - that's dedication. I know he had some dirt dumped on him, so did Golden Motor China, but i wanted to particularly throw him props for selling the external magic pie motor, which is very underrated.

4) ( i forget his name ) / FalconEV - though i read a bunch of mud slinging on ES about this guy, he was an interesting guy to talk on the phone with, like Ken, interested in making sure you get the best thing possible. The FalconEV bag he sells is my favorite eBike purchase of all time. He also sells a motor that is supposedly quicker than the Crystalyte 5xxx but never got any airtime on here. The guy needs to get his web site in order, but i give him the thumbs up for our dealings over the phone.

5) Lyen / Lyen.com - Very helpful & extremely fast to ship things out. Even covered a DC-DC under warranty and paid the shipping.

6) Hobbyking - Holy crap, according to their system i have had 15 orders with them. They seriously haven ever let me down, other than the very typical RC lipo dud rate ( about 10% of the packs will have a funky cell ).

7) ProgressiveRC - my favorite local alternative to hobbyking. Fast shipment, and great stuff for sale.

Sureelectronics - for selling legit meanwells on eBay at a good price.. quick shipping too.

[sn0wchyld]

I'd also add Hyena, chain reaction cycles, sickbikeparts.com and leaderhobby.com if they arn't already here.

1 (almost 2) dealings with hyena, but he's an open honest bloke, even having been pretty sick recently he still managed to hold the Australian end of the 540x group buy together, and when I opted to pull out (chose to go with mid drive for my next build) refunded my money promptly, particually since he had another late comer that wanted to take my place. The HT35 I got off him was well packaged too. has answered all my dumb noob q's along the way.

2 orders from CRC so far, both arrived fast to AUS (about 1 week) with their free shipping option. all well packaged.

1 order with sickbikes... but quick and great prices.

Same goes for leaders. they seem to be one of the few online retailers still stocking the 8085 and 80100's. contact them before ordering though, as I ordered a 8085 and a 80100, expecting them to ship them separately given the 80100 was listed as out of stock, when they weren't. I'd have just ordered 2 80100's had I known.

I've also had good dealings with lyen (2) and hobbyking (12 ). lyen made a mistake with my first order (shipped with the wrong connectors) and when I emailed him to ask what could be done his reply was basically sorry about that, the correct stuff has been posted today!

Hobby king has been great. the usual 10% funky rate (1 completely stuffed pack that was refunded, and 2 others that have cells that dont hold charge well, loose about 10mv a week or so). Cant argue with the price. ever.

[Lessss]

After 11 pages and 28000 views perhaps a mod should collect each M/D here and create a poll. Yes/ no should this m/D be added to the Sphere recommended list yet, and then make a sticky with a recommended list

[The Stig]

After 11 pages and 28000 views perhaps a mod should collect each M/D here and create a poll. Yes/ no should this m/D be added to the Sphere recommended list yet, and then make a sticky with a recommended list

x2

[parabellum]

After 11 pages and 28000 views perhaps a mod should collect each M/D here and create a poll. Yes/ no should this m/D be added to the Sphere recommended list yet, and then make a sticky with a recommended list

Good idea

[auto_bike]

Ampedbikes is good. I have 2 of their kits and have done 3 builds. The kit itself is reliable and shipping is quick. The sla pack lasted about a year before I had to replace a couple. The motor and controller seem reliable. Their tube batteries are a mess though. Great concept and appearance/performance, but they had bms issues for a while, are always backordered and can't keep.up with demand. Took months to get mine. And now it tends to cut out randomly so I'm unsure about it right now.

[The fingers]

I also like Amped's front DD SLA kit. I also recommend getting a Save A Battery 36 volt charger/maintainer and a Sunlite double kickstand.

[tofuuu]

I can reccomend emissionsfree/cell man. Took a little longer for parts to dispatch but everything looks properly packaged and checked.

[Kelp]

I recommend AVOIDING MXUS from Changzhou Hua Yu Xin Feng Motor Co. I tried to buy a kit directly and was initially impressed by very helpful Flora- sales consultant, but when it came to purchasing via the AliExpress portal Mr Jin Pan,[ Flora's boss it turned out] wanted to hike the price from $450 to $700! No explanation offered. Welcome to Chinese commerce I guess!