Guess I am just lucky, the two local shops here in Oregon City sell electrics + there is a store called The Green Scene that sells electric vehicles: cars, scooters, but mostly E-Bikes. When I showed a Giant Bike store employee my E-Bike he was really impressed and interested, they sold just the "pedal assist" type of E-Bikes, and mine is much more aggressive and powerful, so I think maybe most bike shops are only aware of the less powerful and manly low quality E-Bikes sold at Walmart.
I know that the biggest obstacle for the local bike shop is support. Unless you have the know-how, running a business selling the bikes is pretty intimidating for some. They have to be seen as the "expert" and have to be able to do some basic trouble shooting of the electrical components to really take it on, and it's not just a case of buying some E-Bikes and putting them in the show-room, you have to be able to back up & service your product.
Part of the objection I see from some bike shops is when joe consumer buys a new bike, adds a powerful hub motor, breaks things and THEN expects the shop to honor a warranty as if they were just using it as a regular pedal bike, this makes too many headaches for some, and I think they would rather stick with what they know.
I am pleased to see some more quality E-Bikes being sold at retail stores, I got see in person an A2B bike at the local Best Buy home electronics store.
I personally see the "Walmart" quality E-Bikes being the biggest problem. Much like the average person (myself included until I learned better this last year riding a good quality bike) who just buys a cheap bike at Walmart that often isn't even tuned to keep the chain on all the time, gets frustrated with bikes in general and parks it in the garage.
Same deal with a cheap E-Bike, but now it's even worse with the stresses of the motor and extra weight, and once you want more power, your REALLY asking for trouble with cheap components that wear out quickly just on a pedal bike, now even faster with power, and again the bike is blamed and parked in the garage.
Don't get me wrong, I know that some of the cheaper bikes can be well tuned and with a reasonably powered E-Bike kit can last a good while, but just for instance, which one would you trust riding down the local big long hill that will let you reach 30+ MPH just with gravity?
After having a good set of forks and a disc break, I wouldn't ride an E-Bike (especially because of the increased weight alone) I won't ride one with-out them.
My father is the most frugal (ok CHEAP! :lol: ) person I know, and even he decided on making a front disc break a priority when building a new E-Bike, and even then just a minor dishing issue of the rear wheel being too far to one side caused a 30MPH wobble (going down a hill, he's not a speed demon like me
) ok ok so it was more than minor dishing, but you get the point. :wink:
My point is, if your in the bike business, and know little about electronics and have NO experience with the potential pit-falls of E-Bikes (thinks stupid customer gets hurt, sues bike shop) I am not surprised that many are resistant. I think especially with the entry level E-Bikes being seen as more of a novelty than dependable transportation, it's hard for many to be willing to take the risk.