Arrow-7 Review... NYC's most prevalent eBike

Matador said:

I've done 14 miles (22 km). Starting on fresh charge 41.9V, I measured 38.4V after that trip ! Still some juice !
I know a store that repairs them on manhattan. The guy makes very good price, repair anything on them and know everything there is to know on them.
The store/service place is on West 103rd St, between Amsterdam and Broadway. Love my 600$ eBike.
Went to kmart with it today to pick up some stuff for my appartment.

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Hey Matador, fellow nyc potential ebike owner.

A bit concerned about buying a used ebike and not knowing where to have it fixed..or if it's an expensive proposition..generally speaking.

This place on 103rd St..is that your go to place?

Also, would you buy a 3 year old ebike, for a nice discount, whose manufacturer is out of business? I'd guess should something break, they'd need the original parts?

Thanks for your feedback..

J.

I am looking for a shop to buy a used or New Arrow 7 E bike from New York . I watched these bike zig zag Manhattan NYC
on my Spring vacation . I plan for use in Florida.... Thanks

How did you remove the cells from the casing I’m having trouble Figuring it out I have a arrow 7 48v but my battery is starting to die out fast need to replace cells can anyone help

Ayebee said:

How did you remove the cells from the casing I’m having trouble Figuring it out I have a arrow 7 48v but my battery is starting to die out fast need to replace cells can anyone help

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Do you use the bike for work? If so, buy another battery pack to use while you work on the old one. Unless you're already familiar with the process, it will take a while, and you'll need to accumulate some tools and skills.

Take some time to research battery building threads that are already here on the forum. There are a lot of them.

I think e-bikes are legal in NYC now. It’s frustrating seeing you have your Ebike confiscated and held captive for a $500 ransom, based on these flip-floppy laws. I’ve seen pictures in local papers of the countless confiscated ebikes & it’s steered me away from getting one.

But it does make the arrow a more interesting prospect, now that it’s legal, considering how well built & cheap they are. I just don’t know what to do about their battery fire issue, as em3ev doesn’t custom build batteries anymore. Also hoping they don’t make ebikes illegal again.

Repair is also also a concern, can anyone verify that cheap & good ebike repair shop still is open on w 103rd st bet Amsterdam & Broadway? Haven’t been to the city since covid started. Is there a forum list of other cheap & good ebike repair shops in the city, Jersey city, Hoboken, rockland county, westchester or neighboring areas?

I think that’s the 2 biggest barriers to wider ebike adoption in the city; legality, theft & expensive repair costs for the non DIY-er. Just read a yelp review today about a popular ebike shop in Brooklyn charging $1,100 for a repair and the shop being rude when the customer returned, after the problems weren’t fixed. Price gouging seems to be a common theme with other city ebike repair shops on yelp.

Many car repairs don’t cost that much, certainly didn’t pay close to that to tow a car & have the alternator replaced!!

Solve these problems = less pollution, more EVs that use 1/10 the energy of cars to move a single human being. I hate the feeling I get filling up at the pump, if I could decrease it I would.

I can't believe how people are flipping out about that bike at $1500+ . That's a sub $100 motor including controller, a $200-250 battery, a $15 charger, on a $100 bike and to be generous throw in another $100 for miscellaneous stuff. A shitton of them will fit in a container so shipping is next to nothing. Sure I'm talking about wholesale, but there's a wide range of solid ebikes in the $400-600 cost range, so seeing the same cheap transportation priced at $1500+ plus I'm sure some crazy high NYC taxes on top of that, should make you regurgitate. Ebikes are all about economy, so profit per unit greater than on a new car is disgusting.

John in CR said:

there's a wide range of solid ebikes in the $400-600 cost range.

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Can you give examples?

Heck, I’d even be interested in a solid lightweight ebike conversion kit for $400-600, not sure how that’s possible, as em3ev batteries start at $275!!

galvatron1 said:

John in CR said:

there's a wide range of solid ebikes in the $400-600 cost range.

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Can you give examples?

Heck, I’d even be interested in a solid lightweight ebike conversion kit for $400-600, not sure how that’s possible, as em3ev batteries start at $275!!

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em3ev sells batteries only to customers outside of China, not to go on ebikes in China. Through the Chinese manufacturers and wholesalers sites that I've been a member for over a decade, there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of ebike models priced in the $300-600usd range, and unlike just a few years ago almost all of them have lithium batteries. Of course that's bulk order pricing and a large number will fit in a container so shipping per unit is low. That's how those Arrow-7's get to the NY market, which is why the retail price they charge is disgusting to me.

To give you an idea of the real cost of this stuff, I was just looking at some nice geared hubmotors built into aero 3 spoke wheels and the unit price I was quoted for just 20 was only $64/ea. With an order of 100 the price goes to $58/unit and I could get my own logo on them. Add less than $30 for a controller and display for that kind of low power motor along with a $6 combination throttle, 3 speed, and key switch, plus $20 for a matching aero mag wheel for the front. The 48V (13s) 23ah battery I was looking at is $143/ea in the small quantity I was looking at. That's $263usd for a quite respectable low power long range ebike kit with aero wheels, plus of course ocean shipping.

It is my firm belief that such bargain pricing should be passed along to the end users to get more people on ebikes, and if profit is your motivation, then it needs to come from volume, not lazy greed.

John in CR said:

Through the Chinese manufacturers and wholesalers sites that I've been a member for over a decade, there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of ebike models priced in the $300-600usd range, and unlike just a few years ago almost all of them have lithium batteries. Of course that's bulk order pricing and a large number will fit in a container so shipping per unit is low. That's how those Arrow-7's get to the NY market, which is why the retail price they charge is disgusting to me.

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Neither the Chinese manufacturers/wholesalers nor you have to reconcile the cost of doing business in NYC. If you did, the price would probably make a lot more sense to you.

I wonder what a barely passable e-bike costs in Reykjavik?

Yes the market will price effectively.

The built infrastructure and road laws need to make biking safer.

Regs about speeds, what types are legal etc need to be very clear and standard across the country

before demand will grow, volumes increase and prices come down.

Balmorhea said:

John in CR said:

Through the Chinese manufacturers and wholesalers sites that I've been a member for over a decade, there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of ebike models priced in the $300-600usd range, and unlike just a few years ago almost all of them have lithium batteries. Of course that's bulk order pricing and a large number will fit in a container so shipping per unit is low. That's how those Arrow-7's get to the NY market, which is why the retail price they charge is disgusting to me.

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Neither the Chinese manufacturers/wholesalers nor you have to reconcile the cost of doing business in NYC. If you did, the price would probably make a lot more sense to you.

I wonder what a barely passable e-bike costs in Reykjavik?

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I'd bet that cars don't cost tremendously more than elsewhere. The sooner ebikes are looked at as basic transportation by all, including vendors, instead of adult toys, the better. Only through volume sales can a legitimate profit motive be successful in the long term. AFAIC anyone who follows the pricing structure of mid to high end pedal bike manufacturers is copying an evil example of something wrong with this world. The world will be a better place with hundreds of millions more electric 2 and 3 wheelers on the road, and crappy low power ebikes priced at almost $2k with taxes is a disincentive to get people to give up their 4 wheel cages, because the average Joe doesn't see the value there. Actual costs justify a price so low that it's stupid not to try, and a big % who do will convert for at least a large portion of their transportation needs.

FWIW, until there's infrastructure like in the Netherlands, the ebike laws need significant overhaul to make ebikes able to better mix with traffic on their terms. The laws crafted by pedalists in much of the developed world greatly hinder the adoption of ebikes as transportation.