9 factors to consider when choosing an e-bike company

In recent years, electric bicycles have become more and more popular in the United States. In the past few months, this popularity has grown exponentially and is at the highest level in history, mainly due to the pandemic. People are always looking for ways to maintain social distancing on the way to and from work, and those who stay at home are looking for ways to stay active outdoors. Electric bicycles have become a solution for many people.

In response to these trends, many electric bicycle e-bike companies have accelerated their production speed and increased the diversity of their product lines. With so many options, now is the best time to buy an electric bike. However, in addition to finding the perfect electric bike with the correct specifications and features for you, you must also consider the company itself.

To help you better decide which ebike and ebike company to choose, we have compiled a list of factors to consider when choosing an ebike company.

1. Do they offer free shipping?

If you want to buy an electric bike online, you obviously need to deliver it to you. Therefore, for electric bicycle companies, a big question naturally is, do they provide free delivery services?

There is nothing worse than after hours of research, excited to finally find the right electric bike at the right price, only to be charged a high shipping fee at the end of the checkout. Ebike boxes are not small, so if the company you are considering buying does not provide free shipping, you will need to pay extra.

2. Who makes the battery of the electric bicycle brand?

When you buy a new electric bicycle, be sure to check who produces the batteries for the bicycle brand you are considering.

Compared to cheap batteries, batteries made by reputable manufacturers will provide you with a longer charge cycle life, partly because they have undergone a more rigorous testing process.

For example, all Hotebike electric bicycle batteries are lithium-ion batteries, made of high-quality Samsung batteries, most batteries have 48 volts and up to 14 ampere hours of power. Moreover, our Level Commuter bike has a capacity of 672 watt-hours, which is ideal for long commutes

The batteries we specify for electric bicycles can provide pure and reliable energy for hundreds or even thousands of rides.

3. Do they offer financing options?

As you may already know through research, electric bicycles are a considerable investment. Although you can buy all the rides at once, sometimes it helps to spread the investment over several months.

This becomes especially important if you need to buy a bicycle as soon as possible but do not necessarily have the funds to buy it immediately. Financing can reduce the burden on customers who need it.

If electric bike companies do provide financing, what terms do they provide? How easy is it to get approval? Are there any additional costs? If you choose to finance an electric bike, these are all things you need to pay attention to.

4. Is it possible to test drive?

Just like looking for a car to buy, you can narrow your choices based on all the specifications and features on the paper. You may know some aspects of what you are looking for, such as motor, size, color, size, etc., but there are always some factors that you cannot know before the test drive. The same is true for electric bicycles.

Sometimes, you only need to take a trial ride to truly understand whether an electric bicycle is right for you. The biggest reason someone might want to try is their posture and overall comfort. Although electric bicycle companies can give you a general idea of the geometry and location of the bicycle frame, it is difficult to explain because it is mainly relative in terms of comfort. Other factors that influence the trial ride decision include pedal assist feel, bicycle weight and handling.

Hotebike is unique in that we not only directly provide electric bicycles to customers online, but we also cooperate with hundreds of authorized local dealer bicycle shops across the country to give potential customers the opportunity to try our electric bicycles. This also gives customers the opportunity to purchase Hotebike electric bicycles of the model and size they want through a local bicycle store.

5. Do they have good customer support

Sometimes, you can invest a lot of energy in research and find the best electric bike with the correct specifications for your needs, so that you can easily forget what will happen after you buy it. When buying an electric bike, customer service is of the utmost importance. Especially if this will be the first electric bike you own.

Check the company’s level and quality of customer support. You are most likely to have questions about the functions or details of the electric bike, and you need a customer support team to provide you with answers. Even if you are knowledgeable and tech-savvy at first, it is good to know that you have something to rely on.

6. Do they provide authorized face-to-face maintenance support?

Much like traditional bicycles, electric bicycles require a certain degree of maintenance throughout the ownership process. There is no other way. The amount of maintenance required actually depends on the combination of frequency of use and distance traveled. The average rider can easily complete many routine maintenance tasks, but sometimes you may need professional help. Therefore, it is important to understand what kind of maintenance support the e-bike company you are considering to provide.

Depending on the electric bike company, you may find that the local bike shop near you cannot provide service for your electric bike when you need it. They may not be familiar with how to solve any problems, or they may not have the necessary parts to repair or solve any problems.
As mentioned earlier, Hotebike has more than 200 authorized local bike shops that are authorized and able to provide repair services to your electric bike when needed. Not only are they familiar with our electric bikes and their technology, but they can also directly contact Hotebike for any help and/or repair parts in order to better serve you.

7. Do they provide a warranty?

This should be unreasonable. If the product fails, does the electric bike company you are considering provide any type of warranty for your electric bike?

No company is perfect, no matter who you buy from, a defective electric bike will definitely reach customers. More important is how the company handles problematic electric bicycles. Be sure to read the type of warranty provided by the company and the process for making a claim. You don’t want to get into a bad electric bike fighting with the company for a long time to get a new electric bike.

Hotebike has a warranty on all of their electric bikes, and making a claim is easy. You only need to fill out a short online form and one of our dedicated support staff will contact you for the next steps.

8. What is the comment saying, is there a real-world experience on social media?

It is important to check the reviews and actual experiences of people who have actually purchased the electric bike you are considering. Are there any Google reviews? Google has a strict screening process for reviewers, so if the company has a good reputation and it demonstrates their dedication to customers and products, you will have a good understanding.

Checking social media posts is also helpful. This is a bad sign when the company does not have any reposts from real users to show their love for the product, but only shares their posts.

9. Riding an electric bike with environment and style

In addition to the basic functions of electric bicycles, considering your environment and personal preferences will help you choose the bike style that best suits your needs.

If you don’t plan to take an electric bike off the road, you don’t need to pay thousands of dollars more than a city electric bike. Likewise, you don’t want to ride a city bike on the Black Diamond Mountain Bike Trail.

Here are some use case considerations for each bicycle style:

City

Short- and medium-distance commuting to work
Ride freely on the paved bike path
Cycling around campsites paved with gravel roads

Road

Long-distance commuting to work
Ride longer distances on paved bike lanes
Middle-distance cycling fun and fitness

 All terrain

The road to work on horseback is not well maintained
Ride gravel and dirt paths at the campsite
Recreational cycling on gravel forest service road
 Foldable
Longer commuting times involving public transportation
 
For some commuters, they need to use public transportation on their way to and from work. Sometimes, buses, trains, and trolleys may be cramped places, and it is difficult to tow a full-size bicycle to the next stop.

Folding electric bicycles can save space and make it easier to take a bus or even Uber’s trunk to the airport.

Whether you are cycling in the city or on the gravel roads in the park, our full range of electric bicycles can meet your needs. Check out our lineup of electric bikes.

6 common misconceptions about electric bicycles

It is common for people to be skeptical when they first encounter electric bicycles. Some of the first things that come to mind are common misunderstandings about electric bicycles, such as inability to get wet or lack of exercise. Here are six misunderstandings about electric bicycles:

1. Misunderstanding: “You can’t ride an electric bike in the rain”

Most electric bicycles on the market today are waterproof, so they can cope with humid environments. Wet roads with puddles are not a problem because they are designed to protect electrical components from splashes of water in any direction. This also means that you can ride an electric bike in the rain. However, this does not mean that you should submerge or high-pressure wash the electric bike, as this may cause permanent damage.

Hotebike electric bicycles are precision manufactured and meet waterproof standards to protect the bicycle from water splashes from any direction. Our bicycles allow you to freely ride or park your electric bicycle in the rain without worrying about damaging the battery or motor. Water resistance means that electric bicycles will not be damaged by spray caused by riding on wet roads or raining. Check out this article to learn more about best practices for riding in the rain.

2. Misunderstanding: “E-bikes require a lot of extra maintenance”

It is important to remember that the core of electric bicycles is still ordinary bicycles. Electric bicycles use the same chains, gears and brakes as standard bicycles. Therefore, on a basic level, electric bicycles require roughly the same amount of maintenance as ordinary bicycles.

Much like traditional bicycles, the level of maintenance required for electric bicycles depends largely on the level of use. For example, the bicycles of everyday cyclists require more regular maintenance than those who ride leisurely on weekends.

The maintenance tasks of most electric bicycles are exactly the same as traditional bicycles. You can check our recommended maintenance articles to really understand the similarities. The only real difference from traditional bicycles is the electric bicycle battery-it needs to be recharged, and there are some best practices to ensure that it continues to operate normally and maintain its useful life.

The battery in the Hotebike bike is made of high-quality Samsung batteries that have proven to be durable. Cheaper brands may use lesser-known brand batteries to ship their bicycles. The disadvantage of unproven e-bike battery brands is that they usually cannot withstand so many charging cycles.

The battery on our electric bikes can handle up to 800 charges or up to 32,000 miles of use before performance begins to decline. And “downgrade” only means that you can still use the battery-it just can’t provide the same consistent range as before.

Although the high-quality batteries used for electric bicycles do last a long time, they are still the same as any other lithium-ion batteries in terms of performance under extreme temperatures. In cold weather, the range and performance of any brand of electric bicycle battery will be greatly reduced.

Here are some additional tips for extending battery life and performance of electric bicycles:
If you are not riding a bicycle for a period of time, please charge the battery and store it in a well-regulated place indoors.
Always store and charge the battery in a dry place. Long-term exposure to water, humidity and humidity is harmful to electric bicycle batteries.
Regularly check and maintain the electrical contact between the battery and the bicycle connection point.
Make sure the pins are not bent. If the connection point is contaminated by sand, dirt or snow, clean it before connecting the battery.
Never put the bicycle in the trunk of a hot car with batteries. Remove the battery and carry it with you.
Even if you consume very little battery energy, you can charge the battery between rides.

3. Misunderstanding: “E-bike takes away the benefits of exercise”

Electric bicycles are just like traditional bicycles. You can still step on them at any time, no matter how hard you want. Electric bicycles just provide motivation for your efforts. You can still choose to ride up steep hills without help, and the extra weight of the battery will increase your workout intensity!

Although you do have complete auxiliary functions on an electric bike, you do not have to use it. For example, Hotebike electric bicycles provide five assist level settings, allowing you to fine-tune the intensity of your exercise while riding. You can even turn off accessibility completely!

It is also worth noting that electric bicycles can expand the range that riders can usually ride without assistance, which can last longer than those without electric bicycles. Studies have shown that electric bicycles provide the same level of exercise as traditional bicycles because they still allow riders to increase their heart rate like traditional bicycles. For more detailed information on exercise benefits and research, please check out this article.

 4. Misunderstanding: “E-bikes are cheating”

To reiterate what we have covered so far, electric bicycles are still just ordinary bicycles-an electric drive system has been added. After all, you are still outdoors and active. So, what if you need some extra help or want to be faster. Electric bicycles give even avid cyclists the opportunity to ride to work or school without feeling tired, exhausted and sweating. Electric bicycles make cycling more inclusive for everyone, and people choose them for various reasons.

Let’s be honest here-many people who have this kind of “deception” come from elite riders, and they will hold grudges when electric bicycles pass them easily uphill. In some ways, you can understand, because they will train very hard to reduce the time by a few seconds. However, this should not be a reason to regard them as “real” cyclists. This is just a different form of riding.

5. Misunderstanding: “E-bikes have distance restrictions”

Yes, electric bicycles use batteries, and batteries will not last forever. However, once the battery is exhausted, the electric bicycle can still be ridden like an ordinary bicycle. Hotebike’s electric bikes can provide up to 40 miles of riding with assistance, but the number of miles you can continue to ride without assistance is entirely up to you. The only factor that limits the distance traveled by an electric bike is your adventurous spirit (and energy level).

6. Misunderstanding: “E-bikes are for lazy people”

Indeed, electric bicycles are more attractive to those who might be called “lazy”. But isn’t it better to go out for a bike ride than to sit on the sofa? We think so!

The reality is that electric bicycles mainly assist pedaling. Although some do offer throttle-only riding, the bike will run faster if the rider steps on the pedals, so many people find that riding faster is very fun and worth putting in some effort during the ride-even those who don’t usually like it. Cyclists do “work!”

There are also studies that show that people who ride electric bicycles are more likely to travel longer and more frequently than people who ride traditional bicycles.

Our factory provide OEM and ODM,if you are interested in our electric bike, you can log on our official website to know more about details. If you have any query or electric bicycle transportation problem,please feel free to contact us and we will contact you APSAP. https://gzdlsdz.en.alibaba.com/

READ MORE TIPS:

Why are electric bicycles for heavier

How to make an electric bike run faster

Electric bikes i love them for 6 reasons

What is the best electric bicycle battery

Please Leave us an inquiry.We are looking forward to your arrival.