rickybobby19

Chinese companies have made inroads selling in the USA with eBikes because eBikes are consumer electronics and China is good at consumer electronics. So now it's not a USA company paying USA salaries ordering bikes from China...it's a Chinese company with Chinese salaries selling bikes here. So yeah, they can charge a lot less than Specialized or Trek or Santa Cruz can. Here's the short story...if China can ever figure out how to market in the US, the entire bike industry is majorly fucked. Our only savior would be government intervention, which is far less likely than in a large industry like automotive (BYD is being prevented from selling here because they'd destroy USA EV companies).

@mikekazimer: you know exactly how easy it is to set the max speed to 28mph, and you know these eBikes let you put out far more than 250w for sustained climbs. The manufacturers are being disingenuous to get around sensible restrictions that are meant to keep people safe and protect/preserve trails and access.

@mikekazimer: this isn't about the general ethos behind assisted riding. It's about the insane outputs these bikes now have, and the problems that causes. You've taken a stand against that in the past, but don't now.

@mikekazimer: I've ridden them. You don't have to put in effort. You can barely spin the cranks and get up to 28mph on flat ground. The pedals are the throttle. You're relying on the letter of the law to avoid recognizing the spirit of the law.

@mikekazimer: you are actively doing harm to our sport by promoting bikes like this.

@mikekazimer: they're also handy because they're basically the throttle

money is god

I'd be surprised if they're profitable. They're a division of 5th Axis, and I don't know who's buying their stuff in enough quantities for them to make money. Maybe they're running at a loss with hopes of future profit, sucking money from 5th Axis in the meantime.

Man, these guys read my mind. I'm so tired of having difficulty accessing cranksets.

@lkubica: ha! Yeah down jackets and pants are always a reliable way to spot someone on an eMTB from a distance.