When they say "We 'oversee' the manufacturing process", the spelling that immediately came to mind was more like, "We OVERSEA our manufacturing process."

This happens with millions of products, not just e bikes

You’ve literally explained commerce. This happens with everything from flower pots to restaurant food, not just e-bikes.

I bought a £200 front wheel motor and controller from China years ago (200W Bafang 8FUN), added 4 mobility scooter lead acid batteries and a £50 second hand bike. It's still going strong 7 years later (OK it's had new batteries but they cost peanuts compared to light weight batteries). Easy 25 mile range and once its moving, just like a motorbike, the weight makes it feel more solid and stable to ride. It was a time when some modern batteries were catching fire and I figured for battery pack charging under my desk at work the old proven lead acid battery was safer. DIY - save a fortune - Mine is still 100% reliable. One word of warning - at e-bike speeds you need bloody good lights.

I’m surprised that some of you were not aware of it… I live in China and everything you guys think is made by some reputable brands is made just around the corner here in China. And no… nobody is over looking any manufacturers here. It’s not like American guy walks into massive manufacturing plant and demands something. These factories here produce millions of bikes and China is by far the biggest market. For American clients we just slap some cool looking logo on it and make it look “strong” because of those masculinity issues there. Anyways… You guys don’t make ebikes and even if you put those parts together, you’re using Chinese parts. Batteries, controllers, frames, motors etc… So, does combining Chinese products by American company or person make it more of a American or Chinese made bike? I leave it for you to judge. Btw, Bosch has some great motor designs and things… but please don’t assume those motors to be manufactured in Germany. China is the place where the stuff is made these days🤫

What you say in this video applies to e-scooters as well. That’s why you see e-scooters that look exactly alike but have different brand names on them. Customer service/support is always promised before you make that purchase. But as soon as you discover a factory defect or something breaks, you’ll be given a hard time from the seller.

I literally discovered this three days ago. Been seeing similar bike ads popping up while I was looking for one. However there is no way I will ever pay 4K for a bike. That's the price for a used car or fancy moped. So I checked out AliBaba found a certified dealer. Got myself a fully customized bike made to my specs for 1.2k door to door. Sent from an EU warehouse so I skipped all the import hassle. These so called brands in Germany here want an arm and a leg for a bike and I won't let them. :D

Thanks for the heads up! I lucked out. I decided to be conservative with the cash laid out. It was worth it. I learned a lot: pros and cons. A lot of the decision lies in how much the bike will be used and if the perfection is going to be a passive user (relying on the throttle) or active (pedaling and using the assist).

Most bike brands have been middle men since the early 90s. A Raleigh rep told me in 92 that they were getting bike frames from China for $7 a piece. $7 ! At that time a Trek 930 frame out of Wisconsin cost wholesale $130. Specialized was never a manufacturer. And if you worked in different shops you would find Taiwanese manufacturers who would build you anything you wanted and put your own name on it. Brands, unfortunately, have not meant anything for some time. The public now takes the place of quality control and you just hope for the best.

I think you will be okay we all know were getting screwed with most things we buy.

I figured this out while checking out the market on e bikes. Do you know of customizable options for the controllers? The controllers seem to have a lot of extra plugs for extra options. I was thinking something along the lines of solar panel battery chargers or else hooking up alternate batteries or going dual wheel hub motors.

I figured this out pretty quickly when I got serious about buying a new bike. As he said this is why there are so many complaints about after sale customer service for these bikes. Personally I'm not sure that you can protect yourself from these issues even buying from a local dealer as they just add another layer to the whole thing.

I suppose one consolation is if you've bought a 'budget' e-bike, you can then switch it over as time moves forward, as you have the frame, and bars, wheels, motor, batteries and displays can always be changed out to newer parts/pieces. Some motors are not made for the long haul, so I assume if the motor doesn't fit a case within the wheel, the whole wheel assembly can be switched, no matter the size and width? Thanks for your input!

Good for people to know. Of course, this is the case with virtually *every* consumer good, including, of course, non-electric bikes. The one caveat I'd add here is that, for people who don't like to tinker, a relationship with a reputable bike shop is what you're paying (that much extra) for. Like when you buy a car from a dealership. If you don't need that relationship, great! Save some $$$. But most normal customers do.

This is exactly why I have designed and am building my own bike. I can buy an electric bike for what it will cost me to build but I can't get anywhere near the performance and spare parts for it are available at any hobby shop.

This happened to me. Paid 3K for an electric bike 8 years ago before the craze. Anyway, fast forward to now, I had problems with my controller and the place where I purchased my bike can’t fix it. I contacted the manufacturer and heard nothing back. I ended up buying two Döst bicycles. I really like their customer service.

Have done two bafang BBS-02 conversions and still no issues after 3k+ miles of abuse!

Thank you for the info bud, that was great to let us know. Now i can make better decision when I'm ready to buy my e-bike.

Yep happens for most products. I worked in air-conditioning and eventually sales and just from having installed brands like Samsung, Panasonic, LG, and then later in sales, saw that the units were the same just relevantly branded, sometimes only having further differences in the compressor or control unit being different.

Hey Johnny interested in buying the Lectric ebike 2.0 stepthrough what you think about it, and who is the actual manufacturer in China ? Thanks bro 🤙

Yes. Like a couple of outboard motors for boats decades ago. They were made on the same production line and went their separate ways when it was time to label them. I'm making trike from my push bike using wooden main, cross rails and rest for the seat. I may not have the fastest but the western red cedar will certainly look stylish.

Bought a £350 FIIDO D1 off aliexpress fourteen months ago , best thing I ever bought , done hundreds of miles on it , sure it’s not perfect but I needed a folder and I’m on a budget and I’m more than happy with it , it’s been places where fourteen inch wheels have no right to go including over the Pennine hills with a trailer .

I know… worked for one of the first swedish e-bike brand. Lifebike. All we did was importing from the chinese manufacturer, selling and support/spareparts.

Thanks J!. I am looking to buy a strong long range ebike. I'm tall and over 200, what do you recommend, besides loosing weight lol? Decent price.

Great video. Thank you for keeping it real and telling the truth. I’ve recently got into bicycle repair and looking to get into e-bike repair soon, and it’s good to know that there are honest people in the community.

Thanks for the video, I have done the full journey, old bike in the garage, put cheap rear hub on, it was OK, and got me hooked. Next a new but basic bike and slapped on a Bafang mid drive, very easy and works very well super quiet. Finally a full sus with a Yamaha system, yes expensive, but it is definitely better than the Bafang, possibly due to the torque sensor,if you have the money buy the best, but the Bafang is extremely good and easy for parts etc. The rear hub bike has gone.

The "brands" that are only middlemen is really common with electric guitars. A brand called Cor-tek in Indonesia and other places are the actual maker for about 25 "brands" of guitars. Sure, all the brands order batches of their specific shape, feature list or specific colors, but they are all CorTek guitars. The funny thing is that Cor Tek also sells their own brand called CORT at significantly cheaper prices. In America we pay for a Logo, not just a product.

Hey, I have a Brompton and I want to turn it into an e-bike. Is Switch worth using or can it be done for a lot less?

Thanks for helping people that may not know this information. Great to know, love your videos

Agree with what you say... I have a Shengmilo MX01... if anything goes wrong with it.... I've no idea as to where to go.

Thank you, Johnny. It's guys like you that show us the way. Keep it up. I'll be reaching out to you on your website.

Great information. I had my 14 year old bike converted nearly 2 years ago - Bafang mid section motor and lithium-ion battery for less than one third cost of a new e-bike. And it's wonderful. I liv e in Wellington New Zealand where everything is super - expensive.

You just saved me $3000 the ebike I wanted comes from China. A friend of mine did an estimate on what I can build it would cost me $1500 thank you for this video

@JohnnyNerdOut A question: If you had a Bafang 750W BB02, would you switch from a derailleur to a internal gear hub and if so or if not, why?

Hi Johnny, I have Huffy bike with breaks in the paddle. What do you recommend to use as far as battery and watts. I think the wheels are 26 inch and I like to mount the motor in front wheel. Thank you so very much.

Got a hub motor for 8 years and still going strong! What mid drive do you have like that? Hub motors rock!

This was one of the funniest videos I've seen in a while. Thanks I'm getting a crank shaft motor to save repair costs in the long run

Thank you so much for your invaluable information, highly appreciate it.

I live in Ontario Canada, we have a 500 watt max. regulation on Ebike without having to go through any kind of registration. I have a bike that I spent over $1000 with custom parts that suits me just fine. So what would be a good mid drive conversion kit to use and where could I order it? I've been looking on Amazon and for a 48V 500 W 17.5 AH kit it's costing around $1300. So not sure if that's any cheaper than buying one off the shelf considering the total cost to me doing it myself would be around $2500 for bike, conversion kit and taxes. Any help would be appreciated.

$42,000 was the cost of a replacement battery for a friends Brahma electric motorcycle. my friend bought the bike slightly damaged at a salvage auction. My friend owns a collision shop and he is a motorcycle enthusiast. He thought it would be neat to have an electric bike. It was totaled because the frame had scuffs on it. Anytime a motorcycle has scuffs on the frame, it’s automatically totaled. The rest of the damage was the handlebars the front fender scuffing on the seat footpeg, nothing serious. He bought the bike for under $1000, replaced the parts that were broken, buffed the frame, and he rode the bike for three years. he found a blog online. One of the bloggers told him to leave his key on over the weekend and it would totally discharge the battery. When he recharges the battery from totally discharged, it will recharge with a greater charge and have more range. So he did that.. it turned out to be the worst advice anyone could give. That works with lead acid deep cycle batteries, but not lithium ion batteries My friend called the factory. They walked him through some tests over the phone. They concluded that his battery is junk and it was actually in danger of exploding all by itself in that state. They told him to get that motorcycle out of his business which is where he kept it.. so to get to the bottom line. My friend asked about a new battery, how do I go about getting a new battery they told him that his battery or battery pack consists of seven batteries. Each battery cost $6000. The battery pack cost $42,000. my friend searched the Internet for over a year occasionally looking for another crashed but salvageable Brahma electric motorcycle that he could salvage the battery from. No one ever came up on the websites where he looks for parts for crashed cars he repairs. He ended up selling the bike for parts on eBay..

Payed out for a Specialized Turbo Levo Comp……mostly for the dealer support, luckily I do actually love the bike!!

would love to get a list of manufactures i can order from in the US

This going on with most products to be honest I use to work for a well known tools manufacturer and all they did was buy Chinese made stuff cheap slap some logos on them and a slightly different casing and charge the customers a hell of alot more for the product.

This is so true. I saw a folding 20" fat tire e-bike on the street with no brand. Went online and worked out it must be RDK. But RDK don''t ship to Australia. Then worked out RDK just orders these to various specs from China and badges them. There are many, many differerent brands selling this bike all around the world. The gears spces, battery specs are the same, only the max speed and if it has a hand throttle or not is what is different. Motor brand - OEM!

Thanks for your honesty.

What would be an example of a similar quality ebike available from Alibaba, to those offered in the UK and US?

G'day Johnny.. Unless i missed something, Are you based in Australia? I'm actualy in the market for another 24 volt motor for a mini Ebike, What brand would you recommend?

Of course there will be other products that do the same thing. But this guy is giving you what he knows from personal experience about bikes which 99.9% of those buying them won’t know as they shell out a fortune for the same bike they could have bought much cheaper from those who actually make them. Great post, Johnny

Awesome video Johnny. I have suspected what you have said in the video as well but do ot know which manufacturer in China build quality ebikes and can be trusted. Can you provide some info?

Thanks man, you just saved me alot of money 👍🏿🙏🏿

Dude this video keeps paying forward. You helped me know what I needed to know about who I am deling with. I just bought a bike from Aventon, I got the Ramblas Mid mount. They helped create that system. Thanks man!

What do you think about the Freego EV DK200 1200w Bike? Is it easy to add a front hub motor, get a controller that can handle 4000W and then either 2 batteries for 4000W power output or 1 4000W Battery? Basically I want 1 throttle, 1 controller, 1 Battery and 1 4000W Hub Motor or 1 Throttle, 1 Controller, 2 Batteries and 2 Hub Motors that can work in sync. Are these possible to do and can it be done to a DK200?

After doing some research, I bought a LECTRIC brand e-bike. The research I did on several different e-bikes led me to believe that the electronic controls are pretty much the product of a single manufacturer that are shared by most brands, but the physical and mechanical aspects of the various bikes can vary qute a bit. At any rate, buying the LECTRIC was a “no brainer” - best price, best features, best build quality, and best support. Of course it made me question why I would spend $879 for a 60-lb mountain bike that has to be electrically powered (because it is so heavy), as opposed to spending $479 for a 30-lb montain bike that is pedal-only. The answer is simply that an e-bike gives you a whole new cycling experience that involves a collaborative effort between the rider and the machine.

Got my parts from AliExpress and learned through watching lots of videos on building a repair. Cheapest way is to convert an alternator. Built my own battery too! I like hub motors best! Girl power!

What are ebikes like when the battery is flat? Does the motor add resistance? I've seen people spin the wheel with the motor and it slows down very quickly

Johnny, you"ve got my attention. Great information that has already modified my view of ebike purchase. Had to subscribe, just to see what kind of fatal "accident" you suffer at the hands of the bike sales mafia. LOL

Great video, thanks for the insights! I’ve seen some of what you mention with white labeled brands and larger companies buying parts so they can offer support.

As a retired global outsourcing executive, you know what most don't, most everything is a re-labled product made offshore. It is a fact of life these days, and I retired in 2008.

I bought an ADO A20F 6 months ago. Since then, I’ve watched multiple reviews of eBikes from other brands that look almost identical. At least the frames are. It makes me wonder if ADO is really the original actual manufacturer, licensing their bikes to various other brands or if ADO is just one of many ordering parts from some other company. Anyone know?

I purchased an E-Voyager Pro-Rider which ran fine for several years. It was reduced from the list price of $1200 due to being the pre-LED headlight and non-disc brake model. Then the crank bearing wore out. I contacted the dealer and asked for replacement crank bearings, an LED headlight and disc wheel upgrade. None of these were available and so I had to adapt parts from other makes of bike. Three years later and the same dealer cut any connection with the E-Voyager brand. The value of my bike is now less than the cost of a new battery.

Seems to be the same with everything these days -- seeing alot of it in escooters as well.

Hub motors are fine for many uses. Built many hub drive and mid drive ebikes.

Many business people have been stealing from others for decades. Appreciate your PSA, educating folks unaware of how business people treat others. I went into a surf shop a few weeks ago, and based on past histories, just to see how horrendous these companies have become. I needed a new pair of basic thongs ('flip flops' in 'Murica) with cloth straps. A pair of full rubber ones went up to $120AU. So impressed with this lunacy, I shared my thoughts on the matter to one of the staff as I walked out. Same quality set at Target, $15...their last pair lasting over 3 years.

This is a great video and confirms my thoughts about ebikes as I have been researching them for a few months now. I really think buying an awesome bike first and converting it is the way to go. Thanks for the video!

Could you do a video on HOW and WHERE to go to get a bike cheap and not get ripped off by knock offs? That would be awsome. :) Great video.

I have a bafang converted hardtail. It's been great. A friend has a focus daul suspension bike The power delivery on single trails is better on his 250w Bosch motor compared to my 750w bafang. I'm buying a cube stereo hybrid with new Bosch gen 4 motor. I'm paying big dollars. I have an idea of one of the brands your talking about. My hardtail is going for a good price.

Hey man I really like the video and I do appreciate the insight but I am literally in the process of buying a new e-bike a fat tire one preferably I have one now and I do deliveries but I really need a bigger one and a better one I'm just curious on exactly what manufacturer I should go to to buy one and also I'm curious about Alibaba because I really wanted to buy from there but I did not know if it was legit or not wondering if you could help me out with where I should go to get my e-bike

Thanks 😊 can you recommend a battery or all conversion kit please. I have a good bike to convert. How much to convert? I so appreciate you sharing!

Rebadges have been common in the bike industry since the 19th Century, well before mass production. The technology, cost of startup for volume production, and concentrated global logistics (China) just makes it even more prevalent today. For instance, Iver Johnson was one of the early high end bike manufacturers. In the 1880-90s, they also built bikes badged as Lovell Diamonds for Lovell Sporting Goods and that wasn't an unusual situation. Lovell starting building their own when Iver refused to lower their standards to get the prices down and THAT is probably unusual.

Good video!! More people should follow you man! great content!

I think you hit the nail on the head. This is exactly the way it is with computer technology. I sold laptops for what was known as a 'whitebox' manufacturer. There were really only 3 or 4 different laptop manufacturers at the time, but dozens of different companies branding them as their own. In fact, the evolution of the eBike industry is quite similar to the way the computer industry evolved from the 1980's.

I understand you have worked on many ebikes. I have an Ariel Rider Grizzly and I installed a Wicked Thumb headlight and Ariel Rider says this voids my warranty. The stock light works at 2 watts and my Wicked Thumb works at 8 watts. Is this really a problem? Also, I have read several comments from Grizzly owners that say they have replaced several parts at the same time with mixed success and failure. As you are an expert working on many models of e-bikes, is it common for a catastrophic failure that requires multiple parts to fix the bike? Also, there is no set pattern when replacing the parts. Instead, there are many combinations and permutations of the parts that need replacement. It looks like the Grizzly may be a Lemon. I would really appreciate and thoughts you have in this matter.

Great info. This is facts right here.... I do love my hub motor tho 👀. Gonna check out your vid on why they suck, lemme see if it changes my mind

Any way we can have a list of 'not middlemen' companies? I'm in the market for a few e-bikes and this is GOLDEN info. Thank you!!!

What conversion kit to you recommended for a large Cannondale quick carbon?

Does the key missing prevent the bike from working or just for removing the battery?

Put a dummy near a window to distract the sharp shooters.. Good info.. My first ebike 10 years ago was a hub and service was a nightmare for this very reason.. Got a Trek ebike last month from LBS, I paid more but warrenty is excellent and service shouldn't be an issue.

No wonder lots of bikes from different brands look a like. Just like motorcycles in Mexico and South America have similar if not the same motorcycle but different name.

You've talked me into building my own bike.. can I use a mid drive with a front hub motor for extra power/hill climbing ability, with the mid drive as the primary? Hub motors =garbage is what I'm hearing, but as a backup/4x4(2×2)option?

Hey man great video- do you have any recommended stores/ companies on Alibaba? I would appreciate if you could do a video or a short going through your top 5-10 choices and why ! Appreciate it

Yes, you got a point. However, you forgot to mention the risks of ordering directly from the manufacturer through alibaba. You forgot to mention the insanely long shipping times, the hardship of getting the warranty claim from the manufacturer, and the inconsistency of the photos from the you actually ordered and most importantly the customs could reject the product if it did not meet regulations. I searched on reddit, there are people who ordered through alibaba and waited for several months ended up not getting the product because customs rejected it.

I love what you say and stand for plus you make so much sense and I'm getting a mid-drive motor conversion on my bike no so thank you, my friend now I'm a subby, to your channel

How much would a sur ron style bike cost thru you ? 5400 - 7400 wtts. I'm in the process of finding something now....

Hey Johnny. Thanks for this video . About 1.5 years ago I bought an e-bike branded as a GEN3 step through. The throttle unit is not working and of course the company is out of business. Any chance you could help me find a replacement part? The bike shop I took it too said every bike is different and they have no access to after mark parts ARGH.

Hub motors are awesome, what are you talking about? I'm hitting 65mph with my kits all day long. And as a bonus, I've never been stranded due to a broken chain. QS makes some awesome hub motors.

i got my bike converted with a bafang motor 3 years ago.. never had any problem and it wasnt expensive

I have an A2B Ultra Motor Metro with a dead battery I inherited. Can I just buy a similar generic battery and just splice it in? Or it it basically a paper weight now?

Please help, I'm looking for an ebike but i'm too short for most adult ebikes. my current Specialized Hard Rock is a 15.5" frame and i like how it fits me. i'd consider buying a kids electric bike, but no one makes them. would you recommend i buy a kids bike and have it converted?

The only honest comment about e bikes on youtube !!

There's more to this than just the price though, they are adding VAT to packages to the UK now so that really affects what you can save, there's customs which can hit you with an extra fee if they pick you out, then there's warranty, if your cheaper version from AliExpress goes wrong your screwed, you can definitely make the actual purchase for cheaper but just be aware of having no warranty or after sales care what so ever. Best ebike route is sourcing all the parts yourself and buiding it, The cost of ebikes is an absolute joke.

Hi Johnny. If you can help me I can pay for the information thereafter. I just bought a Delta batribike from cashKonverters with flat battery (but they didn't mentioned!). I'm not surprised, because I paid £399 for it. It's a nice bike, but no battery at all! What you suggest me? Buying a battery for £650 approximately? Buy another bike from Johnny? Give it back and get refunded? Continue with my old Specialised push bike (very good!) ? Thanks mate. God bless you.

I have said build it yourself for 5+ years now. I loved the look of the Ruff-Cycles "Ruffian", but they want $5k for a 750w cruiser? LMAO...no. I built an identical looking 3k watt bike for less than half.

US Specialised and Trek have a lot of their components, from frame, wheels to motors contract manufactured by Taiwans Giant, who in turn have most of their manufacturing done in China. The reality is if you knew the individual manufacturers in China, you could put together a high end/spec bike for a fraction of the price.

Hello, I have an Evox city and my battery 96 v only gets 10kms with pedal assist is it worth having the cells replaced to save or is it a bad idea ?

can you put a 36 volt batery on a 12 v bike will the biger batery damage your bike ?

Almost bought a cool, but pricey "local" e-bike when the "manufacturer" turned out to be a guy who ordered 50 from China and then closed the company. #Dodged_a_Bullet

Great Info! I’ll Be Coming To You When I’m Ready For My E-Bike! Good Look Brotha, Very Good Look!!!

I'm looking to swap a 500w rear hub motor on a pacelec gs9 (skinny tire) with a bafang 750 hub motor on a skinny tire will this work with the hub size an computer settings?

What does Johnny think about Super73 bikes? I haven't seen another brand with a similar fat tire cruiser style. Really tempted to pull the trigger on a ZX model and been doing my research, but I'd love to know your opinion.

First I figured that out and then I found the best model for the lowest price. I saved 500$ just on the brand's name.