The Ultimate E-bike Buying Guide and Why Electric Bicycle Components Matter

We have seen many e-bike models since we founded E-bike Lovers. Any e-bike is a good e-bike as long the product is safe, reliable, and used by the owner. Whether you possess a +$12,000 Riese & Muller e-bike or an affordable e-bike from the Internet, we invite anyone to join. But no one wants to bike with failing brakes and batteries.

Thousands of E-bike Models

We are often asked what e-bikes we recommend, and we do not have an easy answer. We estimate that over 160 American manufacturers assemble and produce electric bikes, not to mention the thousands of manufacturers worldwide.

Imagine each manufacturer building several models and the list of e-bikes to review balloons to tens of thousands of models worldwide. Each model has a purpose, and a cargo e-bike is different from a carbon high-speed road e-bike. Some have better parts and services than others.

Few E-bikes Have Unique Components

Although e-bike models have unique frame designs and other artistic features, few have unique components. The market for e-bike components such as battery systems, motors, drive trains, and brakes is dominated by a few manufacturers that supply most e-bike manufacturers and assemblers.

When you buy a well-known e-bike brand such as Riese & Muller, Tern, Trek, and Gazelle, most components are manufactured by others. Even high-profile brands like Harley Davidson or Porsche assemble e-bikes with established component manufacturers.

The Disclosure of E-bike Components

There are good reasons for e-bike brands to rely on producers of reliable components. Product recalls, lawsuits, and poor customer experiences are costly for any reputable brand.

Not so much for fly-by-night brands with exotic names that sell products designed for obsolescence. The products look great on the Internet but quickly fail in the field. Motors stop functioning, batteries explode, and people get injured and die. E-bike safety is not always a top priority of these brands.

Let us take a look at a few models of brands across price classes:

The table suggests that reputable higher-priced e-bike brands universally disclose the brands of their e-bikes’ components. The lower the price, the less likely the components’ brands are revealed, making it difficult for a consumer to check the safety profile of components.

At a minimum, we believe that the brand of an e-bike's motor and the battery should be disclosed. The battery needs to be UL certified! It is a red flag when this is not the case, especially when other components' origins are not disclosed. A good provenance increases the value of an e-bike.

E-bike Lovers doesn't associate itself with brands that do not prioritize the safety of our e-bike community.

Recalls of E-bikes

We randomly looked on Amazon for an inexpensive e-bike and found the Elecony Expanse. We are not sure if the brakes of this brand are hydraulic: most likely not given its price level.

Other brands we have never heard of are Engwe, 3y Electric Bike, Mukpet, Bright, Rattan, Ecotric, Vivi, and the list goes on. As expected, the brands of components are rarely disclosed for these lower-tier products, and it is impossible to know whether the parts are safe and durable. We can only guess with hardly any safety standards for e-bikes in the United States.

Recalls happen to the best in the industry and are a good thing. Please think of the high-profile cargo e-bike recall by Riese & Muller of the $8,919 Packster 70 cargo bike and the $9,999 Stromer ST5 electric bicycle. Shimano recalled the CX75 Disc Brake Calipers, and Specialized recalled battery packs used with its 1st Generation Turbo Levo and Kenevo electric mountain bikes.

These reputable brands responsibly take products off the market or offer repairs, which we may not see with cheap, unknown Internet brands. Safety comes at a premium in life, and e-bikes are not exempt from this rule.

Conclusion

Reputable e-bike brands happily disclose the brands of their e-bikes’ components. The lower the price of an e-bike, the less likely the components’ brands are revealed, especially for lower-tier e-bikes.

As Europe has much higher e-bike safety standards than the US, consider buying European e-bike brands or American brands that use European e-bike parts.

Bosch, Brose (motors), and Magura (brakes) are from Europe. Shimano, Yamaha, and Suntour (forks) are based in Japan. Fox is an American company listed on the NASDAQ producing quality forks. These are brands with established safety and quality controls. Check if the battery has the UL logo as this is an important safety certificate.

Be aware of deals on the Internet. Check out our tips for buying an e-bike to lower the risk of buyers’ remorse and unsafe e-biking. There is a good reason many bike shops cannot service unknown brands with unknown parts as they do not know the safety profile of components.

The moment they service a brake of dubious origin, a bike shop is liable for the functioning of the brake. Instead of servicing the brake, have a quality braking system installed.

We should not expect a quality bike shop to take irresponsible safety risks, and we believe neither should you by buying an e-bike with unknown parts.

We do not blame any reputable bike shop for not touching cheap and inferior e-bikes with unknown components. Would you?