MICROMOBILITY
With the knowledge and experiences you’ve accumulated, I’m guessing you have a consulting aspect of the business, working with suppliers to, and makers of, e-bike motors?
It’s a small part of the business, but an interesting part of it. We have developed elements which have found their way into motors at brand level, as an upgrade. For those who make component parts, as suppliers to
motor manufacturers, there is regular conversation. This raises an interesting point. I see component manufacturers keen to learn from our knowledge and experience in far greater volume, and in a much more open fashion, than I see from many motor manufacturers.
You sound frustrated by some of what you see on a frequent basis? Yes.
Modernised electronics in the Brose Drive S Mag guarantee that spare parts are available in the long term, thus offering an extended lifespan
If a plastic gear has failed, and nothing else is broken, those parts are invaluable. We make use of anything and everything.
Ending up in a landfill because of a failed, easily replaceable component is unacceptable for an industry that wants to call itself a green, sustainable, alternative, and the centre of future mobility.
Making repairable products, and it being widely known that products can be affordably repairable, radically changes used values. Yes.
If my out-of-warranty e-bike can have its motor repaired for £250, instead of needing a new motor at £850 to £1,200, then the used value of e-bikes is massively, positively, impacted.
When the perception is that a motor can’t be repaired, that’s a major barrier to people choosing a more affordable, used, e-bike.
Repairable products are essential to e-bike sales,
customer confidence, and sustainability. It’s unimaginable that, in the auto industry, a three-
year-old product would be classified (by the market) as beyond economical repair, and as such written off, for a minor component failure.
34 | September 2024
I mean the whole reason I started this business was to help people really, because I had a problem and I worked out how to fix it, and then realised I was far from the only one with this e-bike problem.
Is the failure rate we see a UK specific problem?
Add any country with inclement weather to that list. The common element is the climate and environment in which bikes are ridden, more than how they are ridden. Here in the UK, it’s e-MTB which is the biggest area of concern. We don’t see motors for e-road bikes coming in in volume, or those in e-cargo bikes. If motor manufacturers wanted to improve the product, UK conditions, combined with our experience, offer a rare resource. In the case of Brose, we’re now the official warranty service centre for the UK, and the spare parts have been made available to keep motors working outside of warranty. We’ve also had conversations with Bafang, who have
always seen the value in having service support post- purchase.
What are your thoughts on the auto industry moving into the e-bike space? My question, given our conversation, is: “How does a business, with no formal bicycle industry network, deliver post-sale service support to the end customer, and the bike shops selling products with its motor fitted?” I’d anticipate a business like DJI, a consumer electronics business, will find this a much more familiar challenge to address.
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