dilkes

See it on INDIEGOGO at:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/s...bike/x/9777576

chas58

That looks pretty interesting. I was thinking of building something like that, but the parts alone would cost $500 wholesale. The bike looks like a Bike Direct bike (i.e. a step up from walmart), and a nice bafang motor and 36v10a battery.

It is irritating how companies oversell this type of bike. My first build was a mountain bike like that. Realistic speed was 15mph and range about 20 miles. not the 20mph, 50mi range quoted in bold (although there are some caveats below, they are still pretty optimistic).

The motor in the picture is a Bafang geared motor, not a direct drive motor. Not sure why they claim direct drive.

tds101 

At the top it says 50 mile range, then below it says 30 mile top range. There's too many errors in the description. This looks like a Chinese ebike company trying to milk the system,...

2old

Their weight claim is surprising for a steel frame, 4.8" tires fat bike; 45 pounds, maybe with helium in the tires. Glad I don't want a fat bike or I might be tempted.

chas58

don't be too tempted, unless you are flexible in your expectations.

More reading:


Before putting any money towards a bike like this - read these articles. (and by the way, funding something on this web site does not guarantee you will get a product.


My thoughts and ideas (expressed by someone else):
https://electricfatbike.wordpress.co...campaign-ever/


yahoo backpedals:
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/a-500-ebi...086504619.html


electric bike review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZXdjm4DW50


first video of what looks to be the final product
The Storm eBike Is A $499 Entry-Level Electric Bike | TechCrunch
(vid is in slow motion because its clearly not a 20mph bike)


I wish them well, even if they are overselling the specs significantly.

2old

Chas, thanks for the advice, but don't worry. There's no way I'd ever "donate" to a crowd fund unless I trusted the integrity of the principals which I ABSOLUTELY AND POSITIVELY DON'T HERE. Also, you need a fat bike in socal like a fish needs a harmonica.

bgoodwin73

Just an FYI on this bike. I just watched the updated review by electric bike review.com. He saw the bike at a meet a greet in cali. Actual weight is 58lbs and it seems like a real budget friendly ebike. I agree with crowd funded projects, but without them we wouldnt have a lot of the cool stuff that is coming out. Flykly was crowd funded, and that thing will change the e bike world. Just throughing in my 2 cents cause there is a lot of bad press on this bike. PS I have no affiliation or have I donated to this bike just passing along the info.

tds101 

If the Flykly managed to do disk brakes I'd have ordered 1 on the spot. I do wish it could max at 20mph, but 16mph is more than sufficient. This Storm bike,...I want Court to do a ridden review.

no1mad 

It got funded and then some- goal of $75k, currently at ~3.5 million USD and they are still taking donations?

chas58

There is a lot of controversy with that, as they way oversold what the bike can do. May be fine for someone new to ebikes, but if you expect a 20mph 45lb 50 mile cruising machine, you are not going to get that. I expect 15mph, 20 mile, 60lb bike. As that campaign kinda got out of control, and Storm stumbles at some pretty basic questions, there is some doubt on whether this is a good "investment" (purchase?).

Some good reading here:
https://electricfatbike.wordpress.com/

CXT

A 350w motor, 60 pounds, and its a single speed fat bike!?!?! What idiot spec'ed this thing? I hope roadside assistance is included for the poor souls that can't pedal it home after the battery dies.

chas58

with an 8.8ah battery, and max 10 amps current.

with "idiot" specs (and anyone with ebike experience would agree with you), he still mananged to raise over 3 million. That is what some slick shady marketing will do for ya.

On the demo day video, you should seen the look on his face when someone asked if they could ride the bike through some sand on the beach. No, that would be too complicated...

dilkes

I didn't sign up for this for the reasons mentioned above plus some others. However, assuming it is delivered, for what it's worth, my personal opinion is that the majority of the purchasers will be satisfied with their purchase:

I think most:

• will probably run it on flat roads, paved or at least smooth, not offroad in sand or snow
• will get an interest in e-bikes and either upgrade this one or buy something better

After all, they're only in for $500 plus shipping.

We shall see.

chas58

Maybe. The claims are way exaggerated, and that is going to cause some heartburn. The video shows beach and trail riding, and this bike (single speed with 350 watt (likely 10 amp) motor) won't do well off of pavement or on hills.

speedy25

A friend told me about this. I thought about it for a while and decided to go for the deal. Yeah MAYBE it wont live up to its promised qualities, but I dont think I can complain too much if it just plain works.

Lets see what happens in May.

-SP

chas58

Well, May is just about here and this is turning into quite a drama. First Yahoo makes it sound like the greatest thing to come to crowd funding, and then quickly backpedals. Too late, it has gone viral with no fact checking.
Then comes lots of factual corrections, a couple of law suits,and removing of some videos that might be damaging.

This latest Yahoo article is starkly different to their original article that helped this campaign go viral in the first place:
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/storm-ebike-... 22729.html

The article has this concerning quote from Agency 2.0 (which voices the worst fears of people here):
“Team Sondors actions to date have shown that he did not ever intend to honor their contractual obligations.”

Dan Tynan at Yahoo is having quite a ride, going from,
1a: Wow how cool is this? The “tesla of bikes” without the "Tesla-like price" where “I was hitting the max speed of 20 mph in less than 50yards.”
1b: and demo video (now deleted) that overlooks the obvious exaggerations (enough that Sondors uses it for marketing), to
3: let’s slow down a little on our excitement , to
4: crowdfunding is like gambling,
“The Sondors eBike Indiegogo campaign may look like a product catalog page, but it’s not... Don’t think of it as shopping; it’s really morelike gambling.”
5: Now: “Storm Sondors saga has taken more twists and turns than a dime-storenovel.”

References

1st Yahoo article (now amended): https://www.yahoo.com/tech/the-storm-eb... 15029.html
Video – showing how cool the bike is has been taken down from variouswebsites
2nd Yahoor article: A $500 eBike? Not So Fast. https://www.yahoo.com/tech/a-500-ebike-... 04619.html
3rd yahoo article: 10 Things You Must Know Before Investing in That CrazyCrowdfunding Scheme https://www.yahoo.com/tech/10-things-yo... 64239.html
4th yahoo article: https://www.yahoo.com/tech/storm-ebike-... 22729.html
#5 again: https://www.yahoo.com/tech/storm-ebike-... 22729.html

I'm glad yahoo is following up and putting their initial article intoperspective.

We have: ebike performance claims wildly exaggerated (weight,speed, range cost), some viral marketing (the initial videos from both Yahoo and Indegogo are now purged), the experts backpedalling, and now the campaign partners start suing each other.

The drama continues….

donheart2015

Somehow I have a feeling that a great many of the people that bought these bikes will never see them.

I believe that the parts cost more then the price they sold the bike for. Remember that old saying "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is".

I don't understand how they can deliver bikes and I think that they gave free shipping too.

Hope everyone gets what they paid for.

chas58

I really hope it works too. I put a detailed BOM (bill of materials) for anyone to create this bike on their own (posted on Endless Sphere). Roughly $200 for the bike, $140 for the battery, $100 for the motor and other electronics. Its really a lot like my first e-bike build. Still, the parts alone are going to be hard to get for much less than $500, which is why I almost bought in. The bike is now $650 + $250 = $900 shipping, which isn't a screaming bargain, but not a bad price. In the end, it wasn't worth saving $100 (to get the $499 price) for me to take the risk on this bike.

Still, the saga continues.

For the latest news in the ongoing drama:

Sondors eBike Crowdfunding Partner: ?I Feel Like I Was Had? |
Updated: Agency 2.0 Comments on Lawsuit Filed Against Sondors eBike, 2nd Largest Indiegogo Crowdfunding Campaign Ever |

vincent713

This Sondors ebike has a single speed and with fat tires, it will be a PITA to pedal when you run out of juice which is right around 15 miles on throttle mode only. There's no pedal assist system which will greatly limit the range. The current price for this bike is $650 + 200 for shipping = $850. It's a nice looking bike but there are other ebikes out there that has more options and a lot cheaper believe it or not (i.e. my bike). Now with all the legal action going on with Sondors, I'm so glad I never donated my money to it.

dilkes

In the latest update from the Sondors campaign, it does say they have added pedal assist as well as throttle. He also claimed it was tested and gave something north of 20 miles as range with throttle only. Who knows? I too am glad I stayed away as the big question seems to be when (or if?) these will actually be delivered to backers.

Nevertheless I do hope it works out for all the folks who did contribute.

steve0257

Looks like this is turning into a real can of worms.

Agency 2.0 Shares All in Sondors eBike Crowdfunding Fraud Case |

Sondors eBike Crowdfunding Partner: ?I Feel Like I Was Had? |

vincent713

Yeah lots of lawsuits and legal actions going on with this bike. It doesn't look too bright for backers at this point but I'm praying that either they get their money back or receive the bike.

speedy25

Yawn. This sort of thing happens all the time with companies that dont get "assembled" well. Comments within the links flush out some of the reality that doesnt resemble the posted story. I doubt if any of it will change the sale of the bikes.

I'm waiting on one. A friend is waiting on 2. I am hoping to see something delivered soon.

-SP

powell

Get real.
Not only this , Sondors is on the run from $40 000 judgment from company manufacturing toys.
They try to collect from him for years.
here is the link:


https://www.toyjobs.com/toy_blog/tag/ivars-sondors/

InTheRain

Here is a story indicating that the bikes are shipping:

Sondors eBike shipping - Business Insider

Those could be empty boxes in the picture.