Velotric is Having Battery Issues
Posted by VegasBBQFan@reddit | ebikes | View on Reddit | 20 comments
Fair warning to anyone looking to buy a Velotric &/or anyone that has one.
More & more people are posting about having bad batteries, including on bikes still well within warranty. Some of their batteries are on back order for months out.
Rumors are bad batch got out from around Black Friday last year. I suspect it may be more than a small period or batch but that’s unknown by us on the consumer side.
There’s also a significant issue in FB groups & perhaps here in Reddit groups with people acting like Velotric can literally do no wrong. To the point one has to wonder if they’re on the V payroll somehow.
Just do good homework is all I’m saying. Warranties are great if the company gets you back running quickly. Is having a heavy e-bike that’s dead but still under warranty really having an e-bike?
UT07@reddit
This is why you buy bicycles from bicycle brands
PitifulDisaster3688@reddit
It’s funny you say that. I saw recently that Harley Davidson was making e-bikes. I was looking at them and their motor design looks bad and I then read the reviews and all of them say they are under powered and underwhelming.
trevor_plantaginous@reddit
Harley liscences the name. The bikes are made by https://serial1.com
PitifulDisaster3688@reddit
Prettt poor reviews on the bikes regardless. I’d avoid.
trevor_plantaginous@reddit
Yeah don’t disagree. Just pointing out that the Harley, bmw, Mercedes, etc bikes are just licensed.
PitifulDisaster3688@reddit
I saw that they put the enviolo automatiq on some of the bikes with the heavy duty hub. It’s cool, but it’s hard to match the proper cadence and get it dialed in.
I also noticed that the bike frames they used for the gates bent drives bikes with the same as the shimano derailleur bikes, which is simply a cost saving move.
trevor_plantaginous@reddit
Ironically McLaren Ebikes are actually made by them. Decent bikes but sell for 12k and they are nearly identical in specs to many 4-5k bikes.
PitifulDisaster3688@reddit
What e-bikes do you currently own?
trevor_plantaginous@reddit
Specialized turbo Vado 4 and a Lectric xp750. My kids have lectric xp lite 2.0’s.
Specialized - it’s just an amazing all around bike. I managed to get one new for $2400 on a sale
Xp750 - actually has a lot of utility. I use it to take my youngest son around but also swap it out with front and rear baskets for cargo. Sometimes take with us in road trips.
Lite2.0 - got them for kids cause they are locked as class 2s. I got the jw blacks with belt drive and they are surprisingly maintence free so far.
All that said I’ve gotten into e-scooters lately. I have a Segway max g3 that I’ve been using more and more.
PitifulDisaster3688@reddit
Which version of the specialized turbo Vado do you have? Have any pics?
I have the Priority Current Plus I got through the Costco Next program. It has the enviolo heavy duty and the gates carbon belt drive. I also have the Urtopia Carbon Classic and the Urtopia Carbon Joy fat tire.
My wife has the Velotric Discovery 3 and really likes it.
My dream bikes are the Gazelle Ultimate c380 and the Specialized Turbo Vado SL Carbon.
My niece has a scooter she rides to get around. She’s in junior high, but lives in the burbs. I live in Cali and would be afraid to ride it around the Pasadena area where I live.
Quercus408@reddit
Well, Harley Davidson is hardly a bicycle brand.
Redm18@reddit
Because of their decades of experience producing batteries? Not say you are wrong though.
UT07@reddit
No, because they have a decades-long reputation to maintain
AdBoring4472@reddit
The original DTC brands that have weathered the storm of the last few years (Velotric, Aventon, Electrek, Rad Power, etc.) very much have paid individuals supporting and defending them online, ... here, YouTube, and throughout social media. This is a fundamental strategy of online, direct to consumer, branding and sales. 'Customer' reviews and 'independent' testimonials get consumer trust and patronage, far more effectively than the same money spent on traditional marketing. There is also, of course, always going to be the die-hard supporters who see any criticism of a brand, as a criticism of their own decision to support the brand in the first place.
It is unsurprising that there would be issues at some point with some of these brands, as they were/are running extremely low margins on a lot of their products, and this is not usually sustainable without making decisions that reduce cost and, ultimately, quality.
Velotric is not a bad brand or ebike provider, but they are mid-tier, and no less susceptible to quality issues than any other brand out there. How they react and address the problems will be the most telling part of this.
trevor_plantaginous@reddit
On the flip side - there are absolutely paid individuals slandering brands. It’s especially noticeable in the escooter world. I can show you dozens of examples where the same word for word posts are placed on different subreddits and FB groups with the exact same content by either brand new accounts or by different brand new accounts.
Check out this account that went on a posting spree about Segway for a couple days
https://www.reddit.com/u/MBT-REVIEWS/s/9UtUg3VUQl
This on pops up over and over form different users with the same pics - Yume scooters kill people
https://www.reddit.com/r/ebikes/s/KxRjGbbQ7E
Wants-NotNeeds@reddit
Agree with everything you said. I will add Velotric is a high volume supplier and odds alone will factor into the problems that arise. How they handle them will be telling. They are rapidly growing and any significant or prevalent issues will determine their growth potential.
Quercus408@reddit
I appreciate the warning. My original Discover1 battery still works and is functioning fine, patiently waiting for me to find a location that will send it to battery heaven, together with its Rad Power cousins.
I've had the Discover M for a month now, and I'm trying to baby this battery and motor, since I'm like 200 miles from the nearest Velotric servicer (I know, I'm an idiot). Shifting properly, taking the battery in when it's cold, not charging to 100% or depleting below 10%, etc.
There's also apparently a rotor issue with the Discover M; the rotor screws are either too short to hold down the rotor and the cadence sensor, or were not torqued properly when installed. And so apparently in this case the rotor and/or cadence sensor can come flying off, causing you to lose rear brake power, and the speedometer and PAS goes out. So, check your rotor screws fellow VM riders. So far, my little torque marks still line up, but Velotric sent new screws and I'll be installing them on my weekend.
UsernameTaken1701@reddit
Idiot how? Most if the time you won’t need service, so if it’s the best bike for you it’s a reasonable gamble. I have an Aventon dealer in my town but, at least on paper, Velotric’s Discover 3 or M, or GoMad, will be a better choice for me, so I’ll be heading an hour down the highway for test ride and purchase.
General_Dipsh1t@reddit
Not saying it’s not true, but can you back up your “more and more” people claim? I’ve seen maybe two posts in this sub in a one year timeframe.
boshbosh92@reddit
I have 5 velotric ebikes, 8 batteries. 2 I've bought in the last 3 months. No issues for me.
Normally velotric customer support is on point, but the issue I'm having with my D2 they're very slow to respond and unhelpful when they do. So something may indeed be up, normally they're great.