The One foldable electric bike: more delays and costs

[ad_1]

A reader – thank you Patrick – who funded The One's ultra-light foldable electric bike project, told us about the difficulties he encountered. Like many Kickstarter, Ulule or Indiegogo projects, The One bike has accumulated delays. Its delivery, initially scheduled for September, did not start until December, but most buyers should not receive their bikes until early 2020. More serious, the company had not communicated on customs fees and each participants therefore had to pay a minimum of € 500 in order to be sure of receiving their foldable bicycle. This additional cost increases the price of the bike from € 799 to € 1,300 for the entry-level model. You quickly understand that the The One bike at this price is much less interesting. Another problem, the first buyers indicate that the weight of the bike is no more than 2.5 kg as indicated on the Indiegogo page, but is closer to 14 kg. Again, we are moving away from the promise of the lightest foldable electric bike in the world.

Finally, since our Review, we have been able to see several foldable electric bikes using the same electric motorization system including a battery in the seat tube smart health connected to the engine by a cable under the bike. This is the case of Eovolt bike which uses exactly the same engine and the same cockpit (same handlebar setting and very close counter). Only the frame and the wheels differ from The One. The announced weight of the Eovolt bike is 14 kg, which is ultimately the weight of The One bike. According to the manufacturer's website, the Eovolt bike is produced in Bourges, but it is probably about assembling the components (the engine and the battery are not made in France and come from China). The Eovolt bike is sold for € 1,190 including VAT and is distributed by many dealers in France, including Bike Culture in Paris. The Eovolt bike was also released widely before The One project as shown in this bike folding ehealth published in November 2018. Since then, the bicycle The One also appeared on Aliexpress. The One bike is obviously made by the Chinese company Jaunty Bikes under the reference CFD-1. It was sold on the Chinese platform by several resellers between 550 € and 720 € (excluding taxes and shipping costs), but it has since disappeared probably under pressure from United City Bikes.

This experience reminds us that the funding of projects on dedicated platforms (Kickstarter, Indigogo or Ulule) is not to be taken lightly since some projects are simply not finalized leaving all participants on the floor. The most emblematic bankruptcy of participatory projects is probably that of the motorcycle helmet with head-up display Skully launched in 2014 on Indiegogo. Sold for $ 1,600, this helmet – which had enabled the company to raise more than $ 5 million – never saw the light of day, and participants were never reimbursed. If we talked about The One bike, it is because it seemed interesting to us, but we should have put a warning about the funding projects.

[ad_2]