wins02

I am interested in possibly buying a Luna FIXED model e-bike. The belt drive system is very intriguing to me. The video reviews give it very good ratings. I am wondering if there are any forum members that own one or are familiar with this model? I would be very interested to hear a consumers perspective. I must say, the idea of them not including a warranty is concerning.

veganbikes

The idea of the cheap-o online bikes is you are saving all your money initially so you can spend it later on. You aren't paying money for any quality or support you are just getting a cheap pile of parts probably thrown together by the lowest bidder. They know their bike is likely to have problems but they don't want to be around when you have them. Bosch for instance supports their product really well. I can generally call them or email and get a quick response and support. We have a customer who had a bad motor and his bike is beyond warranty but they are replacing it because they support their product.

That particular bike is not Fixed or freewheel it is Nexus3 hub. I am guessing Luna is charging a huge premium for a belt drive and possibly non-removable but integrated low WH battery. That bike doesn't look worth anywhere near $1750 with zero warranty and relatively cheap parts. The one saving grace is at least this is a mid-drive bike, not a quality mid-drive but a mid-drive none the less.

wins02

Thank you for your input

2old

Not to argue the merits or lack of for this bike because I have never seen nor ridden one, but IMO every OEM bicycle dealer/employee who has commented on DIY or "not in the fraternity" bikes has denigrated them. On the other hand, my daughter rides a Dillenger kit that is six years old and I ride off road on a five year old BBS02. The guy I ride with has had two OEM bikes during this time (Felt and Bulls). Guess who has spent thousands more?

chas58

I laugh every time I see this bike's name, because - believe me - you wouldn't want a Fixed ebike - no way. I built a bike like this 7 years ago and chatted with the Luna owner - but that was long before he started Luna. Personally a 39lb bike that does 24mph and takes 35mm tires is the ideal commuter (ok, mine is a little faster and a lot lighter, but close enough).

I like the idea of a passionate and knowledgeable DIY person starting his own company and doing in the US what was only available in China, along with having some very interesting designs and a staff that speaks English is a bit of a godsend (although the people I've talked to at Luna didn't seem to be particularly knowledgeable unless you get to the backroom technical staff).

I would much rather buy from them than pretty much anywhere else for a bike like this. From what I have seen, you get your money's worth. Sure, you can build a bike like this for half the price with crap components, take a risk with kickstarter, but I like what i have seen from Luna. Belt drive, Hydralic brakes, Shimano IGH 3 speed hub, decent frame and parts. Its not a bad price. Sondors used to have a bike like this (kinda) but it wasn't any where as well put together as this one.


(Oddly someone with my name and within 5 years of my age also races cyclocross under the Luna Cycles team name. Go figure).

READ ELECTREKS WRITE UP ON THE FIXED HERE

veganbikes

We used to install kits for a long time our owner was well sold on the kit bikes and had a few of them, hasn't ridden any of them in years after trying a quality bike. We had enough problems with various kits that we stopped buying them. There are certainly a few people who have kit bikes and they have been lucky that they are working still and great for them. I would rather have a bike that is dedicated as an E-bike. I prefer something designed for the purpose. Sure I can tape a blunt object to a knife and use it as a hammer but I would rather just get a hammer.

boilermaker1

Luck has nothing to do with it; I know what I'm doing.

I think you're looking out for your interest.

2old

Guess I've been "lucky" with all 10 or so DIY ebikes I've assembled.

veganbikes

Nope luck has a big thing to do with it. We have had excellent mechanics who have been around e-bike tech for a long time. I get it you cheated "the man" and built up a bike with a kit and it has worked. That is great, glad you are enjoying it. Not complaining here but a larger sample of people we have built bikes for and a lot of other kit style bikes we have seen come through our doors for 6+ years says a little different.

Please explain to me how putting a kit on a bike that is not designed to be an e-bike is a great idea? I am not being sarcastic in this one or anything I am actually asking the question?

My interest is in reliability, durability and something with support behind it. I would be fine selling regular bikes or e-bikes doesn't matter to me. I would sell kit bikes if I could actually stand behind them knowing I have support from the manufacturer way down the road. Bosch isn't going anywhere and has service all over the world. These random companies probably don't and certainly many of the ones we have dealt with didn't and trying to get them to support their product was a pain. It is rare that Bosch, Brose or Shimano takes a lot of effort to get in touch with.

When companies with hub drives tell you 10-20 spokes broken is not an issue...uhhh that is not good in my eyes. Generally once you break 2 spokes you are going to be looking at a new wheel so when you hit 20 out of 32 that seems really bad. We had all the spokes come loose on a brand new wheel on an R+M and instead of saying "just rebuild it" they sent us a brand new wheel no problems. Granted this was not a hub drive but a Enviolo but on a new Bosch equipped bike.

Robert C

I have built several bikes. The weak link is the batteries.

That said, I have a lot more confidence in the mid-drives. My experience with hub drives has been 50/50, yes, I have only built two hub drives. Neither of them broke spokes. The first was probably because it didn't have the power. It was built purely as a commuter to help deal with the 20+mph winds that I was facing almost every morning. My second was intended to be a new touring trike (velomobile) and I wanted to get the regen feature. It was a total failure, quite literally, the motor didn't work out of the box. while the vender https://www.ebikes.ca/ has an excellent reputation, the response was still "you buy, now go away." It is now receiving a bafang mid-drive.

So, yes, there is an element of luck. However, my experience with Luna has been very positive and I don't expect them to leave customers with something non-functional (unlike their previously named competitor). Further, it isn't as much "luck" as you are seeming to expect. Once ina while you will get a bad product or a bad vendor. The problem is when it happens at the beginning of a learning curve. For this reason, thee is some value in starting your building with a simple mid power motor, not some big spoke-breaker.

chas58

I've been riding my kits for 7 years. But pretty much all of the kits come from china - and most of that stuff pretty janky. Its cheap enough that I order 2 or 3 of everything (since getting one costs a fortune just for shipping). The wiring sometimes is backwards, the connectors are mostly junk, and somehow I've worn out a couple of throttles (how the heck is that???).

So yeah, there is a bit of futzing around. I'll say the stuff from EM3ev.com or ebikes.ca tends to be a cut above the traditional base Chinese stuff. Still, its tempting to get a fully integrated well designed well built bike. I just got an offer for some nice ebikes at 75% off, but my DIY stuff is still working.

you gotta be a handyman to keep a DIY bike running. I've learned a lot. ;-)

BiciMan

"Shockingly affordable", and shockingly light, if true, especially in this lower-cost segment; and it looks nice. Are they available?? Gives one a good measure on how much mark-up we're usually paying, through the usual retail channels, particularly in these special segments.

fly135

20 mile range wouldn't cut it for me. One point of owning an ebike is that you can go further and have more fun outdoors. Of course if you were buying it to strictly go short distances between charge, then it wouldn't matter.