Excellent in every way. I have been seriously interested in buying an electric bike for more than a…read moreyear. I connected with Jonathan at Burn The Ships online and he offered great suggestions. Then he followed up to ask me some good questions that helped me clarify exactly what kind of bike I really need. Then I visited his shop in Manhattan Beach to test ride some bikes and get a better feeling for the state of the art. All good. Then Jonathan contacted me to let me know that my preferred bike manufacturer was having a sale. I wanted a bike but the timing was not right for me. So we kept in touch.
Today everyone's patience paid off. I finally got it. Jonathan delivered my new bike and it is superb. Yay!
Jonathan pinged me two weeks ago to let me know that Urtopia has a new model that he believes will be perfect for me, and he offered me a great deal, so I bought it based on his recommendation. Today I got the first model delivered. It's the Urtopia Atom Carbon in silver / black. It is astonishing to ride. Super fun, easy, great balance, incredible power. The power boost is so great that it took me by surprise. I live in the hills, and frankly riding up the hill can be a big pain, especially after a long ride. This new bike devours the hills like an appetizer. Effortless climb. I just got home from a long ride, and I am amazed.
Best of all, Jonathan got it for me at a price I could never have gotten directly on my own. A bike with twice the power that fits into my budget!
I thank Jonathan for his patience, his excellent recommendations, his willingness to wait until there was a sale on a bike that was right for me and fit my budget. At no time did he attempt to rush me or persuade me to buy a bike that wasn't right. That is how you build trust with a customer. I will recommend Burn the Ships to all of my friends, and I will definitely buy all my ebikes there.
If you are still reading, you might be wondering why it matters that you have a trusted relationship with a bike store. That's a fair question. Here are some things to consider. First of all, how do you know the bike is right for you (your size, your fitness level, your weight, your riding style, your skill level). How do you know the bike is right for your terrain? How do you know that the specific model you are considering has the right attributes, durability, power, size etc for your needs? If you are new to eBikes, the truth is that you don't have answers to these questions. Jonathan can help you.
And there's a second reason to trust the store you bought it from. Who will assemble it for you? Who will service it for you? This matters more than you may realize.
There are a lot of eBikes available from online retailers who will ship you a bike in a flat box, and then you have the pleasure of figuring out how to assemble it. If that's your jam, go for it. Personally, I prefer to have someone with professional skills who can assemble the bike for me. And even if you are cool with assembling your own bike, you will eventually face the biggest problem. Eventually every eBike will need service or repair. Where are you going to take your Internet bike for service? Not all bike stores will service the cheap bikes that you buy on the web. So, if your bike breaks down, you may discover that you don't really own a bike, what you really have is unrepairable e-waste. Don't make that mistake. Instead, I recommend that you go for the professional service from someone who knows what they are doing, who will sell you a quality bike that can be maintained.
Jonathan is serious about eBikes, and he expects to deal with serious customers. That is fair. He does not take a big markup on the bikes, so he can't afford to waste time on people who are vague or non-committal or just window shopping. Don't be that guy.
If you are not ready to make a decision yet, or if you need time to figure out your needs, do some homework first. My advice is to rent various eBikes a few times and ride around to get the feelilng of it, and then you will have a much better idea of what you need before you visit the shop. Also, get an idea of what a good eBike really costs (hint: prices for decent quality eBIkes start at $2500 and go up from there. Don't expect to get quality for less than that).
I am so glad I got this awesome Urtopia bike from Burn The Ships