Storm E bike a scam?

[westwall]

Fortunately though, the scammers just went for a direct 500 bucks from any sucker they could. They didn't get the government to fleece them which would have been a whole lot more money lost. Oh well, as the old adage go's if it sounds too good to be true... it probably is....



"Who are these guys?

After Prodeco discovered the Indiegogo campaign and decided to take action, it ran into a problem: It couldn’t find anyone to send its cease-and-desist letter to.

The company’s original website, Storm-ebikes.com, redirects to the Indiegogo campaign. Neither site lists a physical address or contact information besides an info@ email address. The domain name information for its websites is masked. As far as we are able to determine, Storm eBikes is not registered as a corporation in California."


The perps....

A 500 eBike Not So Fast.

 

[Old Rocks]

And? A whole bunch of electric bikes out there that are not scams.

 

[westwall]

And? A whole bunch of electric bikes out there that are not scams.

Never said there weren't. I posted this as a PSA. There are a lot of people who post here, who are technologically and scientifically challenged who would not know that the claims these guys were making were preposterous. Thus they would waste their hard earned money, money that could have gone to a E bike that actually works.

 

[Old Rocks]

True enough. That is why one does a little investigation when making a major purchase.

 

[westwall]

True enough. That is why one does a little investigation when making a major purchase.

I would certainly hope so. However, as we can see in this case, that didn't happen.

 

[mamooth]

$250 will get you a conversion kit to turn an ordinary bike into an e-bike, like this example.

Amazon.com 36V800W Brushless Hub Motor Front Rear Wheel Electric Bicycle Conversion Outdoor Sports Outdoors

You replace the front wheel with a wheel that has a hub motor, and put a rack on the back for the battery. The front wheel involved is fat, so frames for racing bikes with skinny wheels wouldn't work, but it fit into my mountain bike with a moderate amount of tinkering. The back wheel and drive train are untouched, so you always have the option of pedaling as usual.

Battery pack is the sticking point. That $250 gets you a lead-acid battery. Literally, it's 3 motorcycle batteries wired in series. The weight makes the bike topheavy and rearheavy, and the range isn't great. Lithium battery packs are available, but they're expensive, as in $500 for a really good battery. I keep waiting for a price drop, but it's not happening. Demand for the lithium batteries is going up right along with supply, so price isn't changing.

On the upside, it's fun. Acceleration is really impressive. But I tend to save power assist just for hills, or for blowing by the racers as I pretend I'm just pedaling hard. The motor is noiseless and well-hidden, so it doesn't look like there's a motor on the bike.

 

[Crick]

Fortunately though, the scammers just went for a direct 500 bucks from any sucker they could. They didn't get the government to fleece them which would have been a whole lot more money lost. Oh well, as the old adage go's if it sounds too good to be true... it probably is....



"Who are these guys?

After Prodeco discovered the Indiegogo campaign and decided to take action, it ran into a problem: It couldn’t find anyone to send its cease-and-desist letter to.

The company’s original website, Storm-ebikes.com, redirects to the Indiegogo campaign. Neither site lists a physical address or contact information besides an info@ email address. The domain name information for its websites is masked. As far as we are able to determine, Storm eBikes is not registered as a corporation in California."


The perps....

A 500 eBike Not So Fast.

If they couldn't be found, where was money being sent?