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EAZY Bike – is this another crowdfunding project which is just too good to be true? [Crowdfunding]

eazybikemain

We love covering new products, especially when they are eco cool, such as e-bikes. So we were really enthusiastic when we came across a new crowdfunding campaign for a bolt-on electric bike conversion kit called EAZY Bike. It looks very practical, hails from Sweden, and is very cheap. Perfect for mass adoption. But on closer inspection our Spidey Sense started tingling big time. We’re not necessarily saying there’s anything dodgy about the project, just that there are some rather odd aspects to the campaign which don’t really add up.

1. MYSTERY MAN! The campaign is being run by someone called Alexander Lundqvist. It’s his first campaign, he’s the only owner, and his profile is below –

eazybike12

No photo, no bio, no contact details. Nothing. Why? There’s a Facebook page which has been running for two months, but all it contains are photos from the generic sales video running on the Indiegogo page. No other photos of the product, the team or…well… anything informative. The email address of Eazybike.net leads to a blank Wix holding page.

2. WHERE’S THE MEAT? The sole information on the campaign is a single sales video, which looks very – hmm how can we put it – generic. Featuring two characters, two bikes, a smooth voiceover and some canned music. At no time does the video show any details of the product, it’s technology, the team behind it, a factory (or Chinese supplier). Nada. Just two people leisurely cycling around a city. Note the word cycling. At no point do we see the motor propelling the bike on its own at speed, just images of 2 people cycling (or getting off a coasting bike). There are no specifications (of battery or motor, apart from the 350W rating given in the comments). Most unusual.

https://vimeo.com/236913823

3. But it’s when you start comparing the product with the rivals that things start to get really weird. For one thing take the price. The retail price for the full kit will eventually be $399 for a battery and motor. This is incredibly cheap in contrast to three other European operators in the same space. Even more astonishing is the fact that EAZY Bike is offering 60% off for early buyers on the crowdfunding site.

a) As a contrast $189 +$150 shipping is the lowest price for a Lithium bottle battery we could find. That’s $339 for the battery alone! Check out Ebay. And you can pick up a spare battery from the EAZY people for $99. Really? And let’s look at some rival products and prices.

b) Rival 1 – GBoost.

gboost

Lowest price €899.00 for the bundle of battery and motor. Excluding shipping, but including charger, remote control, mounting plates etc.

c) Rival 2 – OnWheel.

onwheel

Lowest price for a complete kit is €665.00 for the bundle of battery and motor. Excluding shipping but includes mounting plate, battery plate, speed sensor, charger etc.

d) Rival 3 – Add-e.

adde

Lowest price for a complete kit is €890.00 for the bundle of battery and motor. Excluding shipping but including charger and mounting kits.

Conclusion
So there we have it. A new ebike kit which is $399 ($150 discounted) vs $781 US for rival products offering very similar specs. Obviously it’s possible for any company to deliver something at roughly 22% of its competitors as a marketing tactic, but that’s a heck of a hit to take on a crowdfunding campaign when you could end up with thousands of orders. We’re not really understanding the business logic behind this kind of move.

There are other strange aspects of the campaign too, which include the fact that the campaign sum requested at €40,000 is extremely low for a project of this nature – which typically requires significant tooling, manufacture, distribution and marketing. And it’s on a flexible goal which means it would receive any funds raised even if it didn’t reach the target. In the event it is currently 205% of target after just over a week, with a month to go.

eazybike13

We aren’t the only people asking questions though, as the above shows. But there are apparently two very keen backers / commenters on the Indiegogo site who seem protective of the company (or individual?) behind the project. We’ll leave you with some shots of the product which we had to cull from the video in the absence of anything on the crowdfunding page.

Very curious indeed!

eazybike2b

[Rival OnWheel mount below]

onwheelmount

 

eazybike5b

 

eazybike6b

eazybike14b

[Rival OnWheel throttle below]

onwheelbutton

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