Up until recently, bike manufacturers and importers selling Bafang powered e-bikes were reliant on the brand's support from Europe when it came to repairs. However, trade publication Bikebiz reports that the brand has now entered a service agreement with Hampshire-based eMCB.
It is fair to say Bafang have upped their profile in the UK recently. We liked the cost effective use of their M420 mid-drive on the belt-driven, multi-geared Mako Shark, while recent technical innovations have included integrating two-speed and even three-speed gearing on e-bikes. (We loved the two-speed version as used on the Estarli 28.X.) They are also reported to be working on a continuously variable transmission, similar to that offered by Enviolo.
Reliable, expert UK after-sales backup is hugely important in our view, so we got in touch with eMCB directly to see exactly what they offer. We were delighted to get a reply directly from the founder, Peter Collard.
He told us: "Bafang are treating this as a 'soft start' because initially, eMCB will only be looking after Halfords and Vitus dealers. Over the next year we will expand the warranty support with eMCB and begin building the knowledge to support the public with repairs and parts through our parent company eBike Motor Centre."
Up until now, bike manufacturers and importers selling Bafang powered bikes have been supported by Europe and held their own parts stock. eMCB say their agreement means this will now start to change to a faster, smoother service directly from them in the UK.
But there is much more on offer here that will be of interest to a wide range of e-bikers.
"eBike Motor Centre is our repair company," explained Collard. "This supports the general public, bike shops, hire fleets, cargo bike fleet operators etc, with after warranty service, repairs, full overhauls and motor upgrades.
"eBike motor Centre currently supports the following motor makes: Bosch, Brompton, Brose, Impulse, Panasonic, Mahle and Yamaha, with Bafang after warranty support coming online soon. It also officially supports Specialized as one of the first bike manufacturers to officially nominate us as a 'trusted service partner'."
eBike Motor Centre's sister company eMCB (based next door) is a B2B business supporting Brose and Bafang with a full warranty service capacity for their OEM customers in the UK. This services warranty claims put through by the dealers and bike shops and covers all products associated with Brose and Bafang, such as motors, controllers, looms and batteries. It also provides dealer training and technical support.
Collard adds: "eMCB also has a distinct advantage by having eBike Motor Centre next door. For example, if a motor has been sent back under warranty, but the motor has been opened or tampered with, under the warranty terms it would be rejected and subsequently, the end customer would be upset because usually the only option is a new motor. However, we can normally offer a much cheaper repair option through eBike Motor Centre, which often takes the pain away from the customer leaving [them] much happier."
