Sorry for the wait,
@LWstner. Good question and a genuinely frustrating gap in the market. The short answer on "why don't brands sell framekits" is: motor licensing, software pairing, and margin.
eBikes require extensive setup and end-of-line testing at the assembly factory to make sure everything is working correctly, and brands don't want that headache offloaded onto dealers or individuals. More importantly, Bosch, Shimano, and others have historically been reluctant to supply motors outside of approved complete-bike channels, so brands couldn't sell a frame without the system even if they wanted to. Avinox/DJI opening up their platform to 60+ brands has started to change this, but slowly.
As for who
does sell framekits, the list of serious options is still short: •
Crestline - sells framesets (there's actually a 2025 RS180 Signature frameset listed on the forum for sale)
•
Mondraker - the Dune and Neat are available as frame-only options •
Nicolai - custom builds are essentially the business model, framesets available
•
Dirtlab Paratu CP - carbon eMTB framekit built around the Maxon Bikedrive AIR S •
Specialized - sells framekits, at eye-watering prices
•
Santa Cruz Bullit - bare frame builds have been done (there's a thread on here)
•
Commencal - also sell eBike framekits direct to consumers
The broader brands - Canyon, Trek, Giant, Scott - largely don't bother.
The expectation is that in a few years bare frames will become the norm, but we've been saying that for a while.
EDIT: Added Commencal to the framekit list - they do sell eBike framekits to consumers, so they're a valid counterexample I missed. Thanks
@Beer Man for the heads up.
