Yt decoy 29 - 3 days old and broke

[mikeyneale21]

Congrats!. Sorry you had this problem, but your taking the time to discuss helps all of us. YT is pretty good about standing by their product. I trust you will receive a new battery very quickly.

I’m not so sure. YT said they need to check the full system before they can fix the bike despite it being a clean swap to resolve the issue. They said they put my battery in one of the workshop bikes and it had the same issue. Don’t understand why they are not willing to just give me a new battery. I waited long enough to receive the bike and now I’m waiting again. It’s not acceptable and my patience is running out

 

[KenX]

If I were in your shoes AND at the YT Mill after they'd just confirmed your diagnosis I'd be screaming and shouting in the middle of the showroom until they gave me a replacement battery.........

 

[mikeyneale21]

If I were in your shoes AND at the YT Mill after they'd just confirmed your diagnosis I'd be screaming and shouting in the middle of the showroom until they gave me a replacement battery.........

Believe me mate I came pretty close. The manager called me today and again wouldn’t accept the battery needs replacing despite my bike clearly working with another battery and after he admitted they tried my battery in another bike and it still created the same issues. Really losing patience. Bike was virtually brand new and I’m yet to even ride it properly. Not good

 

[TheBikePilot]

I'm guessing they are fully testing the whole system so you don't have another issue shortly afterwards then you will be triple annoyed..!

That really sucks though man sorry to hear your having issues. At least you haven't 12 days shipping the bike there and back to contend with..

Let us know how you get on. Hope it gets sorted soon for you..

 

[mikeyneale21]

I'm guessing they are fully testing the whole system so you don't have another issue shortly afterwards then you will be triple annoyed..!

That really sucks though man sorry to hear your having issues. At least you haven't 12 days shipping the bike there and back to contend with..

Let us know how you get on. Hope it gets sorted soon for you..

Yeah I get that and I’m sure they want to check the whole system but I ordered the bike in August and it was in stock and I still haven’t ridden the bike properly. My patience is wearing thin and I just want to ride my bike. I don’t have another one. The bike works perfectly well with another battery so I don’t know what else needs to be tested. Seems a simple swop to me. They can’t look at it this week so it will be next week before they even look at it. All I think is another wasted weekend and more weeks waiting for YT to get their act in gear. Bike was delayed, then shipped with wrong charger and then it breaks after 3 days. Not a great experience so far for my first YT purchase. If I buy another YT it won’t have a battery unless they start to use a shimano battery and not their own which clearly has issues

 

[RickBullotta]

Welcome to the "direct to consumer" world...threaten to flame them on social media and with honest, shitty reviews if they don't resolve it immediately. It carries a lot of weight in the D2C world. And YT has earned a reputation for crappy customer service. I'd ask for your money back and get a different eMTB.

 

[mikeyneale21]

Welcome to the "direct to consumer" world...threaten to flame them on social media and with honest, shitty reviews if they don't resolve it immediately. It carries a lot of weight in the D2C world. And YT has earned a reputation for crappy customer service. I'd ask for your money back and get a different eMTB.

I’m Really close to doing so but it will be weeks before the bike gets back to YT in Germany and I get issued a refund and all I want to do is ride my bike. As a video professional I will be making a video to let people know what they can expect buying a bike from YT if the situation is not resolved to my satisfaction. It shouldn’t be so hard to swop out a clearly faulty part

 

[RickBullotta]

I’m Really close to doing so but it will be weeks before the bike gets back to YT in Germany and I get issued a refund and all I want to do is ride my bike. As a video professional I will be making a video to let people know what they can expect buying a bike from YT if the situation is not resolved to my satisfaction. It shouldn’t be so hard to swop out a clearly faulty part

I hope it works out well! It's just absurd that they aren't sending you a battery ASAP. Clearly their support, service, and warranty processes need a major overhaul. Sucks that you're stuck in the middle of it.

 

[Lee Dove]

Believe me mate I came pretty close. The manager called me today and again wouldn’t accept the battery needs replacing despite my bike clearly working with another battery and after he admitted they tried my battery in another bike and it still created the same issues. Really losing patience. Bike was virtually brand new and I’m yet to even ride it properly. Not good

I don't think these guys have a clue about e-bikes or sensible engineering diagnostics. My battery would not even light up out of the bike but they still had to do a full check in both Germany and The Mill to tell me it was the battery and I may need new rear brake pads .... duh. 15 weeks and still waiting ................................................

 

[TheBikePilot]

I don't think these guys have a clue about e-bikes or sensible engineering diagnostics. My battery would not even light up out of the bike but they still had to do a full check in both Germany and The Mill to tell me it was the battery and I may need new rear brake pads .... duh. 15 weeks and still waiting ................................................

Were your original Brake Pads faulty?

 

[mikeyneale21]

I hope it works out well! It's just absurd that they aren't sending you a battery ASAP. Clearly their support, service, and warranty processes need a major overhaul. Sucks that you're stuck in the middle of it.

I was hoping the new mill in the UK would help but it doesn’t seem to have made much difference and

I don't think these guys have a clue about e-bikes or sensible engineering diagnostics. My battery would not even light up out of the bike but they still had to do a full check in both Germany and The Mill to tell me it was the battery and I may need new rear brake pads .... duh. 15 weeks and still waiting ................................................

thats shocking mate. Can’t believe you have had to wait that long. Totally unacceptable. I’m not going to wait that long. I’ll be back in the car and heading down there. Doesn’t need to be so difficult. So frustrating

 

[R120]

What I dont get is surely there's a diagnostic tool where they just plug the battery in and its shows if there is a fault - I believe thats the case with the OEM Shimano/Bosch etc batteries. Having said that surely the Shimano SM-PCE1 tool (the module dealers have to diagnose faults/upgrade firmware for the Steps system) would highlight a battery issue anyway but giving a clean bill of health to everything else?

I went to check out the Mill, and they where really nice and seemed to be on top of things, but I dont get why they cant at the least give you a temporary battery.

 

[Lee Dove]

What I dont get is surely there's a diagnostic tool where they just plug the battery in and its shows if there is a fault - I believe thats the case with the OEM Shimano/Bosch etc batteries. Having said that surely the Shimano SM-PCE1 tool (the module dealers have to diagnose faults/upgrade firmware for the Steps system) would highlight a battery issue anyway but giving a clean bill of health to everything else?

I went to check out the Mill, and they where really nice and seemed to be on top of things, but I dont get why they cant at the least give you a temporary battery.

Hi,
My battery was so dead that they could not even run the diagnostic ;-)

 

[TheBikePilot]

Hi,
My battery was so dead that they could not even run the diagnostic ;-)

What about your brake pads you mentioned..? ?

 

[Lee Dove]

What about your brake pads you mentioned..? ?

They are worn (not worn out), which I know. I live in Innerleithen so get through brake pads Maybe they expected me to fit new pads before I sent the bike back with a battery problem. ;-)

 

[TheBikePilot]

They are worn (not worn out), which I know. I live in Innerleithen so get through brake pads Maybe they expected me to fit new pads before I sent the bike back with a battery problem. ;-)

Doubt it, but sorry you included that like it was expected as a warranty issue! If i dropped my car off at KwikFit they would probably also tell me that..! If they haven't reported anything else then I guess it's all good elsewhere. Seems like it's been looked over thouroughly to ensure you don't have another issue glaringly obvious.

I think YT have a warranty process that needs to be followed that maybe 1 other brand will bypass/expedite due to their size and network. You do pay for that privilege though..!

For everyone else reading, don't wash the bike upside down. That does cause issues..

 

[mikeyneale21]

What I dont get is surely there's a diagnostic tool where they just plug the battery in and its shows if there is a fault - I believe thats the case with the OEM Shimano/Bosch etc batteries. Having said that surely the Shimano SM-PCE1 tool (the module dealers have to diagnose faults/upgrade firmware for the Steps system) would highlight a battery issue anyway but giving a clean bill of health to everything else?

I went to check out the Mill, and they where really nice and seemed to be on top of things, but I dont get why they cant at the least give you a temporary battery.

I don’t get it either. Maybe they are like a lot of brands in that they treat potential customers far better than existing customers. I’ve never understood that. This is my first direct to consumer purchase and I’ll seriously think hard before I do it again. We all buy bikes to ride and not wait around to ride and we don’t expect issues with brand new bikes

 

[mikeyneale21]

I think that with a brand like YT the profit margins are a lot lower as the bikes tend to be much better value to the consumer. Therefore if they get a warranty issue with a fairly expensive component like a battery they want to explore every possible avenue before they have to replace a battery as this drastically decreases their profit on that bike. I might be completely wrong but that’s where my head is at with it all.

 

[Lee Dove]

I think that with a brand like YT the profit margins are a lot lower as the bikes tend to be much better value to the consumer. Therefore if they get a warranty issue with a fairly expensive component like a battery they want to explore every possible avenue before they have to replace a battery as this drastically decreases their profit on that bike. I might be completely wrong but that’s where my head is at with it all.

The bikes are cheaper because they do not have to pay dealer markups. I suspect YT may even have better margins than some non-direct brands. Dealer markups are typically 20-40% depending on size of dealer.

 

[Duggan]

The bikes are cheaper because they do not have to pay dealer markups. I suspect YT may even have better margins than some non-direct brands. Dealer markups are typically 20-40% depending on size of dealer.

I’m Really close to doing so but it will be weeks before the bike gets back to YT in Germany and I get issued a refund and all I want to do is ride my bike. As a video professional I will be making a video to let people know what they can expect buying a bike from YT if the situation is not resolved to my satisfaction. It shouldn’t be so hard to swop out a clearly faulty part

Wow this is disappointing, especially with a new bike. I’d have lost my patience by now, I would just give them a choice, new battery immediately or a full refund.

 

[TheBikePilot]

The battery is their own product, or manufactured on their behalf. If there is a failure it's not a simple swap like it would be with a failure of say Bosch or Shimano. Even then I've had friends in both camps wait 3-4 weeks for replacements. One guy had to wait the same for a replacement shock that had to go back to Silverfish. These are large percentages on the profit margin of the bike. Rather like an engine blowing on a car. The motor and battery on an eBike are around the same cost.

I am only speculating but I am guessing if they don't have a simple swap for you in stock it has to go through the QA process from the manufacturer that made the product. They can't pick up a phone and say we need 300 batteries and they arrive next week. Not as things stand.

If you want a same day swap on almost any component we all know where to go and what to buy, but you pay a premium for that and we all don't live near Berkshire. This is still direct to consumer brand that has taken a bold step to have a service centre in the UK. It's not going to be perfect from day one...You aren't dealing via email with Germany now.

Supply chains and the industry have been hammered right now. Speaking to the guys at YT, they are just as annoyed and committed as you are dude. This sucks, but I can assure you having met all the boys there, they are trying the best they can in current times.

Annoyingly, if something is going to fail, it fails fairly early.

 

[smtkelly]

what about a courtesy bike program that would certainly add a USP to a brand?

 

[TheBikePilot]

what about a courtesy bike program that would certainly add a USP to a brand?

Great idea in theory..How many sizes and how many? What do you do with the Courtesy bikes not out on loan? Sit there..? Have you ever tried getting a courtesy car off a car dealer that wasn't a Ford KA for a Porsche.?

The old saying: 'Nothing revs like a hire car.'

The way each ride or rider abuses a bike wouldn't make this viable in my humble opinion. Remember each bike that comes back needs to be checked that it's actually OK and that all takes workshop unit time...

 

[Lee Dove]

Great idea in theory..How many sizes and how many? What do you do with the Courtesy bikes not out on loan? Sit there..? Have you ever tried getting a courtesy car off a car dealer that wasn't a Ford KA for a Porsche.?

The old saying: 'Nothing revs like a hire car.'

The way each ride or rider abuses a bike wouldn't make this viable in my humble opinion. Remember each bike that comes back needs to be checked that it's actually OK and that all takes workshop unit time...

You use a Demo bike as a loaner.

 

[mikeyneale21]

Wow this is disappointing, especially with a new bike. I’d have lost my patience by now, I would just give them a choice, new battery immediately or a full refund.

I’m so annoyed they just won’t simply replace the battery. They did mention a refund but it would mean sending the bike back to Germany and I would be waiting weeks to get refunded then I’d have to find another bike I like that’s in stock. All I want to do is ride my bike. It’s that simple. I think the bike will be great when I get it back working but it shouldn’t be this complicated to get a faulty component swooped out

 

[smtkelly]

Great idea in theory..How many sizes and how many? What do you do with the Courtesy bikes not out on loan? Sit there..? Have you ever tried getting a courtesy car off a car dealer that wasn't a Ford KA for a Porsche.?

The old saying: 'Nothing revs like a hire car.'

The way each ride or rider abuses a bike wouldn't make this viable in my humble opinion. Remember each bike that comes back needs to be checked that it's actually OK and that all takes workshop unit time...

Fully aware of 'nothing as fast as a hire car' its hardly a unique problem. I'm not specifically speaking about YT here either although they do have a demo fleet. There was a thread about another direct sales company on here, the guy was without his bike for months from the brand I was considering. If a bike is gone more than 2 weeks and you makesure they have a laoner you'll have a happier customer that might pay dividends. How many sales does one vocal upset customer cost vs many does one saying 'they did me right' gain them? When my volvo ECU was bricked during a service they were more than happy to give me a loaner for the week. Maybe offer a warranty plus with a promise to keep you on a bike.

From the companies end as mentioned margins on bikes are high (I worked in a bike shop as a teen 60% on some, an eye opener), I also know that most the costs can be written off (repairs/deprecation/etc) so not nearly as expensive at first glance. Plus you have the benefit of bikes to train mechanics up on. I think sizing is kind of mute since they know whats been sold, they probably already have a good idea on how many had issues and how long turn around took.

Then you balance out the cost of opening a place like the mill (for the record I'm digging it but just because I want a demo) vs running a loaner fleet.

YT spoke about industry disruptive with Rob so..

 

[mikeyneale21]

The battery is their own product, or manufactured on their behalf. If there is a failure it's not a simple swap like it would be with a failure of say Bosch or Shimano. Even then I've had friends in both camps wait 3-4 weeks for replacements. One guy had to wait the same for a replacement shock that had to go back to Silverfish. These are large percentages on the profit margin of the bike. Rather like an engine blowing on a car. The motor and battery on an eBike are around the same cost.

I am only speculating but I am guessing if they don't have a simple swap for you in stock it has to go through the QA process from the manufacturer that made the product. They can't pick up a phone and say we need 300 batteries and they arrive next week. Not as things stand.

If you want a same day swap on almost any component we all know where to go and what to buy, but you pay a premium for that and we all don't live near Berkshire. This is still direct to consumer brand that has taken a bold step to have a service centre in the UK. It's not going to be perfect from day one...You aren't dealing via email with Germany now.

Supply chains and the industry have been hammered right now. Speaking to the guys at YT, they are just as annoyed and committed as you are dude. This sucks, but I can assure you having met all the boys there, they are trying the best they can in current times.

Annoyingly, if something is going to fail, it fails fairly early.

I get all your points but still can’t understand why this is not a simple straight swop on a failed component. There is clearly and issue with the battery and because it’s their own battery they should keep a stock of them for warranty issues like this. Surely that’s the point of having a place like the mill to avoid any unnecessary delays. My mate had an issue with his battery the first week of owning it and walked out of our lbs the same day with a new battery. I drove 3 hrs to the mill hoping to get another battery which should be a simple swop if their product failed. If it was a shimano battery I would expect to wait but they should keep a stock of batteries for failures like this. It’s a brand new bike and should be sorted without fuss and hassle. Can’t help but be disappointed. I dont own another bike so I’m out of action until they decide they need to replace the battery. They are not going to get the bike working without replacing the battery. In my opinion if they didn’t have a battery in stock they could have let me use a demo battery until they get a battery. Doesn’t make sense as I can order an in stock battery from their website today

 

[mikeyneale21]

Fully aware of 'nothing as fast as a hire car' its hardly a unique problem. I'm not specifically speaking about YT here either although they do have a demo fleet. There was a thread about another direct sales company on here, the guy was without his bike for months from the brand I was considering. If a bike is gone more than 2 weeks and you makesure they have a laoner you'll have a happier customer that might pay dividends. How many sales does one vocal upset customer cost vs many does one saying 'they did me right' gain them? When my volvo ECU was bricked during a service they were more than happy to give me a loaner for the week. Maybe offer a warranty plus with a promise to keep you on a bike.

From the companies end as mentioned margins on bikes are high (I worked in a bike shop as a teen 60% on some, an eye opener), I also know that most the costs can be written off (repairs/deprecation/etc) so not nearly as expensive at first glance. Plus you have the benefit of bikes to train mechanics up on. I think sizing is kind of mute since they know whats been sold, they probably already have a good idea on how many had issues and how long turn around took.

Then you balance out the cost of opening a place like the mill (for the record I'm digging it but just because I want a demo) vs running a loaner fleet.

YT spoke about industry disruptive with Rob so..

Absolutely agree about your point about a disappointed vocal customer can do so much damage. If I don’t get the result I won’t very shortly I am going to be more than vocal and it will cost them a lot more than a new battery. They keep saying they want to help me but seem desperate not to want to replace that battery. A part like that obviously eats into their profit margins but it will be far more costly for them if they don’t keep customers happy. I’m not normally a guy to kick and scream and stamp my feet but I will certainly let people know what they can expect dealing with YT If I don’t get a new battery and my bike back soon. I waited long enough for it in the first place and the whole experience so far has been completely miserable

 

[Lee Dove]

Absolutely agree about your point about a disappointed vocal customer can do so much damage. If I don’t get the result I won’t very shortly I am going to be more than vocal and it will cost them a lot more than a new battery. They keep saying they want to help me but seem desperate not to want to replace that battery. A part like that obviously eats into their profit margins but it will be far more costly for them if they don’t keep customers happy. I’m not normally a guy to kick and scream and stamp my feet but I will certainly let people know what they can expect dealing with YT If I don’t get a new battery and my bike back soon. I waited long enough for it in the first place and the whole experience so far has been completely miserable

I 100% agree.

 

[Sam233]

[...] . Doesn’t make sense as I can order an in stock battery from their website today

Ther is no battery in stock on their website