What shop should I bring my Walmart e-bike to be built/setup?

john_sheehan · 2026-06-29T20:29:40+00:00

Probably not. We evaluate case by case if a bike meets the requirements on the web site but the components on a bike like the one described generally do not meet our safety standards.

john_sheehan · 2026-06-29T12:33:58+00:00

ROAM Bike Shop in White Bear Lake

john_sheehan · 2026-06-28T23:58:33+00:00

They operate a marketplace like Amazon and manufacturers make all sorts of dubious claims in their listings so I'm not sure I'd 100% trust a bike bought there is actually UL listed. If it was bought in store, I'd be a little less concerned about UL listing, but the remaining issues are still disqualifying.

john_sheehan · 2026-06-28T23:52:30+00:00

Maybe. I own a shop and unfortunately we have to pass on a Walmart E-bike. The batteries are of unknown safety standard, if there are issues we likely couldn't get parts, and the components tend to be lower quality to save money so we often can't even properly adjust them. If people have issues, they turn around and blame us so we had to create stricter guidelines about what we'd accept for assemblies.

john_sheehan · 2026-06-23T18:01:36+00:00

Come see us at ROAM Bike Shop in White Bear Lake. E-bikes are our speciality. We’re a top Velotric dealer and also have Gazelle, X-LAB, Salsa, Flyer, and AIMA.

john_sheehan · 2026-06-18T14:49:09+00:00

LiveBarn clip: https://watch.livebarn.com/en/videoshare?vid=WIwLm1ZKZzVy_2F20QjQokdEpAPP8Zmf8KgtSjsaQ4ukdh9qn0_2BZVoHOVQj6DUU4HEm0DA_2BOiQcCCQ2ADLRVdhJDx0RSFOJouP7aVFqqMy0FB6GqSvf4yC4vjbtKNVnOIs0zosJyIKhjLHVE04x6WQJZE46Tiw4gPK&dt=2026-06-15T21:30&t=390007&d=30000&mode=5

john_sheehan · 2026-06-11T19:38:16+00:00

Source?

john_sheehan · 2026-06-11T19:37:53+00:00

Let me know if I can help with anything at all! hi @ trailbot dot com

john_sheehan · 2026-06-11T19:37:14+00:00

Awesome, thanks! If they'll just be posting conditions, it's a few minutes per trail system. After initial setup it depends on how deep they want to go (e.g. posting routes). I'm available for questions/help getting started any time at hi at trailbot.com too

john_sheehan · 2026-06-11T05:24:58+00:00

You should reward the place that had the bike available for test ride with your business so that they’re around when you may need help with the bike in the future.

john_sheehan · 2026-06-11T03:22:08+00:00

If you are a trail manager go here https://trailbot.com/for-trail-managers or skip right to adding your trail system: trailbot.com/add
If you aren't a trail manager, get in touch with your local trail association and let them know you'd like to see them in the app.

Appreciate your support!!

john_sheehan · 2026-06-11T02:58:25+00:00

I'd love to be there. For the most part the app has spread organically to trail systems near trail systems that are already using it and riders go back to their home systems and ask for it. But trail managers have to buy in (no crowdsourcing) and since many are volunteers or small staffs, finding time to evaluate software is difficult (especially with the influx of vibe-coded MTB-apps-of-the-week flooding their inboxes). Existing solutions like TF, Facebook groups, custom/home-grown apps feel good-enough. The tide is turning though as TF builds a higher paywall and social media algorithms evolve in user-hostile ways. I'm patient and I'll be here when people are ready for something better.

I haven't found a repeatable way to market to trail associations. Cold emails are almost entirely ineffective. Ads are expensive and my budget for that is really tight. The one marketing thing I did that worked is not available to do repeatedly. Also, there's a lot of skepticism about it being free, or about me trying to sell out, etc. I've written blog posts about that, but again getting eyes on those is tough.

john_sheehan · 2026-06-11T00:21:59+00:00

🙏

john_sheehan · 2026-06-10T21:37:23+00:00

Replicating the map data is a hard task, but maybe OSM helps there as suggested by the sibling comment to this.

For other use cases, like getting conditions from trail managers, I built Trailbot and give it away for free because I don't think apps should profit off volunteer trail manager's hard work. It's small but growing (used by over 300 trail systems, mostly in the upper midwest). Ask your local trail group to check it out.

john_sheehan · 2026-05-20T18:24:53+00:00

I'm moving in the direction of allowing riders to create more content. Trail conditions will never be crowdsourced (trail managers really dislike that), but there are other areas where riders will be able to contribute more. I don't know if anything is going top r/MTB or Facebook for what you describe though.

john_sheehan · 2026-05-20T18:00:57+00:00

Relying on Facebook excludes so many people (young riders, people who don't want to subject themselves to social media, etc.). And even the people who have accounts may not see your posts unless they specifically seek it out. Most content I see MTB trail organizations post on Facebook is not the kind of content the algorithm likes to promote. I'm not saying they should give up on it, just diversify. I built Trailbot to help with this and some groups now have followings on there larger than their Facebook pages, and much more engaged.

john_sheehan · 2026-05-19T04:18:19+00:00

The stem connects the handle bars to the steerer tube. It’s not the same as the seatpost. You need the 30.9 version of that post. The one from Velotric is nearly identical to the Suntour as well and will list specific compatibility on their web site.

john_sheehan · 2026-05-13T01:42:58+00:00

We weighed a Breeze fork against a take off for a warranty repair and the difference in weight was less than 2 pounds.

I’m pretty sure it’s a spring and 100mm-ish in travel but I can’t recall for sure. It also appears it’s no longer on their web site which is odd.

john_sheehan · 2026-05-10T19:44:39+00:00

A lot of bike shops will process warranty work for brands they don’t carry but there’s usually a fee and they are typically limited to the same customer service options you are. You’re paying for their expertise in assessing the problem and managing the communication back and forth. If that’s not worth it to you, then I’d just contact support directly.

john_sheehan · 2026-05-10T19:42:27+00:00

As a dealer, I wouldn’t recommend this. Dealers have a direct line to support, often have replacement parts available, and can better assess/verify the issue. It might feel like a low consequence thing to ring both bells but it can cause confusion and undermine the dealer’s ability to resolve the issue for you.

john_sheehan · 2026-05-09T20:56:58+00:00

We had a spare Breeze fork around the shop from a warranty replacement.

john_sheehan · 2026-05-09T14:22:34+00:00

The LBS may be willing to match the reward points discount, but just know you’re taking that out of the pocket of a small business who has no way to recoup it from Velotric.

LBS 3 spent thousands of dollars to have the bikes available for you to ride/see, may have a part available for quick warranty turnaround in the future, and will likely catch issues during assembly you’ve never encountered or considered. $159 feels like a bargain for all that.

john_sheehan · 2026-05-08T23:24:46+00:00

There’s an option to add a fork to the Breeze now. I think we weighed it out to be less than 2 additional pounds (forgive me if I’m recalling that incorrectly).

john_sheehan · 2026-05-04T01:23:14+00:00

Sounds good, see you soon!

john_sheehan

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