u/pelican209

Hey everybody,

I bought a new Portola e-bike, and it arrived with a damaged front brake and a stuck front wheel.

Ride1Up first offered to send a replacement brake and told me to take it to a bike shop, with labor reimbursement. I contacted multiple local bike shops, and they declined to work on the bike. Ride1Up then changed position and said I could easily repair it on my own.

At one point, Ride1Up stated the bike was “safe to operate,” but later confirmed that the bike should not be ridden until the front brake assembly is replaced.

I asked for either a no-cost return or an upfront credit to cover the practical costs of arranging repair/transportation, since the bike arrived unsafe to ride and I don’t have a car nor the ability to bring the bike somewhere easy, as the wheel is stuck. Ride1Up refused both options and said I could either repair the bike on my own or return the bike under their standard return policy at my expense of 250$.

I opened a debit card dispute because I do not believe a brand-new e-bike delivered with a safety-related front brake defect should be treated as a normal customer return, and I do not think a customer should be expected to perform front brake assembly work on a new e-bike that arrived unsafe to operate. Is there anything else you would recommend?

From my position I can just advise against anyone from buying from them!

Hey everybody!

I purchased the Portola Bike and after assembling it, I noticed the front brake cable is broken and the front wheel is completely blocked! I reached out to Ride1Up and they said I should just have it repaired at a shop and they will pay for it. I asked all bike shops in my area and they refused to repair the bike.

Ride1Up then said, it is so easy, I can repair it myself or pay 250 USD to return it. I refuse to pay 250 USD for a bike that arrived defect upon arrival.

Ride1up quoted in their mail "The bike is not safe to operate with a kinked brake" and also " we just ask that you cover shipping if you are not willing to work with us to resolve the issue. [...] part of buying bikes online from a direct to consumer company is having some ownership of maintenance and parts replacement in the event of warranty claims."

I don't want to repair the brake on my own, also, I can't move the bike, nor do I have a car to get it somewhere and I won't be carrying the bike with a knee injury through the whole town.

Can you tell me, what to do? I just want to return it and get my refund as all of this did not go as planned but Ride1up keep saying: "Otherwise, if you would like to return the bike, you can do that as well we just ask that you cover shipping to send it back."

Thank you in advance!