Hello to one and all

[z1ppy]

Far from a MTbing newbie, and had my Vitus E-Sommet since feb (after my original ordered Ghost Kato was faulty out of the box), but happy to join some like minded people, rather than hide in the shadow of my normal forum being beaten with a big stick if I mention I have an e-bike and am not disabled...TBF this isn't quite true any more but still very little in e-bike conversion.

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Welcome @z1ppy

 

[Kernow]

Sounds like the vitus is becoming the best selling ebike , not surprising looking at the value . ‘
What was up with the ghost , to have to return it ?

 

[z1ppy]

The ghost was displaying E010 and E020 error messages and cutting out straight out of the box. I could start the unit back up straight away but it was really prevalent at the start of a ride then it would do 5-10 miles without issue. Eventually it was doing it all the time so it went back. CRC tried to get Ghost and shimano to sort it* but after 6-8wks of being bikes less (4 week officially being looked at), CRC offered me the basic Vitus as a replacement. I had already been looking around to see what I could buy with the a refund, and had settled on the Vitus, so I asked them for the VR model (I was willing to add money) and they agreed as straight swap.
Your right about the value of the Vitus, at the time I couldn't see anything close, and it helped it had long travel , really decent spec & geo I liked. Though the new base model Canyon is very close now and I'd be struggling to choose between them now (well except for the CRC discount through BC would probably sway it again).

The lesson learnt though is, buying from a local shop would have propably made my warranty issue easier/quicker to deal with

* I believe my bike was sold for 'spares' on ebay a few weeks back, with no battery and other parts missing, some-one bought a lemon there unfortunately.

 

[Kernow]

The ghost was displaying E010 and E020 error messages and cutting out straight out of the box. I could start the unit back up straight away but it was really prevalent at the start of a ride then it would do 5-10 miles without issue. Eventually it was doing it all the time so it went back. CRC tried to get Ghost and shimano to sort it* but after 6-8wks of being bikes less (4 week officially being looked at), CRC offered me the basic Vitus as a replacement. I had already been looking around to see what I could buy with the a refund, and had settled on the Vitus, so I asked them for the VR model (I was willing to add money) and they agreed as straight swap.
Your right about the value of the Vitus, at the time I couldn't see anything close, and it helped it had long travel , really decent spec & geo I liked. Though the new base model Canyon is very close now and I'd be struggling to choose between them now (well except for the CRC discount through BC would probably sway it again).

The lesson learnt though is, buying from a local shop would have propably made my warranty issue easier/quicker to deal with

* I believe my bike was sold for 'spares' on ebay a few weeks back, with no battery and other parts missing, some-one bought a lemon there unfortunately.

Sounds like you had a good outcome there in the end , not sure Lbs would have been as good , you certainly wouldn’t have got the deal on a vutus . I think time sorting these things out Is often down to how much hassle you give them . We a similar problem last year with a Lbs and an expensive us brand bike with a cracked frame . Us brand and uk importer were useless and lbs dealer too small to help and scared to make waves it seemed . In the end shouting about the poor service and problems on the us brands Facebook page got a quick response .

 

[z1ppy]

That is true and the saving's I made due to a CRC sale price and BC discount ontop would never have happened from an LBS, no matter that one is run by a good friend (I did ask him about the Merida before buying the ghost). It's more my point that a good LBS would have made my warranty claim potentially shorter, as it wouldn't have needed to be shipped to them and shipped back. As CRC did arrange collection quickly, didn't actually 'register' it as being in workshop until 2 weeks after it had been collected, then I had to wait a week for the new one to be shipped to me. So I bought a bike in November but didn't actually get a working bike until February, which was quite frustrating. That and the communication I got from CRC, who did reply promptly to every email, was sparse on details. I've since found out (via a friend at wiggle) it sounded like trying to get help from Shimano/Ghost was like getting blood from a stone, so not CRC's fault, but I did feel very helpless, after handing over quite a substantial amount of hard earned cash. I'd have hoped a LBS would have been more forth coming about their lack of warranty support.
Any ways swings and roundabout, I've 300 mile odd on my Vitus and am very* happy

*there always some niggle, my current one being range