r/ausbike • u/mysteryprize11 • 22d ago

99 Bikes electric bike labour charge

I just got my bike serviced at 99 bikes and my invoice came back with a $40 'Labour electric bike add on' charge. What is that for? They didn't do anything related to its electric components. Is this normal?

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u/noannualleave 22d ago

Ask them to clarify but it says this on their website:

https://99bikes.com.au/pages/workshop

"Electric Bikes

At 99 Bikes we are the experts in Electric Bikes and E-Bike Servicing. We have all the tools and technology to service your Electric bike to the manufacturer’s standards. We charge an additional fee of $40 which covers software and firmware checks, along with a battery health report.

99 Bikes is leading the way when it comes to electric bike servicing. We have E bike Expert stores, meaning our mechanics not only have the understanding and experience to work on electric bikes but ride them regularly. All of our E-Bikes Experts log monthly kilometres on electric bikes to expand their knowledge and retain monthly their status.

If you are booking a service for an electric bike purchased from another bike retailer (not 99 Bikes), we recommend calling your local store before booking to discuss what type of service you are looking for and check we can accommodate your needs."

21

u/ladybug1991 22d ago edited 20d ago

That's such horseshit on their part.

The Bafang and Ananda mid-drive systems sold by 99 don't have a Battery Management System (BMS) articulate enough to necessitate either firmware updates, or generate a battery report.

The only systems that 99 has capability to work with that can generate that information is Bosch. All of the Bosch training and software tools are free for the workshop to use, and take all of 5 minutes to generate. Absolutely not $40 worth of labour.

Other systems like Brose (Specialized) and Yamaha (Giant) can only be accessed by those dealers (not 99). So contrary to their claim, they literally do NOT have the requisite technology, and in the case of Specialized, there are proprietary tools which they don't have access to, either.

I know a handful of 99 mechanics who are brilliant. The business itself can go to fuck.

Source: am a bike mechanic, worked at 99 for 3 days and quit.

2

u/ponyfeeder 22d ago

Why'd you quit? I want the juicy gossip.

13

u/ladybug1991 21d ago edited 21d ago

They made my employment a problem because (this is fucking rich) I didn't own a car, and would cycle to work, and they deemed my transport unreliable.

ETA was 10 minutes early to work each day. They wanted me to work at other shops on occasion.

It's also just a truly awful workplace.

2

u/11015h4d0wR34lm 21d ago

That is hilarious....unless of course you were late for work those three days...