Dhe electric motor pushes hard. Not just cyclists, but the entire industry. Two million e-bikes were sold last year, making Germany the most important e-bike market in Europe. Bicycle leasing companies such as Jobrad, Mein- Dienstrad or Bikeleasing make a significant contribution to this. Because thanks to leasing, even people who can’t put 5000 euros or more on the table in one fell swoop have the chance to use a high-quality e-bike. A leasing contract usually runs for three years. Then the e-bike will be returned or can be purchased at the residual value.
Another way to cycle cheaply electrically is to buy used. In fact, there are also plenty of e-bikes offered by private individuals on the relevant used goods platforms. Whether a bargain is really a bargain often only becomes apparent afterwards. Because it is precisely in the drive unit, especially the battery and the motor electronics, that defects can hide that go unnoticed during a test drive. If no fraudulent behavior can be proven on the part of the seller, the buyer is left alone with the problem. In the case of private sales, guarantees and warranties are generally excluded.
Sven Erger and Thomas Bernik have developed a business model from this area of tension. They founded the Rebike company around four years ago, which has set itself the task of refurbishing used e-bikes with every trick in the book and selling them with a two-year guarantee on the motor and battery. Although the term revamp is of course not used at Rebike. As in many young self-respecting companies, English is spoken here. Refurbishment is what around 60 people are doing in a large hall in the Kempten district of Leubas. The head office, where the in-house computer programs are developed and where the administration is housed, is in Munich.
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Cycle in circles
In the Kempten company, the founder Sven Erger leads through the halls – although he has to walk on crutches at the moment. Irony of fate: The injury was caused by a fall from a bicycle. After all, Erger is not only a bicycle entrepreneur, but also an ambitious cyclist.
The raw material of the refurbishment center are used e-bikes, mostly with low to medium mileage. Rebike only buys branded goods, no no-name products. The used ones usually have 500 to 3000 kilometers on it. Rebike likes to buy them in bulk, for example from leasing companies, rental stations or from bankruptcy estates. Sometimes 1500 bikes are delivered at once. There are also returns from our own bicycle subscription program.