Folks:

I love my Trek electric bicycle and now a friend wants to get one. It seems that she must pay a minimum of about $2,800 if she wants to get a name-brand such as Trek or Specialized. The question for today is why. Back in 2009 Costco was selling electric bikes for $899. You can find Chinese-made electric bicycles retailing on Alibaba for $500-1000.

If we can go into a neighborhood bike store and buy a mainstream Trek for $440, why is the first rung of the electric bike ladder at $2000+? What is stopping Trek, Specialized, and Giant from throwing the electric components of a $500 Chinese electric bike onto one of their $440 bikes and selling the combination for under $1000?