Video: Seth // Edit: Curtis // Words: Daniel
E-bikes have come a long way in the last 10-15 years, and trickle-down technology is real. However, there’s still a big discrepancy between trickle-down technology within a major bike brand and the stuff that ends up on a bike in a department store or, in this case, on Amazon.
We have a list where we can add project ideas and hash out details for all of the videos we have in production. Usually, there’s a lot of preparation and planning for almost anything we do and a bit of lead time. I remember seeing the idea for a cheap Amazon bike on the board, and then I remember pulling up to Seth’s house later that afternoon just as the Amazon driver left, and the Funhang was sitting outside the garage. I immediately thought, “I’ll be damned. He’s going to burn his house down with this thing.” I wasn’t entirely convinced that would be the case since it came from Amazon and not Temu or AliExpress, but I knew I wouldn’t dare store it in my garage, especially knowing it only cost $400…shipped.
Sketchy aside, the technology in these bikes and the category have grown a lot over the last 10-15 years. The bike industry has capitalized on the E-bike boom in a way that is aggressive, to say the least (that’s a whole other discussion), and when you visit a big city, the vast majority of people on bikes are on something with a motor. Even bike shares often have E-bikes - the technology is so reliable and affordable that it’s practical to put it in bikes used and abused daily by people with little to no regard for it having to function after returning it.
Even with the advances in technology, my expectations of the Funhang were low, at best. A bike that size and weight would typically cost someone close to $200 just to ship. Now, I know that Amazon has the ultimate advantage in scale when it comes to shipping, but still. Even if the shipping was free, how can you get a functional bike, much less one with a motor, for that price? I still don’t have an answer to that question, but it seems as if the crew over at Funhang figured it out.
Who is a bike like the Funhang for? That’s what I really want to talk about. Unfortunately, for the core “bike” industry, I think it’s for most people who can benefit from an E-bike/E-MTB. I think about my father-in-law, who wanted an E-bike to ride around town at the beach. A bike like this makes far more sense than the $800 Kona, twice the price of the Funhang, I recommended he buy. While the Kona is a great bike, and I would love to ride it, it’s unnecessary. It sits unused for 99.9% of the year, and he can’t believe how much he spent on it. I think about someone commuting around town, the college kid getting to and from class and the market, and most people in the world who want an E-bike.
Does it need to shred the trail? No. Does it need to have a mid-drive motor? No. Does it need to have a smooth power transfer? No. Does it need to function perfectly? No. Just. No.
