Upway is set to revolutionize the American e-bike market by embracing eco-friendly transportation, one pedal at a time. Upway is the leading online marketplace for refurbished electric bikes. Founded in 2021 in France, they started U.S. operations in March of 2023. They asked me to test out the U.S. experience so that I could share my feedback with them and you.
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About Upway
Founded in 2021 in France, Upway has quickly established itself as a premier provider of certified refurbished e-bikes. By breathing new life into used e-bikes, they are driving sustainable transport forward and offering top-tier quality e-bikes at excellent prices.
Their business consists of three steps:
- Purchase used e-bikes from people
- Refurbish the e-bikes with in-house mechanics
- List the refurbished bikes on their easy-to-use website
In its short existence, Upway has achieved impressive milestones, refurbishing over 10,000 e-bikes, partnering with hundreds of bike shops, and offering an array of American brands like Specialized, Cannondale, Aventon, and Rad Power, along with international brands such as Riese & Müller and VanMoof.
The Sustainability Advantage
What I appreciate about Upway is their commitment to reducing waste. Although e-bikes are a more environmentally-friendly transportation option than driving a car, waste is still produced when we upgrade our e-bikes and dispose of the old ones.
Choosing Upway isn’t just about getting an e-bike; it’s about joining a global movement towards sustainable transportation. Every e-bike purchased from Upway has been professionally refurbished, meaning it has been saved from becoming waste and has been given a new lease of life. Upway’s business model directly contributes to reducing the carbon footprint of the transportation sector, as refurbished e-bikes require fewer resources and energy to produce than new ones.
What’s more, Upway’s commitment to making electric mobility affordable extends beyond a mere business slogan. With discounts of up to 60% off retail price, this innovative platform truly brings e-bikes within reach for a broader audience, making sustainable transportation a practical choice for everyone.
The Refurbishing Process
So, how do they refurbish the e-bikes? Well, it seems to be a very meticulous and comprehensive process. Each e-bike undergoes a 20-point inspection carried out by professional bike mechanics. This process takes place at their distribution centers, which are located in most of the countries that they operate. In the U.S., their mechanics work out of New York City. Each component that doesn’t meet their ‘like-new’ condition criteria is either replaced or repaired, ensuring that every bike is in top-notch condition when it arrives at your doorstep.
Upway backs up their rigorous refurbishment process with a one-year warranty and a 14-day return period to ensure that every Upway customer is happy with their purchase.
Looking through online review sites I haven’t seen any complaints from people about the quality of e-bikes that they’ve received from Upway so that’s another good sign.
My Experience Ordering from Upway
Okay, now let’s go through my experience ordering from Upway.
Their website is super simple to use. You can view their entire e-bike inventory and use handy filters to narrow down the results. I appreciated that they had a lot of filters, such as “engine torque” and “mileage.”
Alternatively, they also offer a convenient “Find My Bike” feature, which is good for first-time e-bike purchasers who may not be as familiar with all of the options on an e-bike. You start by selecting the frame styles that you prefer (city, step-thru, cargo, etc.). Next, you input your height and budget. Finally, if you want, you can select your engine preference (mid-drive or hub).
They had a wide selection of roughly 200 e-bikes. I was interested in finding an e-bike that I hadn’t ridden before, so I went with the Aventon Aventure.
In general, the prices seemed pretty competitive for the used e-bike market. While the prices may not be as low as something that you might find on Craigslist, Upway gives you way more peace of mind because the e-bikes have been refurbished and come with a 1-year warranty. At the time of writing (May 2023) Upway had multiple Aventon Aventure’s listed for $1,299. On Seattle’s Craigslist, I saw one Aventure listed for $1,200. So very comparable pricing to the Craigslist used e-bike market.
A day after placing my order for the Aventon Aventure, I received a shipping confirmation email from their Operations Manager. I really liked that I got an email from an actual person, rather than a system-generated email. That also came in handy a few days later when I needed to change the shipping address. I simply replied to the email asking the Operations Manager for help, and they went ahead and contacted FedEx Freight to change the address.
Shipping across the country took about a week. 24 hours before the expected delivery date, I got a call from FedEx Freight giving me a 2-hour delivery window. On delivery day, surprisingly, FedEx showed up right on time.
As the shipping confirmation email warned, the box was big, about 6ft x 4ft x 1ft. It was a bit hard to move around, but since the e-bike comes 95% assembled, all I had to do to get it ready for riding was:
- Remove the bike from the box
- Remove all of the padding wrap
- Attach the pedals with the included pedal wrench
- Straighten the handlebars and tighten them back up
- Turn the e-bike on
It took me about 20 minutes to do all of this. The Aventon was in good condition, however the headlight did get damaged in the shipment. It was snapped off and dangling from the handlebars. A little bit of Gorilla glue and it would be back in business.
I really appreciated that it came pre-assembled. I’ve had to put together a few e-bikes over the years and while it’s not too difficult, there is always some fumbling and fine-tuning, especially when it comes to putting on fenders. It was nice that the bike from Upway was basically all ready to go straight out of the box.
All in all it was an easy ordering and assembly experience.
Ease for Sellers
Upway raises the bar with a new trade-in portal that streamlines the selling experience. Sellers can navigate a simple, step-by-step process that begins with an instant, algorithm-generated quote, followed by scheduling a pick-up. This swift, hassle-free process saves a ton of time. Seller are compensated after Upway receives and inspects the e-bike.
As someone who recently sold some e-bikes on Craigslist, I wish Upway was already operating in the states. I wasted so much time responding to people who would eventually ghost me or not show up to the meeting point. With Upway, you get a fair price for your e-bike, and they even come to your door to pick it up.
I asked the Operations Manager about the shipment process for sellers. Here is what they said:
“It varies. There are a few methods:
- If they live within a 300 mile radius of NY, we send a transporter with a van to pick up the bike unboxed. The driver verifies that they have the charger and keys before accepting the bike.
- If they live further away, they can take their bike to a bike shop to get boxed up and shipped via parcel
- Lastly, if it is a trade-in with a recent purchase, they can pack the bike back in the Upway box, which will get picked up via freight”
Another thing worth mentioning about Upway is that they have introduced a portal specifically designed for bike shops. This portal enables retailers to sell their unsold inventory to Upway, as well as offer trade-in programs to their customers. The portal offers a streamlined process, with instant algorithm-generated quotes, pick-up scheduling, and cash disbursement, making it easy for e-bike shops to manage their pre-owned inventory. The result is that customers leave with brand new bikes, and retailers can make extra money on the side. A cool product and something that I hope to see bike shops adopt.
Video Review
Bottom Line
All in all I was very happy with my Upway experience and highly recommend that you try them out. To be clear, I don’t have an affiliate relationship with Upway and I’m not getting paid to say this, they just genuinely offer a very good service.
If you are in the market for a used e-bike be sure to check them out!
