Like many, I was drawn to the idea of electric bikes and trikes for a sustainable and fun way to commute. Excited by the prospect of year-round commuting, even through winter, I decided to purchase an Addmotor electric bike, specifically the Motan M-350 tricycle. However, my experience with this Addmotor electric bike has been far from satisfactory, turning into a year-long saga of frustration and unresolved issues.
My order was placed around July or August of 2021, but the Addmotor electric trike didn’t arrive until November or December. Upon arrival, initial setup was straightforward – attaching the wheel and storing the battery indoors until the weather improved around February. Eager to try out my new Addmotor Electric Bikes product, I planned my first commute.
Unfortunately, my first ride on the Addmotor Motan M-350 was short-lived and immediately problematic. Just three miles into my commute, the pedal fell off, and to my dismay, the trike controller died. This marked the beginning of a frustrating back-and-forth with Addmotor’s customer support. To their credit, they responded by sending a replacement controller. I installed it, hopeful that the issues were resolved. However, this fix was incredibly short-lived, lasting only a single day before the replacement controller also failed.
Once again, I contacted Addmotor. This time, they offered to have the electric trike shipped back to them for warranty repair. This occurred around May or June, months after my initial purchase and still with only 3 miles ridden on the odometer. Having already invested $3,000 in this Addmotor electric bikes product, I reluctantly shipped it back. Addmotor informed me that they had replaced both the motor and the head unit. Considering a controller had already been replaced, the battery was the only original component left untouched. They shipped the repaired trike back to me.
Receiving the Addmotor electric tricycle last week, I was hopeful that the repairs had finally resolved the issues. However, upon reassembling the trike, an “Error 25” immediately appeared on the display. Contacting Addmotor support again, they suggested the error indicated a loose brake and advised me to adjust them. After some adjustments, the “Error 25” disappeared, and I attempted to ride again. Sadly, the problems persisted and new issues arose. The Pedal Assist system was completely unresponsive, registering 0 Watts with no motor engagement. The throttle mode was also unreliable, frequently failing with an “Error 21” which could only be temporarily cleared by power cycling the system. Even more concerning, the entire system would randomly shut down, requiring a full battery power cycle to restart.
After nearly a year since ordering, my experience with this Addmotor electric bike has been overwhelmingly negative. I am left with a tricycle that is far from functional and a deep sense of buyer’s remorse. At this point, I am seeking either a full refund or a replacement tricycle that actually functions as advertised and reliably.
This experience has left me questioning whether my ordeal is typical for e-trike manufacturers in general, or if I have specific recourse options available given the ongoing issues and lack of reliable functionality of this Addmotor electric bikes purchase. Despite Addmotor’s continued responsiveness from their support team, albeit with increasingly slower response times, my patience is wearing thin. My expectation remains that every feature of this tricycle – throttle, pedal assist, brakes, and battery charging – should operate correctly and reliably.
