I often hear from retailers about how many calls they get from hub-motor e-bike owners looking for repairs the retailers can't or won't offer. They turn these customers down and the revenue — along with the customer — is lost forever.
Dealers' reasons for refusing-bike repairs "on brands we don't sell" are both many and reasonable. Problems take too long to diagnose and are often done on a trial and error basis by swapping out parts. Customer service, especially on D2C bikes, can range from sketchy to nonexistent. Parts can be hard to source. And all this is true.
But what if your shop could diagnose any e-bike fault in 15 minutes or less and source replacement parts in minutes with a simple internet search? That's what Michael Pasquali's Micromobility Connect company is offering with its Service 2.0 System. It's not just a training course, Pasquali says, but a whole professional diagnostic standard that improves consistency, efficiency, and confidence throughout the service process.
I don't normally endorse companies in this space, but I'm prepared to make an exception for Micromobility Connect because it offers such a huge opportunity to benefit the entire dealer base. (And just for the record, they're not paying me to write this piece.)
Micromobility Connect has provided diagnostic training for companies like Pedego and retailers like the Landry's Bicycles chain. And NBDA board member and former NBDA president James Moore put it this way: "If bicycle shops continue to turn away this growing market there will be others who will set up shop and gladly avail themselves of this growing opportunity. Taking (Micromobility Connect's) e-bike repair training has allowed our business to say yes when we previously said no. And we said no a lot."
The training process
"The focus is on developing technicians who can make informed, evidence-based repair decisions" —Michael Pasquali, Micromobility Connect
Pasquali points out that approximately 75% of all North American e-bikes use hub motor systems, and that this technology offers the greatest opportunity for dealer profits. His program, he says, "teaches technicians to verify faults through evidence-based testing rather than relying on parts swapping, guesswork, or routine manufacturer technical support. The focus is on developing technicians who can make informed, evidence-based repair decisions while delivering a consistent, professional standard of electrical diagnostics."
The training is divided into three levels:
Level One: System Fundamentals. This section of the training is based on understanding the complete hub-motor e-bike electrical system.
Key learning highlights include understanding the operation and interaction of major electrical components. Technicians will also develop an understanding of the complete electrical system, including foundational electrical principles and professional safety practices, preparing them for advanced diagnostics
This section allows technicians to develop the knowledge and confidence required to progress into advanced electrical diagnostics with a clear understanding of how the complete electrical system operates.
Level Two: Professional Diagnostics. Building on the foundation established in Level 1, technicians advance into professional electrical diagnostics through instructor-led demonstrations and hands-on practical application. As Pasquali says, "Professional technicians aren't defined by how quickly they replace parts. They're defined by how accurately they diagnose the problem."Key learning areas include applying a structured diagnostic process; professional electrical testing techniques; understanding common electrical failure patterns; understanding the role of error codes and why every diagnosis must be verified through systematic testing; recognizing multiple electrical faults before repair decisions are made; and hands-on diagnostic exercises that develop speed, accuracy, consistency, and safe diagnostic practices.
In this level, technicians learn to trust a structured diagnostic process rather than relying solely on symptoms or error codes. Through hands-on training, they develop the ability to diagnose common hub-motor e-bike electrical faults efficiently, verify the complete electrical system before providing a diagnosis, recommending repairs or ordering replacement parts; and make evidence-based repair decisions that improve diagnostic accuracy, consistency, and service efficiency.
Level Three: Lithium Battery Safety & Professional Service Operations. "Professional e-bike service extends beyond diagnostics," Pasquali says. Level 3 focuses on lithium battery safety, professional battery evaluation, and service department procedures that help create safer, more consistent, and more profitable service operations.
Key learning areas include lithium battery safety awareness and risk recognition; battery capacity testing and performance evaluation; understanding battery health and capacity as part of the diagnostic process, and safe battery handling and shop procedures. This section also features e-bike intake and onboarding best practices, shop policies that support consistency and risk management, diagnostic fee implementation and service workflow strategies, and professional customer communication throughout the service process.
Technicians leave this section of the training with the knowledge to recognize potentially unsafe lithium batteries, perform professional battery capacity assessments, implement consistent service procedures, strengthen customer confidence, and support a safer, more efficient, and more profitable hub-motor e-bike service department.
Pasquali says "The overall program is designed to provide technicians with a progressive learning experience that begins with understanding the complete hub-motor e-bike electrical system." From there, "it advances to a hands-on, structured, repeatable diagnostic process and culminates by implementing the safety standards and operational practices required to support a modern, professional, and profitable hub-motor e-bike service department."
What this means for the industry
Ironically, it is precisely those customers who bought cheap ebikes by mail order who are the most plentiful, and the most likely to have their bikes fail.
Micromobility Connect may be the first company to market with this type of training, but it certainly won't be the last. There will soon be other groups offering comparable educational programs, as more and more bike shops take advantage of the opportunity to offer a higher level of e-bike diagnostics and repair.
The upside is simply too great to ignore. The chance for retailers to create fresh service revenue — and, potentially, new customers — from consumers who had formerly been turned away is both huge and growing weekly. And ironically, it is precisely those customers who bought cheap ebikes by mail order who are the most plentiful, and the most likely to have their bikes fail. Which means they are also the biggest source of potential revenue for savvy, properly trained dealers willing to accommodate them.
