The HiKeep eBike Disaster: Why Their Own Rep Told Me NOT to Buy It

This started as a simple thing. I saw a new white HiKeep MA-S ebike, thought it looked cool, and figured I’d pre-order it, review it, and ride it like I do every other bike. No drama. No takedowns. Just testing hikeep ebikes the same way I test everything else. This a HiKeep customer service warning!

Then the official HiKeep account told me not to buy their own bike.

That is not normal, and if you care about where your money goes, you need to see how this played out and what it says about their customer service. This channel is blunt on purpose, because this channel is for ebikes I like or think are popular, not for keeping brands comfortable.

Why I Almost Didn’t Make This Video

I’ve done drama-heavy content on other channels before, made a living off calling companies out, and I did not want this place to turn into that.

The plan here is simple: pick bikes that look interesting or are blowing up, ride them like a real rider, and tell you what actually happens.

But when a company responds the way HiKeep did, and deletes things, and starts attacking how I review, that stops being “YouTube drama” and starts being “consumer warning.”

How I Usually Work With eBike Companies

My process with brands is boring and very repeatable.

I see a new bike, I either email the company or message them on Facebook, and I say something like, “Here’s my channel, I’d like to review your bike, want to collaborate?”

If they say they can’t send a free bike, fine. I usually ask for a discount that is fair for everyone, like the type of Black Friday discount they would offer publicly, or maybe 50 bucks off. I’ve happily paid out of pocket on bikes like the Magician Alpha, the Wired, and plenty of others. I am not sitting here begging for handouts.

The HiKeep Facebook Post That Lit The Fuse

HiKeep posted that new white bike on their official Facebook page. I commented, “Thats a nice looking bike, Was thinking about pre-ordering it to review.”

Their public reply looked friendly at first: they said they’d like to collaborate again. Then they immediately slid in a jab about my “old style” of review not bringing them enough views and traffic.

That post is gone now. The thumbnail just sits there and fails to load because they deleted the entire thing. They do not want any trace of a negative back-and-forth living on their page.

Arguing About Review Style: Unboxing vs Riding

The guy running the HiKeep account used to work at Wallke, so he starts talking about the old MGT video and how my review style changed. He basically blames my views on whether I do full unboxing and assembly on camera.

He says I “abandoned unboxing,” I do not show myself enough, and that I once told him this new style would bring more views and traffic. His claim is that it did not work.

Here is the problem. That is just not what the numbers show. All of my best performing videos have no unboxing segment at all, just tight riding footage and real testing. I even showed him thumbnails and analytics where view counts and referrals were way higher with no box-opening content.

Most people watch 3 to 8 minutes of a 12 to 20 minute review. They care about how the bike rides, how fast it goes, how it climbs, how it brakes. Not me slicing tape.

If you want to weigh in on this, I set up a poll so you can vote on whether you actually want long unboxing segments or you just want to get to the ride. You can cast your vote in the YouTube unboxing vs ride test poll.

Why I Dropped Full Unboxings

Unboxing is not just “open a box and talk.” To do it right, it eats hours. You have to frame every shot, drag a heavy bike out of foam, check for scratches or dents, and still make it watchable.

If I show every scuff on camera, most viewers do not care, but the brand cares a lot. I have had companies message me “do not upload that” when I showed bent parts or shipping damage. I still uploaded. That is the job.

At some point I decided I would rather build the bike off camera, get familiar with it, then focus the video on how it performs. That is why you see more test riding and less cardboard.

The Messenger Conversation That Went Off The Rails

After the public comment, the HiKeep account messages me directly from the official page. This is the same page with around 10,000 followers, not some random fake.

He keeps pushing the idea that my new style is wrong, that my older unboxing-heavy videos performed better, and that he knows my channel better than I do. I send him screenshots of newer videos, higher view counts, stronger referral numbers, the whole thing.

Eventually I say, “I was going to buy the bike. Never mind.” Because at that point, I am arguing with a company representative about how I run my own channel. That alone is already weird.

His response from the official HiKeep account: “Nevermind, Dont buy it”

That is the line that changed this from “annoying conversation” to “giant red flag.”

The Big Red Flag For Anyone Shopping HiKeep Ebikes

Imagine you are just a regular customer, not someone with a channel. You message a brand and say you are ready to buy. Then customer service or their marketing tells you not to.

That is what happened here. A HiKeep representative, speaking as the brand, straight up told me not to purchase their own product, then threw a jab about my “low views,” then they scrubbed the public thread from Facebook.

For people who follow smaller brands and watch for terrible customer service, this pattern should look familiar. You see companies with flashy specs, lots of sponsored content, but when anything negative pops up, they delete, block, or disappear.

When a small brand cannot handle basic criticism or an honest review style, it usually does not get better when there is a warranty claim or a broken frame involved.

The Economics: Why I Am Not Protecting Brands

Some people think reviewers are swimming in free bikes. Reality is rougher.

If I get a $3,000 bike for review, I might only be able to sell it for about $1,200 when I am done. Shooting can take an hour or more, but editing can chew up two to five days, full days, dialing in 360 shots and transitions.

I am not getting paid by HiKeep, or Wallke, or any of these companies to say nice things. As a matter of fact I have never been paid by any ebike company as I write this article. I buy plenty of bikes myself, lose money on a bunch of them, and still give pros and cons. That is the whole point of the channel.

Hikeep Thoughts

This video is not me giving up on reviewing hikeep ebikes. It is me saying I do not trust their customer service at all.

If they do not want to work with me, I can buy under a different name, ship it somewhere else, and review it like any other bike. I have done this kind of thing for years on my other channel, Jai Haze, calling out products and companies that did not want to hear it.

There is no sabotage. If the bike rides great, I will say it. If it is trash, I will say that too.

How You Can Support Real Reviews

If you want more no-filter reviews and you like the idea of someone actually buying bikes to test them, the easiest way to help is by joining the Members section on YouTube. The lowest tier is a couple bucks a month and gives you early access and extra content. You can jump in through the channel membership page.

That money does not go into some fancy studio. It goes right back into more bikes so you do not have to gamble on them.

If you are researching other options and want something with real testing behind it, you can also check out the YouTube Playlist for bikes that go over 30mph for a very different example of how a brand handles power, range, and support.

Conclusion

What started as “I might pre-order this new HiKeep” turned into a case study in how not to treat customers. An official account attacking a reviewer’s style, deleting public comments, and literally telling someone not to buy their product is a huge warning sign for anyone shopping hikeep ebikes.

If this is how they talk to someone they know will post receipts, imagine how they respond to a random customer with a broken part. Pay attention to how companies act, not just how their bikes look in promo photos.

If you have thoughts on unboxing footage, on HiKeep, or on how much honesty you actually want in reviews, drop a comment and make sure you hit that poll about unboxing vs ride tests. Your feedback shapes how these reviews are done.