4 ms·

I have an older ebike with a large battery and it is outrageously heavy and hard to handle for everything except the actual ride. Perhaps there’s a market for p

I have an older ebike with a large battery and it is outrageously heavy and hard to handle for everything except the actual ride. Perhaps there’s a market for people who want an ebike that’s a little easier to get up apartment stairs? For riding I don’t see a need.

ebg13 6y ago
> Perhaps there’s a market for people who want an ebike that’s a little easier to get up apartment stairs? A detachable battery might also help with this.
- ianhowson 6y ago
  Or an aluminum frame that can deal with being banged around a little.
  - frenchy 6y ago
    Your partner might not like what that does to the apartment walls.
    - ianhowson 6y ago
      If my partner leaves, there's more room for bikes!
- pletnes 6y ago
  The battery on my bike is perhaps 2 kg with the bike in total perhaps 26 ish. Removing the battery does not help except for hosing down a dirty bike or preventing theft of the battery.
- boomskats 6y ago
  In Europe a lot of the Bosch/Yamaha bikes have the so-called 'walk mode', where you hold down a button and the bike powers itself up whatever slope at walking pace. For some reason I understand this mode is illegal in the US, but it makes all the difference over here - especially when going up stairs (or other 45 degree slopes).
  - davycro 6y ago
    My specialized has a walk mode. Not illegal in the states
  - hated 6y ago
    If anything USA ebike laws are the most lenient in the world
  - aidenn0 6y ago
    My RadWagon has a walk mode, I'm pretty big though so never needed to use it.
roflc0ptic 6y ago
A few months ago a friend fell off the wagon and was drunkenly riding his electric bike around town, and called in distress. I picked him up, and put his electric bike on my bike rack. I could barely lift it onto the bike rack, and on the ride home, I took a speed bump and it broke my bike rack. I live on a second floor, and ended up having to leave his bike in the stairwell. I would never use his bike because it was so unwieldy. I absolutely see a use case for a motorized bike that weighs 26 lbs, and it’s the use case they lay out in their ad copy: it widens the accessibility of electric bikes. Maybe the tech costs too much, and that will hose the project, but the value prop is crystal clear to me.

ebg13 6y ago

> Perhaps there’s a market for people who want an ebike that’s a little easier to get up apartment stairs? A detachable battery might also help with this.

ianhowson 6y ago
Or an aluminum frame that can deal with being banged around a little.
- frenchy 6y ago
  Your partner might not like what that does to the apartment walls.
  - ianhowson 6y ago
    If my partner leaves, there's more room for bikes!
pletnes 6y ago
The battery on my bike is perhaps 2 kg with the bike in total perhaps 26 ish. Removing the battery does not help except for hosing down a dirty bike or preventing theft of the battery.
boomskats 6y ago
In Europe a lot of the Bosch/Yamaha bikes have the so-called 'walk mode', where you hold down a button and the bike powers itself up whatever slope at walking pace. For some reason I understand this mode is illegal in the US, but it makes all the difference over here - especially when going up stairs (or other 45 degree slopes).
- davycro 6y ago
  My specialized has a walk mode. Not illegal in the states
- hated 6y ago
  If anything USA ebike laws are the most lenient in the world
- aidenn0 6y ago
  My RadWagon has a walk mode, I'm pretty big though so never needed to use it.

roflc0ptic 6y ago

A few months ago a friend fell off the wagon and was drunkenly riding his electric bike around town, and called in distress. I picked him up, and put his electric bike on my bike rack. I could barely lift it onto the bike rack, and on the ride home, I took a speed bump and it broke my bike rack. I live on a second floor, and ended up having to leave his bike in the stairwell. I would never use his bike because it was so unwieldy. I absolutely see a use case for a motorized bike that weighs 26 lbs, and it’s the use case they lay out in their ad copy: it widens the accessibility of electric bikes. Maybe the tech costs too much, and that will hose the project, but the value prop is crystal clear to me.