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So when they stop making battery packs for your e-bike, it's a giant paperweight. I would assume, just as Mitch Hedberg noted about escalators can never break
by justinator 4y ago
So when they stop making battery packs for your e-bike, it's a giant paperweight.
I would assume, just as Mitch Hedberg noted about escalators can never break they just become stairs, an ebike just becomes a "bike" without the battery. In fact, I thought that's one of the selling points?
- rocqua 4y agoAn ebike is 5 to 10 times as expensive, and much heavier than a normal bike.
- AstralStorm 4y agoBy much you mean the weight of the motor, which actually is not the main weight of the bike. Batteries tend to be removable or easy to gut. The frames may sometimes be a bit more heavy duty, but usually aren't. The motor is noticeable on a super light carbon bike but not really on aluminum and definitely not on steel frame. 5-10 times more expensive is also a lie, at most I've seen 2x over comparable non-electric. (Though instead it should be a flat price increase.) Thing is, many ebikes are in premium segment. But there are many cheap ones as well.
- rocqua 4y agoIt's not just the motor. The frame gets beefed up to handle the higher forces. Generally wheels also get stronger, as does the drivetrain. The main weight penalty is the frame though. As for price, I got a decent normal bike around 600, and would expect to pay 3000 for an equivalent e-bike. For the 10x I did conflate e-bikes with 'speed pedelecs' which are not really bicycles anymore.
- weberer 4y agoStandard bikes in shops around me start at 300 euros, where ebikes start at 1,000.
- matsemann 4y agoAn e-bike without electrical assistance is heavy and sluggish, much more than a normal bike. I don't think anyone by them for the aspect of becoming a normal bike when out of power, they buy them because of the assistance.
- medstrom 4y agoAre you talking about those with brushless motors? The other kind, geared motors, should not impede anything when offline if I understand correctly. Then you just have a heavy bike, which is a problem in a hilly city but not so much in a flat city.
- AstralStorm 4y agoIn particular, heavier by at most 2 kg. If it's a hub motor, all it needs is new spokes and hub. If it's a mid drive, you might have to experiment a bit.
- matsemann 4y agoMy experience is many e-bike owners run around with almost deflated tires, worn out chain, rubbing brakes etc., since they themselves don't feel the added resistance, hehe.
- MezzoDelCammin 4y agowell, by the same logic, a car without a working engine becomes... a horse drawn / people pushed cart? A wheel barrow?
- maxerickson 4y agoYes, on a given ride it is a selling point that you can keep going after the battery dies. That doesn't translate into it being a selling point overall, "you can still pedal it after we stop supporting the power assist" would be a stupid thing to tell a potential customer.
- lkxijlewlf 4y agoFrom a consumer perspective, good luck selling it after support ends.
- analog31 4y agoIt becomes a bike if the battery runs out. If the electronics become inoperable, then it will likely never be ridden again. E bikes are getting bigger and heavier by the day, and physical effort is the reason why people don't ride conventional bikes.
- nradov 4y agoThere is a split in the market for e-bikes. Some are getting bigger and heavier, almost like motorcycles. Others are getting lighter so that you can hardly tell the difference from a traditional road bike. https://www.bianchi.com/store/us_EN/yrbn9-aria-e-road-ultegra-di2-6.html https://www.bianchi.com/store/us_EN/yrbn9-aria-e-road-ultegr...
- analog31 4y agoAh yes, those are the road bikes with thick downtubes that pass me on the MUP. ;-)
- skeeter2020 4y agoan ebike is a big, heavy, unpleasant bike with an electric motor. Now remove the motor.