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Freegen ebike regenerative braking hub mechatronic discussion

15 points by banish-m4 2y ago

jimbobthrowawy 2y ago
Cool idea, I am surprised nobody came up with it sooner.
xhkkffbf 2y ago
This is a pretty clever idea and the video does a good job of explaining how it will work. I'm looking forward to these becoming pretty standard on all ebikes.
serf 2y ago
I love the concept,but it saddens me that it's going to make hall-sensor/potentiometer brake levers an even more distant concept. at least this adds a bit more granularity than the lame off/on ebike e-brake switches that are most popular right now -- but it sucks that it's at the loss of pad life rather than just sticking a dirt cheap hall sensor on a lever somewhere and leaving the pads for emergencies. it is very clever, though.
- mitthrowaway2 2y ago
  Doesn't seem like it would wear the pad very much, with the disc turning so slowly.
esel2k 2y ago
Yesterday I was at a Bikeshop and was discouraged to buy a wheel hub motor eBike compared to a bike with these motor next to the crank. Apparently if you change your wheel (i.e. having a flat), you loose your warranty from a supplier(not going to name). So a big negative for me is the added complexity and dependency on bike shops for simple things as changing wheels.
thingsgg 2y ago
A fascinating idea, however it looks like the E-Bike industry has "moved on" to mid-drive motors anyway in recent years, which have the advantage of better weight distribution and being able to more tidily integrate into frames. Mid-drives don't have the missing freewheel problem, but due to this can't have regenerative braking. And I don't know, I think I'd still prefer two redundant mechanical braking systems rather than having the functionality of one being basically completely replaced to act as a fancy sensor for a software controller to know how much regen to apply. It's still great for these concepts being explored, and we're lucky to have a company like Grin Technologies in the aftermarket segment that are actively researching innovative new ideas.
- m463 2y ago
  I think there's room for both. hub systems are great for lazy riders - they can just go without having to pedal. I think they're cheaper too. And I suspect mid drive wears your whole drive train out faster. You chain and rear derailleur have to be stronger and get more stress.
ggernov 2y ago
Grin Tech is awesome - one of my favorite e-bike companies ever!

15 points by banish-m4 2y ago

Cool idea, I am surprised nobody came up with it sooner.

This is a pretty clever idea and the video does a good job of explaining how it will work. I'm looking forward to these becoming pretty standard on all ebikes.

serf 2y ago

I love the concept,but it saddens me that it's going to make hall-sensor/potentiometer brake levers an even more distant concept. at least this adds a bit more granularity than the lame off/on ebike e-brake switches that are most popular right now -- but it sucks that it's at the loss of pad life rather than just sticking a dirt cheap hall sensor on a lever somewhere and leaving the pads for emergencies. it is very clever, though.

mitthrowaway2 2y ago
Doesn't seem like it would wear the pad very much, with the disc turning so slowly.

esel2k 2y ago

Yesterday I was at a Bikeshop and was discouraged to buy a wheel hub motor eBike compared to a bike with these motor next to the crank. Apparently if you change your wheel (i.e. having a flat), you loose your warranty from a supplier(not going to name). So a big negative for me is the added complexity and dependency on bike shops for simple things as changing wheels.

thingsgg 2y ago

A fascinating idea, however it looks like the E-Bike industry has "moved on" to mid-drive motors anyway in recent years, which have the advantage of better weight distribution and being able to more tidily integrate into frames. Mid-drives don't have the missing freewheel problem, but due to this can't have regenerative braking. And I don't know, I think I'd still prefer two redundant mechanical braking systems rather than having the functionality of one being basically completely replaced to act as a fancy sensor for a software controller to know how much regen to apply. It's still great for these concepts being explored, and we're lucky to have a company like Grin Technologies in the aftermarket segment that are actively researching innovative new ideas.

m463 2y ago
I think there's room for both. hub systems are great for lazy riders - they can just go without having to pedal. I think they're cheaper too. And I suspect mid drive wears your whole drive train out faster. You chain and rear derailleur have to be stronger and get more stress.

ggernov 2y ago

Grin Tech is awesome - one of my favorite e-bike companies ever!