4 ms·

It seems to me this is a product for almost no one. Inefficient delivery of power, bulky, "smart" detection in stead of reliable operation and most importantly,

It seems to me this is a product for almost no one. Inefficient delivery of power, bulky, "smart" detection in stead of reliable operation and most importantly, the only target market I could imagine cannot use it. Not sure about other places and climates, but over here, most bicycles have fenders. Bicycles without fenders are typically used for specific recreational activities and those sure as heck do not want this clumsy thing attached.. If they want any form of electrical assistance they would want it a lot more sleek and efficient. Other than that, it reminds me of the Spartamet, a Dutch piece of tech from 1985 which added a small combustion engine to an otherwise regular city bike. https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartamet https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartamet

anthropic-dario 2mo ago
[dead]
u1hcw9nx 2mo ago
If the road is even little bit wet like after rain or morning mist, the dirt from the road ends up in your backside without fenders unless you drive very slowly. Find a bicycle without mudguards and ride very slowly, or just ride on clean roads on a sunny days.
- tgv 2mo ago
  When it's wet, the engine will have less traction too.
veunes 2mo ago
I can see one audience: someone with a bike they already like who only occasionally needs assistance and wants the whole thing removable
- jwr 2mo ago
  Once you try a (good!) electric bike, you don't really want to go back. Life is just so much better. For urban commuting, you no longer think about heat (getting sweaty), distance, inclines, wind, etc. Obviously I'm talking about good electric bikes, with mid-mounted engines that detect pedaling strength. These feel great, unlike electric motors strapped to bikes, which feel like, well, electric motors strapped to bikes.
  - ant6n 2mo ago
    How do you get exercise without sweating. Or asked another way, of you don’t get your heart rate up while riding, what’s the point. Or put a different way: I use electric Lime rental bikes all the time, it’s super fast and convenient. But I’m keenly aware they don’t give me any exercise, so I do want to go back to unpowered bikes as much as possible.
    - mft_ 2mo ago
      > How do you get exercise without sweating. Do you sweat a ton when you walk? Yet walking is exercise. The point being, of course, there’s a correlation between how hard the exercise is (plus other factors like clothing and weather) and the amount of sweating, but to claim that not sweating equals no exercise is incorrect.
      - PunchyHamster 2mo ago
        you'd get more exercise walking to the bus stop than on ebike
        mft_ 2mo ago
        Depends on the ebike and the setting. In Europe (at least; I'm not so clear on rules the US) in most cases the motors on ebikes respond to pedal input, so riding along purely by electrical power isn't usually possible. As such, you can choose from different levels of assistance, from lots to very little or nothing at all, which also correspond to different ranges.
        bluebarbet 2mo ago
        This may be true for your average pizza-delivery rider, but it's not an automatic property of e-bikes. I recently crossed a mountain range on a regulation e-bike (i.e. a pedalec with capped motor and a limited battery) and I can confirm that it took some effort.
        jwr 2mo ago
        This is a typical comment I get from people who don't use E-bikes. Also from people from the US, who get sold POWERFUL E-bikes that are not pedal-assist type. You click a button and you ride, like on a scooter. That's not what I mean by E-bike.
donatj 2mo ago
> Bicycles without fenders are typically used for specific recreational activities I'm guessing you are European? Bicycles in the US almost never have fenders except for old timey / retro style models. Fenders fell out of style in the 1980s and never really returned. People who do have them usually install them themselves as an upgrade. Speaking as an American who owns a basic beach cruiser bicycle and - puts less than 50 miles on it per year - has zero desire nor space for a full electric bike - would never use their bike in any kind of inclement weather - would never use their bike for anything other than leisure I think it might be aimed towards my demographic specifically? Like this thing seems pretty neat, just strap it to my bike and go? Sign me up.
- krior 2mo ago
  If you use your bike for 50 miles a year, why do you even need that thing?
  - donatj 2mo ago
    I don't. I don't need a bicycle at all. The only reason most Americans outside NYC and Chicago ride a bike is leisure. Well, that or too many DUIs if we're being honest. Ideally though if I had something like this it would encourage me to use my bicycle more.
    - david-gpu 2mo ago
      I suspect you underestimate the number of utility cyclists. People on bikes take a lot less space than people on SUVs and pickup trucks, so it is easy to underestimate their numbers.
    - krior 2mo ago
      If you don't need it then why do you write that you are the target group?
      - triyambakam 2mo ago
        Most products don't exist to fill a need but instead want

anthropic-dario 2mo ago

[dead]

u1hcw9nx 2mo ago

If the road is even little bit wet like after rain or morning mist, the dirt from the road ends up in your backside without fenders unless you drive very slowly. Find a bicycle without mudguards and ride very slowly, or just ride on clean roads on a sunny days.

tgv 2mo ago
When it's wet, the engine will have less traction too.

veunes 2mo ago

I can see one audience: someone with a bike they already like who only occasionally needs assistance and wants the whole thing removable

jwr 2mo ago
Once you try a (good!) electric bike, you don't really want to go back. Life is just so much better. For urban commuting, you no longer think about heat (getting sweaty), distance, inclines, wind, etc. Obviously I'm talking about good electric bikes, with mid-mounted engines that detect pedaling strength. These feel great, unlike electric motors strapped to bikes, which feel like, well, electric motors strapped to bikes.
- ant6n 2mo ago
  How do you get exercise without sweating. Or asked another way, of you don’t get your heart rate up while riding, what’s the point. Or put a different way: I use electric Lime rental bikes all the time, it’s super fast and convenient. But I’m keenly aware they don’t give me any exercise, so I do want to go back to unpowered bikes as much as possible.
  - mft_ 2mo ago
    > How do you get exercise without sweating. Do you sweat a ton when you walk? Yet walking is exercise. The point being, of course, there’s a correlation between how hard the exercise is (plus other factors like clothing and weather) and the amount of sweating, but to claim that not sweating equals no exercise is incorrect.
    - PunchyHamster 2mo ago
      you'd get more exercise walking to the bus stop than on ebike
      - mft_ 2mo ago
        Depends on the ebike and the setting. In Europe (at least; I'm not so clear on rules the US) in most cases the motors on ebikes respond to pedal input, so riding along purely by electrical power isn't usually possible. As such, you can choose from different levels of assistance, from lots to very little or nothing at all, which also correspond to different ranges.
      - bluebarbet 2mo ago
        This may be true for your average pizza-delivery rider, but it's not an automatic property of e-bikes. I recently crossed a mountain range on a regulation e-bike (i.e. a pedalec with capped motor and a limited battery) and I can confirm that it took some effort.
      - jwr 2mo ago
        This is a typical comment I get from people who don't use E-bikes. Also from people from the US, who get sold POWERFUL E-bikes that are not pedal-assist type. You click a button and you ride, like on a scooter. That's not what I mean by E-bike.

donatj 2mo ago

> Bicycles without fenders are typically used for specific recreational activities I'm guessing you are European? Bicycles in the US almost never have fenders except for old timey / retro style models. Fenders fell out of style in the 1980s and never really returned. People who do have them usually install them themselves as an upgrade. Speaking as an American who owns a basic beach cruiser bicycle and - puts less than 50 miles on it per year - has zero desire nor space for a full electric bike - would never use their bike in any kind of inclement weather - would never use their bike for anything other than leisure I think it might be aimed towards my demographic specifically? Like this thing seems pretty neat, just strap it to my bike and go? Sign me up.

krior 2mo ago
If you use your bike for 50 miles a year, why do you even need that thing?
- donatj 2mo ago
  I don't. I don't need a bicycle at all. The only reason most Americans outside NYC and Chicago ride a bike is leisure. Well, that or too many DUIs if we're being honest. Ideally though if I had something like this it would encourage me to use my bicycle more.
  - david-gpu 2mo ago
    I suspect you underestimate the number of utility cyclists. People on bikes take a lot less space than people on SUVs and pickup trucks, so it is easy to underestimate their numbers.
  - krior 2mo ago
    If you don't need it then why do you write that you are the target group?
    - triyambakam 2mo ago
      Most products don't exist to fill a need but instead want