If FEMA had the bicycles, would it fund Hustler's manlet bib?
01-29-2014, 09:00 PM
#972
Been catching up on this thread, lots of good info.
Have to agree. 10T MAC motor nearly does a wheelie when given full beans from a stop, despite the heavy battery in the triangle.
Would change to a motor with fewer turns, but:
1. hills
2. 30 is probably fast enough.
As for style over substance, I've noticed every OTS e-bike is pathetically slow and way overpriced. And they get these glowing reviews from the journos who ride them. Doesn't make any sense.
...
1: You can't use regen with a geared motor. Geared motors are *vastly* superior to direct-drive motors in two key ways- they have much greater torque, and they freewheel when you are peddling in non-electric mode.
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Knowing now that it's a direct-drive, I believe I'd pass on it. Looks like yet another design that's put style and gadgets over performance.
1: You can't use regen with a geared motor. Geared motors are *vastly* superior to direct-drive motors in two key ways- they have much greater torque, and they freewheel when you are peddling in non-electric mode.
...
Knowing now that it's a direct-drive, I believe I'd pass on it. Looks like yet another design that's put style and gadgets over performance.
Would change to a motor with fewer turns, but:
1. hills
2. 30 is probably fast enough.
As for style over substance, I've noticed every OTS e-bike is pathetically slow and way overpriced. And they get these glowing reviews from the journos who ride them. Doesn't make any sense.
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01-30-2014, 08:37 AM
#974
Boost Pope
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
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Yesterday evening, as I dismounted my Citibike and jammed it into a docking station on 8th @ 33rd near Penn, I was approached by a likeable older lady who was somewhat puzzled by the fact that, from her perspective, Citibank seemed to have such an immensely large courier fleet.
She'd never heard of a bikeshare program before, and had no idea that all of the people she'd seen riding around on the blue bikes were not, in fact, employees of Citibank. I found this amusing, and we spent the next 5 minutes standing there on the sidewalk talking about life and commuting in the city before going our separate ways
+1 for cyclist / pedestrian relations.
She'd never heard of a bikeshare program before, and had no idea that all of the people she'd seen riding around on the blue bikes were not, in fact, employees of Citibank. I found this amusing, and we spent the next 5 minutes standing there on the sidewalk talking about life and commuting in the city before going our separate ways
+1 for cyclist / pedestrian relations.
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01-30-2014, 09:35 AM
#976
Tour de Franzia
Thread Starter
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Republic of Dallas
Posts: 29,085
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Been catching up on this thread, lots of good info.
Have to agree. 10T MAC motor nearly does a wheelie when given full beans from a stop, despite the heavy battery in the triangle.
Would change to a motor with fewer turns, but:
1. hills
2. 30 is probably fast enough.
As for style over substance, I've noticed every OTS e-bike is pathetically slow and way overpriced. And they get these glowing reviews from the journos who ride them. Doesn't make any sense.
Have to agree. 10T MAC motor nearly does a wheelie when given full beans from a stop, despite the heavy battery in the triangle.
Would change to a motor with fewer turns, but:
1. hills
2. 30 is probably fast enough.
As for style over substance, I've noticed every OTS e-bike is pathetically slow and way overpriced. And they get these glowing reviews from the journos who ride them. Doesn't make any sense.
Reply
1
1
01-30-2014, 09:38 AM
#977
Tour de Franzia
Thread Starter
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Republic of Dallas
Posts: 29,085
Total Cats: 375
Oh **** my genitals...arrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggggggggggggg gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg gggggggggggggggggg!
Edit: I wish I never broke my arm so I could buy fancy **** for my new frame, but I have negative net worth right now and can't buy that SiSL crank, DA RD, and Stages meter I want. However, soon I'll ride again.
Edit: I wish I never broke my arm so I could buy fancy **** for my new frame, but I have negative net worth right now and can't buy that SiSL crank, DA RD, and Stages meter I want. However, soon I'll ride again.
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01-30-2014, 09:49 AM
#978
Boost Pope
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
Posts: 33,050
Total Cats: 6,615
As for style over substance, I've noticed every OTS e-bike is pathetically slow and way overpriced. And they get these glowing reviews from the journos who ride them. Doesn't make any sense.
For one, the laws governing e-bikes vary greatly- with different states and countries having different wattage / speed limits. The manufacturers have a certain incentive to build a bike which is legal in as many places as possible.
There's also, of course, some concern over cost and reliability. Direct-drive motors are cheaper to build, and are pretty much maintenance-free. Geared motors, by comparison, do require occasional lubrication, and eventually replacement of the planetary gears and clutch. So selling bikes with geared motors creates an obligation on the manufacturer to provide ongoing parts and rebuild support.
The journalists have, for the most part, probably never ridden an e-bike before. If you're coming from the spandex scene, even a simple little 250w pedelec probably seems like a huge deal. I imagine that as time goes on and experience is gained, attitudes may shift slightly.
And, of course, the public just aren't clamoring for big, powerful bikes yet. Within the bike scene itself, you mostly have elitist primadonnas like Hustler who stand on a soapbox and shout disdain at the e-crowd, followed by a large mass of commuters who aren't well-informed about what's actually possible from an e-bike, and then at the very tail end you have a tiny little segment of DIYers.
I compare this to the sports-car scene. You have the elitist Porsche / Corvette / Skyline crowd, followed by hundreds of thousands of people who own bone-stock Miatas and S2Ks, and then at the tail end you have us loonies here at MT.
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01-30-2014, 10:18 AM
#980
Poverty is a $500 29er MTB with a $700 battery velcroed to it.
lol
EDIT - You're absolutely right Joe. It's just funny. "For a mere $6k, you can have this Specialized Turbo which will do 20 MPH and travel a dozen miles before needing a recharge. It's revolutionary!"
lol
EDIT - You're absolutely right Joe. It's just funny. "For a mere $6k, you can have this Specialized Turbo which will do 20 MPH and travel a dozen miles before needing a recharge. It's revolutionary!"
Last edited by kotomile; 01-30-2014 at 10:28 AM.
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