There were several camps on the function and form of e-bikes. I was campaigning for e-bikes in general, but was leaning towards e-bikes that looked like conventional bicycles and cargo bikes that would not be out of place using existing bicycle infrastructure (racks, lanes), and would be recognizable by motorists as having bicycle-like performance characteristics. Within that space, there were the 'motorcycle' mindset group and the 'assistive' mindset group. The Europeans were promoting the 'assistive' design (you have to pedal for the the e-drive to kick in), while the Asian products were mostly of the 'motorcycle' design (no pedalling required, just twist the throttle and go).
As the Asian machines were cheaper (simpler design, generally lower quality components), the North American businesses (e.g. Schwinn) put their weight behind the Asian approach. The results were predictable: lots of cosmetic plastic, low quality parts, no replacement parts supply, manufacturers that popped up and then disappeared while the basic design and components were incorporated in the same frame and instantly available from another corporate entity for import.
A saw a lot of these ebikes get scrapped by frustrated and disappointed owners. I sold a few replacement chargers to people who understood that their batteries were murdered by the use of the cheapest possible charger supplied by the manufacturer. (Same issue for early cordless mowers and yard tools.) I tried refurbishing one scrapped e-bike, but the failed parts were unobtanium (usually burned out motors and controllers).
On 2023-10-29 7:26 p.m., David Roden wrote:
On 29 Oct 2023 at 18:14, Darryl McMahon wrote:The pedals are functional for moving the bike, not vestigial like most of today's e-bikes.As they are on all European E-bikes. For some reason, EU law requires that the rider pedal for the bike to go. There's no speed control; it goes as fast as you pedal. It's just that it's a lot easier to pedal. I guess you'd say that it's rather like power steering on a car. All the E-bikes that I've seen so far have had multiple boost levels, typically 3 to 5 levels. David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Note: mail sent to the "etpost" address will not reach me. To send me a private message, please use the address shown at the bottom of this page : http://www.evdl.org/help/ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = _______________________________________________ Elec-trak mailing list Elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu https://cosmos.phy.tufts.edu/mailman/listinfo/elec-trak
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