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| pbj:
--- Quote from: RandyT on August 29, 2022, 12:44:49 pm ---seems to be targeting a very niche market. --- End quote --- :laugh2: If there’s one thing Randy knows, it’s crazed communities of niche markets. |
| RandyT:
--- Quote from: fallacy on August 29, 2022, 07:08:55 pm ---Does this bike look like it succeeds in some areas but fails in others? --- End quote --- Well, a belt system (as this seems to have?) to gear for more hill climbing power is fine, but you can't do it without a loss of speed. A lower voltage battery, like the one this uses, already has that as a challenge. Weight reduction is an admirable goal but dropping weight by removing functional and desirable parts of the bike (battery capacity, fenders, racks, motor capacity, suspension components, etc.) isn't that much of a feat. While the frame design may be strong and light, I have seen no data for it's survivability in a crash. We tried something similar with cars in the 70's during the "gas crisis". What we ended up with was lighter, no-frills, no power vehicles which didn't last and killed a lot of people who might have survived in something which preceded them. But they were better on gas! This is a little different, but it's your investment that's at stake instead. The hospital bills are a constant in this equation :). Your question has me wondering now what it is that is actually being achieved by the offering. I'm struggling to find anything about it that I would consider a technological "step forward" because it gives up too much for nice looks and low weight. But if those two things are the most important features for whomever is looking at them, then that's all that matters. Thus, my view that it's a niche offering. Maybe the best way to look at any e-bike is to work your way backward from the question "what is an e-bike?" How an individual answers that question will ultimately vary, but it will invariably start with a bike with an electric motor which assists the rider. It would make sense that the better and longer the bike can perform the most basic task for which they are meant, the more capable it is. From that point, it's a matter of what you are willing to give up for some other desired attribute, be it cost-savings, range, speed, comfort, etc. But at some point, the realities of cost and physics will kick in and you will end up with something which is unaffordable and/or does poorly at delivering the core functionality. The enemy of true innovation in e-vehicles of any type is battery technology. Until safe, inexpensive, lightweight and high-power-density rechargeable batteries are plentiful, there's only so much more you can do. |
| Xiaou2:
Battery Longevity, is an important factor in these devices. How long is the Warranty on the Battery? How long before a full charge, only gets you 3 blocks away from your doorsetp? How many charges before that battery is useless, and needs to be replaced? Is the battery Replaceable? Or is it Custom + Chipped ? (only available from the factory.. No 3rd party batteries allowed?) What is the cost of Replacing the Battery? What are the chances of the Batteries exploding into a massive ball of fire... roasting your Balls into charcoal, or setting the house on fire? If you search, you can find a few vids of Electric cars bursting into flames. In one video, the car was charging at a charging station... with like 2 other cars parked next to it... also charging. The car went up in flames so quickly, that the car next to it, was not able to fully back away in time... and it caught fire as well. In another video, there were probably 8 busses next to each other. I believe this one was in China. One bus burst into flames... and within mere minutes, all 8 busses were completely toasted. |
| RandyT:
One of the better options currently for batteries is LiFePo4 chemistry. They can charge very quickly, are relatively safe, typically have high discharge rates and have a very high cycle count (usually 2000+). But everything is a trade-off. It also has lower power density, and is thus bulkier and heavier. They also tend to be more costly. Until they come up with something which ticks all the boxes, even renewable energy as a sole source is a bit of a pipe dream. The ubiquitous Li-Ion took decades to get us to where we are now. I can imagine decades more before it is replaced with anything new. |
| Zebidee:
It may take less than decades. Right now, there's a lot of people researching better and safer batteries. Better batteries will not only be great for our e-bikes, but also our cars and power grids and everything else. Save the planet stuff, the future is electric and renewables. Meanwhile, stock prices for lithium miners keep going up. There is some particularly exciting research going on into solid electrolyte for lithium ion batteries. This would be, for almost all intents and purposes, 100% safe. In addition to significantly improving battery, solid state electrolytes means they can use lithium for the anode. This means more energy density, thus more powerful and/or lighter cells. |
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