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Greg LeMond’s New 26 LB. Carbon Fiber Ebike

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Re: Greg LeMond’s New 26 LB. Carbon Fiber Ebike

#181

Post by portlander52232 »

dmurray wrote: post #150
tedivm wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you and op are missing the point though. This is a light weight ebike! Obviously it's not as light weight as a professional bike (or like any without a battery), but this cuts weight everywhere it can and still has a 45 mile range (plus an extended battery you can add on to extend the range). On top of that people are already spending thousands of dollars on ebikes- this really isn't that much more expensive…

Yes, the point is to be a light weight e-bike, but still, why? Make it out of steel or aluminium, making the frame 1 kg heavier, perhaps that costs you another 200g in the battery and motor to drive the same power. Aluminium and steel are better materials than CF in every way except weight - or if not, I'd like to hear why! The 1-2 kg weight savings is useful if you need to carry your bike up the stairs to your top f…

Light weight and stiffness change how a bike feels, far more significantly than it improves objective performance. A light, stiff bike with a fast-engagement hub feels sporty and fun, it’s that simple. It makes you want to go harder and makes you smile as you do it.

Re: Greg LeMond’s New 26 LB. Carbon Fiber Ebike

#182

Post by gnopgnip »

dmurray wrote: post #150
tedivm wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you and op are missing the point though. This is a light weight ebike! Obviously it's not as light weight as a professional bike (or like any without a battery), but this cuts weight everywhere it can and still has a 45 mile range (plus an extended battery you can add on to extend the range). On top of that people are already spending thousands of dollars on ebikes- this really isn't that much more expensive…

Yes, the point is to be a light weight e-bike, but still, why? Make it out of steel or aluminium, making the frame 1 kg heavier, perhaps that costs you another 200g in the battery and motor to drive the same power. Aluminium and steel are better materials than CF in every way except weight - or if not, I'd like to hear why! The 1-2 kg weight savings is useful if you need to carry your bike up the stairs to your top f…

It isn't just 1kg difference overall. This bike weighs less than half of most electric bikes, comparable to an entry level road bike. ~8lbs less than a similarly priced lightweight electric bike with an aluminum frame(Specialized Turbo Vado SL), or a modern non electric commuter bike with fenders and a basket. There are some other carbon fiber ebikes, but they tend to be much more expensive and also are usually heavier(but with a longer battery range)

It isn't just about carrying it up the stairs to your apartment, it is the stairs taking the subway and getting off, getting on and off buses, going up and down stairs for parking garages when you get where you are going, the battery lasting a little longer overall, taking hills and accelerating a little faster. Especially for someone who is not a typical fit cyclist, the weight difference can be a the difference between this and not cycling at all.

For relatively short trips, mixing with public transit an electric kick scooter is a competitive option, cheaper, comparable weight or lighter. Slower and less utility though

Re: Greg LeMond’s New 26 LB. Carbon Fiber Ebike

#183

Post by ogre_codes »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #147
semi-extrinsic wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> whose performance bottlenecks are imposed by the bike instead of themselves I'm a fluid dynamics researcher, and I'll tell you the money these people spend on "aero" and "weight saving" and "higher drivetrain efficiency" stuff is 99.9% snake oil. Unless you are among the top 1000 road bike racers in the world. Increasing your exercise load by half an hour per week, or spending a little time understanding and implem…

I'm an engineer and a biker. If you only look at the numbers or try to run simplistic calculations, it's easy to think that bikers are just deluding themselves. But there's more to it than just numbers on paper, and there's more to biking than just riding in a straight line from point A to point B. Carbon fiber frames aren't just about saving weight. The Carbon Fiber has different flexibility and damping properties t…

> I'm an engineer and a biker. If you only look at the numbers or try to run simplistic calculations, it's easy to think that bikers are just deluding themselves.

Bikes are all about diminishing returns.

If you spend $500, you get a bike that's probably twice as good as a $250 department store bike.

Spend $1000, and you get a bike that's half again as good as that $500 bike.

Drop 2 large and you get a bike that's 25% better than the $1k bike.

etc etc until you are paying $15,000 for a bike that's 0.5% better than a $10,000 bike.

We all find what part of the curve we want to participate in.

Personally, I think $4500 for a really nice looking eBike with some fantastic add-ons is a decent deal.

Re: Greg LeMond’s New 26 LB. Carbon Fiber Ebike

#184

Post by gregkerzhner »

_verandaguy wrote: post #5

Coming from conventional bikes, I don't understand who this is for. Carbon fibre frames are prohibitively expensive and the market for them serves very involved, often professional or semi-pro cyclists whose performance bottlenecks are imposed by the bike instead of themselves. Ditto for some of the other details on the bike, like the medium-dish carbon rims — all for the sake of weight savings and aerodynamics (sinc…

What’s wrong with the new 1x gearing? It’s pretty standard these days in mountain and gravel bikes. As long as the back cassette has a varied range you don’t lose too much gearing while getting the benefit of a simpler drive train, less maintenance and lower weight.

Re: Greg LeMond’s New 26 LB. Carbon Fiber Ebike

#185

Post by medium_burrito »

_verandaguy wrote: post #5

Coming from conventional bikes, I don't understand who this is for. Carbon fibre frames are prohibitively expensive and the market for them serves very involved, often professional or semi-pro cyclists whose performance bottlenecks are imposed by the bike instead of themselves. Ditto for some of the other details on the bike, like the medium-dish carbon rims — all for the sake of weight savings and aerodynamics (sinc…

Have you seen the market for bikes nowadays? All the mid 50s and 60s men I know spend at least $5k on bikes, and own several, and change them out. As less young people bike, the market has shifted entirely to the high end.

I don't get it either though- if I wanted a moped, I'd just buy a Vespa.

Re: Greg LeMond’s New 26 LB. Carbon Fiber Ebike

#186

Post by wyre »

gameswithgo wrote: post #129
mariodiana wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My understanding is that weight saved on anything that rotates has an even bigger impact, but that doesn't change what you've said. The vast majority of posers bragging about the 500 grams they've saved in parts are carrying an extra 10 pounds on their own frame.

the rotating weight thing is mostly myth, while true that rotating mass costs more to accelerate, cyclists don’t accelerate hard enough for it to amount to anything substantive. source: i did the math in excel

What do you mean by “accelerate hard enough?” Can I see your math?

Re: Greg LeMond’s New 26 LB. Carbon Fiber Ebike

#187

Post by audiometry »

semi-extrinsic wrote: post #50
_verandaguy wrote: post #5

Coming from conventional bikes, I don't understand who this is for. Carbon fibre frames are prohibitively expensive and the market for them serves very involved, often professional or semi-pro cyclists whose performance bottlenecks are imposed by the bike instead of themselves. Ditto for some of the other details on the bike, like the medium-dish carbon rims — all for the sake of weight savings and aerodynamics (sinc…

> whose performance bottlenecks are imposed by the bike instead of themselves I'm a fluid dynamics researcher, and I'll tell you the money these people spend on "aero" and "weight saving" and "higher drivetrain efficiency" stuff is 99.9% snake oil. Unless you are among the top 1000 road bike racers in the world. Increasing your exercise load by half an hour per week, or spending a little time understanding and implem…

I am involved in the distribution of very expensive bicycle components. The demand is massive. From my commercial experience, this sort of stuff has lots of similarities with other branded goods (bags, watches, designer clothes). It probably is built to a higher standard than mass-merchandise, but people buy it for more reasons than the tiny theoretical improvement in performance. I reckon more people buy a Rolex as a signaling device than because it more closely to Swiss Chronometer accuracy standards. I think the same for lots of bike stuff. Not really a value-judgement (I'm thankful for my customers) but in many cases, it's not a pure performance-per-dollar value calculation that they're making.

Re: Greg LeMond’s New 26 LB. Carbon Fiber Ebike

#189

Post by drcode »

ogre_codes wrote: post #180
_verandaguy wrote: post #5

Coming from conventional bikes, I don't understand who this is for. Carbon fibre frames are prohibitively expensive and the market for them serves very involved, often professional or semi-pro cyclists whose performance bottlenecks are imposed by the bike instead of themselves. Ditto for some of the other details on the bike, like the medium-dish carbon rims — all for the sake of weight savings and aerodynamics (sinc…

> Coming from conventional bikes, I don't understand who this is for. People who want an ebike and have a good chunk of disposable income and are willing to pay (a lot) more to have the best experience on a bike. The weight and integrated lights and non-shitty look are particularly nice next to the typical ebike offering. > Suffice it to say, you'd rarely see a commuter using a carbon bike. The first thing I thought…

It would seem foolhardy to lug a crazy-expensive, fragile carbon fiber bike up a stairwell on a regular basis. It would be easy to damage it that way.
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