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'The big problem is water': UK ebike owners plagued by failing motors

theguardian.com

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Re: 'The big problem is water': UK ebike owners plagued by failing motors

#161

Post by nox101 »

IshKebab wrote: post #155
Too wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Convenience and sense of freedom. No license required, can lend it to friends or kids. Can be parked anywhere. Can be loaded on a car, ferry and some places even the metro. Can ride them on bike lanes, the forest and the sidewalk. More approachable diy maintenance. Don't need full leather protection, just a helmet and t-shirt and you are good to go. If you are only traveling max 30km within the town, you don't need a…

> Can be parked anywhere Jesus I wouldn't park a $15k bike anywhere...

This is hard to believe but if true it's insane. The claim is, 2 million bikes are stolen in the USA every year.

https://cyclingindustry.news/bicycle-theft-surpasses-2-milli...

Re: 'The big problem is water': UK ebike owners plagued by failing motors

#162

Post by Too »

tacticalturtle wrote: post #89
lostlogin wrote: post #16

I’ve been doing a bit of (non e-bike) riding in poor weather of late, and it’s really surprising just how wet and dirty everything gets. After a wet road ride, every surface is covered in black, greasy dirt. It rots fabric, makes grinding paste in mechanical parts and generally makes everything worse. You need really good seals to keep that crap out.

I never see them in the US outside of city bike share programs, but I feel like most casual bike users would be better served by internal gear hubs and similar closed systems. The maintenance is minimal, outside of dropping some oil in every year. But for some reason, every bike in a bike shop, including the most casual upright bike, has a finicky derailleur. So instead we’re doomed to a life of misaligned derailleur…

Mountain bikers run on "finicky" derailleurs over rocks and through wet mud and sand all day. They are unbelievably reliable. With the modern 1x10 or even 1x12 systems, you get enough range to remove the front shifter, reducing maintenance even more, remove almost all sources of jumping chain and allows fitting chain guard with better coverage.

SRAM has a famous video where they lay the bike sideways and jump on the derailleur while shifting, without it bending. Admittedly that model is out of price range for most riders.

Ideally you should give the chain a quick rinse and brush of to prevent grime from accumulating. Sure, the internal gears are a bit easier in that regard, because you don't need to get into the cassette. Otherwise from a reliability standpoint they should take equal beating. The cleaning frequency depends a lot on the oil you use also, wet lube will accumulate more grime than dry.

Re: 'The big problem is water': UK ebike owners plagued by failing motors

#163

Post by miahi »

jeffbee wrote: post #71

What is going on with that guy's bike. It is like the Canyonero XL Extreme of bikes. What kind of riding is it suited to? You wouldn't pop down to the grocer in a Unimog, right?

That seems to be a modified bike, with a head tube extension plus lots of random spacers, and lots of accessories. It's probably used as a very comfortable road/gravel bike.

Re: 'The big problem is water': UK ebike owners plagued by failing motors

#164

Post by Doctor_Fegg »

Too wrote: post #162
tacticalturtle wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never see them in the US outside of city bike share programs, but I feel like most casual bike users would be better served by internal gear hubs and similar closed systems. The maintenance is minimal, outside of dropping some oil in every year. But for some reason, every bike in a bike shop, including the most casual upright bike, has a finicky derailleur. So instead we’re doomed to a life of misaligned derailleur…

Mountain bikers run on "finicky" derailleurs over rocks and through wet mud and sand all day. They are unbelievably reliable. With the modern 1x10 or even 1x12 systems, you get enough range to remove the front shifter, reducing maintenance even more, remove almost all sources of jumping chain and allows fitting chain guard with better coverage. SRAM has a famous video where they lay the bike sideways and jump on the…

> SRAM has a famous video

I presume you don’t mean the Bauke Mollema one?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Tsk3zAZyLaQ

Re: 'The big problem is water': UK ebike owners plagued by failing motors

#165

Post by callalex »

adgjlsfhk1 wrote: post #129
blacksmith_tb wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a lot of range in internally-geared hubs though, from the crazy end with the $1500 Rohloff 14sp to the $80 Sturmey-Archer 3sp. I commute on a Shimano Alfine 11sp that's ~$200 which isn't exactly "a tenner" but if you add up the price of a derailleur, cassette, chainrings, etc. I don't think it's much different?

One of the really weird things with bikes is that entry level bikes tend to be 3x7 which means that you have a lot of extra weight and complexity (a second shifter, shift cable, and front gears) for pretty much no benefit over a 1x9 system.

Well, 21 is like 12 better than 9, you see… (it’s frustrating how well stuff like that works).

Re: 'The big problem is water': UK ebike owners plagued by failing motors

#166

Post by Symbiote »

Rebelgecko wrote: post #123
secondcoming wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to ChatGPT it's not that different: > Comparison: > United Kingdom: Average wind speeds range from 13 to 19 km/h (8 to 12 mph). > Netherlands: Average wind speeds range from 15 to 20 km/h (9 to 12 mph).

Is that true?

I'd expect the UK to have slightly higher average speeds, as it's nearer the Atlantic.

Searching "Europe wins speed map" suggests it's close, with the UK slightly higher.

The speed in a typical city might be higher in the Netherlands, as large cities in Britain have a more varied setting. I don't know.

Re: 'The big problem is water': UK ebike owners plagued by failing motors

#167

Post by Too »

IshKebab wrote: post #155
Too wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Convenience and sense of freedom. No license required, can lend it to friends or kids. Can be parked anywhere. Can be loaded on a car, ferry and some places even the metro. Can ride them on bike lanes, the forest and the sidewalk. More approachable diy maintenance. Don't need full leather protection, just a helmet and t-shirt and you are good to go. If you are only traveling max 30km within the town, you don't need a…

> Can be parked anywhere Jesus I wouldn't park a $15k bike anywhere...

Anywhere, including indoors :)

Re: 'The big problem is water': UK ebike owners plagued by failing motors

#168

Post by Moru »

adgjlsfhk1 wrote: post #129
blacksmith_tb wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a lot of range in internally-geared hubs though, from the crazy end with the $1500 Rohloff 14sp to the $80 Sturmey-Archer 3sp. I commute on a Shimano Alfine 11sp that's ~$200 which isn't exactly "a tenner" but if you add up the price of a derailleur, cassette, chainrings, etc. I don't think it's much different?

One of the really weird things with bikes is that entry level bikes tend to be 3x7 which means that you have a lot of extra weight and complexity (a second shifter, shift cable, and front gears) for pretty much no benefit over a 1x9 system.

The biggest reason we use 3x8 on all our bikes is because the spare parts are cheaper than all other ratios and we can switch around as we like between all bikes and can even keep some spare parts on the shelf for when the local stores are out. The first thing to go on my bike is the deraileur though, they keep a year or so even if taken care of. They can still be used a couple of years but the shifting isn't so exact as I would like it. The sport I do is very gear-shifting intense due to lots of stopping so I guess that eats away ant that poor thing. And I do buy the cheapest ones I can find for around 10-15 euro.

Re: 'The big problem is water': UK ebike owners plagued by failing motors

#169

Post by janandonly »

hi-v-rocknroll wrote: post #29

If it's a Chinese e-bike, it's probably lying about being IPX67. OTOH, Riese & Müller $15k USD e-bikes aren't IPX anything because the Bosch components aren't. If you get it wet, just kiss that money goodbye. Absolutely bonkers.

$15K ???

I’m just checking their website. If you buy a “Culture Touring” e-bike from Riese & Müller you pay about €4K.

That is still a lot of money. But not nearly as much as $15K.

Link: https://www.r-m.de/nl/bikes/culture/

Re: 'The big problem is water': UK ebike owners plagued by failing motors

#170

Post by cujo »

nox101 wrote: post #159
ARandomerDude wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Serious question, why would a person spend that kind of money on an ebike? An entry-level motorcycle is less than half that. What benefit does the bike get you that a motorcycle doesn't? One example among many: https://powersports.honda.com/motorcycle/cruiser/rebel-500

I'm curious too when bikes became that expensive. I just recently started looking for a new bike. Every major bike brand (Specialized, Trek, Cannondale, Orbea, Canyon, Santa Cruz, etc...) all sell bikes between $4000 an $18000! That's regardless of whether they are e-bikes or non-e-bikes. When did bikes get that expensive? I bought a "brand name bike" just like 6 years ago for $900 and thought I was going way out of…

Yes they all very sell expensive bikes. They also sell less expensive bikes.

At a quick glance for road bikes: * Canyon starts at $1899 * Specialized starts at $1200 * Trek starts at $999

If you want a more upright hybrid, they can be found at lower prices.

> I bought a "brand name bike" just like 6 years ago for $900 and thought I was going way out of a normal budget.

I'm curious what you got for $900. I doubt the current iteration of that $900 bike is now being sold for many thousands.

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