I hacked into the worst e-bike and fixed it [video] • Hacker News Board

Re: I hacked into the worst e-bike and fixed it [video]

#101

Post by BizarroLand » Wed, Jun 17, 2026, 8:41 PM UTC

radiorental wrote: post #74

lokar wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do they give you the data to know? I assumed he meant that impressions had gone way down so people are not even seeing it (and why everyone begs you to subscribe and hit the bell). Of course impressions could be restricted because people stop watching after 20 seconds.

Another once great channel (the loam ranger) did a deep dive into the phenomenon of why mountain bike youtubers were struggling with the old format. Its nuanced, part safety, partly that its a tonne of work to produce good content when you can simply switch to fluff pieces like Berm Peak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNiCtWoGonw "The Algorithm" doesn't reward hard work, imho part of the math is our short attention…

"Short Attention Spans" is the "fast food" of the mind.

They made an inexhaustible supply of content that induces dopamine, monetized it, and they demonize it as well, claiming they are innocent because if we didn't want it we wouldn't use it.

Yeah, and drug dealers wouldn't sell drugs if people didn't want them either.

It is evil, but shiny in a way that makes it not seem so.

Re: I hacked into the worst e-bike and fixed it [video]

#102

Post by BizarroLand » Wed, Jun 17, 2026, 8:44 PM UTC

shrx wrote: post #95

I was disappointed that he did not actually fix the two biggest safety issues with the bike: the runaway triggering positive feedback loop when walking the bike, and the backward-extending kick stand.

I would leave stuff like that to an engineer and not some dude that fiddles with bikes on youtube.

Re: I hacked into the worst e-bike and fixed it [video]

#103

Post by jonplackett » Wed, Jun 17, 2026, 10:40 PM UTC

seb1204 wrote: post #34

jonplackett wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m gonna say it’s YouTube. They are obsessed with pushing short form shit videos to me despite me never wanting to watch them. I hate YouTube shorts so much

I'm with you on not liking shorts. I read there is a new option to limit time spent in shorts, if you set that to 0 they do go away. Have not tested it.

Where is this setting?

Re: I hacked into the worst e-bike and fixed it [video]

#104

Post by kjkjadksj » Thu, Jun 18, 2026, 5:21 PM UTC

bdamm wrote: post #100

kjkjadksj wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All the fixie bros say this but my road bike takes basically no maintenance at all. Even when it does, adjusting the derailleurs is a 5 second task with a small Phillips head. Relubing the chain takes 2 minutes. Brakes only needed adjusting when the brake lines were brand new and still stretching and this was also maybe a 30 second task. Rest of maintenance you’d have to do like bb, repacking hub or steerer grease, e…

You do you. I have a fast and light road fixie, and I have a nice carbon fiber road bike. Do I ride my road bike in fondos? Yes. Do I ride my road bike around town and for training? Mostly, no. Why? Never in my entire life have I ridden a flawless bicycle. Inevitably, small imperfections in the drive train creep in. A flawless bicycle isn't flawless for more than a few hundred miles. All it takes is one whack on a bi…

8 speed parts that I use are dirt cheap and robust. Thicker chains, thicker cogs. Never broke a derailleur. Yes I park in racks. I looked on ebay and I can get another rear derailleur for like $20. And the mechanical advantages for gearing are so nice. I benefit from that every time I ride. Versus whatever fixie benefit comes from worst case scenario. If my bike was truly wrecked I’d just hop on a bus.

Re: I hacked into the worst e-bike and fixed it [video]

#105

Post by utopiah » Thu, Jun 18, 2026, 7:37 PM UTC

kjkjadksj wrote: post #104

bdamm wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You do you. I have a fast and light road fixie, and I have a nice carbon fiber road bike. Do I ride my road bike in fondos? Yes. Do I ride my road bike around town and for training? Mostly, no. Why? Never in my entire life have I ridden a flawless bicycle. Inevitably, small imperfections in the drive train creep in. A flawless bicycle isn't flawless for more than a few hundred miles. All it takes is one whack on a bi…

8 speed parts that I use are dirt cheap and robust. Thicker chains, thicker cogs. Never broke a derailleur. Yes I park in racks. I looked on ebay and I can get another rear derailleur for like $20. And the mechanical advantages for gearing are so nice. I benefit from that every time I ride. Versus whatever fixie benefit comes from worst case scenario. If my bike was truly wrecked I’d just hop on a bus.

You and the person you are replying to are both using dimensions (price, fun, maintenance, availability of public transport, physical health) that are important yet apparently the other one does not value.

Re: I hacked into the worst e-bike and fixed it [video]

#106

Post by bdamm » Fri, Jun 19, 2026, 5:59 PM UTC

kjkjadksj wrote: post #104

bdamm wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You do you. I have a fast and light road fixie, and I have a nice carbon fiber road bike. Do I ride my road bike in fondos? Yes. Do I ride my road bike around town and for training? Mostly, no. Why? Never in my entire life have I ridden a flawless bicycle. Inevitably, small imperfections in the drive train creep in. A flawless bicycle isn't flawless for more than a few hundred miles. All it takes is one whack on a bi…

8 speed parts that I use are dirt cheap and robust. Thicker chains, thicker cogs. Never broke a derailleur. Yes I park in racks. I looked on ebay and I can get another rear derailleur for like $20. And the mechanical advantages for gearing are so nice. I benefit from that every time I ride. Versus whatever fixie benefit comes from worst case scenario. If my bike was truly wrecked I’d just hop on a bus.

Ah, the fixie benefit is in every stroke, especially the ones where I'm slowing down with my legs and doing whatever else I want to be doing with my hands that doesn't involve the brakes. I wish I could transmit to you the pure zen-like joy that I experience when riding the fixie. It is not "worse case" anything. It is absolutely a wonderful experience and I will never, ever, give it up.