Yadea is coming to the Western market • Hacker News Board

Re: Yadea is coming to the Western market

#51

Post by hnav » Thu, Dec 11, 2025, 2:11 AM UTC

alistairSH wrote: post #38

hnav wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With bicycles weight and refinement is a huge issue so to get something nice you do have to use more premium materials and production techniques. If you forego low weight and refinement, there are plenty of Alibaba specials both in kit and kickstarter brand form, but if you want a 40lb middrive with 300-400w of power, 0.3-0.4kwh and a natural feeling torque sensing control, you need to open you wallet to the tune of…

My Vespa Sprint 150 gets ~100mpg around town. It cost ~$5000, much of which is a brand premium. 150cc scooters from other brands (Genuine, etc) are much less.

right, EV city scooters are arguably already doable, modulo annoying charging, since in places where you'd feel compelled to ride a scooter you'd be less likely to have dedicating parking with charging for it. Motorcycles though require more range to be useful, it's pretty typical to fill up at least once on every ride.

Re: Yadea is coming to the Western market

#52

Post by secstate » Thu, Dec 11, 2025, 2:23 AM UTC

willio58 wrote: post #28

0cf8612b2e1e wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My quick searching is finding that 3% of US vehicles are motorcycles. Sure, more competition is good, but given their safety profile (terrible!) I suspect motorcycles are a secondary mode of transportation rather than a primary. Mopeds for intra city usage seems more high demand than highway speed vehicles that have to drive alongside SUVs.

> but given their safety profile (terrible!) I feel like there's kind of a cycle of unsafety with motorcycles on the social level in the U.S. There's a societal understanding in the U.S. that motorcycles are unsafe, which results in an increased number of people purchasing motorcycles with the intention of showing off how unsafe (dangerous) they can be. And the cycle perpetuates. Obviously, motorcycles are inherently…

I suspect at least part of this has to do with the fact that, relative to four wheeled vehicles, you can buy "impressive" motorcycles for relatively little cash compared to say, buying a truly performant sports car. Combine this low cost with an unrelentingly social pressure to show off, mix in one part social media and two parts a belief that you are invincible and I believe you'll have your cocktail of poor outcomes on fast two-wheeled vehicles.

Re: Yadea is coming to the Western market

#53

Post by lakid » Thu, Dec 11, 2025, 3:38 AM UTC

imglorp wrote: post #7

The US desperately needs some competition in the EV motorcycle space. There are several players but they still seem boutique and and way over what the price should be.

An aussie player slowly building https://www.savicmotorcycles.com/

Re: Yadea is coming to the Western market

#54

Post by ElijahLynn » Thu, Dec 11, 2025, 4:58 AM UTC

> So far, there’s no word on a potential US entry.

Re: Yadea is coming to the Western market

#55

Post by Retric » Thu, Dec 11, 2025, 5:41 AM UTC

baseballdork wrote: post #33

Retric wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ICE engines lose power when changing gears, so they aren’t strictly grip limited.

Sure, but when you can get to 90mph in first gear, does that matter?

Little point to owning a bike like that if you only ever go to 90mph. Transmissions with correctly calibrated gear ratios to the normal use case are useful things for ICE engines.

Re: Yadea is coming to the Western market

#56

Post by euroderf » Thu, Dec 11, 2025, 5:48 AM UTC

secstate wrote: post #52

willio58 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but given their safety profile (terrible!) I feel like there's kind of a cycle of unsafety with motorcycles on the social level in the U.S. There's a societal understanding in the U.S. that motorcycles are unsafe, which results in an increased number of people purchasing motorcycles with the intention of showing off how unsafe (dangerous) they can be. And the cycle perpetuates. Obviously, motorcycles are inherently…

I suspect at least part of this has to do with the fact that, relative to four wheeled vehicles, you can buy "impressive" motorcycles for relatively little cash compared to say, buying a truly performant sports car. Combine this low cost with an unrelentingly social pressure to show off, mix in one part social media and two parts a belief that you are invincible and I believe you'll have your cocktail of poor outcome…

But also, car drivers have this unfortunate tendency "to not see" motorcycles. Technical means like headlight interrupters can improve noticeability but are prohibited in some jurisdictions.

Re: Yadea is coming to the Western market

#57

Post by euroderf » Thu, Dec 11, 2025, 5:50 AM UTC

alistairSH wrote: post #38

hnav wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With bicycles weight and refinement is a huge issue so to get something nice you do have to use more premium materials and production techniques. If you forego low weight and refinement, there are plenty of Alibaba specials both in kit and kickstarter brand form, but if you want a 40lb middrive with 300-400w of power, 0.3-0.4kwh and a natural feeling torque sensing control, you need to open you wallet to the tune of…

My Vespa Sprint 150 gets ~100mpg around town. It cost ~$5000, much of which is a brand premium. 150cc scooters from other brands (Genuine, etc) are much less.

How realistic timewise is plugging e-bikes into plain old wall power ? Is it any improvement over trying to charge a e-car from wall power (i.e. all-night plus) ?

Re: Yadea is coming to the Western market

#58

Post by kevin061 » Thu, Dec 11, 2025, 5:54 AM UTC

tigranbs wrote: post #9

EV motorcycles are a huge struggle! I have been riding motorcycles pretty much my whole adult life, but after trying electric bikes a few times while in the EU, I felt they were like toys. Honestly, how can you ride a motorcycle that sounds like a kitchen blender? FYI: I understand they are more efficient and faster, but a motorcycle is not about efficiency; it's more about a hobby, fun. In the EU market, it is mostl…

I like when my vehicles take me from A to B safely. If they are also quiet, offer a smooth ride, and are easy to refill/recharge, then even better.

Re: Yadea is coming to the Western market

#59

Post by yanhangyhy » Thu, Dec 11, 2025, 5:56 AM UTC

When I was traveling in UAE, I was shocked to see some people actually using bicycles for food delivery. In China, electric motorcycle support the extremely large food delivery market, and in most cities, the streets are lined with delivery riders’ e-motorcycle and bicycles. Later, I heard that China’s Meituan has also started food delivery services in Dubai. I expect this model to expand to global markets as electric motorcycle become more widespread.

Re: Yadea is coming to the Western market

#60

Post by logicchains » Thu, Dec 11, 2025, 5:59 AM UTC

yanhangyhy wrote: post #59

When I was traveling in UAE, I was shocked to see some people actually using bicycles for food delivery. In China, electric motorcycle support the extremely large food delivery market, and in most cities, the streets are lined with delivery riders’ e-motorcycle and bicycles. Later, I heard that China’s Meituan has also started food delivery services in Dubai. I expect this model to expand to global markets as electri…

>When I was traveling in UAE, I was shocked to see some people actually using bicycles for food delivery.

Many of those delivery workers are much poorer than even Chinese delivery workers, so are less able to afford ebikes. Because they come from countries with significantly lower GDP per capita than China.