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

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

#91

Post by Escapade5160 »

freetime2 wrote: post #12
jasonkester wrote: post #11

If you're not familiar with this channel, do yourself a favor and watch your way through his backyard trail build videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAsuk8OndHs&list=PL5S7V5NhM8... They're so well done. Sadly, he doesn't do them anymore because Youtube's algorithm doesn't make it worth his while. Evidently, he gets the same traffic & revenue from a 10 minute video reviewing "stupid bike gadgets" into the camera…

Is it the YouTube algorithm's fault? Or viewer preferences? I think YouTube would be happy to recommend the videos to more people if more people watched them. I watch photography videos on YouTube, and camera review channels consistently have far more subscribers than channels who make content about taking photos. (Or at least they did in the past - in recent years camera tech has really matured and interesting relea…

It's in YouTube's best interest to only show users content they're interested in. Replace the word algorithm with users and you'll have a more accurate representation of how YouTube actually works. The reason those videos didn't get the love they deserved is because they're niche content, the 10 minute review videos appeal to a wider audience and therefore gain more traction.

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

#92

Post by DANmode »

thenthenthen wrote: post #41
DANmode wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I now ride a Fixie With a conversion kit? ^_^

When building my bikes I quickly found out that are no standard parts.

electro magnet hubs that go on a particular “ size wheel are pretty standard in the US now!

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

#93

Post by asimovDev »

malfist wrote: post #83
asimovDev wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

someone in the comments theorized it was at first supposed to be a full-fledged front light but the design changed and they just used whatever hardware was already there to power the logo

You don't use EL as a "full fledged front light", they don't have the lumen output and need a lot of support (high voltage) to produce what they do.

by hardware I meant the transformer to which the EL was connected.

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

#94

Post by antran22 »

nrabulinski wrote: post #43
antran22 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imagine after mowing your own lawn with a petrol-powered lawnmower, you got some shades from the neighbors for "Robbing the kids in the community a chance for some honest labor. If you don't know how to use the gardening shear, ask the kids to do it instead of using the automatic lawnmower. Would be a win-win for everybody".

Except with an automatic lawnmower you’re still doing the work yourself. In the video he literally said he left Claude overnight. He did no reverse engineering and no coding

Now instead of making the comparison with an automatic lawnmower, what would you say if I use your argument when you let a roomba vacuum your room unsupervised instead of asking the neighbor kid to sweep it a broom? This is why it is going to get real philosophical if we want to judge how lazy a person is based on the level of delegation he put on a tool.

The guy is not a software/embedded engineer. He's a bike engineer. He doesn't want to code more than needed to get his idea working. As for reverse engineering, he did plenty of it. He soldered the serial interface into the board, fired up a serial terminal, watch the output & note down the data sent through the wire for each event on the bike. Two things he used LLM for: - Work through the decompiled app & find the commands for controlling the bike - Write an app to run on the CYD.

What would be the things he would have needed to do face if he had somebody work on this project instead of Claude: - Find somebody in his close vicinity, and have him over the workshop everyday, because this project requires access to the hardware. - If he instead found somebody else with another Revo bike, they would have to collaborate really closely & replicate what each other have found to the other person's setup. All that for a vanity, 1-person project?

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

#96

Post by asimovDev »

freetime2 wrote: post #51
utopiah wrote: post #17

I don't have that model but I can very confidently say : - do NOT buy an e-bike with custom parts, no matter how "cool" it is! I bought a CowBoy years ago and honestly, it was great. Until it wasn't. Inexorably, it does not matter how good the parts are, how well designed it is, wear and tear WILL create problems. You WILL need to replace parts. If nobody but the company making the bike sell them you will get in trou…

I have been riding a Panasonic "Gyutto" [1] for about 10 years. I bought it when I had young kids, as it's designed to hold two child seats (one on the back, and one on the handle bars). Now that they've grown up I've replaced the child seats with baskets and use it for commuting every day and grocery shopping. The thing is an absolute tank - the only parts I've had replace are the tires and brake pads. And the desig…

so it's been riding on the same battery for 10 years? That's a great lifespan

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

#97

Post by malfist »

asimovDev wrote: post #93
malfist wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't use EL as a "full fledged front light", they don't have the lumen output and need a lot of support (high voltage) to produce what they do.

by hardware I meant the transformer to which the EL was connected.

The transformer is only there for the el. You'd drive the led from a transistor and the 12V supply (like Seth did here)

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

#98

Post by utopiah »

DANmode wrote: post #19
utopiah wrote: post #17

I don't have that model but I can very confidently say : - do NOT buy an e-bike with custom parts, no matter how "cool" it is! I bought a CowBoy years ago and honestly, it was great. Until it wasn't. Inexorably, it does not matter how good the parts are, how well designed it is, wear and tear WILL create problems. You WILL need to replace parts. If nobody but the company making the bike sell them you will get in trou…

> I now ride a Fixie With a conversion kit? ^_^

Ooph... I didn't even consider that! First because I didn't really want to give up on the CowBoy (I did have few problems with it after a while but manage to somehow gradually get it back, kinda, but honestly as I said, not worth it) but mostly because it's damn heavy. It's perfectly fine for an e-bike but even without the battery it's a bit of a tank.

So no, I bought an entry level single speed where you can flip the back wheel as fixed gear or just free wheel. I wasn't sure I would stick to Fixie... but it's been months now and I don't remember ever considered going back.

PS: this model https://www.decathlon.be/fr/p/velo-ville-single-speed-500-gr... for ~275€

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

#99

Post by utopiah »

kjkjadksj wrote: post #76
uproarchat wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>PS: I now ride a Fixie Fixies are the way to go. Less parts, less things to break. Very Unix-y.

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…

I'm not specifically advocating for fixies for everyone. Rather I'm saying that if you don't consider maintenance you are comfortable handling, either yourself or even delegated to others, it will inexorably come and bite back. Whatever is good for you, we all have difference preferences.

TL;DR: I'm warning against deeply problematic dependencies that only appear later on.

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

#100

Post by bdamm »

kjkjadksj wrote: post #76
uproarchat wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>PS: I now ride a Fixie Fixies are the way to go. Less parts, less things to break. Very Unix-y.

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 bike rack, one hurried toss, one oops where the bike falls over as I'm grabbing my gels from the pantry. And never mind actual crashes! Ever broken a derailleur hanger?

The fixie keeps going basically no matter what. A problem for the fixie is the kind of problem that sends me to the hospital. Which is to say, that the fixie can take a lot more abuse than I can. Does the drivetrain wear out? Sure! And it costs basically nothing to replace!

Personally I think any serious cyclist should have one. They are super fun to ride, robust, cheap to work on, and they make you stronger. What's not to like?

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