Cycling UK Forum

Looks pretty good to me, I'd have one.

However I do balk at the "competitively priced at $3,500"...

Bonefishblues wrote:Why not make that big lumpy excrescence a structural member, bolt-in, bolt-out? That would be form following function, and elegant engineering, for instance.

Charging my battery up either at home or work requires me to remove it from the bike so I'd want a battery that simply clicks in or out and I reckon I'm not alone.

kwackers wrote:

Bonefishblues wrote:Why not make that big lumpy excrescence a structural member, bolt-in, bolt-out? That would be form following function, and elegant engineering, for instance.

Charging my battery up either at home or work requires me to remove it from the bike so I'd want a battery that simply clicks in or out and I reckon I'm not alone.

So click it out of the structural member. It just needs a bit of design/engineering thought, that's all. Or sell it with one of the new Li-ion rapid chargers that are no bigger than something not very big at all if you couldn't be *rsed to bother to do that much

Cugel wrote:

Modern cyclists seem to think that a bike is a frock. They don't so much ride one as wear it, hoping for admiring glances. Thus image becomes more important than substance to the frockers.

Personally I don't mind a very functional-but-ugly thing. Eventually, one recognises a form that follows function then begins to see a different kind of beauty in that. A large steam engine is a very lumpy dirty stinking thing but many can see the beauty within one nevertheless.

Never quite thought in those terms! My 16 year old Raleigh is unlkely to draw admiring glances . But it has a steel frame, is long enough for decent panniers and we fit each other.

Bonefishblues wrote:

kwackers wrote:

Bonefishblues wrote:Why not make that big lumpy excrescence a structural member, bolt-in, bolt-out? That would be form following function, and elegant engineering, for instance.

Charging my battery up either at home or work requires me to remove it from the bike so I'd want a battery that simply clicks in or out and I reckon I'm not alone.

So click it out of the structural member. It just needs a bit of design/engineering thought, that's all. Or sell it with one of the new Li-ion rapid chargers that are no bigger than something not very big at all if you couldn't be *rsed to bother to do that much

But you're already clicking it out of the structural member, so what are you suggesting that's new?

It's not about being *rsed, it's about not having power in the bike cage at work or my bike shed at home.

kwackers wrote:

Bonefishblues wrote:

kwackers wrote:Charging my battery up either at home or work requires me to remove it from the bike so I'd want a battery that simply clicks in or out and I reckon I'm not alone.

So click it out of the structural member. It just needs a bit of design/engineering thought, that's all. Or sell it with one of the new Li-ion rapid chargers that are no bigger than something not very big at all if you couldn't be *rsed to bother to do that much

But you're already clicking it out of the structural member, so what are you suggesting that's new?

It's not about being *rsed, it's about not having power in the bike cage at work or my bike shed at home.

OK, it's a really crap idea - until somebody does indeed come up with some better thinking, and who cares enough to do just that, and cleans up. Until then I guess people will just put up with what they are given.

No, I am clicking it off the structural member on the Yamaha. What about a structural housing which is both elegant and functional, as opposed the this 'idea', such as it is?

I completely understood your point about no power where you are storing the bike - I'm talking, in light-hearted terms BTW, about a solution which takes the (relatively modest amount of) power to the bike and charges it in situ - now that would be elegant - and you could shove another Li-ion in your pocket for the longer rides, to charge at lunch stops as opposed to a lumping great battery.

I'm no engineer, but for goodness sake if that and the Giant offerings are the best we can do...

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder......

reohn2 wrote:Beauty is in the eye of the beholder......

https://www.specsavers.co.uk/stores

Bonefishblues wrote:

reohn2 wrote:Beauty is in the eye of the beholder......

https://www.specsavers.co.uk/stores

I'm not beholding to that view

Bonefishblues wrote:

PH wrote:

willcee wrote: its more subtle than the Giant Road E, which for all its fuglyness rides bloody well..suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder,

I like the look of the Giants and this Yamaha, I don't get the idea of trying to hide what it is, why do people like that? Are they trying to fool someone? Are they embarrassed by it? When I get an E-Bike, it'll look like what it is.

Because people like sleek and aesthetically pleasing.

People can like whatever they want, but it's hard to differentiate between aesthetics and convention. If we get stuck in the idea that this is what a bike should look like, and assisted bikes should look the same, it'll inhibit progress rather than advance it.

PH wrote:

Bonefishblues wrote:

PH wrote:I like the look of the Giants and this Yamaha, I don't get the idea of trying to hide what it is, why do people like that? Are they trying to fool someone? Are they embarrassed by it? When I get an E-Bike, it'll look like what it is.

Because people like sleek and aesthetically pleasing.

People can like whatever they want, but it's hard to differentiate between aesthetics and convention. If we get stuck in the idea that this is what a bike should look like, and assisted bikes should look the same, it'll inhibit progress rather than advance it.

I'm not trying to be a Luddite, but simply bolting bits on to an existing design like a Christmas Tree looks a bit rubbish, doesn't it?

Where's the radical - or evolutionary - new idea that takes us forward?

ETA
Actually, reflecting on it I'm way away from being a Luddite - I seem to be the one talking about taking this forward as opposed to finding issues at every turn

about a solution which takes the (relatively modest amount of) power to the bike and charges it in situ

The 'solution which takes the relatively modest amount of power needed' is basically a battery of about the same power as the battery the bike has ... and also sadly approximately the same weight and cost. You might get away with a slightly cheaper one as it can deliver its power at a steady relatively low level; but the total energy needed is the same.

Are the e bikes are being fitted with the best batteries available at the moment? (serious question as I don't know)

Are the e bikes are being fitted with the best batteries available at the moment? (serious question as I don't know)

I'm pretty sure the answer is basically 'yes', insofar as 'best' is precise. There are lots of tradeoffs of price, capacity, max rate it can deliver (both peak and consistently), longevity, weight, safety, charge time, and so on. In some situations lead acid might still be the best option, and some bikes use cheaper lithium ones that are a bit heavier (I forget the details). Lots of info on the web of course, e.g. see http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?batteries
Also see pedelecs (https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/forums ... cussion.2/ etc)

Even within a technology there is quite a bit of variation. Some people have been burnt (both metaphorically and literally) by buying cheap batteries that don't last.

Someone is trying harder, along the lines I was imagining:

https://fazua.com/en/