@meganL asks:
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@meganL asks:
Q6. What are the issues you've experienced or heard about that you think need to be solved/addressed in the current semi-Wild West state of e-cycle manufacturing, sales, and repair right now?
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@ascentale @meganL A6. Standardizing on motor shapes I think is most important. Electronics are easy to replicate in any form factor, but how things mount is more difficult.
Software is a big abyss as well: everyone wants to make things incompatible with competitors and will send cease and desists over reverse engineered solutions for breaking DRM. Fuck DRM and IP in general at this point.
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Sam Whitedreplied to edd last edited by [email protected]
@edd @ascentale @meganL @artemesia this is my biggest gripe about e-bikes and one of the reasons I don't really want to get a mid-drive one even though I prefer them to hub drive.
There may be a ton of annoying bottom bracket standards, but if I'm building a frame or creating a new bottom bracket I can pretty much use any of them I want. But with e-bikes every single motor mount is proprietary and even if I can get a motor cage for a specific type I'll probably get sued for using it.
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@edd @ascentale @meganL @artemesia *some* of the manufacturers provide guarantees for how long they'll make parts (ie. Bosch says 6 years after they come out with a new part they'll still make replacements for the old motors), but others (like Bafang, IIRC) don't, so their "innovation" just winds up with a bunch of bikes in the land fill the moment the motor stops working. Drives me up the wall.