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This is a very old TQ motor though, the HPR 120S is at the very least 6 years old: https://ebike-mtb.com/en/tq-hpr-120s-2020-review/
If TQ are to drop anything new in the +100Nm/1000W range, I'd expect it to be much smaller/lighter.
Prehistoric in ebike years... It would be interesting if they comes out with something new..
I generally want to know if brands have any plans to improve long-term support on their products - especially anything electronic and electric motors. Are any of them planning on building a platform with a motor that can be repaired or upgraded/replaced over time? And are they going to be locked to an app that can disappear in a few years, or do they have EOL plans that let you keep using them as long as you want once its been discontinued? Avinox seems to be doing the drop-in upgrade part of that, but long term mechanical and app support is unknown
The same thing goes for suspension and the rest of the bike - does it look like anyone is planning on developing products that get rolling updates over several years, that existing users can easily get and install? Or sharing more parts across multiple products to reduce inventory, instead of dozens of slightly different, but unique sku's? Along with releasing parts and documentation at the same time as something is launched?
Find the weirdest product and ask why???
I think there was a Vital forum topic a while back about what people wanted to see out of E-Bike development.
What you've described was a really popular concern for many, myself included. But to beat a dead horse...
Right now e-bikes are like computers, which are essentially expensive garbage after a few years of use. Maybe even worse than computers as you can at least repurpose or repair computers.
The cynical part of my mind thinks the planned obsolescence inherent to e-goods is what "the industry" has come up with to keep money flowing now that pedal bikes are to the point where they are A) Pretty durable all things considered. B ) Not that different year on year. & C) Pretty dialed
E-biking solves those issues for the industry by being. A) vulnerable to "bricking". B ) extremely different from year to year C) Getting a lot better.
I'm just a sample of 1, but it'd have to be a pretty insane deal for me to consider buying a used e-bike; AND I believe I'm not alone in this stance. This affects the product/economic life-cycle in profoundly different ways to pedal bikes. Anecdotally, there are lots of people who have no problem buying a new pedal bike because they know it'll be worth ~50% of what they paid for it in a year or two. That amortization is worth it for lots and lots of people. My perception is in the e-bike world there is a significant chance your brand new e-bike will be worth nada/zilch in a year or two.
IMO I believe new e-bike sales would INCREASE with real mechanical support in the form of service guides and spare parts availability for consumers because it'd provide a channel for the new-ebike-purchasing type to unload their rig to scrappy enthusiast types (myself included) who are fine fixing stuff if they can save a few $K.
I'd buy a used e-bike if I knew I could fix a broken motor for an acceptable cost. Right now e bike motors need warranty or replacement if the equivalent of a set of BB bearings gets worn out. This isn't that big of a problem (for the user) if it's under warranty, but it's a big problem if it's not.
Spot on
Costs more than a YZ250, but a YZ250 I can take it in the woods or on the track and thrash it to within an inch of its life. Maybe even blow it up. But if that happens Sunday I can have the parts on the way to my front door that Monday and rebuild it myself or take it to any number of shops. And those parts should be available for five years. Long enough for a reasonable amortization of the original cost.
Until e-bikes have similar I’m not interested.
Specialized has been able to this point to keep ebikes up to 10 years old going with new parts, and within usually pretty quick turnaround, so it is possible, but they're in charge of their own parts catalog for that stuff and not many others are. Hoping this becomes the standard.
The latest Tesla power wall is about 11 kwh of usable electricity.
That's about a gallon and a half of propaine run thru a cheap generator, with current ~20% efficiency.
The theoretical peak ICE => electricity generation efficiency is over 60%, with perhaps the practical limit being around 40%. It's not a matter of 40%, 50%, or 60% power density gains that batteries need. It's an entirely different paradigm.
I saw somewhere (can't remember where) that there's a full-power TQ bike coming this year...
@jeff.brines In terms of a higher level industry question, I'd love to know if (off the record), US and European bike brands view themselves as under threat by Chinese brands like Amflow and that other company whose name slips me showing off proto frames, suspension, and brakes. The vertical integration threat seems real in this thread but I wonder if the brands see it yet.
Teewing?
Stablead is the one I was thinking of.
Yet another DJI / Avinox / Amflow update (and correction) live from Sea Otter.
When I asked about the relationship between DJI, Avinox, and Amflow, I was told they are entirely separate from one another. DJI incubated the motor program and then spun it off, branding it as Avinox. Amflow started as a proof of concept and was also spun off completely from both Avinox and DJI. They were firm in their independence from one and other.
When I pointed out to the Avinox employee that we were standing in a shared tent (Amflow and Avinox were sharing Sea Otter space with no delineation between the two brands from a display perspective), the answer was something to the effect of, 'they are a big customer of ours, so we are sharing here.' - take that for what you will.
I recorded the whole thing. I'm not sure what we'll do with the content just yet, but in the vein of wanting to stay honest and correct whatever I may be getting wrong, even when there's a lot of ambiguity on the interviewee's side, I thought it best to post this ASAP. I'll share my own take at a later date.
I think they are saying they are completely separate so they don't appear to have a conflict being a motor supplier and a bike brand. I suspect the ties are much closer than they want out in the public.
I'm guessing with the uncertainty around DJI and imports to the US, I imagine they are trying to make them as legally "separate" as they can, while still having the benefits of shared technology and of course profits....
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