"Erik Sandblom" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:C05F5106.1A177%
[email protected]...
<snip>
> I accept the low-maintenance, high-weight tradeoff. But if you put an
> electric motor on it, doesn't that require a lot of maintenance? Isn't
> this
> a high-weight, high-maintenance solution?
There is no additional maintenance reqd associated with my bikes design as a
result of having an electric motor. It's a brushless design and the
powerplant is looked upon as being a "sealed unit" It contains the bottom
bracket so there's one less set of bearings to adjust. These Panasonic bike
powerplants have an excellent reputation and other than some initial battery
charger design problems (which have since been rectified), I'm not aware of
any reliability issues.
<snip>
> Fibre schmiber. My Brompton is all steel except the aluminum handlebar.
> Hub
> dynamo, hub gears, rim brakes, hefty iron-looking rear rack, and weighs
> under 14kg. It won't run smoothly over potholes, but I don't feel that's a
> necessary or desirable design goal. If that was necessary, you could weld
> all the folds, and it would probably do potholes and still weigh 14kg.
Are you suggesting that full size, full frame bikes made of steel weigh
around 14 kg as well? If I ever want a folding bike, certainly I'll consider
one of those. I want the frame rigidity which comes with a full frame,
that's one reason why I bought the gents frame version (with top tube)
rather than the ST version of the Giant Twist.
>
>> catastrophic failure.
>
>
> I understand aluminum breaks apart like this, but it's so widespread, and
> I
> trust the manufacturer's assertion that it will most likely last for the
> service life of the bike. I don't feel this is a "stressed" or "feather
> light" bike.
It does depend on the composition of the alloy and any treatments its
undergone as to how much material displacement and or cracking or
indications occur before failure but with even the worst case scenario,
aluminium alloys are still much preferable over carbon fibre in situations
where you don't want to be surprised by a catastrophic failure. If I wanted
to take my bike on the train in the UK during peak times, only then would I
consider a foldable bike.
>
<snip>
> http://www.petrol.free.fr/ElectricShop/
>
> What do you use that bike for? No mudguards, racks, or lights. This is a
> racing bike.
Well I don't have one of those. At 4,500 Euros its far beyond my means but
it does show what's possible in terms of light weight electric bikes. As you
rightly point out it also wouldn't meet my cycling needs. It does look very
nice though - it takes an award for maximum bling factor.
Paul