18
Teleport Comes Across As the Kind of E-Bike We Definitely Want, but There's a Big Catch
(www.autoevolution.com)
this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2023
18 points (100.0% liked)
micromobility - Ebikes, scooters, longboards: Whatever floats your goat, this is micromobility
2309 readers
116 users here now
Ebikes, bicycles, scooters, skateboards, longboards, eboards, motorcycles, skates, unicycles: Whatever floats your goat, this is all things micromobility!
"Transportation using lightweight vehicles such as bicycles or scooters, especially electric ones that may be borrowed as part of a self-service rental program in which people rent vehicles for short-term use within a town or city.
micromobility is seen as a potential solution to moving people more efficiently around cities"
Feel free to also check out
It's a little sad that we need to actually say this, but:
Don't be an asshole or you will be permanently banned.
Respectful debate is totally OK, criticizing a product is fine, but being verbally abusive will not be tolerated.
Focus on discussing the idea, not attacking the person.
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
The greatest complaint I've seen in the ebike space is repairs and maintenance. Specifically, many of these new bikes use nonstandard components requiring specialized tools and trained techs. It's not a bike you can bring to your average bike shop to get serviced. This article failed to mention anything about this important consideration apart from a bit about the drivetrain.
I was a buyer for a chain of 3 shops before the e-bike craze took off, but still have some friends working in local shops. No one wants to work on other brands' stuff. There are too many people coming in with problems they don't understand, just to have stuff like controller or motor failures and the shop gets stuck in the middle.
Most shops are hobby businesses that barely break even in the best case scenario. The only part of a shop that keeps the doors open is service. These kinds of major time sucks are what will put a shop under very quickly. The lack of standardization is criminal exploitation that hurts everyone. Proprietary means theft of ownership in every instance. You never own proprietary products; they own you.
That deserves to be repeated (and not just in the context of e-bikes!).