Bi-Weekly Ebike specific Youtube Video AMAs (with a Watt Wagons bias)

[pushkar]

Hey everyone.

As we drive up our production in the coming weeks, we have a multitude of questions about our bikes, wattages, controllers, "what ifs", "can you's", "How Do Is" etc. I have been spending on an average 1-2 hours every day on the phone with people (current customers and prospect customers) and I am not sure if that level of personal interaction will scale as we grow.

I try to post and reply actively on the forum and the community here is extremely helpful. People call me every day with the helpful suggestions they get here. I anticipate a bigger inflow of ebiking enthusiasts / beginners who would feel more comfortable asking a question on the phone or a video than on the forum. This will not only help me free up some time but will also memorialize the responses so people can refer to.

To that end I would like to do a bi-weekly video (youtube live) AMA specific to ebikes where I can answer ebike specific questions over and above what WW does. It will likely have a Watt Wagons bias but I will try to be as objective as I can. I would also like to share the state of ebikes / manuffacturing/ etc on an ongoing basis as and when they occur.

Question - is the weekend a better schedule to host this? We will of course push the event on YT, FB, EBR, etc etc.. but wanted to get some feedback.

 

[onlineaddy]

This will not only help me free up some time but will also memorialize the responses so people can refer to.

To that end I would imagine a FAQ would be more effective as a way to archive people's questions and your answers. Don't get me wrong, I love me some videos--I'm on YouTube way more than I should. However, unless you later timestamp the various topics in your video, it may be difficult for viewers to get to a specific question/answer without watching the entire video.

 

[pushkar]

Excellent idea. Absolutely. timestamping etc is essential. I havent done that on my videos yet but that is the goal here as well.

Will help us build FAQs as well.

 

[BruceBrown]

To that end I would imagine a FAQ would be more effective as a way to archive people's questions and your answers. Don't get me wrong, I love me some videos--I'm on YouTube way more than I should. However, unless you later timestamp the various topics in your video, it may be difficult for viewers to get to a specific question/answer without watching the entire video.

I completely agree with this. I hate it when I have to scroll through an entire video, some of which can be really long, to find the answer I'm looking for.

I think another great way to handle this, especially because providing an answer with a bike or a part in your hand does work so well with video, is to create the video and add the list of FAQ's you addressed and the time stamp for each of them.

 

[AdilDesai]

Love the idea, @pushkar, but this strikes me as a lot (A LOT) of work. FAQ's would be easier, I suspect, and you could link to some threads here (or elsewhere) so that others might get a sense of the debate/nuances of certain questions.

However, to answer your question, I suspect a weekday evening might gain the most viewership.

 

[Bluzrif]

I think the market likes a video and you come across well in the videos I've seen. Having said that I'd be careful with managing expectations.. Dropping a sporadic video is excellent ... Not dropping a scheduled video, not so much..
UPOD.... works every time!

 

[opimax]

Video bad, written FAQS good ....old person thought lol

i am thinking I am waiting on email from you for config info???

 

[Deacon Blues]

@pushkar, may I suggest that your first video be on the step-through Helios you're in the process of building/painting.

 

[scrambler]

Technical questions with a precise/concise answer > FAQ
More philosophical, usage, future, complex answer questions > Could be nicely done in the video

 

[Cummins]

I agree with scrambler - It depends on what questions you’re trying to field, Pushkar.

For people new to WW, I can almost guarantee they will be looking for answers on the website -at least initially. I think a bit more clarity on the website would relieve some repetitive questions and also improve your purchase funnel. For instance, the description on Helios talks about the old titanium frame. And I’m not seeing info on things like bike weight or range, although I could have missed it. I dig the FAQ section for the Hydra though

If you’re getting caught up with in-depth questions from current customers and people on this forum, I’d reckon live videos would provide value, both by saving time on your end and by providing information (and entertainment? ) to us WW fanatics.

As far as weekday vs weekend, I would keep time zones in mind for live stuff. On weekdays, most people on the West Coast will just be leaving work at the same time the East Coast is heading to bed. Although there might be a perfect one hour slot in there that would suit a good chunk people. Watt Wagon Wednesdays, anyone? 9:30pm EST?

Could you do me a favor though - don’t use Facebook Live as the platform because I’m not on there.

 

[reed scott]

I agree with scrambler - It depends on what questions you’re trying to field, Pushkar.

For people new to WW, I can almost guarantee they will be looking for answers on the website -at least initially. I think a bit more clarity on the website would relieve some repetitive questions and also improve your purchase funnel. For instance, the description on Helios talks about the old titanium frame. And I’m not seeing info on things like bike weight or range, although I could have missed it. I dig the FAQ section for the Hydra though

If you’re getting caught up with in-depth questions from current customers and people on this forum, I’d reckon live videos would provide value, both by saving time on your end and by providing information (and entertainment? ) to us WW fanatics.

As far as weekday vs weekend, I would keep time zones in mind for live stuff. On weekdays, most people on the West Coast will just be leaving work at the same time the East Coast is heading to bed. Although there might be a perfect one hour slot in there that would suit a good chunk people. Watt Wagon Wednesdays, anyone? 9:30pm EST?

Could you do me a favor though - don’t use Facebook Live as the platform because I’m not on there.

Yes. Screw Fake Book.

 

[onlineaddy]

YouTube Live scheduled for Wednesday, Feb 3, 4pm, which I assume is my local time (Pacific).

 

[pushkar]

All,
Due to an unexpected tech glitch we are unable to do the Video AMA tomorrow. Our channel and content was unfortunately lost due to an account move / change (trying to convert to a brand account). We have all our content and we are uploading it, however the channel is not fully activated yet.

We will push this to next Wednesday. We are also setting up a non FB signup system - so we can cater to a broader audience.

Apologies for this. Just unexpected development.

 

[Cummins]

No worries Pushkar! You’re a busy guy. We appreciate all you give to the community.

 

[Acme]

I tried to watch some videos last night and it said no longer available. I was wondering what happened.

 

[BruceBrown]

I was watching tonight’s AMA and got about halfway through and now it appears to be gone?

 

[pushkar]

I was watching tonight’s AMA and got about halfway through and now it appears to be gone?

Annotating it and uploading it. Give us a few minutes please.

 

[pushkar]

Just uploaded with questions and time stamps.

 

[Acme]

Hi Pushkar, just watched the whole video. Great job, very informative. I’m sure you pleased a lot of people.
keep up the good work
Gary

 

[Masejoer]

Saw the video - not sure some answers were correct, or perhaps incomplete.

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You mention higher Voltage isn't needed, or imply that it's pointless. Then minutes later you mention that speed is limited by gear ratio and Wattage. I assume the answer was disingenuous, or maybe just too oversimplified.

For others - gearing helps multiply torque, but each gear's use is limited by the power plant's rpm limit or other mechanical limits. With the controllers being used in ebikes (not boosting Voltage), battery Voltage can limit how fast the controller can spin the motor, requiring a gear-change to lower the rpm back down - this loses torque. If you had a 72V battery instead of a 48V battery, you could theoretically spin the same motor 50% faster, keeping more of that higher (lower numerical) gear multiplication in play before requiring a shift. Re-phrased, a higher Voltage battery pack can allow a higher speed in all gears, and with a mid-drive as long as you can either keep up with the cadence, or go throttle-only to spin the crank higher than humanly possible, the higher Voltage pack could give you a couple mph max top speed in all situations, depending on the spacing of the gears. This is far more noticeable if you were to go downhill, as you become rpm-limited rather than drag/power-limited. This is the same reason racers build higher-rpm and higher-geared cars - get more torque to the ground for more rapid acceleration, staying in the lower gears for longer, and more easily fight drag at higher speeds.

Not that we need people going 40mph on an ebike The speed advantage is also noticeable uphill, being able to stay a couple gears down lower while the motor spins away. This can be a 20% speed difference while bogged down in the 10-15mph range (for more widely-spaced derailleurs - I doubt the gain is as large on the 14-speed IGH).

Of course people experience this themselves with a normal bike - you can only pedal so fast, before you need to up-shift. If you hit a hill, you need to downshift to get more torque multiplication at the wheel. Try limiting pedaling to 60rpm and go for a ride, then do the same but limit pedaling to 90rpm; the 90rpm test will have a higher top speed, and likely be a gear lower.

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Throttle - no/little ramp up causing drivetrain shock. The controller can be designed to easily control ramp rate though. Just don't give that full power immediately, even if commanded, and ideally have shift-detection to prevent banging gears. Maybe if a person is already going 25mph, give them a more aggressive ramp rate. More feedback from sensors would be nice, but you can get by with just speed. I'd hope the electronic Rohloff shifter in the future would provide better feedback here also, and maybe ease more power in as the speed increases. This is how some fuel and timing tables work in one of my cars.

I still don't understand restricting throttle at higher speeds. Perhaps you're thinking someone may be in a lower-numerical gear at 20mph, and throttling away (legal limit for this on the street). At any speed I can't imagine the throttle being any different than a person ghost-pedaling, other than you have a cadence sensor to help identify what gear they may be in? If so, then what would be the minimum cadence that the controller will allow more than 750W? Is it limited by combination of cadence + speed?