The email announcing the update that I received, (the fist time I’ve ever received any notice) said that there could be a charge for the update. One dealer I went to said they’d charge $20 US. The dealer I went to included the update in an annual service job.
I hadn’t considered the challenges of updates for the technology challenged. While I believe the concern may be overblown, you’re right to point out that neither the bike shop mechanics nor the typical user may be capable of dealing with problems during an update. And a failed update would probably brick the bike.
I think that this opinion is logical. I was initially stunned at the fee but will likely and reluctantly proceed.
I think the issue is "who pays for it". If the bike manufacturer requires a bike shop to do it, then there is a case to be made for the manufacturer covering the bike shop's fee. But no one should be demanding that a bike shop do a service for free. If you are consuming their time and effort to solve your problem, they should be compensated for their time.
Eh, except this general pattern has been mostly worked through for ages in other devices.
Having worked as a mechanic forever ago, and ~100 cars later with very very few 'send it to the shop' moments, I can both relate to both sides (although moreso on the employee side), as well as say - sure, and the record industry really didn't want digital music, etc. Time to get realistic instead of expecting endless 'free money' for relatively simple things that have been solved elsewhere. I'd also say cars are a bit more complex than ebikes, making ebike motor + controller much closer to typical simple tech devices - thankfully we don't call a Phillips technician or Cisco when we update our smart lights or routers, modems, smart phones, etc.
