Not asking, just making a point.

[Stefan Mikes]

I try really hard to NOT void warranties. My bike had a one year warranty. At about eight months in, I upgraded my controller, then added lights and I just can’t stop. I love my bike. Which is really the point. Love your bike. Whichever bike. Make it yours, you bought it!

If you bought, say, a Specialized e-bike, it has 2 years warranty on the e-bike, and a lifetime warranty on the frame (I have successfully used it for my formerly Vado 5.0, which is now a Vado 6.0), you would not need to "upgrade the controller". You would not need to "add lights". Are you getting my point now?

 

[PDoz]

If you bought, say, a Specialized e-bike, it has 2 years warranty on the e-bike, and a lifetime warranty on the frame (I have successfully used it for my formerly Vado 5.0, which is now a Vado 6.0), you would not need to "upgrade the controller". You would not need to "add lights". Are you getting my point now?

Sure , but you are 4 months out of warranty and the fun is about to start. Have you connected it to the shops really expensive multi meter replacement recently? Do some research on error code ?$@% V15A . There's some interesting theories out there about how they developed the algorithm.

Just in case you come back to check the spelling of that error code , it translates as #5Atyre

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Sure , but you are 4 months out of warranty and the fun is about to start. Have you connected it to the shops really expensive multi meter replacement recently? Do some research on error code ?$@% V15A . There's some interesting theories out there about how they developed the algorithm.

Just in case you come back to check the spelling of that error code , it translates as #5Atyre

I really can't understand what you are saying. My e-bikes work flawlessly.

 

[PDoz]

I really can't understand what you are saying. My e-bikes work flawlessly.

Everything eventually fails / wears out. When ( not if) your specialized develops an electrical issue, it will need connecting to the shops computer ( not just a multimeter) and the bill may expand to match your financial resources.

As an example, the mahle 1.1 is now an obsolete short run motor. Eventually, it's going to fail. You will be out of warranty and may find yourself deciding between a new bike , or perhaps going for a mahle 1.2 but that means new cranks / bash plate / possibly controller..... At the moment, you can still buy mahle 1.1 parts directly , but how long will it be cost effective for them to continue stocking them?

I love my specialized, but am realistic that once the motor is out of warranty I'm living on borrowed time.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Everything eventually fails / wears out. When ( not if) your specialized develops an electrical issue, it will need connecting to the shops computer ( not just a multimeter) and the bill may expand to match your financial resources.

As an example, the mahle 1.1 is now an obsolete short run motor. Eventually, it's going to fail. You will be out of warranty and may find yourself deciding between a new bike , or perhaps going for a mahle 1.2 but that means new cranks / bash plate / possibly controller..... At the moment, you can still buy mahle 1.1 parts directly , but how long will it be cost effective for them to continue stocking them?

I love my specialized, but am realistic that once the motor is out of warranty I'm living on borrowed time.

Would you believe my big Vado was produced in 2017, bought 4 years ago, and now we are in 2023?

The only major cost I had to bear was a new motor for US$1,000 (I could probably repair the broken motor instead), and the rest was covered by Specialized warranties. To make it easier for you, I bought that e-bike with 30% discount in October 2019.

Always a pessimist? Because I ride on and let others worry

 

[PedalUma]

I just serviced an internal hub of gears. Now is the part with aligning the yellow dots and I can't get it on! I got the bike for $100 and am doing $400 in improvements plus the conversion. What is cool is that the carbon that went into making it will now get pushed forward.

 

[PCeBiker]

Me too, but then my time is worth $15,000/hour.

I'm lucky if my time is worth $15/hr.

I spent a lot of time researching and messing around with stuff on my e-bike.
I spent a lot of time thinking about stuff too, especially after smoking a Vado.

I do pay myself to think though.

Come to think of it, I'm only paying myself about five bucks and hour.



EDIT:
I started thinking about getting an e-bike just over a year ago.
It's been just over 9000 hours since then.
That works out to about $3.30/hr.

It is true though,..
I have been sleeping, eating, drinking, dreaming, and spending on my e-bike ever since.

 

[PCeBiker]

Sounds expensive, at first. The Pro plan would be great, because you’ll have issues taken care of before they actually become an issue (in theroy). The real bummer is when a repair has your bike out for multiple days or you wait for parts.

I knew a guy that worked at dealership.

A guy came in that had something that was about to go wrong with his car, so he wrote it up.
The manager saw the paperwork and said No.

The car was just about to go out of warranty, and the dealership makes more money for out of warranty work.

He decided to tell the customer about the problem with his car anyway and he was fired from his job.



I had a friend that was working at either a Lexus or Acura dealership back in the 90's.

He was spiking the windshield washer fluid with 100% ethanol from a 4 liter jug.
(The washer fluid was rated to -40°C but it freezes up at that temperature and makes slush on the windshield.)

He was pouring the ethanol with one hand while smoking a cigarette with the other.
An ash fell down into the jug and caught on fire. The fire was running up his sleeve.

Instead of dropping everything and running, he grabbed the jug and ran to the middle of the garage floor SCREAMING so that he didn't set the VERY Expensive car on fire.
Or the whole damn dealership for that matter.

Others came running in, saw my freind on and hosed him down good with fire extinguishers.


He didn't lose his job.
He got kudos for not burning a very expensive car.
He was eventually fired though.
He was kind of a liability.

 

[Slaphappygamer]

It’s amazing, the lengths companies will go through to make a profit.

 

[PDoz]

Would you believe my big Vado was produced in 2017, bought 4 years ago, and now we are in 2023?


The only major cost I had to bear was a new motor for US$1,000 (I could probably repair the broken motor instead), and the rest was covered by Specialized warranties. To make it easier for you, I bought that e-bike with 30% discount in October 2019.

Always a pessimist? Because I ride on and let others worry

That's exactly the economics I'm talking about.

You're 2 years out of warranty, replaced the motor yourself for $1 k US but presumably that's about to run out of warranty again?

I appreciate the warranty on my specialized, but I'm realistic about the economics - there comes a point where it's not worth spending $1 k us every 2 years on a motor / waiting for parts / breaking down out the back of central inconvenience etc etc

 

[Stefan Mikes]

$1 k us every 2 years on a motor

Every 3 years. If the motor broke within two years, it would be replaced on the rolling warranty.

 

[6zfshdb]

I Don't care what other ebikers ride on our pathways. Sheesh there are even E Unicycles ridden by young kids fully armored traveling 50 mph.
Good things about our multimodal pathways is everybody riding two wheels (no motorcycles) or one wheel is welcomed.

How about this one:

10M views · 42K reactions | Passing Joggers in My Motorized Porta Potty 😂 | Passing Joggers in My Motorized Porta Potty.. | By RossCreations | Facebook

Passing Joggers in My Motorized Porta Potty..

www.facebook.com

 

[PedalUma]

That will get even longer ride times than those padded shorts.

 

[Kayakguy]

I think Einstein was just naturally WAY outside the box. Had to have been to come up with his famous trilogy of ground-shattering papers in 1905 and then publish general relativity in 1915.

The 1905 paper on Brownian motion proved the existence of atoms — which was by no means settled science then. The 1905 paper on the photoelectric effect put fledgling quantum theory on firm ground for the first time. And the 1905 paper introducing special relativity blew everyone's mind. Then he did it again in 1915.

No scientist before or since has had a year like Einstein's 1905. Today, quantum and relativity theory stand confirmed to at least 9 significant digits.

I' ve long been a deep skeptic regarding eugenics (the idea that low IQ people should be discouraged from breeding, while high IQ people should be encouraged). If eugenics is valid, how many of Einstein's kids were geniuses? How many of Sagan's? How many of Newton's? Unlike breeding chickens for maximum egg laying, humans are too complex to try breeding for mental superiority. I taught high school English in a college town, and had many offspring of professors who were just ordinary. Nice enough kids, but really, just ordinary. I think some of those kids were resentful of their parents' high expectations. Oops! off topic, sorry.

 

[Kayakguy]

I think Einstein was just naturally WAY outside the box. Had to have been to come up with his famous trilogy of ground-shattering papers in 1905 and then publish general relativity in 1915.

The 1905 paper on Brownian motion proved the existence of atoms — which was by no means settled science then. The 1905 paper on the photoelectric effect put fledgling quantum theory on firm ground for the first time. And the 1905 paper introducing special relativity blew everyone's mind. Then he did it again in 1915.

No scientist before or since has had a year like Einstein's 1905. Today, quantum and relativity theory stand confirmed to at least 9 significant digits.

And the paper on the photoelectric effect is I believe what won him the Nobel prize.

 

[Kayakguy]

All good points. By no means should anyone bike or drive or even walk while impaired.

My usual dose of 2.5 mg leaves me functional but looking at things through a slightly different lens that I find quite valuable. Kinda like stopping for a single beer on a ride or after work. I think most people can do that unimpaired as well.

The one time I walked impaired (and I had not driven for this express eventuality), I had two pints of a triple IPA that was the smoothest, best tasking beer I've ever had (and I stupidly didn't bother to find out who the brewer was). To get home I only had to stagger and weave about 3 or 4 blocks through back alleys, but I realized I could have earned a ticket for WUI (walking under the influence). This is not a practice that I do often. In fact, rarely. But I do love living in a town where there are several brewpubs within walking distance--and 13 altogether.

 

[kevinmccune]

The "ignore" button is a wonderful thing . That said, no one here has ever insulted my $1600 (at the time - the price has since gone up, but it's on sale now for $1200!) Espin Flow, which I love love love!

Some people here are jerks, but most are not...

couldnt get rid of my "cursed espin flow quick enough after it crapped itself for the final time i rebuilt it( had the tech and stupidityi) hated the color( loved the frame) so i repainted installed new strong controller more powerful hub drive( stator spun out on stock one when i was trying to make myself like it) replaced the awful 4 inch knobbies with 3 inch street tread( really improved the looks) forget what else i did,sold it back to my friend,he really loves it now,the thing handles great,will hit indicated 32 mph( too fast for me) just goes to show you can basically do anything you want to a base bike,i think part of the problem with the bike was the previous owners had "tinkeritis"

 

[PatriciaK]

couldnt get rid of my "cursed espin flow quick enough after it crapped itself for the final time i rebuilt it( had the tech and stupidityi) hated the color( loved the frame) so i repainted installed new strong controller more powerful hub drive( stator spun out on stock one when i was trying to make myself like it) replaced the awful 4 inch knobbies with 3 inch street tread( really improved the looks) forget what else i did,sold it back to my friend,he really loves it now,the thing handles great,will hit indicated 32 mph( too fast for me) just goes to show you can basically do anything you want to a base bike,i think part of the problem with the bike was the previous owners had "tinkeritis"

Wait - your Flow came with 4" tires?! Mine didn't - I would never have bought it had that been the case!

Sorry you had problems with yours - mine has been FABulous, and I love it .

 

[kevinmccune]

Wait - your Flow came with 4" tires?! Mine didn't - I would never have bought it had that been the case!

Sorry you had problems with yours - mine has been FABulous, and I love it .

my apolgies it was a "nero" and a school teacher owned it before my friend got it( i would say part of the problem was those two previous owners,on the other hand i really liked the frame despite that yucky dull blue color,i changed a lot of stuff on that bike and my friend really likes it now,enjoy your flow and these days after owning a good many 4" tires , 4" tires are off my list of desirable things,g'day.