Bike Forums - LeMond's New Carbon Bikes

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Het Volk (Post 21776555)

One counter: A steel frame is the optimal frame for a commuter bike, given its ability to stand-up to wear and tear of urban cycling. So when you say "less than an aluminum frame" I would argue ALU is a worse material. And with the e-assist, weight is less of a concern. But I get your point.

However - I worry that the benefits of commuting by bike (exercise) is being lost by people basically just riding motorized scooters, which use coal powered electricity to recharge.

NY Times has a great graphic on this: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...-election.html

BLUF: Unless you're living in W. Va, most of your electricity is not from coal. Coal is being rapidly phased out by natural gas, wind and solar (exact mix depends on the state).

Honestly, the weakest point of an ebike is not the frame, it's the motor and battery. There are no standards for how a mid-motor integrates into the frame, it's manufacturer & model (Shimano, Yamaha, Bosch, etc) specific. When the motor dies in a 10-yr old eBike, the entire bike is going to be junk. Standardized motor interfaces would go along way to keeping these running, but we can't see to get manufacturers to agree on a standard for a simple bottom-bracket, I'm not optimistic.
I think the short answer is that eBikes realistically have a 10-yr lifespan, at which point they'll be scrapped and the frames tossed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Het Volk (Post 21776555)

Here's a happy video from 2013 with a founder of Niner bikes hitting a carbon and steel fork with a 16oz hammer

If you don't want to watch the spoiler is the CF fork survives and the steel doesn't. I ride steel only to include forks because it makes me look back while walking away but that doesn't mean that CF is bad it just means it's not for me. CF can be built for the pro peloton and it can be built for bob the commuter there aren't restrictions like there are with metal.