LeMond's New Carbon Bikes
 

I just saw this in my news feed. Lemond is bringing two new carbon fiber E-Bikes to market which is the first product from his investment in carbon fiber production technologies. Pricey, but is it really compared to other electric powered vehicles? If I didn't live in the dangerous suburbs (non-friendly cycling roadways in North Jersey), I would consider one. I would be concerned about bicycle thieves. I wonder what kind of deterrents are built in besides unlocking with your phone (assuming its there). https://cyclingtips.com/2020/09/lemo...ly-dutch-news/
https://cdn-cyclingtips.pressidium.c...release-15.jpg

Sorry, I'm out! The whole point of bicycle commuting is to save money, not spend more than you could get a used car for (I realize US$4,500 is pushing it for a used car these days).

I don't ever want to have a bicycle stolen but if it happens I like knowing that I can grab another one on Craigslist and get it set up for my commuting needs for well under $500.

This is what retired aging bike racers have to look forward to riding in their final years. Kind of depressing.

I didn’t see that one coming.

Maybe the Lemond family wants to be the Tesla of bikes?

My first reaction was negative, but not about the price. The price isn't out of line for the market. (Compare to Specialized Turbo Vado.)

What I didn't like:
no obvious way to carry luggage - water either. Is it just bare for these press shots?
too integrated to easily adjust fit - light, stem and bars should be separable. Can't imagine what that assembly costs, too. What you get in return is hoses that aren't hidden until they get to the stem.
Clumsy launch (these are in the press but the website is still "coming soon")
Deserves real front suspension (I don't expect many to rally to me here, that's ok)

I’d buy a VanMoof first

Too fugly and expensive for my taste; I'll stick with my old steel bike.

Parking downtown at my office is over $3,000 per year, so a $4,500 bike is chump change. Good that it has fenders, but for that much cash I want an enclosed chain, lights, and and higher handlebars.

versus a chain, it should have a belt drive system.

Wow - what is Lemond thinking? A city commuter bike need to be above all else:

(a) functional
(b) sturdy and built to take abuse, especially the frame getting dinged and or slammed against all sorts of other metal objects,
(c) Cheap enough as to not warrant worrying about it getting stolen anywhere and everywhere. IRO to me was the gold standard for a new urban bike, but honestly, at this point, any cheap BikesDirect bike as a base frame makes the most sense to me. Hi-Ten steel, 36 spoke clincher wheels.

I don't understand the point of a carbon frame on a motorized bicycle.

Why does my/anyones commuter have to reflect your standards?

The website is still a lot of nothing. Could these be little more than trade show concepts?

I have a feeling when Trek bought Lemond there was a non-compete clause and it’s ending soon.

It doesn't. But I presume Lemond is in business to make money, and from a standpoint of a consumer, I think my point about urban commuter bike features generally are going to align with majority of consumers for that type of bike.

Not to me. I actually prefer to ride my bike. You don't have to be poor to choose to use a bicycle for transportation. For example, in the city it makes it much easier to get around than finding a parking spot and then walk to your destination.

Anyway, I don't really like the look of the bike in the OP. It looks heavy and cumbersome (coming from someone who rides a cargo bike, that might seem ironic).
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Probably because that since the batteries (and motor) are heavy, it makes it easier to manhandle when off the bike if the frame is a lightweight one. Other than that, I don't think there are any advantages. Packaging, maybe?

No doubt e-bikes are the growth segment for the future. Also, I don't think existing cyclists are the target customer, as we are presumably happy with the bikes we are riding.
After getting dropped on a hill by a little old lady on an ebike just yesterday, I can understand the appeal.

You’re one type of commuter, the shops here can’t keep e-bikes in stock whether 2000 or 10,000 euro. I went to the Van Moof store in Frankfurt at the end of September and was told it’ll be May before I can get one.

You could be correct. I am a little saddened by the e-bike craze, as it is turning basically our bike paths into motorized scooter paths.

This is a bike that someone would carry into their workplace and secure in their office. It needs to be light enough to be relatively easily carried. A 65lbs eBike lives a different life than a 30 lbs carbon eBike. At my work place, there's a ton of cyclists. The <$500 beaters are mostly parked in the racks outside, and the >$2k bikes live in offices. One of those takes significantly more abuse.

Also, the motor+battery on an eBike is a minimum $600, so even a minimum spec bike is ~$1000. At that price there's no point in going with less than an Aluminum frame.

I like the integrated lighting. One of the most frustrating parts about eBikes is having to charge the batteries for lights. I'm sitting on 600Wh battery, it'd be really nice to use it for lighting also.

pedelecs are not e-motorcycles there’s no throttle

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.

A steel frame rusts. Especially if you use it when the roads are salted (as you would if you commute year-round). What makes you think an aluminium framed bike can't "stand-up to wear and tear of urban cycling"?

Why do you worry about their health? Maybe if they weren't using electric bikes, they'd take their car instead? I don't have an electric bike, but if I get old enough, I will probably have one in addition to a non-electric. I don't use my bike for "exercise". I just happen to get exercise as I use the bike if that makes sense.
As for coal-powered, it depends where you get your power from. Anyway, it's still cleaner than if each individual rode 2-stroke scooters/mopeds, a car for each person, or motorcycles.

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.

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.