Originally Posted by
linberl
I'm all for aftermarket systems. The idea of sidelining an entire bike (which is also likely to be super heavy) just because the electronics crapped out really offends me - an absurd blow to the environment from something that should be reducing environmental damage. These heavy dedicated ebikes are going to end up in landfill eventually discarded when the replacement battery cost is prohibitive to the owner.
Makes a lot more sense to me to take a quality bike and electrify it with a system that can be easily removed/replaced. Your builds look nice, too.
Thank you. Really good points, and you might show a picture of your lightweight system. The Bafang mid-drive on the off road bike hasn't changed except for an upgraded controller, so my motor can be rebuilt if it ever has a problem. Bosch and others are in a constant race to "improve" their systems which change yearly. Who knows how long they'll be able to be repaired? The Diamondback has a direct drive motor, which (basically) has one moving part, the hub. Owners are reporting in excess of 25,000 miles with them. The kit was purchased for $200 as an experiment because it didn't seem possible (to me) to produce a viable electric hub motor so cheaply. Six years later guess I was incorrect.