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Comment by jll29 | Hacker News Reader

"The latest units are protected against dust and splash water, according to protection class IP54, and most error codes caused by magnetic interference disappear on restart."

This used of "latest" implies Bosch's engineers initially assumed dust and splash water aren't a thing, so by the sound of it they design indoor bike motors for people who hoover very regularly.

It's the second part that worries me more, though: "most" (= not all) error codes disappear on research, i.e. you have to regularly reboot your e-bike, like a 1998 Windows PC? Sorry, I never want to reboot an appliance, because real bikes never required that in the past, so it has been shown it is possible.

I never want an e-bike, and I don't like throwing away engines because of the environmental damage. Don't people bike because they want to get fit? If not, get a proper motorbike.

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Not sure an IP rating alone gives you the information you need for this usecase.

A [mountain] bike motor doesn't just need to resist ingress, it needs to do so after hundreds of hours of violent shaking while its external bearings are under heavy load. It should also tolerate a certain amount of direct impact.

I can certainly imagine this being tricky to achieve for a few hundred $!

> Don't people bike because they want to get fit?

No. I personally ride a _non-motorized_ bike for the health benefits, but I ride a _bike_ as a means of transport. I want as many people as possible to do this, it's better for everyone if people cycle. E-bikes are a fantastic way to expand the pool of potential cyclists.

"Bikes are for sporty people" is a symptom of a car-centric environment. In a healthy city, bikes are an option for everyone who has full mobility.

"In a healthy city..."

Speaking of things which are (evidently) "tricky to achieve"...

There are dozens of such cities all over Europe, doesn't seem that hard to me if you actually care about it as a goal!

True. But a great many things are easy to achieve if you presuppose competent and honest (at least on the given issue) politicians.

> Don't people bike because they want to get fit?

In my city people bike because they want to get from A to B.

E-bikes are great for that! They enable reasonable fast biking without breaking into sweat (good for commuting) and in hilly areas.

First they enabled senior citizens to bike fast and longer. Then came the mountain e-bikes and made it cool. Than the city hipsters. Then family mum and dad zipping their children around:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQhzEnWCgHA&t=168s

> If not, get a proper motorbike.

Motorbikes are loud and heavy and more expensive. You need a helmet and have to use the road instead of bike lanes. You need a driving license.

Also insurance, yuck. Plus all that gear so that when you have to lay your bike down because some dipshit driver did something insane up ahead of you you can keep at least some of your layers of skin intact.

> Don't people bike because they want to get fit?

People bike because they want to get around. Also, a bicycle is a lot less bulky and more quiet than a motorbike and it doesn't require a license.

>Don't people bike because they want to get fit? If not, get a proper motorbike.

Riding an ebike is still a moderate workout especially if you are putting on the miles, hauling stuff, have hills, etc. And on most bikes you can set your engine assist in real time, so it's easy to adjust to the level of workout you are in the mood for. Which is a massive game changer for me as someone with health problems including fatigue and leg pain that doesn't own a vehicle.

I like the freedom of the ebike vs a motorcycle for city commuting, it's much quieter, I can ride on greenways and bike trails away from traffic fumes and the majority of impatient/distracted drivers. It is far lighter than a motorbike and I already have the tools and skills for basic maintenance. It is cheaper to maintain and operate. But more than anything else I have an ethical problem with the combustion engine. I drew a line in the sand long ago that I will never own nor make regular use of a gas-powered vehicle and in 20 years I still haven't crossed it.

Some people walk because they’re trying to get to the office, some people walk to lose weight, some people walk to enjoy sunday afternoon with their partner

Biking is just as diverse.

From the article it seems that this problem is mostly coming from bikers with mountain bikes, riding in wet Wales off road. It looks like for the general case (on street, commuting) that ebikes are working as intended. For mountain bikers it is possible to simply get a mountain bike but where ebikes shine here is the ability to scoot back up the mountain after riding down.

Sounds like they got various brittle sensors and electronics that make the thing break earlier than it should, while in theory the motor should just work if you apply high enough voltage to it. I don't think the main coils of the actual motor would care about a little bit of magnetic field from a traffic light sensor.

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