Cooler designs

Spinalot

Pedelecer
Sep 25, 2011
184
0
Sheffield, United Kingdom
Does anyone agree with me we need much more work from manufacturers to come up with nice designs that move us forward?
Some examples I have seen give me hope are Solexity and VeloSolex. I saw these at the cycle show and loved the design. The test bikes were in constant use so I did not get chance to try one. :-(
I actually like the Smart eBike too but I think it falls very short on features and is over priced. All design and no trousers?
I saw on this forums somewhere a design with the battery in the downtube (sorry cannot remember the name of it) which looked very innovative.
I like it when people tinker with tradition. The diamond frame is truly an awesome thing, but should we only stick with what we know?
 

jackhandy

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 20, 2012
1,820
323
the Cornish Alps
I dunno - To me, down-curved tubes on bikes generally make for a "soft" look; as if the bike will sag under load; although some beach cruisers are tasty.

I can't help thinking that, if there is an efficient alternative to the conventional look we we're all familiar with, the professional works teams in road, track & mountain would be using it by now.
 

oigoi

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 14, 2011
467
7
It is difficult to move away from the traditional diamond frame shape without making something that weighs more for the same strength. Hence you can make a bike with a different frame shape (like some of the tonaros for example) but it will usually be a little bit heavier than and diamond frame design
 

Kudoscycles

Official Trade Member
Apr 15, 2011
5,566
5,048
www.kudoscycles.com
Most customers prefer the existing double triangle frame design in the UK. In Germany they seem ready to accept more radical shapes,but the englishman on the whole likes his 'meat n 2 veg'
I look at some very radical designs in Asia,especially Taiwan,but they just dont seem to sell in any quantity in the UK-there are many examples where importers have tried such bikes and end up with a load of dead stock in their warehouses.
KudosDave
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,765
30,351
We have had many of them, but the problems of alternative designs tend to fail them in the market very quickly. As Oigoi says, the added weight is problematic, and although in-frame batteries can be attractive, they are often not easily removable. That means no charging indoors in warm enough conditions and no carrying a second pack for long trips.

The Sparta Ion M-gear has a downtube battery for example

and the Izip model featured in this YouTube video has a very similar downtube battery, but not the same. But here's the sort of snag of these, the Izip battery was discontinued by the battery maker, leaving all the owners in the USA and Europe stumped for the in-frame-tube replacements.

That makes others wary, for example I would never buy any sort of in-frame-tube battery e-bike and always advise against them for this reason.
 

Jimod

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 9, 2010
1,065
634
Polmont
The bikes in the OP's post are ugly in the extreme. They may look OK sitting in some arty farty exhibition in London but you'd not sell many up here. British people of the generation who buy e-bikes are generally conservative in their tastes and believe a bike should look like a bike and their idea of that is the type of bike they had when young.
As an example, I gave 2 people a shot of my bike a few days ago, they both liked it. The following day I met them again and one mentioned he had been looking on the Internet at electric bikes. "There are some right ugly bikes out there" he said "but yours looks like a normal bike, I like the look of it"

I sometimes think we shouldn't change what works but if we do the change should be slow and gradual.
 
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Kudoscycles

Official Trade Member
Apr 15, 2011
5,566
5,048
www.kudoscycles.com
Tony,I have to say that Izip/Currie video is pretty damning.The guy sounds genuine as well.
The mention of parts sourcing problems from China is an ongoing problem,Kudos puts in stock parts for all its bikes.....if we bring in a container load of bikes,say about 120 units,we bring in 5 bikes in bits and 10 off spares of any parts which we know can give problems....this usually results in a pile of spares gathering dust,which is good. We are commited to keeping such spares until 2 years after the sale of the last bike in a particular style and ongoing after that,as long as our spares last.
We have in the past been ok about selling our spares to keep other manufacturers bikes on the road,the pod battery on our Sport bike fitted the Sunlova bike,for example. but only where it will not affect our ability to service the Kudos product.
But this can go wrong and will go wrong at some time....these bike manufacturers(chinese or otherwise) are not good at servicing past models,so it is up to the importer to keep ongoing spares stock. Fortunately we are on good terms with many bike manufacturers and have alternative sources of supply for most spares.
I have been to some chinese bike suppliers who keep absolutely no spares when they import bikes,relying on getting spares out of the chinese by post.....that just does not work,your bike could be off the road for months,just like this poor Izip customer.
KudosDave
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,765
30,351
Yes that is the problem Dave, it's so often out of the hands of the agent/importer, both the e-bike source manufacturers and battery manufacturers can cause serious supply problems, but the poor agent/importer gets the blame.

Izip though are a bad case company, they just jump onto every trend bandwagon with model after model and desert it as soon as they find it convenient. They are also not fussy about who they deal with and seem totally unconcerned about after-sales service, for example selling their basic models through Tesco and Amazon who offer no help after the one year warranty period. They also sell under different names, hiding their original maker identity, for example the Meerkat Metro, cashing in on the popular animal identity.
 

mike killay

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 17, 2011
3,012
1,627
Sometimes, things just work and do not benefit from ultra design.
Tables, knives and forks, Fender stratocaster guitars, pianos, the list is endless.