THEY REQUIRE A POWER GRID TO EXIST: no they don't, solar panel if this is that important to you.
THEY REQUIRE A BATTERY RELIANT ON A GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN: Tesla absolutely manufactures batteries in the USA, and virtually every major economy now recognizes national battery manufacturing ability is a national security issue. Lithium sources exist domestically. Sodium ion chemistries as good as LFP used in the current gen of ebikes is in mass production. Sulfur chemistries will probably come in 5 years.
THEY DO NOT PROVIDE A MECHANISM FOR LONG HAUL CHARGING: Uhhhhh.... okay, there are people that have made "charging trailers" for ebikes and don't even need to pedal. If this very fringe requirement is necessary, do that. You can't even bike into the Yukon wilderness FYI, where ... all of civilization is lacking.
THEY CANNOT BE SUBMERGED IN WATER: ok, neither can cars, etc. Yes, don't throw your vehicles in water.
THEY HAVE A FLIMSY 'SEAL' TO COVER THE POWER PORT - if that breaks off (twig, brick, tree or foot) - your F'd SEE: SUBMERSION. :: semilegitimate long term parts replacement concern I guess, but ... probably DIY'able.
THEIR SUPPLY CHAINS ARE FAR MORE COMPLEX: Bikes have frames, handlebars, seats, brakes, cranks, chains, derailleurs, cogsets, wheels, hubs, rims, spokes, and all are very frequently sourced from companies all over the world. Adding "motor, battery" to that isn't some tipping point of complexity. Compared to an ICE ... anything (lawnmower, etc), ebikes are very simple.
THE MOTORS ARE FROM ALL OVER THE PLACE - AND QUESTIONABLE MFRs: Yeah.... there is a bit of concern about disposable electronics here. But if enough of one brand is made, then the junkyard strategy of finding a crashed/broken second model and cannibalizing works here. Also, most electric motors aren't perfectly manufactured to application, they are of a more general spec (one of the advantages of electric drivetrains). So if you want to swap out the motor... probably can.
DEALER RELATIONSHIPS SUCK: it's a wildly evolving marketplace with a potential customer base in the billions.
"Where the heck am I to get a battery for an ebick thats custom molded to my stem in my 100 year old bike?" --> likely you'll slap in a battery that is about 1/3 the size and 3x the range. If you want to, you'll figure it out. Current batteries are pretty standardized in form factor and spec, even in the EV space (1865, 2170,4680)
....
EVs are fundamentally simple: battery, motor. I think there will be an explosion of people that get back to knowing how to do basic repair and adaptation on electric motors as part of the EV revolution.
I really like the idea of a front or rear motor wheel that you slapped into a regular bike, but in-frame motors are probably cheaper to put in / design in the beginning and more plug and play for consumers.
One of the beauties of ebikes is that if the battery fails ... you just bike without power to get home. The cost for these will rapidly plummet in the coming years to probably $500 or so. Tire flats are a bigger concern than anything.
Playing devil's advocate: unless it's a simple single-speed motor, there's another important component between these two, the motor controller or inverter, and that component is where most of the complexity is located.
Totally true, but controllers are relatively interchangeable for these types of motors. A BLDC motor like almost all of the e-bike manufacturers have settled on can be controlled by any BLDC controller.
If manufacturer X goes belly up and I need a new controller for my Manufacturer X bike, I can use one from manufacturer Y. Of course I might need to replace the controls, but If I can access the DC power source, and the three windings on the motor, I can make that motor spin with a variety of available controllers.
The same is true for a lot of bike parts; If a fancy click shift derailleur kicks the bucket after manufacturer support ends, you can get a different one. You may have to replace the handlebar controls, but the whole bike isn't bricked by any means.
THEY REQUIRE A BATTERY RELIANT ON A GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN: Tesla absolutely manufactures batteries in the USA, and virtually every major economy now recognizes national battery manufacturing ability is a national security issue. Lithium sources exist domestically. Sodium ion chemistries as good as LFP used in the current gen of ebikes is in mass production. Sulfur chemistries will probably come in 5 years.
This is not what I meant...
An bike will not last N years... how do we define N?
I want a bike with minimal physical BS skills to be able to last 150 year.
PERIOD..;.
Lets make a bike that lasta !150 years without N global BS?????
THEY REQUIRE A POWER GRID TO EXIST: no they don't, solar panel if this is that important to you.
THEY REQUIRE A BATTERY RELIANT ON A GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN: Tesla absolutely manufactures batteries in the USA, and virtually every major economy now recognizes national battery manufacturing ability is a national security issue. Lithium sources exist domestically. Sodium ion chemistries as good as LFP used in the current gen of ebikes is in mass production. Sulfur chemistries will probably come in 5 years.
THEY DO NOT PROVIDE A MECHANISM FOR LONG HAUL CHARGING: Uhhhhh.... okay, there are people that have made "charging trailers" for ebikes and don't even need to pedal. If this very fringe requirement is necessary, do that. You can't even bike into the Yukon wilderness FYI, where ... all of civilization is lacking.
THEY CANNOT BE SUBMERGED IN WATER: ok, neither can cars, etc. Yes, don't throw your vehicles in water.
THEY HAVE A FLIMSY 'SEAL' TO COVER THE POWER PORT - if that breaks off (twig, brick, tree or foot) - your F'd SEE: SUBMERSION. :: semilegitimate long term parts replacement concern I guess, but ... probably DIY'able.
THEIR SUPPLY CHAINS ARE FAR MORE COMPLEX: Bikes have frames, handlebars, seats, brakes, cranks, chains, derailleurs, cogsets, wheels, hubs, rims, spokes, and all are very frequently sourced from companies all over the world. Adding "motor, battery" to that isn't some tipping point of complexity. Compared to an ICE ... anything (lawnmower, etc), ebikes are very simple.
THE MOTORS ARE FROM ALL OVER THE PLACE - AND QUESTIONABLE MFRs: Yeah.... there is a bit of concern about disposable electronics here. But if enough of one brand is made, then the junkyard strategy of finding a crashed/broken second model and cannibalizing works here. Also, most electric motors aren't perfectly manufactured to application, they are of a more general spec (one of the advantages of electric drivetrains). So if you want to swap out the motor... probably can.
DEALER RELATIONSHIPS SUCK: it's a wildly evolving marketplace with a potential customer base in the billions.
"Where the heck am I to get a battery for an ebick thats custom molded to my stem in my 100 year old bike?" --> likely you'll slap in a battery that is about 1/3 the size and 3x the range. If you want to, you'll figure it out. Current batteries are pretty standardized in form factor and spec, even in the EV space (1865, 2170,4680)
....
EVs are fundamentally simple: battery, motor. I think there will be an explosion of people that get back to knowing how to do basic repair and adaptation on electric motors as part of the EV revolution.
I really like the idea of a front or rear motor wheel that you slapped into a regular bike, but in-frame motors are probably cheaper to put in / design in the beginning and more plug and play for consumers.
One of the beauties of ebikes is that if the battery fails ... you just bike without power to get home. The cost for these will rapidly plummet in the coming years to probably $500 or so. Tire flats are a bigger concern than anything.