Hacker News Reader

Comment by asddubs | Hacker News Reader

it is undeniably pretty slick to just have everything inside the frame of the bike. But as with phones, to some extent elegance is at odds with repairability. I'd rather have something that lasts a long time.

View on HN

Meh, there are some bikes where only a few things stick out, and that only for a few cm.

https://www.specialized.com/lu/en/turbo-como-sl

This bike costs less than VanMoof with generally better parts.

Specialized has a few proprietary parts but otherwise it's what VanMoof was dreaming to be :-)

Edit: And don't get me started with what's available in Europe. Gazelle makes 3x the commuter bike for the same money or less, all with standard components of great quality.

My Wife has a Giant/Momentum Vida E. It's really great, everythings so simple for an Ebike.

Yamaha engine, legit!

Bosch, Brose, Yamaha, Bafang, Shimano.

Probably the safe bets when looking for a ebike (check for local repair shops to be sure).

Shimano Nexus 7 internal gear hub, super solid.

Yup, looks like a great commuter bike build!

The frame tubes do have open ends. Especially on Van Moof bikes [1]. So I assume the components slide through the ends. Gear components from the bottom. Electronics from the front and back. So I don't see fundamental physical issues? Maybe this style will be more standardized by some companies at some point.

1: https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2020-05/c54c62b...

Even so, I assume it's using specialty parts to meet size constraints, making them harder to replace.

The top tube seems to have a small removable part, few inches behind the head. Else, there is not much to access the inside because of the seat post and head ... The tension forces favor the model because at that point there is only compression, so the tube closes itself.

Ah, true of course! One indeed can't get to the top tube from the front. But from the rear, I assume you will have to remove the seat but then you do get access to the components deep in the top tube.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com