Hyper connected versus old fashioned riders
Let’s imagine the conversation between two riders, the former, Lucy, with a lean, minimalistic ebike, featuring a control unit without display, the latter, Mike, equipped with state-of-the-art high-tech monitoring devices.
“Hello Lucy, how was your ride to the lake with your new sleek ebike? Hello Mike, it was awesome, thanks. I stopped to feed a squirrel with my potato chips, it reacted very funny when they broke as it grabbed them with its claws. I enjoyed some wild blueberries in the forest, and I stumbled upon a fox with its cute cubs. I’ve watched a majestic hawk hunting a hare. Spring is filling the landscape with bright colors and pleasant perfumes. Did you enjoy your trip with your new ebike?”
“It was great, thanks. My ebike application let me discover a fantastic path in the wilderness. I noticed that, setting my cadence to 65 tours per minute instead of 60, my application measures only 70 heartbeats per minute instead of 80. Riding through the cold, moisty paths in the shadowy forest, my battery would increase energy consumption by 10%, compared to the sunniest parts. The engine temperature got a little high on the steepest climbs, but I managed to keep it bearable increasing my cadence. Overall, I’m satisfied with my average speed. Automatically adjusting the height of my saddle post via Bluetooth was comfortable, and monitoring everything through my smart phone allowed me to feel safe even in the most challenging areas.”
Bosch Smartphonegrip Smart System
Two trends are spreading into the ebike world: minimalistic vs. hyper connected
Why choosing a minimalistic e-bike
The scope of this article is just to analyze the degree of connection and information display of ebikes, so we never refer to other equipments which may not be considered minimalistic, such as racks, bags, lightning, and so on. Nowadays, most ebike and component manufacturers offer ebikes that don’t even feature a display, just a very discrete control unit. One could wonder whether they are regular bikes or electric bikes. The FreeFlow Technologies drive, for instance, is difficult to recognise at first glance. The same can be said for Mahle, Fazua and other drives. There are several reason for that strategy.
Bosch Led Remote Control Unit – no need for a display
Discrete and lean cockpits are less prone to damages and ebike thefts
Whenever you fall with any ebike, or else if you crash into a branch or become victim of dooring, often times the first thing to be damaged is your display or whatever is attached to your handlebar, be it a smart phone holder or any device. Rain and frost can also damage most electronic devices, just like letting them exposed to scorching sun rays for long hours. Most of the times, there’s no way to repair them, and replacing them can be expensive. Moreover, most displays, smart phone holders, etc. have no locks and can be easily stolen. Worrying about their theft is quite stressful, and the only way to soothe the stress is having them stolen… Sarcastic lol.
Concealing or minimizing the appearance of electric assistance has other advantages
Avoiding to show that your bicycle is electric can offer several advantages:
- Reduced risk of thefts, since thieves are less likely to notice that you have a pricey ebike.
- Sheltering you from those unpleasant comments, such as “Yours is not a bicycle, it’s rather a moped”.
- Not only boasting a better looking bicycle, without cumbersome devices on the handlebar, but also let others believe that you are such a performant biker (sure, you don’t want that, do you?).
- Avoiding your neighbors’ overdone fears that your battery may catch fire in the garage of your condominium.
Ebike computers
Ebike computers are not that trendy anymore, although they are not (yet?) obsolete. They can offer up to 24 h battery life (in case of autonomous battery), display of smartphone notifications, ride data, fitness data, ebike information, smartphone notifications, GPS – Navigation, and more. They can be expensive, up to 200 euros. Smart phones are very performant, that’s why some manufacturers and a growing portion of the public tout the adoption of applications as display substitutes or at least alternatives. Smart phone holders become more and more common.
Giant Dash M200 computer and display Bosch Smart System Kiox 300 / 500
Ebike applications are on a hot streak
Smart phones have become almost everybody’s inseparable companion. No wonder applications are flourishing, enabling riders to enjoy an increasingly wider array of information and even tools, such as update and tuning of the electric motor software, and so on.
Ebike applications most common features
- Bike management – you can customize your e-bike, for instance modifying assistance levels, check battery status, pedalling cadence, and more, depending on the application.
- Finding charging stations – some applications let you spot nearby charging stations.
- Riding experience – route planning, finding points of interest, reckoning your ebike battery range according to the planned route, weather forecasts, and so on, are among the most popular features of ebike applications.
- Ebike maintenance – You can plan your ebike maintenance and create customized lists. For instance, you can decide to clean and lubricate your chain every thousand kilometers, and even be prevented of deadlines.
- Ebike information – Most applications enable you to store all the relevant ebike information, such as serial number, torque, exact type of motor and battery, control unit type and more. This is art mostly useful, especially when you are looking for spare parts or needing repairs.
- Personal safety – some applications, in case they detect a crash followed by inactivity, can automatically prevent predefined contacts. Imagine that you are in a forest, fainted or enabled to move because of a severe injury. Heartbeats per minute and calorie consumption can also be displayed.
- Theft prevention – applications can be connected to ebike antitheft devices that signal your ebike location in case it is stolen, and alert you if it is moved.
- Sweat monitor – even detecting when you should take a shower, for the sake of other fellows (this is a joke, but it may already exist…)
Ebike applications by the motor or ebike manufacturer
They present the considerable advantage of being more compatible, thus working better and delivering according to expectations, provided that your smartphone is fully compatible, which is not always the case. Those bearing the brand of the motor are also compatible with other ebikes equipped with the same motor.
Ebike applications developed by third parties
They can be more flexible and offer a wider variety of tools and information. Nevertheless, the risk of partial or even total incompatibility is bigger, since it involves both your drive system and your smartphone.
In the end, it depends on each one’s inclination
Some are inclined to use their ebike like a fitness machine, or a companion for venturing on difficult journeys. More information is paramount in their case. Other prefer to relax and don’t feel like monitoring, planning, reckoning to better enjoy their rides. And you, what kind of ebiker are you?
