Believe me, companies are already trying. It’s an uphill battle, though. This is actually one of the few triumphs for consumers in this regard, really.
Thanks to the French the components of bicycles have become remarkably standardized and interchangeable and have been for probably more than a hundred years by now. Every few years like clockwork some idiot C suite denizen at a startup bicycle company decides they ought to invent their own tire valve, or their own seat post, or their own derailleur mount, or their own handlebar stem size, or whatever the hell else because they’re salivating at the prospect of “lock in,” and they all think they’re the first genius to think of it. The market resoundingly ignores them, they go bankrupt and implode, and we all laugh. Rinse, repeat.
Things are starting to backslide with electric bicycles, though. Motherfuckers are insisting on using proprietary plugs and connectors, battery interfaces, etc., and most especially apps as every goddamn e-bike apparently feels the need to be app connected now for some reason. In that space in specifically some manufacturers are getting away with it.
The backsliding can only go so far until consumers get fed up and invent their own solutions.
Batteries aren’t hard tech. Open up any bike battery case and it’s just a string of 18650 cells strung together with a BMS chip. All highly replaceable.
I assume that means someone will come along and enshittify it sooner or later
they are succeeding in the space of ebikes over here.
Believe me, companies are already trying. It’s an uphill battle, though. This is actually one of the few triumphs for consumers in this regard, really.
Thanks to the French the components of bicycles have become remarkably standardized and interchangeable and have been for probably more than a hundred years by now. Every few years like clockwork some idiot C suite denizen at a startup bicycle company decides they ought to invent their own tire valve, or their own seat post, or their own derailleur mount, or their own handlebar stem size, or whatever the hell else because they’re salivating at the prospect of “lock in,” and they all think they’re the first genius to think of it. The market resoundingly ignores them, they go bankrupt and implode, and we all laugh. Rinse, repeat.
Things are starting to backslide with electric bicycles, though. Motherfuckers are insisting on using proprietary plugs and connectors, battery interfaces, etc., and most especially apps as every goddamn e-bike apparently feels the need to be app connected now for some reason. In that space in specifically some manufacturers are getting away with it.
The backsliding can only go so far until consumers get fed up and invent their own solutions.
Batteries aren’t hard tech. Open up any bike battery case and it’s just a string of 18650 cells strung together with a BMS chip. All highly replaceable.
Pp ok x
I’ll rent you a chain for $7 a month if you’re interested
the 1980s and 1990s were a horrible age for shitty cheap bikes, not sure if it could be worse