E-bike Controls Survey

[tomasub]

Hello E-bike enthusiasts! I am a Dutch 4^th year Industrial Product Design student and for my bachelors graduation project I need your help!

I am interested in learning more about the users of E-bikes and what they think of the current E-bike controls, at the moment I am doing a graduation project about redesigning the controls for the E-bike with the goal of making an ergonomic, minimalistic and especially intuitive design where only the essential control elements of an e-bike are included.

Therefore I have made a small survey, this will only take you about 5 minutes. Thank you in advance!

https://goo.gl/forms/qOErIjzPAQzrf3lJ3

[JPLabs]

Done. More like 10-15 min, though, a lot of 'other' answers required typing, and the text entry is hard to use. At the end I quit typing answers, some blanks, was taking too long...but I left you some insightful comments which I hope will be helpful.

[Rider]

The minimalist setup I’d like to see is a super light weight electric assist mid-drive that freewheels without drag so you can ride it as a bicycle without penalty. As for controls, all that is needed is an on/off button (or key) and a variable assist lever or button for power assist that only works when pedaling (not a throttle). This is my preferred setup for a MTB. All you need a a little extra help,when climbing and the rest of the time it is simply a bicycle. The mid-drive MUST be completely silent too. Good luck is your designs.

[tklop]

Hmmm...

Lightweight? Check.

Freewheels with zero extra drag? Check.

Up - On/off - Dn button? Check.

No throttle? Check.

MUST be completely silent too? Well--now you're dreaming. A mid-drive cannot deliver power to your wheels without gears. To be "completely silent" a mid-drive would need to somehow circumvent the laws of physics.

Other than that fantasy (I'd love a silent mid-drive too)--it sounds a whole lot like you're describing the TSDZ2! (and in fairness--it's quieter than most mid-drives on the market---I share the bike-paths with hundreds of others of various brands).

I'm with you though--simplicity is really the way to go!

All the best

Tklop

[tklop]

Bicycles (as you should know--if you are in The Netherlands) are not "for indoor use only" devices.

Therefore--the most important recommendation possible I have to offer, is this:

Any components, controls, input-devices, sensors, or any other electrical device intended for use on a bicycle--should be waterproof and tough enough to withstand long-term use on a rental jet-ski.

Whatever your thesis or goals, be sure to include this as a bare-minimum standard--in your most important of conclusions. The industry as a whole has refused to acknowledge this simple reality in any mainstream designs to date--including the ridiculously overpriced, overrated, and underperforming "Stromer" series of junk-bikes.

Much work has been put in by companies like Luna Cycle; customizing and hand-manufacturing individual components--for weatherproofing--(like the batteries available to their North American customers). Individual "end users" too have done much to weatherproof their projects. But none of the mass-produced e-bike components show even the faintest signs that any real waterproofing effort was invested. This includes throttles, e-bike brake-handles (which could just as easily have waterproof microswitches inside), control-dongles, displays, even simple sensors--all easily could be much better.

Must withstand long-term use--when installed on a rental jet-ski. Anything less--go back to the drawing board and try again.

Best of luck!

Tklop

[Astora]

Interesting survey, already passed it.