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Xiaomi Launches Foldable Electric Bike QiCycle At a Price Of $450 (indianexpress.com)

Posted by msmash on from the impressive-Chinese-gadgets dept.

Xiaomi on Thursday unveiled its first ever electric bike -- the QiCycle Electric Folding Bike. The bike, made of carbon fibre, packs a host of sensors and weighs just 7kg. From a report on IndianExpress:QiCycle has an integrated electric motor, which can be used for propulsion. The bike is powered by 250W-36V electric motor, and uses Torque Measurement Method (TMM) to assist the rider's pedal-power. It comes with Shimano Gear Shifters to let users switch gears based on the terrain. It also has a bike computer display to show all the fitness-related parameters such as calories burned, distance traveled, speed, etc. Xiaomi says the QiCycle has a large Panasonic 18650 battery, which can last up to 45 kms on a single charge. Qicycle can be folded and kept in the trunk of a car.The QiCycle is priced at roughly $450, and is currently only available for sale in Chinese cities.

138 comments

  1. 18650 is a form factor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    its 18mm by 65mm, the 0 means its round. the bike probably has a battery pack with much more than just 1 single 18650 in it...

    1. Re:18650 is a form factor by giggles778 · · Score: 1

      as i pull the same battery out of my vaporizer (or douche kazoo as some like to call it) i made a wat face. why is this news?

    2. Re:18650 is a form factor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yup, a less mangled source seems to confirm this.

    3. Re:18650 is a form factor by MightyYar · · Score: 1

      It's 36V, so it almost certainly has 8 or 9 18650s in series.

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
    4. Re:18650 is a form factor by MightyYar · · Score: 1

      Correcting myself - it seems to have two sets of 10 in parallel, total of 20.

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
    5. Re:18650 is a form factor by Yvan256 · · Score: 1

      Only twenty 18650's to get a range of (up to) 45km?

    6. Re:18650 is a form factor by MightyYar · · Score: 1

      Well, it's only pedal assist... and it's the marketing from a Chinese company. So...

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
    7. Re:18650 is a form factor by MightyYar · · Score: 1

      Motor is rated at 250W and 36V, or around 7A. Battery is rated at 58Ah at around 3.7V, or 215Wh. So yeah, less than an hour of run time at full output. That seems about right, actually. You will need to put in a fair bit of energy to get to 45km.

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
    8. Re:18650 is a form factor by dougmc · · Score: 2

      250 watts is a lot of power.

      100 watts is enough to get a typical cyclist to around 15 mph on level ground. (Assuming 100% efficiency, which is overly optimistic, but not too far off for an electric motor.) Going up to 250 watts wouldn't increase your speed by that much -- maybe 23 mph? Mostly the extra power would be useful for hills.

      If you keep your speed down to 15 mph (treat it like a bicycle rather than a moped) it would last a good deal longer, and of course by pedalling you can get a lot more distance.

    9. Re:18650 is a form factor by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      treat it like a bicycle rather than a moped

      In many places, e-bikes are not even allowed to behave like mopeds at all (I believe that 5/6 pedal assist is the legal maximum in Europe, for example).

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    10. Re:18650 is a form factor by Yvan256 · · Score: 1

      Do you have a link about that? The PodRide project on IndieGogo could use that kind of information.

    11. Re:18650 is a form factor by backslashdot · · Score: 1

      Panasonic is minting money with those batteries. Tesla uses them too in their battery packs.

    12. Re:18650 is a form factor by Black+LED · · Score: 1

      That's the part that confused me. I am pretty sure a single 18650, such as those used in my flashlights, isn't enough to power a bike for 45 kilometres.

  2. I want an American tricycle ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Mom ! I want an American tricycle !!

    1. Re:I want an American tricycle ! by jellomizer · · Score: 2

      Being the American infrastructure is based on automobiles. Locomotion at speeds averaging 15 miles per hour (roughly 25 kilometers per hour) is rather dangerous with other vehicles going 2 to 4 times faster with a lot more mass behind them. Bike trails in the US. are often just signs telling drivers to be more careful.

         

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    2. Re:I want an American tricycle ! by Nunya666 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Being the American infrastructure is based on automobiles. Locomotion at speeds averaging 15 miles per hour (roughly 25 kilometers per hour) is rather dangerous with other vehicles going 2 to 4 times faster with a lot more mass behind them. Bike trails in the US. are often just signs telling drivers to be more careful.

      With so many drivers being distracted by their cell phones, just being out in public is dangerous. But that shouldn't stop you from living.

      Average cycling speed varies greatly by where you ride. Speeds on sidewalks or through parks congested with pedestrians will be much slower than on paved roads. I commute 10 miles to work over paved roads on a mountain bike, complete with 30-pound panniers on the back. I ride in the road, not on the shoulder (there are no sidewalks or bike trails). With the panniers, my average speed is 18-20 mph. Without, it's 20-22 mph. Downhill, I can easily go 27 mph. Friends who ride much lighter road bikes ride faster than that.

      When I ride, my bike is lit up like a friggin' Christmas tree. I have red lights on my seat post, on my pannier, and on the back of my helmet. I have white lights on my handle bar and my helmet. Even my pedals light up - they have a built-in generator, and have a red light on the back, a white light on the front, and an amber light on the side.

      There aren't many statistics about cycling accidents. Meaning, more than just "were they wearing a helmet?" For example, were they experienced riders? Were they under the influence of alcohol or drugs? Were they riding in conditions (or speeds) beyond their skill level? Were they wearing light-colored, reflective clothing and/or have lights on the bike?

      Most bike accidents happen to inexperienced riders and/or idiots. The rest were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Neither of those points will ever stop me from riding.

    3. Re:I want an American tricycle ! by Hadlock · · Score: 1

      Most neighborhood roads have a speed limit of 25-35mph which is generally very safe for bicyclists. As long as you're not the guy in Dallas the other day that was bicycling in the middle lane of I-635 you should be fine.

      --
      moox. for a new generation.
    4. Re:I want an American tricycle ! by fiannaFailMan · · Score: 1

      I've been cycling in traffic for 30 years and never been hit by a car once. I've cycled in Ireland and England where you have to share narrow roads with cars, buses, and 40-foot trucks. I now live in the San Francisco Bay Area and I bike to work just about every day, and the infrastructure here is far more bike-friendly than in the UK.

      In the morning I ride on the expressways. Yes. Expressways. Non-cyclists think it's dangerous, but it's actually safer than regular surface streets since there's a big wide shoulder to use as a bike lane, and there's less cross traffic with no private driveways. It's also easier to get up to my cruising speed that averages 17 to 18mph, which is a lot faster than the cars stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic and going nowhere. I always make a mental note of which cars I see when I get onto the expressway because I generally get to my destination either before them or at the same time as them.

      In the evening I take a longer route home which is mostly on trails and only a few miles on surface streets. The trails are like superhighways for bikes since they pass under so many of the surface streets and skip dozens of stoplights.

      Cycling is perfectly safe as long as you know what you're doing. It's no more dangerous to ride a bike on a road full of cars than it is for a car to drive on a freeway full of trucks.

      --
      Drill baby drill - on Mars
    5. Re:I want an American tricycle ! by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      It's no more dangerous to ride a bike on a road full of cars than it is for a car to drive on a freeway full of trucks.

      A number of people have survived being positively creamed by big trucks, either because they had very safe cars or because they got very lucky. Being positively creamed by a car while on a bicycle... ugh.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    6. Re:I want an American tricycle ! by Alioth · · Score: 1

      While a cyclist will almost certainly get hurt in a collision, when all the risks are taken into account, someone who cycles regularly is at less risk of premature death than someone who only drives. All things being equal, avoiding cycling to work and using a car instead while it reduces the chances of dying in a collision, it increases much more the chances of dying prematurely of diseases related to a sedentary lifestyle.

      --
      Oolite: Elite-like game. For Mac, Linux and Windows
    7. Re:I want an American tricycle ! by funwithBSD · · Score: 1

      Effective Cycling by John Forester has interesting statistics, including the effect of training (his course at MIT naturally) on accidents:

      http://www.wright.edu/~jeffrey...

      From memory, the biggest threat to the cyclist is first themselves, hitting things or loss of control of the bike, then being hit by other cyclists (aka, asshats riding against traffic), and then vehicles.

      The "scariest" scenario most people think of is being hit from behind by a car. That is surprisingly less than 1% of all accidents, although it is the most deadly accident.

      --
      Never answer an anonymous letter. - Yogi Berra
    8. Re:I want an American tricycle ! by Gussington · · Score: 1

      Most bike accidents happen to inexperienced riders and/or idiots. The rest were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Neither of those points will ever stop me from riding.

      Same goes for most things. Once you remove the idiots from the stats, the risk profiles becomes much, much lower.
      I ride a motorbike, and the stats for motorbikes are terrible. But once you realise that motorbikes are magnets for idiots, the stats become a lot more acceptable.

    9. Re:I want an American tricycle ! by Nunya666 · · Score: 1

      Most bike accidents happen to inexperienced riders and/or idiots. The rest were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Neither of those points will ever stop me from riding.

      Same goes for most things. Once you remove the idiots from the stats, the risk profiles becomes much, much lower. I ride a motorbike, and the stats for motorbikes are terrible. But once you realise that motorbikes are magnets for idiots, the stats become a lot more acceptable.

      Yea, but a motorbike is going so much faster than a bicycle. On a bicycle, I can ride onto the grass or even into a driveway if I see something dangerous. That's just not an option on a motorbike.

      Just last week a guy on a motorbike was killed while merging onto the highway. He collided with a car while merging, then he went down, and two cars behind them crashed to avoid running him over. Now that you mention it, I have to wonder how much control he had over his bike to have been hit while merging.

    10. Re:I want an American tricycle ! by Gussington · · Score: 1

      Yea, but a motorbike is going so much faster than a bicycle. On a bicycle, I can ride onto the grass or even into a driveway if I see something dangerous. That's just not an option on a motorbike.

      Well that depends. I always plan an exit strategy when the risks increase. It's not 100% foolproof, but planning for that car to pull out in front of you is all part of the strategy.

      Just last week a guy on a motorbike was killed while merging onto the highway. He collided with a car while merging, then he went down, and two cars behind them crashed to avoid running him over. Now that you mention it, I have to wonder how much control he had over his bike to have been hit while merging.

      Yes this is good example. That scenario would be nearly impossible for me IMO, because the benefit of a bike is speed. When things get hairy you can always out accelerate the problem. In the case of a merge, if the car is in front of you, you slip in behind. If it's next to you or behind, speed up and go past. There's no chance of you both trying to occupy the same space at the same time.

  3. Foldable trump by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    trump on Thursday unveiled its first ever electric trump -- the trump Electric Folding trump. The trump, made of carbon fibre, packs a host of sensors and weighs just 7trump. From a report on trumpexpress:

    trump has an integrated electric motor, which can be used for propulsion. The trump is powered by 250W-36V electric motor, and uses trump Measurement Method (TMM) to assist the rider's pedal-power. It comes with trump Gear Shifters to let trump switch gears based on the terrain. It also has a trump computer display to show all the trump-related parameters such as trumps burned, trump traveled, trump, etc. trump says the trump has a large Panasonic 18650 trump, which can last up to 45 trumps on a single charge. trump can be folded and kept in the trunk of a trump.
    The trump is priced at roughly $450, and is currently only available for sale in trump cities.

    1. Re:Foldable trump by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      Wow, I'm so excited for Trumpated States now that I really want a trump card!

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    2. Re:Foldable trump by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, I'm so excited for Trumpated States now that I really want a trump card!

      On the face of the card is, of course, Trumpy McTrumpface.

    3. Re:Foldable trump by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      JET TRUMP CAN'T MELT STEEL TRUMPS

      Filter error: Don't use so many caps. It's like YELLING. Filter error: Don't use so many caps. It's like YELLING. Filter error: Don't use so many caps. It's like YELLING.

  4. How Far, How Fast Without Pedaling? by zenlessyank · · Score: 1

    Can I just cruise around on it without pedaling? I have shitty knees but would like something to run up to the corner store or cruise the neighborhood. Motorcycles are too expensive. I'm a cheap bastard.

    1. Re:How Far, How Fast Without Pedaling? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not this one. There are models that have a motorcycle-like grip accelerator, and models like this one, where they act a bit like an exoskeleton - contributing to the torque in proportion to your contribution, as if your legs were much stronger.

    2. Re:How Far, How Fast Without Pedaling? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You know you can get bicycle engine kits right?

    3. Re:How Far, How Fast Without Pedaling? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Xiaomi says the QiCycle has a large Panasonic 18650 battery, which can last up to 45 kms on a single charge.

      Looks likely.

      The bike is powered by 250W-36V electric motor, and uses Torque Measurement Method (TMM) to assist the rider’s pedal-power.

      But you may have to pedal lightly to make it know what you want it to do.

    4. Re:How Far, How Fast Without Pedaling? by jellomizer · · Score: 4, Funny

      Electric assist may be nicer on your knees better than normal bikes. Or if you live in Escher's world you can just coast downhill and then downhill back.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    5. Re:How Far, How Fast Without Pedaling? by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      When you are standing on a sphere, everything is downhill. We are precariously balanced on top.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    6. Re:How Far, How Fast Without Pedaling? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not in the United States. In the US, for legal reasons e-bikes only work in pedal assist mode, where they amplify the user's output. Similar 'bikes' that don't require the user to pedal do exist, but in the US they're legally motorcycles - so full licensing and insurance, can't be on the sidewalk, etc.

    7. Re:How Far, How Fast Without Pedaling? by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      Or if you live in Escher's world you can just coast downhill and then downhill back.

      That's the world we'll all be living in in the future, apparently - judging from the fact that it used to be uphill both ways in the past.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    8. Re: How Far, How Fast Without Pedaling? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OMG! Thanks. For roughly $200 you can upgrade a regular bike to a gas powered mopped. I did not know this! It makes sense but just nevered thought of it.

    9. Re:How Far, How Fast Without Pedaling? by Luthair · · Score: 1

      In Canada at least you generally cannot ride any bike on the sidewalk unless you are a child.

    10. Re:How Far, How Fast Without Pedaling? by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      Isn't this model intended mainly to 'flatten out hills'?

    11. Re:How Far, How Fast Without Pedaling? by thestuckmud · · Score: 1

      E-Bike laws in the US vary from state to state, but in general throttle controlled electric motors are allowed for speeds up to 20mph. For example, the new California Electric Bicycle Policy explicitly provides a "type-2" category for this sore of e-bike.

    12. Re:How Far, How Fast Without Pedaling? by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      Don't knock M C Escher. He was the world's first schoolboy to have to walk to class uphill both ways.

    13. Re:How Far, How Fast Without Pedaling? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > When you are standing on a sphere, everything is downhill.

      Only at the North Pole. At the South Pole everything is uphill.

    14. Re:How Far, How Fast Without Pedaling? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...Electric assist may be nicer on your knees...

      Oh man, that sounds so wrong.

    15. Re:How Far, How Fast Without Pedaling? by ChunderDownunder · · Score: 1

      Hi from the Southern Hemisphere.

      The entropy is so messed up down here in Australia that we drive on the left side of the road.

    16. Re:How Far, How Fast Without Pedaling? by ChunderDownunder · · Score: 1

      And also the first hiphop DJ.

    17. Re:How Far, How Fast Without Pedaling? by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      That was a big flop, though. The fire code inspectors came to his new club, took one look at all those stairways fanning out in different directions, and shut him down.

  5. Does it come complete with... by evolutionary · · Score: 1

    the increasingly common chinese government backdoor for data collection? A technology appliance from China somehow feels incomplete without it.

    --
    "Imagination is more important than knowledge" - Einstein
    1. Re:Does it come complete with... by 110010001000 · · Score: 2

      You are naive if you don't think non-Chinese equipment has their own backdoors.

    2. Re:Does it come complete with... by Calabacin · · Score: 1

      the increasingly common chinese government backdoor for data collection? A technology appliance from China somehow feels incomplete without it.

      You probably find it incomplete because you are used to american hardware... ;-)

      --
      How much wood would a woodchopper chop if a woodchopper would chop wood?
    3. Re:Does it come complete with... by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      It's interesting that we have not found any of these back doors. I mean, some surely exist, but none have been publicized. Only a few instances of gross incompetence, nothing you could point to as being a sophisticated back door created by a government level entity.

      Either they are really good at hiding them or they don't bother on export equipment. I'm thinking maybe the latter, because they can just force Chinese companies to cooperate with them and hand over data they have anyway, so a back door is kinda redundant. Plus, they probably use the NSA and GCHQ's back doors so no need to insert their own. You have to assume that if Snowden could steal all that information the real spies will have already done much more.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    4. Re:Does it come complete with... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      However, it's guaranteed on Chinese products, which is probably the only thing that is guaranteed for slave-labor produced pieces of shit.

    5. Re: Does it come complete with... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bullshit.

  6. Silicon Valley Hipsters by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    are sure going to look ridiculous on these.

    1. Re:Silicon Valley Hipsters by fiannaFailMan · · Score: 1

      Even more ridiculous than the guy I saw the other day on an all-carbon monocoque time trial bike, and riding it in regular street clothes. This must be the modern equivalent of the teenagers driving around London in the 1980s in Porsches.

      --
      Drill baby drill - on Mars
  7. Thats cheap by 110010001000 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I went to an ebike store and the guy was showing me bikes in the range of $4,000-$6,000. Who would pay that much? Ridiculous. You know they are being manufactured in China for $200.

    1. Re:Thats cheap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It is not how much it costs, it is how much people can afford to pay. For the average Chinese resident 3000 Yuan can easily be their entire wages for the month. So here they price the bikes accordingly. It is just like you can buy a new car for $15000 or you can buy a Ferrari for several hundred thousand. The cost to assemble a Ferrari is more expensive but not 10 times more expensive.

    2. Re:Thats cheap by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      Obviously. My point is who would pay $6,000 for an ebike? Ridiculous.

    3. Re:Thats cheap by HornWumpus · · Score: 2

      The same people who pay $10,000 for an unpowered bike.

      It's all about impressing their peers. They make an impression on the rest of us too, but that one is not so good.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    4. Re:Thats cheap by AmazingRuss · · Score: 1

      I got a suspended electric mountain bike for that... It's worth the money. It was made in Germany, and I know it cost more that $200 to make.

    5. Re:Thats cheap by AmazingRuss · · Score: 2

      Envy cloaked in contempt.

    6. Re:Thats cheap by b0bby · · Score: 1

      I have friends with ~$5000 bikes. For them, it's not about impressing people, they actually can tell the difference between various components. In a 100 mile race, the little things add up. There are worse hobbies.

    7. Re:Thats cheap by HornWumpus · · Score: 2

      You think I envy someone that stupid?

      I bet you think I envy people who spend $10k+ on watches too?

      It's not how much you earn, it's how much you keep.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    8. Re:Thats cheap by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      Really? I'll bet your friends have 5-10lbs of belly body fat too. Saving a few grams isn't going to make a difference unless you are an elite athlete.

    9. Re:Thats cheap by AmazingRuss · · Score: 1

      If they've got 10k to spend on a watch, they've probably kept more than you have too.

    10. Re:Thats cheap by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      Doubtful. Most of the upper/upper middle class people who have actual liquid assets in the US don't go around wasting $10k on a watch.

    11. Re:Thats cheap by AmazingRuss · · Score: 1

      Whatever you need to believe to feel better about yourself...

      If you do it silently, people won't pick on you about it.

    12. Re:Thats cheap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Envy cloaked in contempt.

      If that state of mind helps you sleep at night, be my guest. But whatever you want to believe doesn't change HornWumpus' point, the rest of us think a spandex covered corndog on a $10k bike is hard not to laugh at.

      I try not to judge. Maybe the corndog just happens to have vast disposable income and the sales guy convinced him that a few hundred grams off the bike will help him win the tri. I see it around here plenty. When they finally realize that the expensive toy isn't as effective as eating right and training, (not to mention losing the corndog-shaped body), they eventually either become one with the spandex-tool image they want, or quit and sell the awesome bike cheap on craigslist.

      Trust me, you do not get the awesome bike cheap on craigslist if you laugh and insult the corndog-failure selling you the awesome bike for peanuts...

      Expensive bike or cheap bike, just keep rolling. :)

    13. Re:Thats cheap by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 1

      The top end of the ebike market in China is $750. Of course the ones for export are different. The Chinese domestic models look like scooters, but the export ones look like bicycles and are sleek and sharp-looking. The Chinese ebikes look like something you'd ride down to the market to pick up bread. Western bike riders wouldn't accept that kind of crappy-looking product, they want futuristic. An ebike is a status symbol you show off to show how eco-aware you are, and if it costs more, that means you are more dedicated. So there's no market for the Chinese style ebike in the West.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
    14. Re:Thats cheap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is little difference in my 18.8lb $800 aluminum and carbon fiber bike and a $5,000 16.7lb all carbon fiber bike. I have ridden them both and can feel little difference, Well, the $5,000 bike does shift a little smother but after months of riding everyday, that smooth shifting will fade.

      Oh, and I do ride every day. I rode 541.9 miles in May 2016 and I am on track to do almost 600 miles in June 2016... https://nationalbikechallenge.org/rider/12515 My National rank at the moment is 1,100 out of 40,303 in the entire USA that are signed up.

      Nathan

    15. Re:Thats cheap by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Your eyes are clamped shut.

      Look around you. Apartment complexes full of brand new cars. 40 year olds with negative net worths and $100,000+/year incomes. Programmed consumers are the dumbest people _ever_ to have lived.

      People that spend $10k on watches are just morons. The truly rich spend much more, 10k watch is likely owned by an idiot barely making six figures.

      Trading their freedom for overpriced trinkets. Morons.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    16. Re:Thats cheap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have an $11k custom titanium bike. I'm buying another one (fat bike) for the winter trails. I have a middle class income and don't do it to impress anyone. I just ride it.

    17. Re:Thats cheap by AmazingRuss · · Score: 0

      What I see right now are angry neckbeards in basement apartments eating ramen, with 50k in savings, raging against the machine, and patting themselves on the back for their superior insight.

    18. Re:Thats cheap by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      You give them too much credit.

      They can't accept it's not the equipment's fault. So they sell the bike for five cents on the dollar on craigslist and buy another, even more expensive one.

      They never finish races, much less win. An hour riding a cheap bike burns as many calories as an hour on any bike.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    19. Re:Thats cheap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I got a suspended electric mountain bike for that... It's worth the money. It was made in Germany, and I know it cost more that $200 to make.

      I got to demo a nice one. It was easily as good as a low end regular FS XC bike. To me it was just a heavy bike that didn't feel heavy and WTF is the point of that? If they tweaked the power assist to be a bit more aggressive it could be loads of fun, but as is it was a big old "meh" for me. The price point was even with mid to high end bikes which I would much rather have over the heavy-but-not-while-the-battery-isn't-dead lump, as good of an attempt as it was.

      Care to share what brand/model you have? Maybe it's better than my experience on a $6-7k Spec Levo.

    20. Re:Thats cheap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not just about weight, it's about how well the components work. A $200 derailleur works noticeably better than a $30 one. If they save a pound on the wheelset, that has much more effect of an effect than 5 lbs. on the stomach. I'm a bike racer and if you show up with a $5k bike, no one will care or even notice as a $2-3k bike is extremely commonplace.

    21. Re:Thats cheap by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Interesting imagination you have there.

      Now get back to work, you have payments to make. Soon you'll owe less than the things are worth. Then you can buy new things again.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    22. Re:Thats cheap by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      You are making an impression anyhow, it's not a good one.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    23. Re:Thats cheap by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Now more than ever you get what you pay for with bicycles, which by the way a very significant portion of are manufactured in the Netherlands. In the luxury market the significant portion becomes even more significant.

    24. Re:Thats cheap by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      The top end of the ebike market in China is $750. Of course the ones for export are different. The Chinese domestic models look like scooters, but the export ones look like bicycles and are sleek and sharp-looking. The Chinese ebikes look like something you'd ride down to the market to pick up bread. Western bike riders wouldn't accept that kind of crappy-looking product, they want futuristic. An ebike is a status symbol you show off to show how eco-aware you are, and if it costs more, that means you are more dedicated. So there's no market for the Chinese style ebike in the West.

      I've seen the scooter-style ebikes running around here in Vancouver, BC. They're in a weird zone because by law, they cannot go faster than 32kph (~20mph) otherwise they are classified as a motorcycle. But, if you want to be classified as a bike, they need pedals. so those ebikes have a set of fake pedals installed on the frame to be legal.

      They're still not cheap. Though I find it hard to classify them as a bicycle though since at no point are they human powered - they're really just slow electric motorcycles in the end.

    25. Re:Thats cheap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You give them too much credit.

      They can't accept it's not the equipment's fault. So they sell the bike for five cents on the dollar on craigslist and buy another, even more expensive one.

      They never finish races, much less win. An hour riding a cheap bike burns as many calories as an hour on any bike.

      :)

      Actually riding a cheap, heavy, POS probably burns more calories, but in the grand scheme not even that would help "AmazingRuss" not be a douche nozzle.
      Yes, I'm AC. I had a login 15-20 years ago, but I can't remember what it was. Don't care anymore...

      Anecdote, when I was a teen I had a riding buddy from Quebec. He also trained on shitty Huffy bikes. Get on the good bike for a race and kick ass. People that want the best equipment tend to need that crutch in my experience. Hey, somebody has to put money into the system.

      Final nitpick, I average about 15 cents on the dollar on "corndog recovery". I only wish it was as good as 5! For years I've "rented" awesome bikes this way, selling it on when a new corndog comes along.

      It has been amusing watching AmazingRuss embarrass himself, so thanks for that. ;-)

    26. Re:Thats cheap by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      Well, the consumers at least imply that there's someone to work for. The things you buy give other people their jobs. But, yeah, $10k watches are kind of ridiculous.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    27. Re:Thats cheap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are an asshole.

    28. Re:Thats cheap by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      I can't speak for other places but you can't sell an electric bycicle in Europe unless it's an actual bicycle. So there's that. It's not about how it looks, it's about the fact that if it's not a bicycle you need a driving license for it (and you can't go where only pedestrians and bycicles are allowed, for example). At that point, convenience drops rapidly.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    29. Re:Thats cheap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Soon you'll owe less than the things cost you.

      FTFY

    30. Re:Thats cheap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What I see right now are ...

      You should get out and see more of the world. It's pretty big.

    31. Re:Thats cheap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You both have good points. The real factors don't kick in until after 150-200 miles though. Conditioning and metabolism matter more at that point. "A tool out of fuel is a fool", or something like that. If your body burns fat in preference over sugars, either just genetically or through dietary conditioning, you will have a huge advantage over the sugar burners when it's wall time. That extra 5lbs of fat is actually a 17,500kcal energy advantage. (Though you're unlikely to be able to burn it all in one day, having ready access to it is what will matter.)

      $5k, $2-3k, even $0.7k was "good enough" for me. Below that it gets hard to keep up.

    32. Re:Thats cheap by SvnLyrBrto · · Score: 1

      I live in a city with hills so steep that in some places they gave up on the notion of sidewalks and put in stairs. Actually, I live about halfway up one of these hills. A fairly basic electric assist bicycle would be pretty handy, especially if it folds as small as most of the folding bikes I've seen.

      --
      Imagine all the people...
    33. Re:Thats cheap by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      What a joke. You must go to the ghetto and think "boy these people are so rich. Look at all that jewelry they wear"!

    34. Re:Thats cheap by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      50k is savings is likely more than you have if you are buying $40,000 watches. But you aren't, because you are an angry neckbeard.

    35. Re:Thats cheap by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      I could replace your $200 derailleur with a $30 one and you would still finish the race in the same place, unless you are an elite athlete.

    36. Re:Thats cheap by 110010001000 · · Score: 0

      Luxury market? You mean overpriced. It is a bike. Unless you are an elite athlete that extra $5000 isn't going to make a difference.

    37. Re:Thats cheap by eth1 · · Score: 2

      It is not how much it costs, it is how much people can afford to pay. For the average Chinese resident 3000 Yuan can easily be their entire wages for the month. So here they price the bikes accordingly. It is just like you can buy a new car for $15000 or you can buy a Ferrari for several hundred thousand. The cost to assemble a Ferrari is more expensive but not 10 times more expensive.

      The problem is that the companies making stuff want to be able to hire someone in $CHEAP_COUNTRY for $X/10, instead of someone in $EXPENSIVE_COUNTRY for $X. But then want to be able to sell it in $CHEAP_COUNTRY for $Y and in $EXPENSIVE_COUNTRY for $Y*10. Then they bitch and moan and buy off politicians in order to prevent people from buying it where it's cheap and bringing it to where it's not, while they do exactly the same thing with labor.

    38. Re:Thats cheap by SvnLyrBrto · · Score: 1

      I think the difference is that those friends of yours actually do (I assume) train for and ride competitively in those 100mi races. That's not the case with the majority of people spending stupid amounts of money on fancy-pants bicycles that sit in the garage the bulk of the time.

      I could see going up to $800 for a Public Bike D8i or M7i, if I were going to commit to making my commute to work every day via bicycle. More than that is really wasted (And bike-thief paranoia inducing.) unless you are a competition bike racer or triathlete.

      --
      Imagine all the people...
    39. Re:Thats cheap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You could also replace a Mercedes with a Corolla and, on most roadways, you'd get to work at the same time.

      But it would neither be comfortable, nor would it be as easy.

      If you spend hours on a bicycle every week, a few extra dollars to make it pleasant doesn't seem like a bad investment.

      And I say that as someone who doesn't even own a bike, nor do I have any interest in one, either. The logic is that obvious.

    40. Re:Thats cheap by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Truth is, I've been riding my old bike for so long, it has become a collectable. Wish I had saved the parts that wore out.

      I'd guess I was forth hand, Original purchase, trade-in bought by bike shop mechanic, sold to 350+lb friend of mine, not ridden for years, traded to me for 1/4 lb of mota (about $200, this was about 20 years ago, back when mota was a thing in CA).

      Apparently the seat post is worth as much as the rest of the bike. Hipsters want original thuds.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    41. Re:Thats cheap by I4ko · · Score: 1

      I can't quite find the source to cite the proper numbers, but a Kg of body fat can release something like 65 or 69 calories (and some fractions) a day when you are adapted (original figures from research are in kJ, these are converted). So with 5lb extra you are only going to get about 165cal available for the day from that energy storage.

    42. Re:Thats cheap by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Hahahahah. Yeah. No. I'm sorry you haven't ridden a nice bike before, but if it's your daily commuter the dollars make a lot of difference in the effort and comfort of the ride. Extra bonus points for electrical assist which can be had in an horrendous after market kit for a few hundred dollars, or just buy an e-bike with battery pack and motor integrated in frames which works much better than the aftermarket addons and further makes commutes excellent.

      You won't notice much of a difference between $5000 and $20000 unless you're an elite athlete, but the first $5000 has a LOT to offer, and "overpriced" is the exact opposite of what I meant, and what I said.

    43. Re:Thats cheap by Gussington · · Score: 1

      I went to an ebike store and the guy was showing me bikes in the range of $4,000-$6,000. Who would pay that much? Ridiculous. You know they are being manufactured in China for $200.

      I know right. I was in the Apple store and they wanted $1000 for a phone, but last time I was in China I could get a ChingChong special for $20. Why would anyone pay more than that?

  8. what battery ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Im sorry. Isnt a panasonic 18650 battery a single cell used to power flashlights and vape sticks ? think thats 3.4ah at 3.8v or something.

    1. Re:what battery ? by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 1

      Yes. But let me introduce you to a revolutionary concept: if you connect several 18650 cells in parallel, you get multiples of a single cell's capacity. And if you connect several groups of 18650 cells in series, you get multiples of a single cell's voltage.

      And if you connect a metric shitload of 18650 batteries together with a BMS and a car around it, you get a Tesla.

      Amazing isn't it?

      --
      "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
  9. Re:Xiamomi? by 110010001000 · · Score: 2

    They are a $20 billion dollar company. They can buy plenty of vowels. Also, I think i, a and o are all vowels.

  10. Grrrr by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "[...] which can last up to 45 kms on a single charge.

    Sorry to be pedantic, but I really hate it when people pluralise units by adding an "s". Forty-five kilometres is written "45km". "45kms" would be forty-five kilometre-seconds, which is a rather different quantity.

    1. Re:Grrrr by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 4, Funny

      Sorry to be pedantic

      No you're not.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    2. Re:Grrrr by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >> Sorry to be pedantic
      > No you're not.

      Do you mean 'not sorry', or 'not pedantic' ?

      Us pedants want to know.

    3. Re:Grrrr by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

      Us pedants want to know.

      I believe you meant to say "we pedants."

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    4. Re:Grrrr by ChunderDownunder · · Score: 1

      Wee peed-pants?

    5. Re:Grrrr by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry to be pedantic

      No you're not.

      I don't think he was pedantic either. It's sort of a grade-school level kind of thing. You don't say 'em-pee-ages' when talking about multiples of miles per hour, either. :)

  11. 7 kg with e-assist? by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 1

    I say bullshit. Even the lightest Brompton without e-assist is heavier than that. Drastic weight reduction methods required to bring a purely muscle-powered bike down to 7 kg - let alone a folder, and especially let alone an *electric* folder - would bring it into multi-thousand dollar price tag territories.

    So... Bullshit.

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
    1. Re:7 kg with e-assist? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Spot on.
      manufacture site says 14.5kg
      http://en.miui.com/thread-298523-1-1.html

    2. Re:7 kg with e-assist? by Khashishi · · Score: 2

      Yeah, I was thinking it must be made of aluminum foil or something. And they decided that it was better marketing it as a folding bike than a crumpling bike.

    3. Re:7 kg with e-assist? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It's actually mixed up information from 2 bikes. the QiBike and the QiBike R1. The R1 looks like a normal road bike, costs 3000$ and weighs 7kg and no motor. the UCI weight limit is 6.8kg so lots of expensive bikes are made to that weight (or lower, and race teams add weight).

    4. Re:7 kg with e-assist? by kosmosik · · Score: 1

      Here is some info:
      http://en.miui.com/thread-2985...

      Single 18650 battery weights about 40-50 grams. Xiaomi states it uses 20 of them so the battery alone is about 1kg.

      The bike weight is 14,5kg.

    5. Re:7 kg with e-assist? by jrumney · · Score: 1

      A Brompton is heavy and overpriced. There are already much cheaper and lighter foldables available in Asia, and some of them (mostly the Japanese rather than Chinese ones) are even able to match a Brompton in quality. The high price mostly comes down to materials and quantity, so it is not surprising that a lighter bike (lower material cost) with a larger target market (thinner spread of amortised fixed costs) would be cheaper.

  12. 14.5 kg, not 7 (sigh) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See https://www.engadget.com/2016/06/23/xiaomi-mi-qicycle-smart-bike/

  13. Well DUH ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    QiCycle has an integrated electric motor, which can be used for propulsion

    Why else would you want a motor on a push bike, power steering ?

  14. Shit that doesn't matter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A chinese bike nobody buys is front page news now internationally on slashdick.

    Dumber every day. This isn't walmart.com.

  15. City Bike by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

    Itsy Bitsy wheels, and minimal capacity — it's doubtful it even delivers as advertised at this size. Not useless, but not amazingly useful. The price is good, if it lasts any period of time.

    I would like a folding bike which is sized for larger-than-man-sized creatures like myself. I have a Haro X7 in the XL size and it's about spot on.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    1. Re:City Bike by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      You want a folding mountain bike? For what? These are city bikes. Do you want a Ferrari that goes offroad too? I would say your mountain bike is not very useful either since you rarely go to the mountains with it.

    2. Re:City Bike by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have a Haro X7 in the XL size and it's about spot on.

      Why would you want that foldable? Even if you folded it your Haro would still be the size of a tuba.

    3. Re:City Bike by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Why would you want that foldable? Even if you folded it your Haro would still be the size of a tuba.

      If I could fold my Haro in half, I could stick it in the (admittedly very large) trunk of my car without any trouble. I don't want to use a trunk scuffer or a roof dragger and a trailer hitch for my car costs more than a Honda. Since it has a through-shaft front axle it's got an extra step before I'm able to trunk it, which is not a big deal but still silly to have to do every time.

      In any case, fairly credible full size folding MTBs exist, but they are still a bit small for me.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    4. Re:City Bike by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So have a good bike custom shop (one that makes bikes) cut the frame of your Haro and weld on couplers. A lot of niche bike companies offer couplers as an option on their custom framesets.

    5. Re:City Bike by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      I would say your mountain bike is not very useful either since you rarely go to the mountains with it.

      Actually, I rarely go anywhere else with it. Since it's full-suspension it's not ideal for flat ground, and the rubber it's wearing would disappear rapidly on tarmac.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    6. Re:City Bike by 110010001000 · · Score: 0

      You probably rarely use your bike at all. The point is that this is a city bike (commuter bike) that is to be used regularly. It is useful. Just not to fat suburbanites.

    7. Re:City Bike by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      It is useful. Just not to fat suburbanites.

      I'm asthmatic, and I live in the country. I'd use my bike a lot more if it would help me out with some of the hard parts, and that would make it a lot easier to not be fat. I don't road bike because I love life.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    8. Re:City Bike by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Itsy bitsy wheels are good for commuting. There is basically no downside unless you are going faster than 30 km/h in which case they are slightly less efficient. I don't think you strength is a problem either (obviously depends on the wheels). I've seen some absolutely massive guys on Bromptons when I was living in London. I don't think you have to worry. If you are really interested I would look around. People often assume that they want/need a mountain bike, but actually they aren't really great bikes for commuting (especially with dual suspension).

  16. hmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    >large Panasonic 18650 battery

    Google translate at its best

  17. Re:Xiamomi? by CrashNBrn · · Score: 1

    A top 10 global mobile-phone manufacturer (this year) that has diversified into numerous other markets. Although not even a year ago, Xiaomi was the number 1 Chinese manufacturer, but they have been eclipsed by Huawei. Xiaomi and Lenovo (+Motorola) recently dropped another notch, as Oppo and Vivo took over the 4th and 5th spots in the global mobile phone market.

    TLDR; My phone: Xiaomi RedMi3 Pro Prime @ $146.99 - $10 cheaper than it was two weeks ago.

  18. "zi-o-mi" by CrashNBrn · · Score: 1

    Or you could just learn how to pronounce it?

    1. Re:"zi-o-mi" by sysrammer · · Score: 1

      With a Z? that's craxy talk!

      --
      His ignorance covered the whole earth like a blanket, and there was hardly a hole in it anywhere. - Mark Twain
    2. Re:"zi-o-mi" by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      Doesn't your subject miss a syllable? There are two Ms in the name, not just one.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
  19. I can comment on how fast by Zontar_Thing_From_Ve · · Score: 1

    I actually rode as a passenger on one of these electric bikes in Zhongshan, China. It was operating as a sort of taxi. My (at the time) Chinese girlfriend wasn't sure that they were strictly legal but you could use them go around downtown for short distances and they were cheap. I'd estimate that it got up to somewhere around 25-30 MPH which equates to 40-48 KMH. I didn't feel all that safe as a passenger in it and it's not something I'd do again, but she wanted to use it so we did.

    1. Re:I can comment on how fast by aicrules · · Score: 1

      Is she still Chinese today or did she become something else?

  20. Not Selling Bikes! by Prince+Vegeta+SSJ4 · · Score: 1

    FTFA: "The cycle has been developed by iRiding, a start-up that Xiaomi has invested in and the bikes are unsold under the QiCycle branding. " They are buying the bikes back???

  21. Video here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVOTnrnD-Gw

  22. Not exactly EU... by DrYak · · Score: 1

    But in Switzerland (geographically in the middle of Europe, but not quite exactly part of EU) :

    - if it goes under 25 km/h, and has a maximal power of 500W, it's considered as a bicycle (with power-assistance. Meaning that you need to turn the pedal for the electric motor to help you).
    There's no peculiar registration required, nor special insurance.
    Any one above 16 can freely drive them (special moped driving license required for kids between 14 and 16).
    Helmet are just strongly recommended for bicycles.

    - if it goes up to 45 km/h, and has a maximal power 1000W, it's considered as a moped (which happens to be electrically powered instead of gaz powered)
    It need to be registered as a moped, has moped-type number plate, needs to be insured like a moped.
    (and I think it must also feature a couple of obligatory accessories to be considered a street-legal moped, like a side mirror. I might be wrong).
    Only age above 16 can drive it, and need a special moped driving license to drive it.
    Helmet is compulsory on mopeds.

    - anything faster or more powerful is an electric motorcycle.
    And follows the same registration and driving license as motorcycle
    (with different categories depending on motor power output, just like a regular motorcycle)

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
  23. victim blaming hogwash disproven by studies by SuperBanana · · Score: 1

    "Most bike accidents happen to inexperienced riders and/or idiots."

    There is absolutely no evidence to support this incredibly victim-blaming comment. There is plenty of evidence to refute it, if you simply google the phrase "cyclist driver fault study"

    Examples: http://www.executivestyle.com....

    http://www.nytimes.com/2000/05...

    http://www.theguardian.com/lif...

    You're a classic victim-blamer. See, it's those other, stupid, slower, more inexperienced cyclists who get hit. Not you. You're experienced. Dressed like a dayglo traffic cone clown. Covered in lights.

    --
    Please help metamoderate.