Reading the article, it really sounds like 95%+ of the problem is eBikes.
Traditional bikes have this problem, too, but outside of high-end stuff where the OEM is building a bespoke platform, most bikes still use common parts. Every few years, eg, Shimano, comes up with a slightly different bottom bracket, but it’s usually a $20 socket, at most.
Heck, I’d hazard it’s getting better now that there’s fewer weird French or Italian “standards” and everyone is using more or less the same stuff.
But yes, eBikes, that’s where the issue really is. A large part of the issue is that every manufacturer wants to reinvent the wheel–sometimes literally–because they feel they need to stand out in the market. No one wants to be just an integrator of whatever Shimano or SRAM are selling that year, albeit with different coats of paint, but when they realize that’s where they’ll end up, we’ll all be the better for it.
Reading the article, it really sounds like 95%+ of the problem is eBikes.
Traditional bikes have this problem, too, but outside of high-end stuff where the OEM is building a bespoke platform, most bikes still use common parts. Every few years, eg, Shimano, comes up with a slightly different bottom bracket, but it’s usually a $20 socket, at most.
Heck, I’d hazard it’s getting better now that there’s fewer weird French or Italian “standards” and everyone is using more or less the same stuff.
But yes, eBikes, that’s where the issue really is. A large part of the issue is that every manufacturer wants to reinvent the wheel–sometimes literally–because they feel they need to stand out in the market. No one wants to be just an integrator of whatever Shimano or SRAM are selling that year, albeit with different coats of paint, but when they realize that’s where they’ll end up, we’ll all be the better for it.