The bike industry used to be a durable goods business. Many companies still aspire to this philosophy (thankfully). Yes modern full suspension mountain bikes changed that dynamic considerably with their increased complexity and much higher maintenance requirements to ensure a long life but even these if maintained well can last many years. Staying in the realm of mountain bikes something akin to a Starling and others like it could go even longer. But the subject of this article will have an owner needing a new battery only to be told... Sorry the company no longer provides firmware updates for that charge controller sir but hey we have this new model with the Quantum-fire chip its SO much better! I recently sold a Bianchi Randonnuer I refurbished, it was over 40 years old (one of several multi-decade old bicycles I have done this to), the young person who purchased it gets to move around the city on a bicycle several times their age, its still useful. Amsterdam and much of the Netherlands is filled with ancient bicycles still being useful (they get cold winters too.) Look I get it, I'm not a luddite but these things (and many other product industries) are exactly whats wrong with the way we think about manufacturing and consumption. The computerization and motorization of all things with wheels simply accelerates the extraction, consumption and ultimately the one way ticket to the landfill. In the case of e-things it also now includes highly toxic waste.
Nov. 2, 2021, 5:30 p.m. - Michael
The bike industry used to be a durable goods business. Many companies still aspire to this philosophy (thankfully). Yes modern full suspension mountain bikes changed that dynamic considerably with their increased complexity and much higher maintenance requirements to ensure a long life but even these if maintained well can last many years. Staying in the realm of mountain bikes something akin to a Starling and others like it could go even longer. But the subject of this article will have an owner needing a new battery only to be told... Sorry the company no longer provides firmware updates for that charge controller sir but hey we have this new model with the Quantum-fire chip its SO much better! I recently sold a Bianchi Randonnuer I refurbished, it was over 40 years old (one of several multi-decade old bicycles I have done this to), the young person who purchased it gets to move around the city on a bicycle several times their age, its still useful. Amsterdam and much of the Netherlands is filled with ancient bicycles still being useful (they get cold winters too.) Look I get it, I'm not a luddite but these things (and many other product industries) are exactly whats wrong with the way we think about manufacturing and consumption. The computerization and motorization of all things with wheels simply accelerates the extraction, consumption and ultimately the one way ticket to the landfill. In the case of e-things it also now includes highly toxic waste.