"13-gauge butted (2.3/2.0mm) spokes are oversized at the hub. WTB says this is to counteract the higher braking forces and increased motor torque of an e-bike."
Isn't this just number-wanking? How many people are snapping spokes in the middle? Isn't the usual failure mode more likely to be pulling through the rim? These spokes are going to greatly increase the force on the spoke holes since they're not going to stretch as much as a thinner spoke. Or breaking at the nipple where all spokes are the same size? Perhaps breaking at the J-bend, but it's my understanding that can be alleviated much better with smart hub flange design versus brute-forcing it with oversize spokes.
Also, how can braking forces be higher? They're speed limited, so they're not going downhill any faster. And the e-weight isn't a real issue: I already have like 20-25 kg on most of my riding buddies and I'm not exploding wheels left and right, so it's not like the extra 10 kg of an e-bike is breaking new ground in total weight.
And I just have to repeat it, because hypocrisy pisses me off, but if there is enough extra torque going through the wheels that a super beefy wheel is required, then that same extra torque is going into the ground, which will inevitably do more damage to the trail. Plain un-boosted humans can already break tire traction and push dirt around, there is no way a bike that requires all this extra shit just to survive isn't moving a whole lot more dirt around.
I'm all for new technology used in new ways, but I just can't rectify the industry selling us both sides at once: e-bikes are just a pedal-assisted boost, just "you but faster", but you also will need massively overbuilt stuff to "handle the extra forces", and new motors with even more extended boost that make it literally not just pedal assist.
Maybe this was a bit of "thread-jacking", but I just don't like seeing marketing fluff simply repeated with zero analysis. The little extra about the heat-sink is great! I'd just like to see more like that on the other fluff.
Oct. 4, 2022, 8:04 a.m. - Justin White
"13-gauge butted (2.3/2.0mm) spokes are oversized at the hub. WTB says this is to counteract the higher braking forces and increased motor torque of an e-bike." Isn't this just number-wanking? How many people are snapping spokes in the middle? Isn't the usual failure mode more likely to be pulling through the rim? These spokes are going to greatly increase the force on the spoke holes since they're not going to stretch as much as a thinner spoke. Or breaking at the nipple where all spokes are the same size? Perhaps breaking at the J-bend, but it's my understanding that can be alleviated much better with smart hub flange design versus brute-forcing it with oversize spokes. Also, how can braking forces be higher? They're speed limited, so they're not going downhill any faster. And the e-weight isn't a real issue: I already have like 20-25 kg on most of my riding buddies and I'm not exploding wheels left and right, so it's not like the extra 10 kg of an e-bike is breaking new ground in total weight. And I just have to repeat it, because hypocrisy pisses me off, but if there is enough extra torque going through the wheels that a super beefy wheel is required, then that same extra torque is going into the ground, which will inevitably do more damage to the trail. Plain un-boosted humans can already break tire traction and push dirt around, there is no way a bike that requires all this extra shit just to survive isn't moving a whole lot more dirt around. I'm all for new technology used in new ways, but I just can't rectify the industry selling us both sides at once: e-bikes are just a pedal-assisted boost, just "you but faster", but you also will need massively overbuilt stuff to "handle the extra forces", and new motors with even more extended boost that make it literally not just pedal assist. Maybe this was a bit of "thread-jacking", but I just don't like seeing marketing fluff simply repeated with zero analysis. The little extra about the heat-sink is great! I'd just like to see more like that on the other fluff.