WANTED: E-bike insights to help student research project

[rbecker7]

Fellow Peddlers,

I am working with a group of students at San Diego State doing research into the e-bike industry for a class project.

We are looking for feedback from e-bike enthusiasts like yourselves on the features you look for, favorite models, and outlook of the industry moving forward!

We would LOVE and APPRECIATE your feedback by completing our short survey found below or replying to this thread

CLICK HERE to take the 1 minute survey

We appreciate your feedback and can't wait to share our report with the forum!

Keep on peddling!

 

[mike killay]

Pity a research student cannot spell pedalling.

 

[Nealh]

They are ex colonials who bastardised the English spelling what else do you expect ?

 

[Andy-Mat]

Fellow Peddlers,

I am working with a group of students at San Diego State doing research into the e-bike industry for a class project.

We are looking for feedback from e-bike enthusiasts like yourselves on the features you look for, favorite models, and outlook of the industry moving forward!

We would LOVE and APPRECIATE your feedback by completing our short survey found below or replying to this thread

CLICK HERE to take the 1 minute survey

We appreciate your feedback and can't wait to share our report with the forum!

Keep on peddling!

I don't know why, but some of your questions seem to be badly programmed and I am unable to "answer" them.
I had problems with the following question, but eventually it started to work as designed:-
What types of electric bicycles are you most interested in? Please drag & drop the order from 1 (highest) to 6 (lowest).
The following question I was not so lucky:-
What are the most important features of an electric bicycle? Please drag & drop the order from 1 (highest) to 7 (lowest).
So I have given up trying to give you valid data.
If you manage to get your "programming" fixed, offer it again and I will do my best to answer truthfully for you.
Remember, for everyone that gets such problems, most will just give up, and you will not know how many, or who they were....
Proper testing of such Questionnaires before putting them out is vital.
I am using Win10 at the the most recent version.
Andy

 

[flecc]

They are ex colonials who bastardised the English spelling what else do you expect ?

Actually not true. They took the correct English spelling with them when they sailed to the new world - - - then with one honourable expection kept it.

The clue as to the identity of that exception is in the last phrase.

The bastardisation was by us since and is in our current version of English.
.

 

[sjpt]

They are ex colonials who bastardised the English spelling what else do you expect ?

Even in the US it should be pedaling. Peddling is what you do to drugs, not bikes.

Thorn Tree is coming to an end - Lonely Planet

Thorn Tree is coming to an end

www.lonelyplanet.com

p.s. I am highly allergic to spelling mistakes except those I make myself, to which I am totally blind.

 

[Benjahmin]

For me e biking is an extension of utility/leisure cycling. As such I want a machine that I can maintain and repair myself. Therefore I ride a hub motored machine with generic electrical components, that is to say I can replace anything with off the shelf items. I am not interested in increasingly complex control algorythms getting between me and the power - more complexity = greater fault liability. Neither am I interested in machines that only allow sevice/repair by the original manufacturer (eg Bosch), and are generally high in price.
I haven't attempted to look at your formattted questions because I find that they are always posed in such a way as to give predecided answers.
My advice, keep machines simple, robust and make sure customer service is second to none.

 

[Andy-Mat]

For me e biking is an extension of utility/leisure cycling. As such I want a machine that I can maintain and repair myself. Therefore I ride a hub motored machine with generic electrical components, that is to say I can replace anything with off the shelf items. I am not interested in increasingly complex control algorythms getting between me and the power - more complexity = greater fault liability. Neither am I interested in machines that only allow sevice/repair by the original manufacturer (eg Bosch), and are generally high in price.
I haven't attempted to look at your formattted questions because I find that they are always posed in such a way as to give predecided answers.
My advice, keep machines simple, robust and make sure customer service is second to none.

IMHO, the best type of bike to own bar none!
Great post.
Andy

 

[sjpt]

For me e biking is an extension of utility/leisure cycling.

My advice, keep machines simple, robust and make sure customer service is second to none.

Absolutely. I did manage to get through their somewhat badly programmed survey, and was able to make almost exactly those points at the end.

 

[mike killay]

OP
All your questions are for the USA.
Do you realise that this an UK site?

 

[flecc]

Even in the US it should be pedaling. Peddling is what you do to drugs, not bikes.

And not just drugs, everything and anything:

Pedlar: One who sells by travelling to selling locations.

Peddle: The function of selling during travel for that purpose.

Peddling: The action of selling during travel for that purpose.

Pedal: A mechanical component used to transmit a command, typically using a foot.

Pedalling: The continuous use of a pedal or pedals to produce a sustained function.

Pedelec: A verbal construct to describe an electrically assisted bicycle. This replaces the originally used MoPed which is now mostly incorrectly used for self propelled machines without pedals.

Tinker: A form of Pedlar who combines repair services with the function of selling while travelling.

Tinkering: Carrying out actions intended to improve anything mechanical, commonly by the unqualified. Often having the opposite effect.
.

 

[vfr400]

We get asked to do these surveys about twice a year. They're all very similar, with too many loaded questions instead of open ones; however, I did think that this was one of the better ones. That's only comparing with the others. I didn't have much trouble completing it.

I was a schoolteacher for 10 years, teaching Design and Technology as a main subject. As part of that, the kids often had to do market surveys. The idea was to show them how it works as a tool, not so much to get useful info for their design projects. As soon as you see words like students, school or college, just do your best to help them get what they need. Try not to criticise. They have teachers/tutors for that. Remember, some of us are relatively experts on ebikes. A college student is unlikely to be, but will probably learn fast. We'll be relying on them for our future ebikes.

 

[WheezyRider]

And not just drugs, everything and anything:

Pedlar: One who sells by travelling to selling locations.

Peddle: The function of selling during travel for that purpose.

Peddling: The action of selling during travel for that purpose.

Pedal: A mechanical component used to transmit a command, typically using a foot.

Pedalling: The continuous use of a pedal or pedals to produce a sustained function.

Pedelec: A verbal construct to describe an electrically assisted bicycle. This replaces the originally used MoPed which is now mostly incorrectly used for self propelled machines without pedals.

Tinker: A form of Pedlar who combines repair services with the function of selling while travelling.

Tinkering: Carrying out actions intended to improve anything mechanical, commonly by the unqualified. Often having the opposite effect.
.

So is a "Ghost Pedlar" someone who likes fooling their PAS, or a spiritualist?

 

[Chainring]

They are ex colonials who bastardised the English spelling what else do you expect ?

As Brian Sewell said, 'Treat others as equal, and they will equal you'.

 

[flecc]

So is a "Ghost Pedlar" someone who likes fooling their PAS, or a spiritualist?

We e-bikers have Ghost Pedallers who fool their PAS.

Ghost Pedlars would be travelling suppliers of some spiritualist services, but if healing haunted homes, a repair service, they would be Ghost Tinkers.
.

 

[Danidl]

For me e biking is an extension of utility/leisure cycling. As such I want a machine that I can maintain and repair myself. Therefore I ride a hub motored machine with generic electrical components, that is to say I can replace anything with off the shelf items. I am not interested in increasingly complex control algorythms getting between me and the power - more complexity = greater fault liability. Neither am I interested in machines that only allow sevice/repair by the original manufacturer (eg Bosch), and are generally high in price.
I haven't attempted to look at your formattted questions because I find that they are always posed in such a way as to give predecided answers.
My advice, keep machines simple, robust and make sure customer service is second to none.

There is a difference between utility and leisure cycling. For utility cycling the Bosch model is fine and our continental cousins in Germany, Belgium etc. Agree with me. A highly reliable commuter vehicle ,which may cost a few quid extra and for whom professional assistance is available .

 

[vfr400]

There is a difference between utility and leisure cycling. For utility cycling the Bosch model is fine and our continental cousins in Germany, Belgium etc. Agree with me. A highly reliable commuter vehicle ,which may cost a few quid extra and for whom professional assistance is available .

the Bosch model is fine and some of our continental cousins in Germany, Belgium etc. Agree with me.

Some don't. the German forum is full of Bosch problems, like this one:

sonstige(s) - Defekte Bosch Gen4

Hallo Schwarm, man hört derzeit Gerüchte von immer mal wieder defekten Bosch Gen4 Motoren. Aber eher gleich bei Auslieferung. Rad kommt beim Händler an, wird zusammengebaut, Motor will nicht starten (und wird dann getauscht). Nur ein Gerücht? Wer weiss mehr?

www.pedelecforum.de

and this

sonstige(s) - Bosch Classic Motor defekt. Geht nach dem Einschalten sofort wieder aus.

Bei meinem E-Bike mit Bosch Classic Mittelmotor besteht folgendes Problem: Beim Einschalten des Akkus erscheint kurz am Display eine Anzeige und geht sofort wieder aus. Die Fachwerkstätte wollte den Fehler auslesen, doch konnte keine Verbindung zum Diagnosegerät hergestellt werden. Die Stecker...

www.pedelecforum.de

Checkout the links to the other problems in those threads.

 

[RossG]

I don't like to cast aspersions on anyone I don't know but the reality is all surveys are just a means of gathering information and profiling people to learn their habits, likes and dislikes.
That info "could" be used for the reasons stated, it could also be sold to the highest bidder for sums that you would not believe. I heard of a survey a few years back that covered just a few streets, a couple of thousand homes maybe....the information was sold for £80.000 ! The giveaway always comes at the end of the survey, if you could just give us your email/phone no. Here's my answer to your survey my American cousin....on your bike!

 

[rbecker7]

I don't know why, but some of your questions seem to be badly programmed and I am unable to "answer" them.
I had problems with the following question, but eventually it started to work as designed:-
What types of electric bicycles are you most interested in? Please drag & drop the order from 1 (highest) to 6 (lowest).
The following question I was not so lucky:-
What are the most important features of an electric bicycle? Please drag & drop the order from 1 (highest) to 7 (lowest).
So I have given up trying to give you valid data.
If you manage to get your "programming" fixed, offer it again and I will do my best to answer truthfully for you.
Remember, for everyone that gets such problems, most will just give up, and you will not know how many, or who they were....
Proper testing of such Questionnaires before putting them out is vital.
I am using Win10 at the the most recent version.
Andy

Thank you for your feedback Andy, I appreciate the time you took to help us out. We are rethinking how we can better design the survey now! Unfortunately we must stick to Qualtrics instead of Win10 as its provided to us free by the school. I'll check it out once I graduate!

 

[rbecker7]

Pity a research student cannot spell pedalling.

My apologies for the misspelling, and thank you for the lesson. I mean no disrespect to this community. My role as a student is to learn and that is reason why I am here!