Mastodawn

Go to "Updates" and read "Fundamental Obstacles". Over $2m collected and the summary of the update written by ChatGPT and translated by Google is "We can't make what we promised." A 100mi range self-charging folding #ebike is pretty out there.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/rocket-bike-self-charging-100-mile-range-ebike/x/8603654#/
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Rocket Bike: Self-Charging, 100-Mile Range eBike

Ride without limits on a 100-mile range, all-terrain eBike with regenerative braking & folding frame | Check out 'Rocket Bike: Self-Charging, 100-Mile Range eBike' on Indiegogo.

Indiegogo

I bet fake reviews like this sucked a lot of folks in. I wonder if the author is even a real person or just a stock photo with a made-up name. This #ebike never existed, and if they had a reputation to protect this article wouldn't exist either. (2/3)
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/the-rocket-foldable-e-bike-comes-with-a-100-mile-range-149730.html

The Rocket Foldable e-bike Comes With a 100-mile Range

Ladies and gentlemen, another contender for the crown of the e-bike industry is here. However, this bike isn’t much of a contender, but rather sets...

autoevolution

I've had vendors ask me for write-ups on products I have no experience with. I don't do that. You don't need me to regurgitate the specs you can read yourself in a brochure or promises made by the manufacturer. You need my experience with a real product I've touched. (3/3)

Phil (ascentale)May 2, 2023

@eBikeChick Wow, every update looks.. fake, and has the same strange word choice and structure. At least every update since January 2021.

Phil (ascentale)May 2, 2023

@eBikeChick They're also posted about every 29 days. Weird stuff!

@ascentale Ya, I remember first seeing the campaign and thinking, "More power to them if they can actually pull this off." I was pretty sure at the time they weren't going to, but it would have been cool if they had. At least they kept the backers regularly informed about how badly they were failing along the way. 😉

😀🚲May 2, 2023

@eBikeChick who gave these people money? I can't make sense of the numbers, over a thousand people gave them over a thousand dollars for what looks like maybe a $600 bike?

sticky comics 🚴‍♀️🚶‍♀️✍️May 2, 2023

@enobacon @eBikeChick OMG - I've been following this for more than 2 years https://twitter.com/xiann/status/1631428507837296640?t=qoF6nmZM43rGXg-ryezn2A&s=19

Christiann ➡ @[email protected] on Twitter

“Rocket e-bike scam saga continues with the most bonkers coke-fueled backer update I've seen 🍿 (this is just an excerpt but no, it does not get better) #rocketebike #ebikes #crowdfunding”

Twitter

sticky comics 🚴‍♀️🚶‍♀️✍️May 2, 2023

@enobacon @eBikeChick It was the "self charging" that caught me on a FB ad, cool & rare e-bike feature. After reading the details (seller has no experience, last name, or clearly visible face) & seeing the pics (clearly some average bikes with Rocket painted on them), I was like "nope". But I think so many people were homebound because of the pandemic, trawling for specific, perfect bike specs, & this one found its marks. Then more people assuming the popularity meant it was legit 🙃

@xiann @enobacon The wording on those updates are just soooo odd. And the original specs were so pie in the sky I found the original campaign difficult to buy into. I’m pretty sure they spec’d this with an off the shelf Bafang hub motor as well. Just wrong from the start. I’m sorry people are going to lose money on this.

sticky comics 🚴‍♀️🚶‍♀️✍️May 2, 2023

@eBikeChick it's so too-good-to-be-true and sketchy, even the scammers are probably surprised at how many people took the bait

😀🚲May 2, 2023

@eBikeChick @xiann We really need to talk about e-bike range in terms of miles and elevation gain together with speed. Power * Time = Energy is not a complicated concept, but maybe people are so "energy illiterate" because we don't adequately tax fossil carbon. Plastic spokes though? Who saw plastic spokes and decided to get in on that deal? I feel like these are the same people who are eager to give our highway department a blank check for freeway widening to be repaid by congestion tolling

@enobacon @xiann Given that we can’t get the 50 states to agree on what the legal classes of #ebikes are I think we’re a long way from developing a standard for certifying ebike mileage range. Although that would be nice for an apples to apples comparison.

😀🚲May 2, 2023

@eBikeChick @xiann The formula for power requirement is the same in all 50 states (modulo your average voter's weight & cross-sectional area * drag coefficient). There's a component for elevation * weight, one for rolling resistance, and another for wind. Up to 20mph, wind doesn't matter much but it increases as speed cubed, so it starts to matter a lot real quick. In my experience, unless you're in a hurry or it is very windy, the range is a matter of weight + hills, never a number of miles.

sticky comics 🚴‍♀️🚶‍♀️✍️May 2, 2023

@enobacon @eBikeChick It would be really nice to know the range for a given average steepness. Or maybe there could be levels of steepness, with the range given for each level based on an avg 150 lb rider or something.

@xiann @enobacon Here is the latest (but not recent) FAQ from the EPA about their standards for determining the MPG as stated on a car’s window sticker. Bikes are not cars, but there are some good points about testing and how they keep the playing field level so consumers get an apples to apples comparison between different makes and models and how they account for real world conditions.
https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi/P100IENB.PDF?Dockey=P100IENB.PDF

😀🚲May 2, 2023

@xiann yeah that's basically it, except the bike weight plays a part, so with 200lb cargo, 50lb bike, 150lb rider would get half the hill climbing range, assuming sub-20mph total wind. Also range on flat ground into a 10mph headwind? With cars pulling mostly just their own weight and always pushing through air at higher speeds, passengers don't make a huge difference.
@eBikeChick

sticky comics 🚴‍♀️🚶‍♀️✍️May 3, 2023

@enobacon @eBikeChick yeah the weight of the bike is one of the most important specs for me, since I'm small and have to carry my bike up and down stairs every time I come and go from home. But I don't think you need cargo specific ratings for bikes that aren't cargo bikes. So it seems like their range rating would already have the bike weight built in, as long as it's based on actual real world testing and not just the specs.

😀🚲May 3, 2023

@xiann @eBikeChick I chose those numbers for it to be 2x not because I have a carbon fiber cargo bike 😉 Point being that carrying an extra 50lb is not the same on all bikes, so a 150lb rider chart won't be good for a 200lb rider's comparison if the bikes are 25lb different. Really just need the Wh spec of the battery being honest + consumers knowing how to use that. (actually it's a curve, with lower watts available at a lower battery level, it's easier to start climbing than to end with it)

@enobacon looks like they went to multiple crowdfunding sites because the total raised exceeded the amount from Indiegogo. It’s too bad that the backers won’t even get a watered down version of what they thought they’d get.

Phil (ascentale)May 2, 2023

@eBikeChick @enobacon I think the main way that backers can get their funds back is to initiate a chargeback, but that may not be possible if they backed the project some time ago. I've found Indiegogo themselves to be pretty icky with this sort of thing too 😔

@ascentale @enobacon They won’t win. Indiegogo is very clear about what qualifies for a refund and the fact that you’re investing in a startup at your own risk. Once they disburse the money at the end of the campaign it’s gone. If the backers can establish a US nexus and prove fraud they can sue here to get their money back, or they can sue in the UK, but that’s basically the only remedy left at this point.