News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:FlyKly Smart Wheel by FlyKly on Wednesday October 16, 2013 @08:31PM (#6562971)
1000 cycles of 30 miles is in average way more than an average commuter spends riding over a course of a year. We believe this distance is acceptable for a product with a one year warranty.

Of course the battery pack will also be easily replacable.

Re:FlyKly Smart Wheel by kevinpet on Wednesday October 16, 2013 @09:00PM (#6563064)
So your view is that the expected lifetime of the product is identical to your one year warranty? I think that's the sort of thing you're supposed to let your disappointed customers discover after they've purchased.
Re:FlyKly Smart Wheel by ndonnellan on Wednesday October 16, 2013 @09:23PM (#6563131)
Interesting interpretation of that comment. I read it as "30,000 miles is WAY WAY WAY more than the average commuting distance in a year." Not "is equal to". Do you think the average bike commuter lives 50 miles from work?
Re:FlyKly Smart Wheel by kamjam on Wednesday October 16, 2013 @10:01PM (#6563262)
Not unrealistic if you happen to 25 miles away (journey each way) but definitely not your "average commuter". (I used to cycle 20 miles each way, I knew someone that cycled 35 miles, but for different reasons than just commuting).
Re:FlyKly Smart Wheel by anthonyb on Wednesday October 16, 2013 @10:05PM (#6563283)
Reading comprehension is not HN's strong suit.

Or basic arithmetic. 30,000 miles in a year is about 3 x 30 mile trips per day, every day.

Re:FlyKly Smart Wheel by noonespecial on Wednesday October 16, 2013 @09:24PM (#6563132)
>1000 cycles of 30 miles is in average way more than an average commuter spends

Even if you rode your 30 miles every day, that's more like 3 years and less like 1. I wouldn't be disappointed if I had to change my battery (which really should be considered a consumable) after nearly 3 years. None of my phones that cost this much or more have done as well. I would like to see a slightly longer warranty on such an expensive thing, but its not completely out there.

Re:FlyKly Smart Wheel by kamjam on Wednesday October 16, 2013 @10:07PM (#6563288)
What constitutes a charging cycle? Connected to the mains? What about all those micro charges you get along your journey, going downhill or braking?

Presumably the battery capacity will diminish over time, and you have some smart software to counter that as much as possible? Any expectations on how much the range will reduce by? Will the app tell us the range?

Really interesting project, looking forward to it.

Re:FlyKly Smart Wheel by wlesieutre on Wednesday October 16, 2013 @10:30PM (#6563366)
As far as I know, the general meaning of "charging cycle" is "used up a full charge worth of power." Whether you recharge from 50% to 100% twice, or only use 10% of the battery before topping it off 10 times, you've used one cycle.
Re:FlyKly Smart Wheel by kamjam on Wednesday October 16, 2013 @11:32PM (#6563529)
Ok thanks, makes sense.
Re:FlyKly Smart Wheel by mithras on Wednesday October 16, 2013 @09:05PM (#6563078)
I consider this borderline scammy. Products shouldn't be expected to become unusable right about when the warranty ends.
Re:FlyKly Smart Wheel by tikhonj on Wednesday October 16, 2013 @10:53PM (#6563426)
Doesn't that just mean you have a particularly good warranty? It would not make sense for the warranty to last significantly longer than the expected lifetime of the product, so the only alternative would be to have a warranty that explicitly lasts much less than the expected lifetime. This seems strictly worse than the alternative!
Re:FlyKly Smart Wheel by mithras on Thursday October 17, 2013 @12:50AM (#6563738)
Usually if you buy a product with a one year warranty you don't expect it to be unusable after 13 months. I don't know if they can swap batteries though, that would change things.