I get the value of CANBus when it comes to complex systems like a vehicle, where there are multiple input and control events (steering vs. driver assist vs. self-driving).
What I don’t get is why the hell a BIKE needs a CANBus in the first place. It’s a simple device. If they want to stick sensors all over it and feed that onto a display, that’s fine too, although I’d argue what the value is for showing how hard you’re breaking or even collecting the data.
CANBus iin a bike just smells like over-engineering and data collection gone insane.
I don’t disagree about bikes seemingly getting more complicated. But I’d counter that my 2023 ebike would immediately benefit if all the existing sensors were CAN: from the mid-drive motor+controller, I have the left and right brake sensors running to the front, plus the display, and the headlight power circuit. Branching off the display are the controls for the turning on the bike.
To the rear, I have the derailleur sensor, the speed sensor, and the taillight circuit. I’ve been meaning to also expose the brake light circuit, so that would be yet another set of wires.
If I had CAN bus today, I’d shrink the wiring down to just: two CAN wires and two power wires to the front, and two CAN wires and two power wires to the rear. All sensors on the front attach to the display. All sensors at the rear are wired as a chain, with the tail/brake lights being at the very end.
The ease of cable routing alone would be worth it. And perhaps those wires could then be armored, for improved resiliency.
I get the value of CANBus when it comes to complex systems like a vehicle, where there are multiple input and control events (steering vs. driver assist vs. self-driving).
What I don’t get is why the hell a BIKE needs a CANBus in the first place. It’s a simple device. If they want to stick sensors all over it and feed that onto a display, that’s fine too, although I’d argue what the value is for showing how hard you’re breaking or even collecting the data.
CANBus iin a bike just smells like over-engineering and data collection gone insane.
I don’t disagree about bikes seemingly getting more complicated. But I’d counter that my 2023 ebike would immediately benefit if all the existing sensors were CAN: from the mid-drive motor+controller, I have the left and right brake sensors running to the front, plus the display, and the headlight power circuit. Branching off the display are the controls for the turning on the bike.
To the rear, I have the derailleur sensor, the speed sensor, and the taillight circuit. I’ve been meaning to also expose the brake light circuit, so that would be yet another set of wires.
If I had CAN bus today, I’d shrink the wiring down to just: two CAN wires and two power wires to the front, and two CAN wires and two power wires to the rear. All sensors on the front attach to the display. All sensors at the rear are wired as a chain, with the tail/brake lights being at the very end.
The ease of cable routing alone would be worth it. And perhaps those wires could then be armored, for improved resiliency.