Anti-Lock Brakes For Bicycles - Market

[19wisconsin64]

Looking around at all of the expensive road racing bicycles I've noticed that the consumer demand of the high-end market really products to market. Disc brakes, wide rim wheelsets, electronic shifting, framesets that are more comfortable over bumps, and more. Wow, these new bicycles are great!

For most of my life, I've ridden steel bikes, either geared or fixed, but in the past 20 years have had carbon road bikes that have been upgraded every 5 years or so. Now, am in the market for a high-end bike, and taking a look around they go from $5,000 to $10,000 and more, which is a lot.

There are far more people buying these high-end bicycles than ever before, so the market is larger, and it stands to reason that there might be a demand for anti-lock brakes as an "upgrade" to a bicycle that already has wiring and a battery. These new systems will initially be heavy and expensive, but for a pound or so of weight, they seem like a good step toward rider safety.

Maybe soon when light-weight graphene batteries are cheaper this might be a good option for someone, like myself, who can justify the price in terms of safety. 99.9% of the time I'll never need them, but it's those emergency moments where they will be worth every single penny. Close calls going downhill, or close calls braking to avoid bad drivers or obstacles in the road that you can't go around, are just a few of the examples I can think of. Those and trying to do an emergency stop in the rain.

So, bicycle manufacturers, please start putting these on the market. Place the batteries low in the down-tube, and maybe even use it as an excuse to put in power for head units, in addition to powering front and rear lights.

I'm willing to pay extra for a good system over and above the cost of a $5,000 or $10,000 if they truly work, and if the marketing research departments in the cycling industry do some surveys, they might be surprised at the demand. Bicycles are light, aero, fast, and comfortable now, and with the disc brakes that they have now, this seems to be a future upgrade that might save some lives as the technology gets trickled down.

In the past, there was a huge discussion about pro cycling adopting disc brakes, and in the end, it happened. Like on motorcycles. Anti-lock brakes are standard on most high-end models. It would be great to see this happen.

[ColonelJLloyd]

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=199577

[martl]

i see a market opportunity for lightweight aero batteries to strap onto your back to power all that bollocks that some people seem to think improves a vehicle that once, a long time ago, was successful because of its simplcity.

[Blue Jays]

Sensors, modules, batteries...sounds like unwanted weight and complexity to me. No thanks.

[Dino Suegiù]

Originally Posted by ColonelJLloyd

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=199577

No kidding.

I am so deja-vu'd all over again I'd swear I have double-vision all over again, or else that one beer was doubly strong: Merging threads safely.

But then tthhiiss hhaappppeennss, and I just don't know what the heck is going on anymore.... :

Originally Posted by Blue Jays

Sensors, modules, batteries...sounds like unwanted weight and complexity to me. No thanks.

Originally Posted by Blue Jays

Sensors, modules, batteries...sounds like unwanted weight and complexity to me. No thanks.

[Blue Jays]

Dino...jokingly ensuring the OP knows my thoughts on anti-lock braking systems!

[Dino Suegiù]

Blue...I'm sorry, but, could you please repeat that?

[happycampyer]

I could’ve sworn I posted in this thread...

[Burnette]

IMO you will see it on Ebikes first if at all. Some of them are pretty heavy and can go fast. ABS would help to counter that weight and speed on an emergency stop.

[19wisconsin64]

Originally Posted by Burnette

IMO you will see it on Ebikes first if at all. Some of them are pretty heavy and can go fast. ABS would help to counter that weight and speed on an emergency stop.

Thank you for suggesting this. The buyers of electric bicycles would likely benefit even more from this technology, as the bicycles are powered by the batteries and not the cyclist, so the weight wouldn't be as noticeable. The components can be made of lightweight materials too - batteries can be made with graphene, so the weight would not be as high as you'd think.

It will be a few years until ABS brake sets get onto bicycles. Yes, electric bicycles first, then power-assisted ebikes, then regular road bicycles. ABS is good for cars, good for motorcycles, and good for bicycles. I live in New York City, where biking anywhere can be a micro-second need for good emergency braking.

While not for everyone, there's a market for it. Hopefully Trek, Specialized, Giant, and other manufacturers will work on this. The speed that cyclists achieve these days is much higher, with or without electric motors. The need for better emergency braking is greater too.

One thing that might be a challenge is to get cyclists to learn to ABS brake properly. There will be so much stopping power that while the wheels won't lock up, the cyclist's body will be thrown forward during heavy braking. You'll have to practice using your ABS for sure! Just like your car's ABS brakes, it will be good to practice using them on a quiet road before you will really need them in an emergency.

[Bruce K]

Please post in the other thread

BK