Thanks! I would have gone for that rather than the Tong Sheng if it had been available at the time, the key benefits being a warranty, and it’s probably also a better quality unit.
I wanted a mid-motor for the extra wheel torque. The hub motor might have been OK as it turned out but I wanted to make sure.
MAHLE has increased the torque on their hub units. From 55Nm on gen1 to 65Nm on gen2 X20. Enough for non-MTB. The M40 has 105Nm.
Drop me an email to check that. We probably won’t stock it but can get it directly from manufacturer to you.
For anyone following this thread and also has Instagram, this news story is relevant.
It appears that one needs a login to read the article.
It’s worth getting a copy from your local newsstand.
Interesting
Here it is…
WSJ.pdf (4.9 MB)
That feels like the kind of process that might be automated one day.
Another interesting book on this kind of subject (which also references Sennett) is The Case for Working with Your Hands by Matthew Crawford.
He suggests plumbing, some building-trade jobs, and car mechanicking are the most immune to being outsourced or automated. Of course anything can change.
He also talks about Taylorian Scientific Management, being a “cog in a machine”, and the benefits to your entire relationship with reality that you gain from working physical problems like trying to fix old vehicles as opposed to just talking BS which is what a lot of jobs are these days. Very enjoyable book.
I pasted in the article link because I think it’s a good counterpoint to some of the comments already posted about handwork and (maybe) its place in the framebuilding process. From my perch, the trade is already incredibly automated compared to the one I entered as a 19 year old.