Why I Built RideDat: Getting More From My DatBike

Why this bike?

When I was looking at electric motorbikes, DatBike caught my attention for fairly ordinary reasons. It had the range and power I wanted, the price made sense, and it looked like something I could ride every day without feeling out of place.

I liked that it still looked like a motorbike. Familiar switches, wheels and tires, a chain and sprockets. Those things might not make an exciting sales pitch, but they matter to me. I wanted to picture myself using it, maintaining it, and still being happy with the choice a few years later.

For what I needed, I didn’t see anything else that came close. So I preordered one.

Getting to know it

Buying an early release meant accepting that some things would need work. There were frustrations once I had the bike, but I also watched it improve through updates. I appreciated being able to see that progress.

The app was where I kept finding myself wanting more. I’d run into connection drops or something that felt more awkward than it needed to be. Sometimes all I wanted was to connect, check the charge, and get on with my day.

But it wasn’t only about making those little frustrations go away. The more I rode, the more curious I became about the bike itself. There was information there that I wanted to understand, and the app wasn’t really helping me do that.

The questions that wouldn’t leave me alone

What actually changes when I ride at 50 km/h instead of 60? Does keeping the chain well maintained make a difference I can measure? If I change something on the bike, how do I know whether it helped?

And over a longer period, what’s happening to the battery? Is my usable range changing, or have my riding habits changed? I didn’t want to rely on a vague memory of how far I got on a charge a few months ago.

A battery percentage tells me something useful right now. What I wanted was a record I could come back to: the voltage, energy use, charging history, and how one ride compared with another. Something I could look at in a chart, or open in a spreadsheet and spend a bit of time with.

I know a chart won’t explain everything. Traffic, weather, and the way I ride all affect the result. But I’d much rather have something to compare than keep guessing.

That’s where RideDat started

I started with the things I wanted for myself: an app that felt better to use every day, and a way to get closer to the information my bike was already producing.

I also know that not everyone wants to spend an evening looking at battery data. You might just want to check your charge, use the controls, and ride. That matters just as much. I want the everyday essentials to stay free and useful, with more detail there for the people who enjoy it.

The project started with my DatBike, but I don’t want that to be its limit. As I learn more and add support for other bikes, I’d like RideDat to help more riders understand what they own.

I’d like to hear what you’re missing

I have plenty of ideas, but they come from how I use my own bike. You might have a completely different routine, a question I’ve never thought to ask, or a frustration I haven’t run into.

That’s what I’m looking forward to about testing with more people. Of course I want to know when something breaks. I also want to hear, “Could it do this?” or “I’ve been keeping track of this myself for months.” Those conversations can point me toward something much more useful than another feature on my own list.

RideDat will need work as it grows. I’ll get some things wrong, and some things will take longer than I’d like. But I care about this because I’m riding one of these bikes too.

If you’d like to be part of it, the access page below has the current testing details. And in the next post, I’ve laid out how I’m thinking about features, pricing, and saying thank you to the people who help along the way.