alt Hacker Newsrefresh rate is sort of a non issue. i can push the refresh rate to up to 20Hz, it is largely unnecessary for this project.
it has a nice backlight (basically identical to a kindle display)
color is fair, but i dont miss it.
i do absolutely love how readable it is in direct sunlight (when im mostly riding)
I find colour useful for a navigation map, mostly. I think the 4-colour eInk displays would be plenty for that, although they have refresh constraints iirc.
A good UI design would mostly avoid the need for colour.