21–24 of 24 posts
Why flat handle bars?
My guess is that they're targeting middle-aged-monied-nerds-who-don't-ride-bikes, which is a reliable but tiny market. The kind of people who buy recumbents and put them on Craigslist a few years later, unridden: http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/bik/4910738255.html http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/bik/4894883743.html
I commute year round in all weather: pouring weather, snow. I need fenders. Look at the frame: it has no receptacles for the screws for installing them.
For $1250, you don't even get lights, nor reflectors in the wheel spokes: basic safety features.
Also no suspension in the frame. Thin tires. For something pitched for commuting, this is designed an awful lot like a racing bike, but not optimized for that use, either.
For commuting you generally want 1.5" to 1.75" road slicks. They require less pressure to achieve low rolling resistance (you will be grateful when you don't have to jam 115 p.s.i of air using an emergency hand pump), provide more comfort and protect the wheel against damage from surface irregularities better. In commuting you have potholes, stones and curbs to contend with, as well as junk that falls out of trucks. Some of it you don't see very well at night.
I would probably trash that frame in about a year.
http://www.roadbikereview.com/reviews/why-you-should-be-ridi...
This is a bike to separate yuppie fools from their money.
Not to mention investors.
"LED's to guide you on your commute". WTF? You can get voice directions via headphones from a navigator. Approaching right turn. Ding!"
Earlier quoted context omitted.
My guess is that they're targeting middle-aged-monied-nerds-who-don't-ride-bikes, which is a reliable but tiny market. The kind of people who buy recumbents and put them on Craigslist a few years later, unridden: http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/bik/4910738255.html http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/bik/4894883743.html
You get that based off the handle bars alone? God there are some snobs in this thread...
I'll also point out that carbon is a terrible material for bikes that are getting banged around with locks and bike racks. Minor carbon damage can cause total material failure. Your bike shatters underneath you.
People who spend >$1000 for a bike don't usually buy hybrids. Existing roadies won't want this. The market will be people-who-don't-currently-ride, but won't think anything of spending >$1000.
People-who-don't-currently-ride are going to be very uncomfortable on a bike that has its handlebars lower than the saddle.
They will sell some, but few will get ridden for any length of time. If they want to create something like bike-Waze, they need network effects, which is going to be very difficult at this price point with a product that isn't interesting to current cyclists with disposable income.
Bike shops are going to avoid stocking these, as they don't want to be on the hook for supporting a complicated product from an untested vendor. Buying a bike though the mail means assemble-it-yourself, which is easy to get wrong. It's even more perilous with carbon componentry.
The salesman then proceeds to give another tour around the car showing where each of the switches are located to turn on each component, and how many times you need to press them.
Who would put up with such a car? I deal with that crap every day plus another battery on my helmet. To drag bikes into the 20th century, we need frames with 1 [good] internal battery, 1 chargepoint, 1 switch, and a multitude of compatible accessories which can be attached in different places and hook into the frame's standardized internal electrics.
This makes me feel like I'm going crazy - seeing a new bike manufacturer skipping such everyday basics and deciding that what bike frames have been missing is bluetooth connectivity. Including a comms wire in the frame wiring gets you that anyway - people who want a "smart bike" can plug in a smart device under the seat and some output devices on the handlebars. Better upgrade path too.
(Include a wheel sensor in the frame, as wireless speedos suck, and having the sensor output available on the comms wire means all devices can use it as wake-up)