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I think they are still misjudging the market. Im a cyclist - ride about 3k miles per year. I know very little about this bike, however why do I need a connect

I think they are still misjudging the market. Im a cyclist - ride about 3k miles per year. I know very little about this bike, however why do I need a connected bike? I have a computer that I can attach to any bike I like. Hell, a smart phone on a mount can be swapped between bikes. Plus, frames break. I would rather have a modular bike that I can swap the pieces I want between. Maybe its just bad copy, but I already have a connected bike - everyone I ride with does. The only features i see that I might not have are blindspot detection (which i can get with a cheap mirror on my helmet if i wanted it), and a carbon fiber belt instead of a chain, which means none of my existing components which I've paid thousands of dollars for will work. The fixie is a little more compelling, but the price point is a little steep.

kleinsch 9y ago
100% agree. I've swapped bike computers 5-6x over the last 5 years. First road bike I ever bought is still compatible with all of them. Presumably the investors saw something I'm missing, but I think the price point ($1300) is really high for a fully integrated system.
hkmurakami 9y ago
I'm in the same market segment as you (i do triathlons). This bike is not meant for the athlete /performance cyclist. It looks like it's trying to target the person who only riders a bike to commute, or perhaps go for a leisurely stroll down a beach boulevard. Which IMO is a fine choice, if they really do know that this segment even wants the product they're making, or if this segment is big enough.
- throwaway51949 9y ago
  I'm in a different market segment (as far as you can get from athlete/performance cyclist), but also think they're misjudging the market. I bike almost every day for commuting, grocery shopping, and visiting friends. Also occasionally longer overnight trips for fun. I can't understand why anyone needs the features of this bike, and even if they did, how does this $1000+ bike provide those features better than adding a few accessories to any bike of your choice? I found that in real life, I noticed no difference with most of the features that command a premium. When commuting, I'm carrying a laptop, charger, and usually lunch. When riding for fun, I'm usually carrying plenty of water, food, and maybe a tent and sleeping bag. So why would I pay hundreds of dollars to save pounds on my bike with a carbon frame? I do spend plenty on accessories, but they're in the opposite direction than what this bike offers. I bought as nice of a saddle as I could find, with no thought towards price. Same with comfortable hand grips. And a really expensive pannier that converts into a backpack - which is probably my best purchase. Following that high publicity jeep hack, and I'm sure plenty of other car hacks that have followed, I personally consider it a feature that my bike is purely mechanical. This bike falls somewhere between "social network for dogs" and "smart refrigerator with livestream of your egg carton" in terms of why would I want this? For half the price of this bike I got a 1500W mid-drive ebike conversion kit that I added to a $150 BMX bike which is ridiculously fun, with a programming cable allows for more than enough tinkering for my tastes. It's in a completely different class than a human powered bicycle for sure, but IMO many casual bicyclists would be well served owning a cheap e-bike and a cheap bicycle.
  - hkmurakami 9y ago
    agreed that I'm not really sure which segment this hits. I have a $300 sturdy fixed gear for casual local trips as well as a $800 Cannondale Touring bike for the tent/sleeping bag type of multi-day ride. I think e-bikes are a great choice for commuting for most people as well.
davidvanhawks 9y ago
David from Vanhawks here - why do you need a connected bike? Maybe you don't. But, I sure like riding one. We are aiming to make commuting safer and more comfortable for riders. A big part of that approach is to remove distractions to the greatest extent that we can. Unlike strapping a device on to the handle bars, you can simply open the app, lock your phone and put it away. The ride recording starts and stops automatically and, your turn by turn directions are given through easy to follow light signals from the handle bar. Basically, we want you to keep your eyes on the road and not on your device. The Valour also records a much more rich set of data that we will be using to inform cycling directions in the future. Most apps or devices record speed, time, distance, etc. We're recording much more. I get what you are saying though - I have a Garmin that I use with multiple road bikes on country roads during the weekend. There, it is much easier to glance down to see how many watts I'm producing or switch screens to check my vertical metres per hour. However, when I'm riding across town to the office, I have a very different set of concerns.
- thom_nic 9y ago
  Seems what you describe could be done through a BLE accessory that straps to the handlebar or at most an aftermarket handlebar with LEDs/sensors integrated, which talks to a phone app. I'm part of the "athlete" market segment who is happy spending $2k on a "dumb" road bike and I also commuted on that dumb bike every day through the city. The same applies to a power meter - if I want to know my watts I'd rather buy a PowerTap hub or crank and put it on the bike I want rather than having to buy a whole bike with it permanently integrated. I wonder if, instead of building the whole bicycle you couldn't do great things by building awesome aftermarket components (e.g. try to be Anker, not Apple.) That said, I know it's easy to be a naysayer, and I wish anyone who's working to innovate the cycling industry all the best! (Lots of <3 to Strava, Garmin & Di2)

kleinsch 9y ago

100% agree. I've swapped bike computers 5-6x over the last 5 years. First road bike I ever bought is still compatible with all of them. Presumably the investors saw something I'm missing, but I think the price point ($1300) is really high for a fully integrated system.

hkmurakami 9y ago

I'm in the same market segment as you (i do triathlons). This bike is not meant for the athlete /performance cyclist. It looks like it's trying to target the person who only riders a bike to commute, or perhaps go for a leisurely stroll down a beach boulevard. Which IMO is a fine choice, if they really do know that this segment even wants the product they're making, or if this segment is big enough.

throwaway51949 9y ago
I'm in a different market segment (as far as you can get from athlete/performance cyclist), but also think they're misjudging the market. I bike almost every day for commuting, grocery shopping, and visiting friends. Also occasionally longer overnight trips for fun. I can't understand why anyone needs the features of this bike, and even if they did, how does this $1000+ bike provide those features better than adding a few accessories to any bike of your choice? I found that in real life, I noticed no difference with most of the features that command a premium. When commuting, I'm carrying a laptop, charger, and usually lunch. When riding for fun, I'm usually carrying plenty of water, food, and maybe a tent and sleeping bag. So why would I pay hundreds of dollars to save pounds on my bike with a carbon frame? I do spend plenty on accessories, but they're in the opposite direction than what this bike offers. I bought as nice of a saddle as I could find, with no thought towards price. Same with comfortable hand grips. And a really expensive pannier that converts into a backpack - which is probably my best purchase. Following that high publicity jeep hack, and I'm sure plenty of other car hacks that have followed, I personally consider it a feature that my bike is purely mechanical. This bike falls somewhere between "social network for dogs" and "smart refrigerator with livestream of your egg carton" in terms of why would I want this? For half the price of this bike I got a 1500W mid-drive ebike conversion kit that I added to a $150 BMX bike which is ridiculously fun, with a programming cable allows for more than enough tinkering for my tastes. It's in a completely different class than a human powered bicycle for sure, but IMO many casual bicyclists would be well served owning a cheap e-bike and a cheap bicycle.
- hkmurakami 9y ago
  agreed that I'm not really sure which segment this hits. I have a $300 sturdy fixed gear for casual local trips as well as a $800 Cannondale Touring bike for the tent/sleeping bag type of multi-day ride. I think e-bikes are a great choice for commuting for most people as well.

davidvanhawks 9y ago

David from Vanhawks here - why do you need a connected bike? Maybe you don't. But, I sure like riding one. We are aiming to make commuting safer and more comfortable for riders. A big part of that approach is to remove distractions to the greatest extent that we can. Unlike strapping a device on to the handle bars, you can simply open the app, lock your phone and put it away. The ride recording starts and stops automatically and, your turn by turn directions are given through easy to follow light signals from the handle bar. Basically, we want you to keep your eyes on the road and not on your device. The Valour also records a much more rich set of data that we will be using to inform cycling directions in the future. Most apps or devices record speed, time, distance, etc. We're recording much more. I get what you are saying though - I have a Garmin that I use with multiple road bikes on country roads during the weekend. There, it is much easier to glance down to see how many watts I'm producing or switch screens to check my vertical metres per hour. However, when I'm riding across town to the office, I have a very different set of concerns.

thom_nic 9y ago
Seems what you describe could be done through a BLE accessory that straps to the handlebar or at most an aftermarket handlebar with LEDs/sensors integrated, which talks to a phone app. I'm part of the "athlete" market segment who is happy spending $2k on a "dumb" road bike and I also commuted on that dumb bike every day through the city. The same applies to a power meter - if I want to know my watts I'd rather buy a PowerTap hub or crank and put it on the bike I want rather than having to buy a whole bike with it permanently integrated. I wonder if, instead of building the whole bicycle you couldn't do great things by building awesome aftermarket components (e.g. try to be Anker, not Apple.) That said, I know it's easy to be a naysayer, and I wish anyone who's working to innovate the cycling industry all the best! (Lots of <3 to Strava, Garmin & Di2)