thedudehasabided

@mikekazimer: Speaking of... Antidote is doing this, Spesh made that INCREDIBLE new Demo that was proceeded by that crazy prototype ...Meanwhile Cannondale is taking their heaviest, cheapest E-bike with a suboptimal geo/kinematic, taking the motor out, and bolting on a dated jackshaft crank and claiming they can still innovate... Whomp Whomp!

@froidgoupil: Oi mate.... 100-130k for a car is not attainable for the large portion of any population, anywhere. 20 years ago, the fastest 'attainable' cars were more like 50-75k....Still not attainable today. The issue is that 10k ebikes are still targeted at people who can barely afford cars in the 20-30k range. But used Tesla Model 3 Performance? That's an affordable rocket-ship. Thanks to Musk going all fascist you can pick them up for under 20k and it'll spank most things.

Part of me is really sad about how China, with it's government-subsidized industrial prowess is churning out products and new brands direct from factory into the market at below cost, and at price-points traditional bike-companies just can't compete with... And its laying waste to traditional bike industry in a bid to control market-share. They've done it with consumer electronics, 3D printing, EV's, etc... now it's the bike industry. In many cases they're blatantly ignoring standing legal framework, standards, testing, Intellectual property, and patent landscape. But on the other hand... The traditional bike industry isn't the passion-driven environment it used to be 5-10 years ago pre-pandemic, and hasn't exactly treated its dealers, professionals, and employees all that great in recent years, either... In my experience it's more about profit, politics, and overall a bit toxic. So maybe it's a bit of comeuppance and karma, too? Either way. pretty mixed feelings. #nostagia

The bike industry marketing 10% stiffness improvements year-over-year for the last 20 years, only for component companies to advertise flex and compliance as an improvement and selling-point.

PNW continue to be a great company, making solid gear, run by a stand-up guy.