[danielhooper]

"a $1,500 USD bike that can be connected to smartphones via bluetooth and track rider statistics, such as route and speed, in real-time."

So it's a bike with built in GPS? That connects to my phone, which also has GPS? What the heck. What am I missing that makes this product not such an obviously dumb idea? What can this do that I can't accomplish with a mobile app, or with a smart watch strapped to the handlebars?

[davidvanhawks]

Hey, David from Vanhawks here. One of the nice things about the Valour is that we will continue to develop the platform while you ride the bike - it will get better the longer you own it as we release new features. And, if you worried about whether we'll be around long enough to make that happen, I feel confident in saying yes.

Check out our latest news on our new structure here: http://blog.vanhawks.com/2017/04/26/in-case-you-missed-it/

[Twirrim]

Apps on cell phones can also be updated over time. I've got a GPS already in the cell phone that will measure speed etc, and as I replace the cell phone that hardware will get better over time and support more features from an app.

Bikes, on the other hand, don't tend to be treated as a disposable / frequently upgraded thing. You're asking customers to buy in to a fixed set of hardware for a dozen years. That means you've got to provide some really significant value to the equation, and offer something that is just not even remotely possible with an ordinary cell phone.

So far as I can figure the only thing you offer in that regards is blind-spot detection sensors, and that seems like something I could realistically expect to see from bicycle electronics companies within a reasonably short time frame, for way less than $500.

I'm still not sure what exactly your significant value-add is. I'm not trying to shit on you or your product. The bike looks great. I just think you need to think very carefully about how you are marketing it, and what exactly you're offering to persuade someone to pony up an additional $500 or so over a normal bike.

[aqme28]

Isn't that also true for a "biking app"? It'll be improved over time as development is put into it.

[Finnucane]

And in addition, what happens if they go out of business and can no longer support the custom stuff? A normal bike can be rideable for decades if well-maintained. No digital stuff is going to last that long.

[quadrature]

take a look at the site https://www.vanhawks.com/. It works exactly as you described with a phone app and it also has some hardware to integrate turn by turn directions.

[Finnucane]

That doesn't really answer the 'why does it need to be built into the bike' question.

[davidvanhawks]

In the short term, having this platform built in to a bike allows us to offer the turn by turn navigation with less distraction and much more robust data collection. That data collection will be used to improve the navigation based on real world feed back in the future.

In the long term, building this platform into a full bike means that we can offer plenty more - imagine being able to locate your bike if it was stolen or, imagine your bike could communicate with other vehicles around you to keep the rider safe.

This is not to say that we only offer full bikes in the future. However, having the full bike now is allowing us to perfect the platform and understand the full range of needs for our riders.

[Finnucane]

Still doesn't answer the question. What does it do that some other solution does not already do? I'm certainly not your target market, myself, since I know my way around the place I live and I am old enough to know how to find stuff on a map. If I happen to find myself someplace less familiar--I do sometimes go for long rides not knowing where I am going until I get there--Google/Apple maps are available at the touch of a button.

If you are offering bike location--how long before thieves/hackers figure out how to disable it? Will it work when the bike has no power? Will thieves be able to use the tracking signal to find expensive bikes to steal?

[hackunomatter]

So you can track the bike as the thief rides away with it? :D