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by spacerzasp 397 days ago
>Why would I care about a modular design if I wanted something like this. You aren't going to be a courier one day and then suddenly running Gelato stand the next.

I have a thought like this regarding my compute needs in my house all the time, and then another need pops up, and I'm so glad I can wrangle an existing expensive piece of kit to also cover the new need. Just between the Gelato stand and personal item transport could be one such need
1 comments
CelestialMystic 397 days ago
The need to switch between the examples given is niche (I deliberately chose something I thought was ridiculous to illustrate the point), in a niche market. This is probably why this design didn't last long.
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spacerzasp 397 days ago
Only because the need to haul anything heavy or large by muscle power is niche. That segment has just been taken by larger combustion or electric engine'd vehicles. Where large loads are commonly hauled with tractors, it's a very common theme to have detachable tools, not tractor per tool.
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CelestialMystic 397 days ago
Farming isn't comparable and doesn't have the same needs. You already admitted that the use case presented have been largely taken up by other types of vehicles. There isn't really a market for this.
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spacerzasp 397 days ago
>The need to switch between the examples given is niche

This is what I argue against, that given it's purpose, a need to switch is important. The use case for hauling things has been taken up by other things, but the use case for detachable loads hasn't gone anywhere where loads need to be hauled.

>Farming isn't comparable and doesn't have the same needs

Farming needs wheeled vehicles to transport heavy materials, I think it's exactly comparable.

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CelestialMystic 397 days ago
> Farming needs wheeled vehicles to transport heavy materials, I think it's exactly comparable.

No because the farmer has to do many different things with the same piece of equipment. The number of people doing a courier job on a bicycle and then running a Gelato stand are almost nobody.

If I wanted to tow something, I wouldn't use a bicycle anyway. I am not even that convinced by existing cargo bikes tbh and this is coming from someone that built their own bicycles for 20 years. I would use my land rover.

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