Originally Posted by
linberl
The reason folks crowdfund is one of 2, I think. One is to get something not yet on the market; not applicable here. The other is to get a pre-order discount. These can be sizable, often they are 40-50% off the retail price. For that discount, you endure possible delays and disruptions. It's worth it to some people and not to others. Definitely not great if you need an item immediately, lol. But, if you choose a developer with a good reputation that has already put out products, you can minimize risk of delay and failure to deliver. Bike Friday crowdfunded the pakiT. Delivered on time to everyone. Rubee has delivered 2 versions of their friction drive kit on time. But YMMV and many companies miss the mark or fail to deliver. Folks who ordered Helix are getting their bikes after a very looooong delay; maybe the price saving was worth it to them if they didn't need the bike sooner. But it's definitely not for people who want something right away. Now Swytch has already delivered on one project and the are upfront about the lead time, so it's a matter of personal need versus price. Are those other options under $500 complete?
Agree with you. Seems as though some reputable companies use a crowd fund to gauge interest in a new product. Just for information, my first kit six years ago, a 350w, 36V front hub system (and now on my daughter's cruiser) was about $750 AIR, the second, a 1000w, 48V rear hub purchased about the same time and still being used for errands was about $600 for kit and battery, my third five plus years ago, a BBS02 system for off road and ridden twice a week was about $500 and uses the same 52V battery as the errand bike.