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Better question is why is it worth hiding anything

Note that Orson Scott Card (who wrote Ender's Game, about using child soldiers to fight aliens) turned out to be one of these neo fascists like the Dilbert guy. You can bet that the guys for that VC are all about deregulation...

Yeah, I was stunned at how on-the-nose the naming was...

"Is the state of manufacturing in the US really that bad that a company, backed by the most important VC firm achieving 30 million motors per year is an achievement?" I'm not in a great position to comment on the annual global production of drone motors, but I can tell you that yes, the state of manufacturing in the US is pretty bleak. By one measure, China's manufacturing sector accounts for roughly 26% of their GDP, Japan is at 25%, Germany is 18%, but in the US that share is only 9% of GDP and continuing to trend downward annually...

But wait, there's more! They are funding a child labour startup.

I tend to fine myself on the other end flip chip theory. I tend to be more anti flip chip as it always tends to make thing more complicated and doesn't really add to the ride feel of the bike. There's also something to be said with a bike manufacture creating a bike with one specific geo and running it like that. Although, I am currently on a Forbidden Dreadnought V2 with drop out adjustments. I think this is one of useful adjustments as it makes a noticeable change without complications or compromises. Along with that I think that the...

Ok, but like Jeff said, they're a lifestyle brand masquerading as a tech company. You should have seen what brands like Burton and Oakley were willing splash out on dealer/industry events in the heyday.

Why is it worth hiding a knucklebox

It’s a solid counterpoint. I’m puting two young guns in the park this season and have really great health insurance. The cost of chesty, full face knee and elbow guards ? It’s right there in that range. Bruni’s a helluva sales person when he comes off at race pace like that and it was def puffed af. Impressive stuff from a brand I’ve trusted with my own (moto and dh) protection for years

I will probably get flamed for this, and will offer the caveat that I have only been skimming this page, but I feel like these bikes are great propositions and are in my eyes cool bikes because they’re made to be cheap and practical workhorses for younger demographics that don’t have as much disposable income and want a playful park bike that they can maintain themselves. Maybe I’m just haven’t been following the thread well enough, but I don’t see why the ebike bit is necessary to explain the appeal. Not everyone can afford bougie boutique racing machines, or ebikes...

I've always maintained that if you had to pay for your Gopro, I don't want to see your shit.

I can speak from recent experience it’s a few times over $600 even with good insurance. Also didn’t help they needed to CT scan most of my upper body... Even as a recreational rider I wear the Fox Baseframe Pro every time I ride, even light trail riding. I’ll welcome any advancements for pros and weekend warriors. After coming close to breaking my back on this last spill I’ll take the extra bone insurance and defer my groupset upgrade. And after watching Luca go 50 mph and Millie nearly throw off the Earth’s rotation, glad most riders should have options...

counterpoint - $600 is easily the cost of an ER visit for many people 🤷‍♂️

They're starting a company and building a factory to get to 30 million electric motors per year by 2030? Per year? 30 million? Is this a joke? Should that be billion? I work for a moderately small automotive supplier in freaking Slovenia and we probably make more than a million electric motors from our designs, by components, in a year. I'm not taking into account all the small DC motors from the likes of Johnson which are a commodity. I'm talking about stepper motors and BLDC drives that are similar to what's in ebike drives. Is the state of manufacturing...