Meet the Bisickle, a Commuter Bike Concept
good.is
good.is
1) The handle bars have two hand positions, yet no brakes. Dual brakes are possible, but expensive, fiddly and don't work with hydro disk brakes.
2) No mud guards.
3) Why solid spoke carbon fiber wheels when stressed steel spokes work so well?
4) Riding a bike with a 8 inch wide cross bar: a 10 minute mockup of this by sellotaping a lunchbox to to crossbar of a normal bike would reveal why this doesn't work
5) The saddlebag briefcase will interfere with your heel while pedaling: panniers need to much further back.
6) No lights
Also, that thing would be impossible to mount if you're wearing a skirt...
Your other criticisms are valid, too, though if you look at what most manufacturers offer as "commuter bikes," they are missing the same key features.
As an avid cyclist, though, I rarely do much to change out or even maintain my steel-spoked wheels. Once they are well-trued, I usually leave them alone for the season. I certainly never worry about my wheels not looking cool enough.
A reasonable cyclocross bike with fenders, lights, a rack, some panniers or a trunk box/bag would be cheaper, more functional, 1/8 the weight and made of inexpensive and easily-sourced components. I don't get it.
My Trek 1200 is my main vehicle. It's a 4 year old entry-level road bike with a few hundred dollars of accessories added to it. I ride it 5,000 miles per year and never have any problems finding a place to put my jacket. It has twenty seven speeds, which might be far too many, but you could easily retrofit it with a Nexus 3 speed, Alfine 7/8 speed or some other high end gearbox like the NuVinci or Rohloff.
Many steel and aluminum bikes these days are also made (at least partly) from recycled materials. I really don't see much of a point.
Traditional bike design is refined through the ages, changing it without a good usability reason will be a tough sell. I'd like to try a prototype on cobbled streets in the rain.
And I really don't get the CF wheels. They're about the last thing I'd want on a commuter bike.
some nice features though, would love to see a prototype made.