Acer is building a fancy electric bike with AI

Garmin has a nice Varia radar to show you cars coming from behind.

But the use case is pretty slim, and the added value hard to find.

-> Would you need to rely on an AI to avoid cars while being on a bike ? A bike isn't a car that needs AI, because drivers texts and are distracted. You can't be distracted on a bike (or you fall instantly)

You have eyes, and you need to keep balance anyway. Also, a bike can't brake or change directions on its own, best it can do is flash an alarm. And you don't need a flashing light to hear a reckless driver going 7000rpm at an intersection. So AI to detect cars is useless.

-> self locking bike ? Who can trust that ? car manufacturer already did that (poorly), it made an auto theft spree. And I'm not sure most drivers care anyway. So you can just lock your bike yourself in 30 seconds.

-> GPS tracking ? trackers already exist. However, I haven't seen a lot of frequent bike users caring about them. They cost dozens of bucks at worst, and nobody buy these. Just lock your bike with a U lock to avoid theft.

-> belt drive instead of chain ? Who cares ?

-> LED lighting all around ? Yeah, maybe. It's the same as having lights and reflective tires. As most users can't bother, so it's great to have the bike pre-fitted with these.

-> ebike battery to charge a phone ? It seems to be a feature that some users expect. But I wouldn't buy a bike to charge my phone. I have a charger at the office.

-> *optional accessories including fenders and a rear rack* ? come on, that's the most valuable features for a city bike. Why is this optional ?

This bike seems like a publicity stunt, or a bike for not-so-frequent riders...

I'm eager to see if they review priorities, for further versions.

My 2010 automatic can throw a P003 "Turbocharger/Supercharger Boost Control Position Exceeded Learning Limit" error so apparently it's AI too!

And yet I'm unable to buy electric bike WITH INTERCHANGEABLE PARTS - you know - just like all the bikes were for more than 200 years until now.

Higher-end shops have pressure pads that you can sit on. They can use the data from that to find a saddle that works for you.

Source: I bike a lot

but it's not an accurate perspective IMO, when it mixes all kinds of bikes.

-> you can't compare bikes to go to work and sport bike. Sport bikes aim for performance, not being lean. Sport bikes have carbon fibre frames, proprietary components, the new wheel mounts, as mentioned,... And they pretty much last only a few years.

*BUT* previous road bikes were not better : the horizontal mounting would worn out after a few years. Your back wheel would become hard to secure, and would swerve left and ram the frame.

The brakes on the rim would also wear it out, so that you had to change the whole wheels (which is expensive) from time to time, and not just a disc.

Also, old steel frames could rust and become floppy after a few years.

And material science wasn't as good a few years ago, so a lot of things could happen to your bike (cracks on the seat post mounting, bent chainset, ...)

So all in all, the useful lifespan of sport bikes weren't better.

-> then utility bikes : modern utility bikes are still made out of steel or aluminium, standard components, and are still much more sturdy and dependable for the same reason.

Mine will soon be 10, has spent 2 weeks at the bottom of a lake just after I had it, has countless scratches, has had countless crashes with cars and urban furniture, I rode under the rain or freezing mist, in the forests, cobbled streets, in the city; the bike stayed outside in freezing winter or hot summer, the blokes tried to steal it,... And it's still there. I just had to change the wheels twice.

OP also overplays compatibility issues. You indeed used to have standard components, and you still do ! But instead of having to choose between 5 or 7 gears, you can choose between 5 and 11 gears on utility bikes. And old parts are still available.

There are just some parts that became shorter lived, for reasons : Forks now have suspensions, and saddles are now comfortable, thanks to foam.

On the other hand, OP underplays the issue with electric bikes. There is indeed a lack of standardization for these. Which means that when your battery gets worn out (typically after 800 cycles, so 3-5 years), odds are that your battery isn't produced anymore, and you can dispose of the bike.

please resubmit it to discuss it further !