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Comment by fergie | Hacker News Reader

To be fair though- that guy definitely has a genuine interest in bikes, and the prices are way lower than for classic cars.

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All true, there was a few comments from other parties in that video where they noted a significant number of bikes were going for 2-3 times expected. Either there's a bubble in the rare bike market or an influx of money looking for somewhere to park.

Buying a new bike today feels a bit like buying a Land Rover Defender in 2016. Or even a Seiko 5 today. Yes, its a new product, but its the technology of yesteryear. Its interesting to see the number of ~400cc 4-stroke "standard" bikes coming onto the market. They look and feel like bikes from the 50s. But it seems like in a couple of years utilitarian bikes will start to move towards electric drivetrains and consequently Surron-like designs.

Its almost like we are in a 2-5 year window where you can still buy these museum pieces new from the dealership.

Maybe they look like bikes circa 1950, but new standard bikes that look the part certainly do not ride like bikes from the 50's. Reliability across the board is dramatically better. ABS / associated rider aids, better tires (not just for motorcycles), suspension tuning, emissions technology, better engine output per displacement from high compression, better electronics. The list goes on.

I'll take one old, one new please!

Side note- Surron really needs to work on differentiating themselves away from the EBike scene, if I'm to take them seriously. I pretty much only see kids of affluent families destroying mixed use trails on Surrons or people forgoing any sort of judgement hoping between sidewalk, pavement, drainage ditches. "Mid-Drive Electric Bike you can ride anywhere" is an irresponsible sales pitch. I've not ridden one personally, but they seem roughly equivalent to a 125CC two stroke dirt bike. No Pedals? not a bike.

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