This is a super interesting investigative piece that gives a glimpse into China's startup culture through the story of the incredibly fast-paced rise and fall of a bike manufacturing and sharing company. Even when things seemed to be going well I couldn't imagine dealing with the breakneck speed of their design and production. As soon as we were introduced to Chandler Xu I knew his story would be a particularly painful one.
I loved this bit towards the end:
On Paul Ashbury’s ‘SpeedX Riders’ Facebook group, riders share hacks to remove the integrated electronics, replace the SpeedForce stem, shed battery weight … convert their visionary ‘smart’ bikes back into, simply, bikes.
I liked that part as well - it really shows the community-building that occurred despite the obsolete tech/accessories that were supposed to come with the purchase.
I really appreciate how the author gave so much humanity to this piece, from Xu’s mental health struggles to ending with the image of Li Gang and his kid.
This is a super interesting investigative piece that gives a glimpse into China's startup culture through the story of the incredibly fast-paced rise and fall of a bike manufacturing and sharing company. Even when things seemed to be going well I couldn't imagine dealing with the breakneck speed of their design and production. As soon as we were introduced to Chandler Xu I knew his story would be a particularly painful one.
I loved this bit towards the end:
I liked that part as well - it really shows the community-building that occurred despite the obsolete tech/accessories that were supposed to come with the purchase.
I really appreciate how the author gave so much humanity to this piece, from Xu’s mental health struggles to ending with the image of Li Gang and his kid.