[seagullriffic]

> one of the main issues with VanMoof’s bikes is that they are custom designed from the ground up

The frame, certainly - it has integrated lights and I presume other electronics. I wonder though (and doubt that) about the other components, which are easily sourced and likely off the shelf.

Designing a custom frame for a bicycle isn't uncommon or a bad idea. These bikes are also pretty common here in Europe and they do look good. They're popular, and recogniseable.

The promise being an all-in-one system you barely have to maintain. That isn't a bad or unfair proposition. So it's a shame the company seems to have been badly run.

The linked Reddit post - https://www.reddit.com/r/vanmoofbicycle/comments/14wexfl/la_... - particularly a habit of throwing things out rather than repairing them, and hiring inexperienced staff - might explain quite a bit of this.

Mechanical products like these basically need one thing: high quality parts. A 1/10 record of returns for repair seems like it's the root.