SpeedX Leopard AL

Designed by Frog and only $1,200. Add this to my Christmas wish list!

All you bike enthusiasts, what’s your experience been like with SpeedX bikes?

https://en.speedx.com/leopardal/

Anyone? I asked a guy at the local bike shop about it, had never even heard of it, he looked at me like I was off my rocker.

Don’t. Just don’t.

The video and website is a how-to compilation of making scientificky looking charts and graphs that convey zero information. For instance their comparison for ‘light weight’ is versus a 35.3 lbs ‘normal’ bike. Their bike is 17 lbs, and somehow they calculate that as “a quarter”. Um no its half.

Toray 1000 CF/weave is in wide usage across many domestic applications. Nobody believes the ‘military grade’ bs anymore. The only people with access to anything more bad-ass will be engineers in the big bike companies who through connections and brand prestige (Specialized+McLaren) might be using something different. Layering, fiber orientation, yadda yadda there’s no difference here.

The ‘frog’ designer in an abandoned building drawing bikes, yeah, that’s how these things happen for sure. Shameless.

I could go on and on but I’m afraid the form entry would time out. If you have any comments/questions let us all know.

Oh - and asking a shop owner about a direct-to-consumer bicycle business model will not make you any friends.

It’s been a year and I’m wondering if they ever delivered this product. (the link in the original post now takes you to default page in Chinese). :unamused:

Sounds like the first one sucked. Bad. Undeterred, they persisted. Rest assured there will be new bikes for us to eye-roll very shortly.

Great read. Fantastic piece of investigative journalism around start-ups, China, KS, and bicycle manufacturing.

What was frog doing getting involved with this project?

The tanks ‘campaign’ however - that’s just incredibly bad.

Great article. In depth is an understatement! I have no idea what frog worked on for that, but most likely it was the Shanghai studio which predominantly works on apps and digital strategy. Just guessing, but most likely not hardware related, IE, not the bike.

Slippyfish: Thanks for the follow up! I barely remember this thread, but it’s incredible to look back on this story.