I rode my Zero 90 miles to the Lightning Open House - I walked right up to Richard Hatfield and told him that I had $10K ready to put down on a Carbon Strike, but that I wanted to sit on it first and test-ride it first. He (very nicely) said that he might be able to arrange a chance for me to sit on the Strike, but the three Strikes on display at the Open House were actually all reserved and he couldn't let me test-ride someone else's bike. Understandable.
The event was fun - I got to ride an electric skateboard, the food was good. But it seemed strange. The whole thing felt like a 'show and tell', and nothing like a sales pitch. I never felt that they cared if anyone was interested in buying one of their bikes.
Maybe they are trying (too) hard to avoid seeming pushy? Or maybe they already have more reservations than they can handle?
They had a slide-show presentation - Richard talked about the history of the company - nothing new.
Someone asked the question about delivery time - Richard answered, "About 90 days, but we're working on shortening the wait time".
I hung around until it was over, hoping to at least sit on the bike to see how it feels - how it might fit me. But I didn't see Richard anywhere... I finally gave up and left.
A little disappointed for sure - no new info, no specs, no chance to sit on the bike. If you wanted to go, but couldn't make it - you didn't miss anything. I'm less enthusiastic about the Strike now than I was before! I think I'll just hold onto my $10K for now and see what happens.
