Originally Posted by
harlond
Sure, Kickstarter carries risk. But that doesn't in any way whatever excuse Helix, which didn't deliver what it promised when it promised. Those were Helix's promises, not Kickstarter's. So it's no defense of Helix that the product was offered on Kickstarter.
All that said, I'm really happy that an actual bike has been delivered, and it looks pretty nice, worthy of the Kickstarter price even if it's not exactly what was promised. By no means the disaster that the three-year delay suggested was likely.
Perhaps I wasn't explicit enough... I agree: I am not saying that offering an item on KS is an excuse or defense to not deliver what was promised. Absolutely things should be delivered as promised. However, because it is offered through KS, one has to be prepared for changes and ultimately failure (to deliver): there is no guarantee. Kickstarter's own page states: "Kickstarter is not a store, it’s a place where creators come together with backers to bring creative projects to life." Now that's pretty open-ended; creative has a pretty wide range of interpretations. If you go to KS's fine print, it speaks at length of the obligations of the creator and even remedies, but at the end of the day, there is no guarantee that what was promised will be delivered absolutely. So my point is that if you decide to participate in crowd funded campaign, hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst case scenario, and don't be surprised if that is the unfortunate outcome.
But I also agree with you that the bike looks exciting, and hopefully, will live up to many of its promises!