VanMoof bankrupt

[raylo32]

And to think I had never heard of VanMoof even though they supposedly had a presence here in the States.

‘A Nice Bike, When It Works’: Riders Fret After E-Bike Maker Goes Bust

VanMoof’s sleek electric bikes attracted fans, but the Dutch company’s demise has left owners unable to get repairs and worried that app-enabled functions may stop working.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Slowchris11]

Be happy you never heard about them. The most unreliable, unfinished e-bikes ever sold to unexpecting victims. The did not go bust because of perfect products and 1st class customer service. They sold on a "pay first-wait longer" base. RIP

 

[marvin78]

Stay clear of 'everything proprietary' vendors. I would never buy a bike with a battery model which I can't replace independent from the specific manufacturer even if the brand is reliable enough to not risk them going out of business I still don't want to be locked into a specific ecosystem.

Even the few Dutch 3rd party repair shops ran out of 'proprietary parts' in a matter of days when the rush began, and they were told then they would not get new inventory. They were bleeding money and running on investment rounds.. eventually that dries up when you're not getting solvent due to this focus of wanting to have a 'designer' bicycle where everything was 'developed in house' ( which translates to: we can charge you as much as we think we can bleed you dry ).

 

[amberwolf]

There's another thread about this

Louis Rossman and GRIN Technologies

I can't say I'm an avid follower of Louis Rossman and some of his (sometimes pedantic) rants, but he's big on "Right To Repair" and open systems. He just posted a piece about the imminent bankruptcy of VanMoof (the Dutch e-bike maker), and what that might mean, as the full functionality of the...

endless-sphere.com

may I merge this one with that?

 

[CONSIDERABLE SHOUTING]

To add onto that, you also seem to have to research heavily the eBike in general, because one with "available" parts doesn't necessarily mean they're easily found and sourced. I learned that with my free Sondor's THIN; it has an 80mm dropout and runs 28" in tires, really strange combinations that take some searching through Chinese sources just to find replacement parts for because early Sondors Taco Belled their bikes together. I imagine it's the same for other eBike "Assemblers".

 

[mark cyclingelectric]

Now there is an update on VanMoof and what is likely to follow. A new bid going in today, seemingly with the Founding brothers in tow: https://www.cyclingelectric.com/news/vanmoof-saga-enters-end-game-dutch-investors

 

[mark cyclingelectric]

Finally, a conclusion - Lavoie is the buyer and it may well rebrand its electric scooters to VanMoof too:
https://www.cyclingelectric.com/news/vanmoof-bought-by-lavoie-use-third-party-bike-shops