The company is gone—what about my bike?
- Thread starter JohnnyBeans
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- vanmoof
Is there anything wrong with your bike, or are you worrying about what happens if/when something happens?
In that article is a link to the new owner's site; what did they say when you reached out to them?
https://help.vanmoof.com/hc/en-us
The article says that you'll be responsible for your own repair costs, since the bankruptcy got them out of honoring warrantees. There was also a part of the article that said they can sometimes fix things by phone.
In that article is a link to the new owner's site; what did they say when you reached out to them?
https://help.vanmoof.com/hc/en-us
The article says that you'll be responsible for your own repair costs, since the bankruptcy got them out of honoring warrantees. There was also a part of the article that said they can sometimes fix things by phone.
Expensive old world legacy eBikes made with non generic one off parts are about as permanent as a bic lighter. Even if the company stays in business, two years down the road your bike is discontinued, and they no longer have parts for your model.
Chinese eBikes have the same problem, but since they're 1000 X more plentiful they're a lot easier to find parts that can be adapted to your particular bike.
Chinese eBikes have the same problem, but since they're 1000 X more plentiful they're a lot easier to find parts that can be adapted to your particular bike.
m@Robertson
In Memoriam 1962 - 2025
Unfortunately, the Van Moof debacle was something that was easy to see coming, and was talked about in the industry as an impending crisis long before the public bankruptcy filing. The proprietary parts issue that @biknut mentions is the core of it. It was common knowledge that Van Moof was in deep trouble with buggy parts causing a complete overload of their service department to supply and install in-warranty replacement parts, as well as a financial drain on the company that was unsustainable.
Anyone with an ebike that has a battery built into the bike frame has the same problem in a few years when it wears out. Will a replacement battery be available? Will it be in stock and will you be able to afford it? Sondors owners can't get batteries for their bikes anymore, but the older ones with the big open triangle can be adapted. The Steps, 20" Folds, the Madmods ... different story. The mid drive Rockstar, Cruiser and LX all use the same proprietary and unique battery. I don't think there are any of those left.
Early E-Bullitt owners - thats a roughly $8000 bike - have in some cases worn out their Shimano E8000 motors only to find that Shimano has designated the 8000-series as End-Of-Life. No more parts, period. The 8100 series and its successors are available, but their bolt pattern is different so you can't upgrade. Your only option is to try and buy a motor on the secondary market, and sellers know what they have... street prices are around $1000.
If you expect to keep an ebike as long as you would a bicycle, you can't rely on the original seller to keep parts on hand. You have to be able to keep the bike up yourself, or expect its lifespan to be significantly less than you originally expected.
Anyone with an ebike that has a battery built into the bike frame has the same problem in a few years when it wears out. Will a replacement battery be available? Will it be in stock and will you be able to afford it? Sondors owners can't get batteries for their bikes anymore, but the older ones with the big open triangle can be adapted. The Steps, 20" Folds, the Madmods ... different story. The mid drive Rockstar, Cruiser and LX all use the same proprietary and unique battery. I don't think there are any of those left.
Early E-Bullitt owners - thats a roughly $8000 bike - have in some cases worn out their Shimano E8000 motors only to find that Shimano has designated the 8000-series as End-Of-Life. No more parts, period. The 8100 series and its successors are available, but their bolt pattern is different so you can't upgrade. Your only option is to try and buy a motor on the secondary market, and sellers know what they have... street prices are around $1000.
If you expect to keep an ebike as long as you would a bicycle, you can't rely on the original seller to keep parts on hand. You have to be able to keep the bike up yourself, or expect its lifespan to be significantly less than you originally expected.
