E-Bike News: Nonflammable Lithium-Ion Cells, Bird Goes Bankrupt, a Plan to Revive VanMoof, & More!

E-mobility company Bird announces bankruptcy

Micromobility company Bird has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and begun restructuring its operations. Bird says there will be no interruption in service to their riders, partner cities, employees or fleet managers.

Currently, Bird operates its micromobility fleets in 350 cities across the U.S., Canada, Europe, Middle East and Australia.

Bird was launched in 2017 by former Lyft and Uber executive Travis VanderZanden and was one of the early innovators in the dockless micromobility movement. The company went public in 2021 after it had seen its use plummet during the pandemic. The stock soon went into a nosedive, though and it’s market cap dropped from $2 billion to just $70 million in 12 months.

Bird’s first and second lien holders entered a restructuring agreement with an ultimate goal of selling all of Bird’s assets and to maximize value, a stalking-horse offer has been made in order to set a minimum value for the assets.

“This announcement represents a significant milestone in Bird’s transformation, which began with the appointment of new leadership early this year,” said Bird Interim CEO Michael Washinushi. “We are making progress toward profitability and aim to accelerate that progress by right-sizing our capital structure through this restructuring. We remain focused on our mission to make cities more livable by using micromobility to reduce car usage, traffic, and carbon emissions.”

Bird’s European and Canadian operations are not part of the bankruptcy and they will continue to operate as normal.

Scooter brand Lavoie purchases VanMoof and plans re-launch

Speaking of bankruptcy, VanMoof, whose 2023 flame-out was one of the most talked-about e-bike business stories of the year, will be rising from its ashes thanks to a scooter company. It’s new owner is McClaren Applied’s scooter brand Lavoie and its new leaders are Elliot Wertheimer and Nick Fry.

Wertheimer and Fry’s first move was to begin rebuilding VanMoof’s decimated workforce. Once numbering more than 700 employees, layoffs as a result of the bankruptcy had brought that number down to just a few dozen who were charged with servicing the needs of current VanMoof owners. That number has now been tripled to more than 100, which should make servicing existing owners smoother and speedier.

The new plan for VanMoof begins with improving parts sourcing in order to service VanMoof dealers and repair shops. Once there is a reliable parts pipeline, the plan is to bring back sales of new VanMoof e-bikes. The third step is a surprise, though—introduce a VanMoof-branded scooter.

According to Wertheimer and Fry, the new scooter will be introduced sometime in the first half of 2024. There’s no word yet on how much of Lavoie’s scooter technology will show up in VanMoof’s scooter.

This second bite at the apple could be good for VanMoof. Last spring, the company introduced new models that used fewer proprietary parts in order to make service both easier and faster. This may give the company a chance to sell some more reliable and serviceable e-bikes.

E-bike subscription program Friiway being offered to Bay Area retailers

Not everyone can afford to purchase a premium e-bike after meeting their monthly expenses, but an e-bike holds the promise of allowing someone to cut their monthly expenses by cutting what we spend on gas, insurance, parking and maintenance. A new company called Friiway is rolling out a new subscription service for those who want to ride an upscale e-bike but can’t or don’t wish to commit to a full purchase just yet.

The new business is focused on California’s Bay Area for now and began with The New Wheel an e-bike retailer.

Unlike a bike share program, Friiway’s subscription program means that users take the e-bike home with them and treat it like their personal property. Subscriptions can be purchased in monthly, six-month and annual terms.

Friiway is focusing on high-end brands such as Stromer and Riese and Muller, brands whose e-bikes typically run more than $4000. The subscription program offers potential buyers the opportunity to see how an e-bike fits into their lives. Friiway also allows subscribers to apply 15 percent of their subscription to the purchase price of a new e-bike. The subscription covers the e-bike plus a lock, replacement parts and maintenance. It also includes a theft and damage insurance policy.

Yamaha announces a battery swap program

Running out of juice on the way home is something most e-bike owners suffer sooner or later. One solution some manufacturers have tried is to create a battery-swapping system where riders drop off discharged batteries, trading them for ones with a full charge. A number of Japanese companies have tried this and now Yamaha is rolling out a new battery-swap program in Europe.

Called Enyring, the program is being rolled out in Berlin, but will soon be expanded to all of Germany, plus Netherlands. Because the program will use Yamaha batteries, it will be limited in its reach. Currently, the e-bikes using Yamaha batteries include: Yamaha, Giant, Liv, Haibike, Nishiki, Babboe and Winora, among others.

One advantage to a battery-swapping program such as this is that the company recharging the batteries can inspect them for wear and take old batteries out of circulation and eliminate the risk of charging an old or faulty battery in someone’s home.

Aventon recalls the Sinch.2 folding e-bike

Aventon has voluntarily recalled roughly 2300 Sinch.2 e-bikes due to a risk they may accelerate unexpectedly, posing a crash and injury hazard. The Class 2 e-bike comes in two colors: sapphire blue or quicksilver.

The affected e-bikes say Aventon on the down tube and Sinch.2 on the chainstay.

Owners should stop riding the e-bikes immediately and contact Aventon for a repair, which includes a controller software update.

Consumers can contact Aventon by phone at: 866-300-3311, Monday through Friday 11 am to 4 pm, PST. They can also email Aventon at: [email protected], or visit their website at: https://www.aventon.com/pages/recalls.

There have been six reports of unexpected acceleration, but no reports of injuries.

The affected bikes were sold at independent bike shops, BestBuy and Eriksbikeshop.com. between April 2023 and August 2023. For more recall details, visit the CPSC.