The French platform for refurbished e-bikes, Upway, offers owners of a VanMoof bicycle to repair it. The company used to partner with the now-bankrupt VanMoof, so Upway’s mechanics know how to repair the bikes.

Earlier this month, the court had declared the Dutch bicycle manufacturer VanMoof bankrupt. The company was founded in 2009 by Taco and Ties Carlier. Together, they produced hip and trendy e-bikes for urban use. The first e-bike was launched in 2016. Despite their ambitious plan “to get the next billion earthlings to cycle”, the two brothers went broke.

One-year warranty

One of the problems was that the Carlier brothers made all the parts and software themselves instead of outsourcing it as many other manufacturers do. Consequently, the bikes could only be repaired by specialized bicycle repairmen, resulting in long waiting times. The trendy bikes also had many defects – one out of ten VanMoof bikes had to return to the shop for repair.

Upway focuses on refurbishing second-hand electric bicycles and reselling them. All bikes are inspected and refurbished by a team of professionals. They’re accessible to everyone and delivered with a one-year warranty.

Inspected and repaired

From September, Upway is willing to repair the VanMoof bikes for one year. VanMoof customers pay 89 euros. Then their bikes will be picked up and inspected in the Upway workshops. If a bike is beyond repair, Upway will offer to buy it. The parts can then be used to fix other bikes.

Earlier this month, the Belgian bicycle brand Cowboy introduced a special app for VanMoof customers to lock and unlock their bicycles.