Considering the company was previously bankrupted by warranty bike electronics repairs, I think they should focus on dumbing the smart tech down a bit and making a reliable commuter ebike.

And also not store their customers’ private key certs to unlock the bikes in the cloud - it was only a miracle that some people reverse engineered the app and created a third party one for owners to export their keys.

The tech is cool IMO, but it’s too much, too soon, and not open enough. Even so, after VanMoof’s mess up the first time, owners should really be looking at a Bosch or other alternative ebike instead. Unlike a VanMoof, the alternative won’t be clicking its e-lock mechanism every 30 mins due to a undiagnosed software bug.

Partnering with McLaren Applied to aid in reliability diagnostics for the new bikes is a good start, but not good enough, and doesn’t build past owners’ trust in the company in any way.

If you’re not gonna DIY, chances are you won’t be able to repair the bike you buy yourself so make sure there’s a lot of authorized people who can. Buy an ebike from a large and well known brand like Trek, Specialized, Giant, ideally with a well known motor.