Gocycle turns to crowdfunding after surviving ’Bikeaggedon’

Gocycle’s designer-in-chief Richard Thorpe is rebooting nan e-bike institution he founded much than two-decades ago. Following a January restructuring to trim overhead, Thorpe is now turning to crowdfunding to thief motorboat a caller bid of F1-inspired e-bikes while besides expanding into non-electric foldables — a abstraction presently dominated by Gocycle’s British compatriots Brompton.

To drum up support, Thorpe is going to show his communicative and nan challenges and opportunities his mini business faces successful a bid of videos that will beryllium released complete nan adjacent fewer weeks. The first, alternatively earnest installment focuses connected “Bikeaggedon,” Thorpe’s connection for nan turmoil created by soaring e-bike demand astatine nan onset of covid, followed by a illness of nan proviso chain, and past a play of monolithic oversupply erstwhile parts were abruptly disposable again.

The manufacture upheaval resulted successful nan VanMoof, Bird, and Cake bankruptcies, and forced Rad Power Bikes and others to importantly scale-back ambitions. The “Big Bike” behemoths — Pon Holdings, Accell, and Giant — suffered arsenic good but they had capable standard and resources to upwind nan storm. Institutional investors are now watching from nan sidelines, licking their wounds.

Gocycle’s 2025 e-bike scope includes the five-speed CXi Cargo motorcycle already announced successful summation to a five-speed SXi to beryllium sold successful some electrical and non-electric versions. According to Thorpe, description into non-electric foldables will turn its income opportunities by 15x arsenic Gocycle starts to “challenge nan main incumbent folding motorcycle maker.” Thorpe tells The Verge that he’ll apt prosecute a Kickstarter later this twelvemonth for immoderate of nan caller models, aforesaid arsenic he did erstwhile launching nan GS model backmost successful 2017.

Independent e-bike makers are nary strangers to equity crowdfunding wherever backers tin bargain an existent portion of nan company. Cowboy has used it a fewer times successfully, while early backers of VanMoof sewage burned. Thorpe readily admits that Gocycle is simply a “high risk” investment.

If interested, you tin show your support for nan run by registering connected Fundable successful nan US, while nan remainder of world tin registry connected Crowdcube. As nan shaper of immoderate of nan astir innovative and unique e-bikes we’ve ever reviewed astatine immoderate value — we wish Thorpe and nan full Gocycle squad success.