Van poof! Dutch e-bike maker VanMoof goes bankrupt, leaving riders stranded

A man rides a VanMoof brand e-bike in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Aug. 17. Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters hide caption

toggle caption Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters

A man rides a VanMoof brand e-bike in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Aug. 17.

Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters

AMSTERDAM — More than two-thirds of the population of Amsterdam commutes to work on two wheels, and some, like office worker Brian Rueterkemp, prefer to do it in style.

"I think one of the things I really appreciate about my bike is having a boost button," he says about his VanMoof, an electric bike that, over the years, has become a hipster accessory both in Europe and in the United States.

But the brand, considered by many bicyclists the Tesla of e-bikes, ; its cofounders are in talks with outside groups to revive the failed company.

Bicycles from the VanMoof company stand in the store at Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz in Berlin, Germany, in March 2022. Annette Riedl/picture alliance via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption Annette Riedl/picture alliance via Getty Images

Bicycles from the VanMoof company stand in the store at Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz in Berlin, Germany, in March 2022.

Annette Riedl/picture alliance via Getty Images

Fixing a VanMoof has become one big headache

A few canals away at a bike repair shop, Joram Hartogs says he refuses to repair VanMoofs, "because they're impossible to repair."

"They're so sealed off with their own equipment that nobody else except them can fix it," he says.

Hartogs says he'll only agree to fix VanMoof tires, because the brand's engineers made it next to impossible to open the frame that contains all the parts.

Brian Rueterkemp bought his VanMoof e-bike nine months ago and is now worried about how to fix it, should he have problems. VanMoof, a brand likened to the Tesla of e-bikes, declared bankruptcy in the Netherlands in July, and customers like Rueterkemp feel left behind. Rob Schmitz/ NPR hide caption

toggle caption Rob Schmitz/ NPR

Brian Rueterkemp bought his VanMoof e-bike nine months ago and is now worried about how to fix it, should he have problems. VanMoof, a brand likened to the Tesla of e-bikes, declared bankruptcy in the Netherlands in July, and customers like Rueterkemp feel left behind.

Rob Schmitz/ NPR

Beside a bike lane in Amsterdam, the VanMoof biker Brian Rueterkemp has a new accessory: a thick, old-fashioned bike-lock chain he's carried around since the bankruptcy was announced: protection against other VanMoof bike owners.

"I've heard a lot of stories that they look for bikes to get their own bike fixed, and steal it," says Rueterkemp, adding that if his bike gets snatched now, there's no way to collect on his VanMoof insurance policy.

And should his bike's internal alarm go off while someone's trying to steal his bike for parts, there is no longer anyone on the other end of that VanMoof app who is listening.