I like my van moof, but I wouldn’t order another one.
I’ve had a few little issues with my bike that I’ve had to fix myself because there’s no service centre anywhere near and with the new firmware update it takes away your ability to customise some of the settings with Moofer. I usually turn my bike up to 20mph because it makes it easier to cope with the hills.
It’s also not ideal for an area which isn’t flat and where the roads are poor - pot holes and VM do not mix.
I’ve got another two years left on my theft coverage and then I’ll look for something else.
I have to agree with @Dan5, love my VanMoof S3 2021. It has changed how I get to work and back (a 40-70 minute commute due to walking and then waiting/getting a bus to a 13 minute journey) but I feel I need to try something new. I have had so many faults with it and self serviced it, that I don’t trust the product quality so wouldn’t get another. I thought the Reddit posts were the minority until I got the bike.
Firstly, both buttons fell off and I had to reseat them with glue. I have had 3 kick locks fail, 2 replaced by VanMoof and the 3rd I modded a previous broken one to fix the problem after analysing the fault (I used a screw and cut the head off. A metal end to the pin works wonders rather than a plastic one). The gears broke, resulting in having only 1 gear for 2 months while awaiting a completely brand new wheel after attempting 2 e-shiferer repairs and having been sent broken ones. That was a ‘fun’ cycle. I now have a regular error 48, which I need to speak to VanMoof about, although the bike runs fine. Possibly a battery issue from Googling.
The firmware issue I agree with @Dan5. I use Moofer to turn on 20mph. I live in a valley near the top of the Pennines so the bike need to travel up a hill both to and from work and bearly gets to the 15mph with it turned on (when the gears failed I pushed it up more than rode it up them). It kind of need a suspension too for the rural road I go on to my school. I did put a preorder down on the VanMoof V to combat these issue, but I don’t think I will follow through with it. Interested in a Cowboy in the future instead of forcing myself to get a motorbike license. The S5 could have better product quality, but I don’t want to waste another £2k+ to test it out and I believe it is slightly smaller than an S3 which I like the size.
My modded kicklock pin with the broken one. Works perfectly after adjusting for clearence.
I would say that the big issues are fewer than people claim, considering the number of bikes sold and the complaints.
However as an example problem I had - I got caught in a short but pretty heavy shower and it stopped the bell button working on my handlebars.
This meant I could only unlock my bike through the app and that I couldn’t shift manually (which is a god send in a hilly area) and Van Moof wanted me to ship the bike back (probs around a month without it) as I live so far from a service centre.
They did ship me a replacement cable which I fitted and fixed the problem, but now I carry two carrier bags to put over the handle bar buttons if it starts raining - not ideal
I also sometimes suffer from the E shifter slipping - which always happy at just the worst time possible. I wouldn’t want another ebike that doesn’t shift manually, at least not around here!
I do wonder if water is the issue getting into parts. My Pennine town is renown for its rain.
The S3 was cheaper than the S2 too so I think quality control was more of an issue in order for profits (obviously I’m just speculating). I believe the S5 will have better quality than the S3 was due to upping the price of the later S3’s and then S5. Or maybe I just hope so.
Below is the VanMoof broken and spare parts I’ve collected (including the whole wheel) since last June. I did use sugru to seal the buttons and its worked ever since last November.
I will say that every time I’ve asked for a part to repair, they have sent it to me free of charge, even though I do not have the service cover. The wheel they just said something I said makes them think I need a whole new wheel. Always use the online chat too, much quicker than emailing or phoning
Customer service would be a definite reason for me to return and go through with the V5 order. I would personally say, have a go with the order. You have 14 days to return and have heard on Reddit of people returning it 9-12 months after purchase if unhappy with faults (although I obviously can’t guarantee they’ll do that). I bought it on credit card to protect myself for the future.
I am now tempted to go for the Cowboy 4 ST, especially as it would be delivered next month and I’d get to use it over summer, unlike the VM, which would arrive in Sep.
Vanmoof still seems like a popular choice but there’s a lot of (low level?) grumbling on forums. It seems to be “great when it works” and difficult to repair when it doesn’t.
Volt get some good reviews but I don’t hear that much about them
More good reviews about Tenways bikes but still feels like a young company, very slick, successful crowdfunding, but I wonder whether they will go the way of Vanmoof?
Another nice looking option but perhaps not as well road tested as I would like
Ribble seem to have won a few awards
Then there are dozens of options that look like the battery has been bolted on as an afterthought, but these seems popular with all the couriers and delivery riders around here, possibly because they’re cheaper.
My two most common journeys have some incline - enough that I would normally want a bike with gears - but are the single speed options viable for moderate hills because of the electric assist?
How much does the motor power vary between models? Should this be a consideration with the hills locally?
Yes, I recently purchased a Cowboy bike, which comes with an app that allows me to track my trips, check the battery status, and even immobilize the bike remotely in case it gets stolen. It’s been a great investment so far and I highly recommend it. But I still prefer the usual road bikes, I have Tommaso. Such bikes are rarely stolen. I’ve also heard good things about the Vanmoof bikes, but they are on the pricier side.
I think they had the innovation, they didn’t have the reliability and so there ongoing costs of repairs to bikes and the reputation ultimately contributed to their downfall.
