What does it cost?
£1998
What is it?
A vision from the future. A smartphone on wheels. It’s rather technologically advanced, so if you’re a self-confessed technophobe, this isn’t the bike for you. If you’re after something suave and urban with a touch of ‘I wonder if Elon Musk had any input on this?’ then it’s a bike to consider.
In layman's terms, it's an urban city e-bike but packed full of tech. It's part of a two-bike range the Dutch brand has released, with the X3 being for the smaller rider, and the S3 for those 5’8” and above. The X3 provides a nice upright riding position, perfect for shorter journeys, and the wide 2” tyres provide a nice buoyant ride.
VanMoof have packed a lot of technology into the bike and it represents good value at just shy of £2000. Electronic shifting and hydraulic disc brakes don’t come cheap, but somehow they’ve packed it all into an intuitive e-bike. However, there are certain nuances to the operation of this bike that can be a little frustrating. For one thing, you need a smartphone to get the most out of it. It provides the authentication to unlock the bike when you're close by and helps sound an alarm if the bike is being moved by someone that isn't you.
What is it like?
It’s like Robocop on wheels. But with more sound effects. It’s one of the few city bikes that has been fundamentally built to survive in an urban environment. The epicentres of bike theft lie in city centres, and if you part with nearly £2000 of your cash you don’t want it to be left to the fate of the person with the axle grinder. The VanMoof has tackled the issue of theft head-on by installing several security measures. For example, the silver Kick Lock by the kickstand activates a lock that prevents the rear wheel from moving, while the alarm can be activated and deactivated manually at any time.
But where the security measures really stack up are when you pair the bike to your phone. If you walk too far away from it, it will lock and eventually shut down. And if you walk up to it, it will turn on. If someone who isn’t identified as you tries to move the bike, an alarm will sound on the bike, and a little skull will appear on the phone display to alert you to the problem. How do I know for certain? Because I set it off twice before correctly pairing my phone to the bike.
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To balance things out a bit, I've had mine for over a year now and it's a genuine joy, and the firmware and software upgrades keep it interesting. Don't like autoshift, switch to manual.
As for the idea of "not taking my phone on a ride", well I use my bike to get around town and I always have my phone - it's a bike for transport, not Sunday 50 milers. Regardless, the phone is not required to unlock, ride or change power settings so no need to worry if that's a red line for you.
Love my cars. always have, but the more bikes of this type we see in towns and cities and the fewer cars clogging up the streets the better imho. Frankly, if I somehow lost this bike to whatever I'd buy another one the following day,
Frankly, it looks as if a child has designed it.
All that unecessary tech in a bicycle is ridiculous, and as we all know easily defeated by thieves. It will also go wrong and be a pain in the butt (as we can see by Scottybarons contribution here)
I cant imagine ever taking my mobile phone with me on a bike ride, let alone installing 'apps' to be able to ride the thing, so clearly this wouldnt work for me anyway!
I am unlucky enough to have purchased an S3.
it's been the most problematic device I've ever owned. Whatever could've gone wrong with it has done so. The last set of repairs cost over £700. Fortunately covered by the warranty. However it's probably spent half it's life in the workshop. The customer service is also poor.
if you're in the market for an e bike, look elsewhere, don't be seduced by the aesthetics of the VanMoof. In my experience it will let you down, and mine isn't just an isolated case, just look at their Trustpilot reviews.
You are right Scotty, I just looked at the reviews - they are truly awful. Unless this company gets its sh*t together, they are dead in the water.