Cowboy releases digital ebike key to keep VanMoof riders on the road

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll probably know that ebike darling VanMoof is facing bankruptcy.  

Obviously, this isn’t good news for VanMoof riders, who could be locked out of their own bikes which largely rely on a unique software app created by the Dutch company.

But fear not VanMoofers, Belgian ebike rival Cowboy has released an app to keep you on the road. ‘Bikey’ enables VanMoof riders to generate and save their own unique digital key in case VanMoof’s servers go offline.

The app is now live on the Apple app store in beta, but will be available for Android soon, said the company. The app currently works with the popular S3 and X3 ebike models, with plans to extend support for new S5 and A5 ebikes. 

“Our software team worked through the night on this and we must stress that it’s a beta so bugs may be experienced… but we wanted to get this shipped ASAP because it will only work while the VanMoof servers are still live,” a spokesperson from Cowboy told TNW. 

Without the key, VanMoof owners would essentially lose total access to most of the functionalities of their ebikes, which can cost in the region of €‎3000. 

While the move is a touch audacious, Cowboy’s spokesperson insists that “this is about keeping bikes on the road, which is our no.1 mission as a company, regardless of whether the bikes are made by a competitor or not.” 

“People rely on their ebikes for their livelihoods,” the spokesperson added.