Is Bike E Finished?? UPDATE
 

I just went to their website. It's gone. Their 800 number is gone. Their support for their products is gone. The last I heard they were in the process of moving to another location. Was this to hold off the creditors until they liquadate their inventory? I see a lot of new BikeE's selling on Ebay from Corvellis Oregon (BikeE is located in Corvellis) for rock bottom prices.


It's Sad.. but this was a good bent.

[1st Update]

Chad at BikeE is not taking calls and his email is returning messages that "He is on vacation". BikeE has had several costly recalls as two people were hurt. Rumor has it they are ready to bail before the lawsuits start.

I hope I'm wrong but things do not look good.

[2nd Update]


Several people have visited the BikeE factory and it is closed. According to an article on bicycleretailer.com, they claim recent litigation and costly recalls brought about their demise.

I belong to the BikeE listing and it doesn't look good at all. Most LBS won't admit to the problem since doing so would mean selling their bents at a loss.

You are right about BikeE being a good bent. Let's hope someone picks up on the design and runs with it.

3rd Update]

BikeE's are being liquidated at rock bottom places like calhoun cycles. www.calhouncycle.com. You can also find BikeE's being liquidated at www.cadence120.com. I think it's over folks. Everyone is dumping this bent for whatever they can get. It's a very sad day indeed

I know a bike shop that deals in BikeEs and the word is that there is no truth to the rumor. The website IS down. Supposedly they are moving to another location. This is all I know. If I hear more, I'll relay it to this thread.

I sure hope it's alive and well. What a great bike!

I hope Bike E did not turn out the lights. I just bought a Bike E E2 for my wife and I to ride. It's not the fastest tandem but it's fun to ride. Lets hope it's just a rumor.

bob, welcome to the forums, my LBS has a tandem Bike-E on the floor, it is a total blast to ride, i hope you enjoy yours as much as i get to enjoy the bike shops each weekend! ;)

I'm afraid it's true folks. www.bentrideronline.com has a page called "Stop the presses" that has a quote from BikeE management confirming they are history.
Ridebents

holy flippin shnikies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek:

08/28/02
BIKEE SPEAKS (MAJOR UPDATE)
The following statement was just released by Bob Brown, former head of BikeE.
"As a result of continued operating losses, on August 23, 2002, BikeE Corporation ceased operations and terminated all of its employees. Collection of accounts receivable and liquidation of remaining inventory is being handled by agents of secured creditors. "
So there you have it. The largest recumbent bicycle producer in the world is no more.



BIKEE BUSINESS AGAIN...
'BentRider has confirmed that a collection agency has taken over BikeE's accounts receivable and is telling callers that the company is out of business. All of BikeE's phone numbers are disconnected and their web site is down. All BikeE employees that 'BentRider has a reliable relationship with were unavailable for comment. I would have to say that this does not look good. I would also like to ad that 'BentRider did report the impending demise of the company in April and BikeE strongly denied those rumors (Scroll down to April 22nd).


04/22/02
BIKEE OFFICIAL RESPONSE
From BikeE...
"Hello from BikeE. Recently there was a discussion on an internet
recumbent newsgroup about BikeE. To clarify the issues discussed, BikeE
has not gone out of business or been sold; we are alive and actively
building BikeEs daily.

Feel free to contact us directly with any additional questions or
concerns at www.bikee.com, 541-753-9747 or chat live with us through our
website.

Sincerely,
BikeE Corporation"
Again, 'BentRider apologizes for unintentionally giving life to this rumor.

BIKEE FINE, RUMORS FALSE, 'BENTRIDER EXPLANATION
BikeE has officially and categorically denied any rumors of any impending sale and I'm sure they're telling the 100% truth. They are still building and selling bikes at a pretty good clip. 'BentRider Online did NOT mean to propagate this rumor when I passed on the HPV list message from Susan Christie. I was actually trying to do quite the opposite by stating that the message was only an unsubstantiated Internet rumor, but my plan completely backfired. I guess I learned a thing or two about how many of you read this section and listen to what we say. In the future I'll watch what I say a bit more closely. I have also deleted all of the discussion threads on this subject. If you want to open more about me being an idiot, that's fine, but please no more discussion of the rumor itself.

It has also been confirmed in Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, the trade publication for the USA bicycle retailers. BikeE is gone.
Ridebents

Who will fill the void? Can anyone step up and take over? I would love to see Optima become the recumbent standard in the states.

BikeE Ungracefully Bows Out Of Business

AUGUST 29, 2002 -- CORVALLIS, OR (BRAIN)--Recumbent leader BikeE closed its doors and went out of business Aug. 23, the company told Bicycle Retailer & Industry News yesterday.

The move shocked few retailers, who had been unable to contact BikeE since mid-August, when the company disconnected its toll-free telephone number and took its web site offline.

Many had been unable to order certain models since June, when the company closed its U.S. assembly facility and moved to a smaller building. Concurrently, it also reduced its orders to Taiwanese manufacturers and told many retailers it would not have fresh product until October.

Bob Brown, the company's president and a shareholder, blamed increased operating costs for the shutdown. He also said a weak post-Sept. 11 economy and two costly recalls this year played a role in the company's demise.

BikeE had as many as 30 employees but it had been trimming its staff over the last few months. On Aug. 23, it terminated its last four employees.

The company, the country's largest recumbent maker, sold approximately 10,000 bikes last year. One person close to the company estimated it had sales of $6 million last year.

BikeE turned over the collection of accounts receivables and liquidation of its remaining inventory to agents of its secured creditors, which Brown declined to name. Brown estimated that the company has about $500,000 of product left in inventory.

Brown said questions regarding receivables should be directed to (541) 738-4327, an independent agency. Questions regarding inventory can be directed to Brown at (541) 738-4390.

The move also pulled the warranty rug out from under retailers who sold the company's products. An estimated 30,000 bikes were sold in BikeE's 10-year existence.

"It really compromises the relationship between retailers and their
customers," said Dirk Reitsma, owner of D.J.'s Cycles, a BikeE dealer at in Belmar, New Jersey

Brown declined to reveal BikeE's outstanding debt, but he did admit that the company had never been profitable on an annual basis.

BikeE Ungracefully Bows Out Of Business

http://www.bicycleretailer.com/bicyc...ent_id=1643923

Good timing ;)

And I know three people (my wife being one of them) who bought
BikeE's this year.

I suspect that the real difficulty will be in getting parts for these
bikes, specifically parts that were custom tooled by them such as
the tiny front fork and/or other parts of the bike.

Not a happy occasion by any means. My wife loves her bike. She
had entertained ideas of us getting a tandem too.

Sad.

Weird. My wife is seriously thinking about picking another one up as a parts machine or second machine to evenly distribute wear. Weird.

Another thought:

Vetta sold a special BikeE branded version of the VT55 for their
'bents. It had a longer cable to accommodate the length of the
frame.

This computer was perfect for those of us (like me) who bought
road bikes with bladed forks where installing a conventional
bike computer sensor was difficult or impossible.

The BikeE version allowed people to use the rear wheel to
take the speed reading. Too bad now this will go away too.