1nterceptor

"BionX Canada, the maker of retrofit e-bike conversion kits, has entered into receivership. Grant Thornton, a business and advisory firm, has taken over management of the company and all business activity has been suspended."

Full article: BionX shuts down as it searches for new owner | Bicycle Retailer and Industry News

BobG

There are informative threads on this news also over at ES and EBR...

The end of BionX? - Endless Sphere

https://electricbikereview.com/forum...vership.16203/

InTheRain

I love my bionx. However, I think there are major manufacturers that have caught up and their products seem to be less than half the price. Not only that, I think the e-bike industry is moving away from hub drive systems and center drive systems will take over the industry.

I'd love to pick up a spare battery on the cheap.

Dahon.Steve

+1

Years ago, Bionx was one of the leaders in rear hub drive systems. However, mid-drive companies like Bosch caught up and it's now the preferred technology. People no longer want a conversion kit anymore and look to buy an electric bike out of the box. Only a few companies like OHM were making very expensive bikes with the Bionx electric wheel. It's a shame because the D500 DV was a high quality product.

EBR did a review of the Bionx factory not long ago and it looked empty. There were only a handful of people working and making motors. I was shocked at the skeleton staff running the operation. It surprises me they were even able to make the D500 DV.

Bionx has to take a lot of the blame because there was no reason their batteries had to cost that much. They were a closed system like Apple computer and charging a premium price when they were no longer a leader. It backfired in the long run but I hope someone buys them out and moves the technology to China.

profstack

Yes, it's a danged shame. I ride an Ohm Urban 700 with the G1 motor and the upgrade 556wH battery, which is still strong with 450wH current capacity. The brake regen is so nice. The motor is silent. I love this fully suspended bike, and I got over 50 miles on the last charge.

But, times change, and Bionx did not. I plan to ride the Ohm until something breaks in the motor, which is highly unlikely to happen any time soon.

Dahon.Steve

Who is going to honor the warranty for Bionx products? I think it's a disgrace Bionx would sell all their wheels and go into liquidation. All those dealers who purchased Bionx kits will now have to sell them at fire sale prices since there's no warranty or service for any of the electronics. They are going to take a bath! All those who bought into Bionx's proprietary technology have their worse fears happen to them.

2old

Their three-year warranty, once a big selling point IMO, could be a joke now unless some company purchases them and their liabilities.

BobG

Indeed! That said, in my 50+ years of adulthood I've never used a warranty on any product... cars, washing machines, lawn mowers or even power tools.

I'm the owner of a 1.3 year old D-500 kit so I am a little distressed over the chance of not being able to buy parts in the future. I bought a discounted spare battery and console last week from NYCeWheels.

Hope a buyer steps up and they pull through. Despite shortcomings described on the various forums BionX has a quality product and I have no regrets about my purchase.

2old

Agree with you about performance. I've ridden several of the 350 and 500D systems on various bikes and was extremely impressed with the latter. Additionally, they always seemed to be very responsive to the (AFAICT few) problems their customers encountered. You should be set for the long haul with the extra battery.

Khb

I don't know that DD is dead; my Stromer ST-1 remains one of the ebikes I most like to ride. Pity about Bion-X, I always figured they would get bought up by some bicycle manufacturer who wanted to own their own destiny (vs. just having yet another Bosch, et al system).

2old

Khb, agree that rear hub systems, especially Stromer and some other premium brands, make great commuters. My only problem with them is off road trails, although smooth dirt roads are fine too.

BobG

Well here's what really happened. BionX entered an agreement with GM to develop a mid drive e-bike under the GM name. Looks like BionX began the project and disagreements soon arose with GM over production deadlines.

That's the Cliff Notes summary. Here's the link to court report dated 3/12/2018. Including appendices this document is 223 pages long but the case is clearly explained in the first 26 pages ...

https://goo.gl/Yt7cLF

Go to appendix 9 on page 161 to read GM side of story in letter of default, page 13 to read BionX claims.

Dahon.Steve

Thanks for posting that PDF.

GM purchased for BionX in the amount of 11.8 million for the Beta Program so they can begin tooling. It was obvious the whole situation started to fall apart once they noticed BionX was slow in developing product. GM then wanted full management of the project.

GM paid for the Gamma Program and BionX delivered only 69 test units and 32 batteries. Well short of what they were required to produce. (106 units).

The production phase ended with GM giving BionX an additional 702K but it stopped right there as the whole deal collapsed! GM now wants all the tooling, hardware and computer aided model they paid in the Beta Program. However, very little was found at the BionX plant so where did it go?

It's wishful thinking that a buyer would even want to step into this mess and save BionX! It's obvious the company entered into a contract with GM and was way over it's head.

BobG

Thanks for the clarification Steve. I've slightly edited my post above.

BobG

The latest update (4/29/18)...

Bionx Canada Ltd. Receivership Update #1 - Sales Process Begins ? Canadian Value Investors

Dahon.Steve

Well, the bid for Bionx happened on the 15th. I guess there were no takers because we would have found out by now if anyone was interested. I should have bid one thousand dollars! I might have won!

jhoblho

So, who are the most reputable companies that will rebuild a BionX battery when it dies? The only one I know of is EbikeMarketplace in Las Vegas, NV. Has anyone had any experience with them or anyone else?

BobG

Here's the latest report dated June 8, 2018. Looks like they've narrowed it down to three buyers to divide most of the assets. The entire document is 517 pages, mostly appendices. Click on "summary of the sale process" at table of contents then scroll down to "the results of the sale process".

https://goo.gl/iZhPxj

"101. The Accepted Purchasers and the respective Parcel Offers are summarized as follows:

(a) Crescent Commercial Corporation: Parcels 8 to 24;
(b) 7575289 Canada Inc.: Parcels 2, 3, and 5; and
(c) Amego Electric Vehicles Inc.: Parcel 1."

Crescent Commercial appears to be an auction, liquidation company.

drowling23

I remember looking at BionX a while back and noting that it was unreasonably expensive and that the battery looked unwieldy. Do they have any patents or IP worth having?

Dahon.Steve

There's an article in Bicycle Retailer which states all assets were sold except for the intellectual property. Good luck selling those!

I can't believe Bionx promised GM they would build a mid-drive folding bike for $1,000 USD! Are you kidding me? GM went to the wrong company because Bionx NEVER sold anything cheap! I've seen folding e-bikes sold for less than 1K on Amazon but they are cheap imports from China and none are mid-drive.


https://www.bicycleretailer.com/indu...s#.WzGLIlVKjIU

Nightdiver

Pretty sure that price is just for the mid-drive kit (motor/controller/battery/etc). Also, that is a B2B price which is probably not dissimilar from what potential OEM pricing would have been, which means that there is additional margin that GM would then add onto the price the consumer ultimately pays. So total bike cost would likely have been in the $3k+ range.

2old

Noticed that BionX (assume EU) / ELBY will be at Interbike this year; maybe there's hope.

BobG

This link was posted over at EBR forum...

https://www.bike-eu.com/home/nieuws/...inues-10133953

mconlonx

As a mechanic, was never a fan of the Trek BionX bikes. Too many failures, not reliable enough for dedicated commuters, unhappy customers...

Dewey101

Bionx GmbH the European subsidiary has gone into liquidation, that's it.