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Gocycle turns to crowdfunding after surviving ‘Bikeaggedon’

Gocycle’s GXi e-bike on a sidewalk with the Amsterdam North visible in the background across the Ij waterway.
The Gocycle GXi we reviewed a few years ago. | Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge

Gocycle’s designer-in-chief Richard Thorpe is rebooting the e-bike company he founded more than two decades ago. Following a January restructuring to reduce overhead, Thorpe is now turning to crowdfunding to help launch a new series of F1-inspired e-bikes while also expanding into nonelectric foldables — a space currently dominated by Gocycle’s British compatriots Brompton.

To drum up support, Thorpe is going to tell his story and the challenges and opportunities his small business faces in a series of videos that will be released over the next few weeks. The first, rather earnest installment focuses on “Bikeaggedon,” Thorpe’s word for the turmoil created by soaring e-bike demand at the onset of covid, followed by a collapse of the…

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