Own a VanMoof? You need to act NOW and backup your bike's key.
The folks at Cowboy just published "Bikey” and it makes this really easy.
They were kind enough to send me a preview build yesterday and it works great!
@phill it's ridiculous that we even need this.
Whoever thought this was a good idea...
@jan completely agree. Obviously there needed be some sort of encryption for the lock to work, but the key could have been made user exportable in the app or something.
@phill thanks for sharing … I want to get one but at the moment I don’t have a place to store it
@koolinus getting one now might be tricky https://mastodon.notsobig.co/@phill/110701490478043590
@phill oh F***! Thanks. Didn’t know that
@phill Only available on iOS from what it looks like, unfortunately.
@meesj I believe an Android version is on the way, but don't quote me on that!
Edit: I've been told it's ‘coming imminently’!
@phill that’s a pretty shrude marketing strategy they got going there ;)
@phill i’ve never heard of these and I’m just weirded out that a bicycle can require an internet connection to operate, where did we go so wrong
@phill Thank you for posting Phillip.
@phill @stroughtonsmith Any idea if the X2 Electrified will eventually be supported? Can only see the X3/S3 and A5/S5 mentioned
@PeterGracar they’ve told me they are working on it now.
@phill Fantastic. Thanks for checking!
@phill why the heck are the bike keys stored in a remote server?
#NotYourKeysNotYourBike
#InternetOfShit
@phill And Van Moof are filing for court protection similar to an USA Chapter 11: https://techcrunch.com/2023/07/12/report-vanmoof-has-filed-for-bankruptcy-protection-in-holland/
So yeah.
@phill this is legitimately really nicely designed too. Wild. So nice.
@sdw right!? They turned it around so quickly too.
@giladronat @phill Thanks! Just cancelled my second bike (for London) and ordered the Cowboy Cruiser instead.
@steipete @giladronat wise choice! I hope no issues cancelling (if it was a VanMoof that is)
@phill @giladronat Oh I don’t wait for that, I opened a CC dispute on my March payment. If they pull this crap without clear communication, what do they expect.
Get your dispute in now before they go bankrupt and there’s no money left.
@giladronat @steipete @phill it’s a non-zero chance
@steipete @giladronat ALSO a wise choice 😂
@steipete I guess “hold off from buying while we go bankrupt” is not a helpful message so 🤷♂️
@phill @grincheux tu as vu passer cette info ?
@phill until when do you think I can do this? I’ll not be near my bike till Sunday night.
@hugo as long as you know your My VanMoof login you can do it away from your bike.
@phill thanks! Hope they support smart S soon
@phill Thanks for the reminder never to buy a 'smart' bike.
@phill a bit opportunistic move ;-)
I like the conclusion of this article https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/13/23793591/cowboy-vanmoof-key-app-download-ios-android
"Given Cowboy’s shared similarities with VanMoof, both of which are independent e-bike makers that raised millions in capital and rely upon many custom-built parts, maybe Cowboy shouldn’t get too full of itself. It has plenty of its own investors looking to get paid and had its own issues earlier in the year when it had to reorganize and seek additional funding to deal with supply chain issues."
If VanMoof’s servers go offline, it’ll be impossible to retrieve this key and you’ll lose access to your bike forever.
It’s really awesome to see Cowboy step in so quickly and help keep these bikes on the road!
They've stressed it's a beta, but it worked great on my Moof.