Cowboy is opening the next round of its Circular programme. This time, the company says it has recycled a total of 700 ebikes and is sending them back on sale at low prices. The campaign is accompanied by the first-ever B Corp certification.
Second-hand ebikes are becoming more and more fashionable. Specialised suppliers like Rebike, Bike Exchange or Upway report good business. New players like Velio are appearing on the market. It fits perfectly into the picture when the ebike direct mail order company Cowboy revives its circular programme. Already in 2021, the company had refurbished a large quantity of discarded models and offered them via its website.
As good as new
Now, several hundred bicycles are once again waiting for interested parties to give them a second life. Cowboy appeals to people’s environmental awareness and uses pithy words. Want an example? “More than a bike, a circular way of life,” reads a running text on the company’s website.
A Circular model from Cowboy should ride just like a completely new bike.
Even if you take a sober view, the sense of such a purchase is obvious. In many cases, the quality of the bicycles is very close to that of their unused counterparts. After all, most of them are models that previous buyers returned after 14 days within the return period, that were used as test bikes in the test ride network or that adorned the shop window in the Brussels brand shop.
Saving cash
Cowboy’s mechanics then checked the condition of the ebike system and all other components and parts. If something no longer meets the requirements, it is replaced with original spare parts. Finally, an obligatory cleaning is carried out. Once the bike has been refurbished in this way, Cowboy provides a two-year guarantee. The service also includes a free return if you have any doubts within the first two weeks. This thorough refurbishment can theoretically be repeated several times.
The manufacturer replaces old batteries with new original ones as part of the general overhaul.
At the moment, you can find models of the C4 in different colours and frame as well as the C3 in the Circular programme. At 2,390 euros, the prices are 500 euros below the actual new price. In the case of the C3, the difference between the price of a refurbished model of 1,890 euros and the 2,490 euros that a new bike once cost is as much as 600 euros. In the meantime, by the way, the C3 is sold out.
Circular models important strategic piece of the puzzle
Returning remanufactured ebikes to the commodity cycle is one of the factors that Cowboy has just used to achieve B Corp certification. B Corp stands for B Corporations. Behind the designation are companies that have defined social added value and ecological sustainability as part of their corporate philosophy, have implemented this in their everyday life through concrete actions and have had this confirmed by the non-profit organisation B Lab within the framework of a certification. Cowboy says of itself that it is the first ebike brand ever to be able to claim this.
In this context, B Lab assessed how precisely Cowboy can track the impact of its business activities and its business model on employees, customers, society and the environment. For example, the sustainability of the supply chain Cowboy uses, the ability to accurately record emissions during transport, the use of sustainable packaging and the fact that the development of the ebikes makes sure that as many parts as possible can be reused all played a role in the result. In the end, Cowboy scored 89.5 points in the B Impact Assessment. At least 80 are necessary to receive the certification.
Pictures: Cowboy SA
I would like to sell my Cowboy 4