How professional thieves stole $1M of e-bikes in just seven minutes

When my high-end electrical bike was stolen last year, the extraordinary mixture of emotions starting from violation to anger was exhausting to explain. However that’s nothing in comparison with what one progressive electrical bike maker goes by after $1M price of unreleased new e-bikes was stolen in a single fell swoop.

Biktrix, the Canadian e-bike maker behind several impressively designed, high-power models, shared the devastating information {that a} container of latest Juggernaut FS ST e-bikes was stolen from the corporate’s Delta, BC warehouse. There have been additionally a number of prototype fashions Biktrix is creating for launch subsequent 12 months within the container.

It’s an enormous setback for Biktrix, which has grown from humble beginnings a decade in the past as a storage startup into a significant e-bike maker with a 20,000-strong buyer base.

The brand new Juggernaut FS ST e-bike mannequin was not too long ago introduced, with Biktrix making ready to start shipments to satisfy pre-orders. This was the primary batch of those new e-bikes produced.

Not like many white-labeled electrical bikes that use a mixture of à la carte parts and frames chosen from a catalog of OEM elements, the Juggernaut FS ST is Biktrix’s personal in-house design. It additionally encompasses a distinctive body with a hidden rear shock meeting, making it straightforward to determine.

The bike features a highly effective mid-drive motor that places out 1,200 watts of energy, in addition to an industry-leading 1,300 Wh battery. That’s roughly twice the scale of the common e-bike battery on most fashions today.

With a mixture cadence and torque sensor for pedal help in addition to throttle management, it’s fairly distinctive amongst at present’s high-powered full-suspension e-bikes, particularly for an easy-to-mount step-through e-bike.

Its eye-catching design ought to make the bike simply identifiable. To additional assist determine the bikes, ought to they make it onto the secondary market, Biktrix shared that they embody serial numbers within the vary from BK2CE30001 to BK2CE30140.

Biktrix also shared security footage exhibiting the suspected thieves arriving on the warehouse with a Ryder semi-truck used to drag the container. The container seems to have been mounted on a container chassis, possible from its current supply on the warehouse. The thieves broke the lock securing the container chassis, linked it to the semi-truck, and drove off into the night time with a million {dollars} price of unreleased new e-bikes in tow. They have been on website for simply seven minutes.

What possible would have been a reasonably easy case for the police in a rustic with stronger public surveillance turned out to be a nightmare for Biktrix. The corporate found after speaking to police that site visitors cameras in Canada don’t truly document video until a automotive is dashing or runs a pink mild. The corporate additionally offered the license plate variety of the thieves, however the police may legally solely surveil them for 2 days. As the corporate’s CEO defined, the car didn’t go close to the bikes in these two days, and so the police needed to finish the surveillance and successfully launch the thieves.

“This container wasn’t simply metallic and contents, this container was like a treasure chest of our desires, our whole group’s exhausting work, and appreciable market worth price $1M—comprising all of our financial savings,” defined Biktrix Founder and CEO Roshan Thomas.

The container was insured with an ordinary ship to shore coverage, commonplace within the ocean freight {industry}. Nonetheless, the container had already reached Biktrix’s receiving warehouse, which means it might sometimes now not be coated underneath the coverage.

Whereas it’s trying more and more unlikely, the corporate hopes that the Canadian police will be capable of find the container earlier than the bikes are misplaced. Additionally they urge anybody who sees the container or the Juggernaut FS ST bikes to contact their native authorities. These are the one Juggernaut FS ST bikes in North America.

Within the meantime, Thomas and the remainder of the corporate are attempting to maintain their spirits up, explaining “We’re decided to not let this set us again. As an alternative, we’re utilizing it as gas to push tougher, innovate extra, and preserve believing in what we do.”