A “20% off sitewide” banner on top of a company’s website should normally be cause for glee among customers. Except if you’re a fan of that company’s products and its executives remain silent amid mounting signs that said company might be on the brink of bankruptcy.That’s what’s happening with Juiced Bikes, the San Diego-based maker of e-bikes.According to numerous customer reports, Juiced Bikes has completely stopped responding to customer inquiries for some time, while its website is out of stock on all products. There are also numerous testimonies of layoffs at the company.Even more worrying signs are also piling up: The company’s assets, including its existing inventory of products, is appearing as listed for sale on an auction website used by companies that go out of business.In addition, a court case has been filed in New York against parent company Juiced Inc. and Juiced Bike founder Tora Harris, according to Trellis, a state trial court legal research platform.Founded in 2009 by Harris, a U.S. high-jump Olympian, Juiced Bikes was one of the early pioneers of the direct-to-consumer e-bike brands in the U.S. market.The company’s e-bikes developed a loyal fandom through the years. Last year, Digital Trends named the Juiced Bikes Scorpion X2 as the best moped-style e-bike for 2023, citing its versatility, rich feature set, and performance.The company has so far stayed silent amid all the reports. But should its bankruptcy be confirmed, it could legitimately be attributed to the post-pandemic whiplash experienced by the e-bike industry over the past few years. The Covid-19 pandemic had led to a huge spike in demand for e-bikes just as supply chains became heavily constrained. This led to a ramp-up of e-bike production to match the high demand. But when consumer demand dropped after the pandemic, e-bike makers were left with large stock surpluses.The good news is that the downturn phase might soon be over just as the industry is experiencing a wave of mergers and acquisitions, according to a report by Houlihan Lokey.This may mean that even if Juiced Bikes is indeed going under, the brand and its products might find a buyer and show up again on streets and trails.
In what is the first merging of this new technique with an existing and bel0ved Reebok shoe, this new and improved Liquid Floatride Run promises to be 20 percent lighter than the original version, and also comes with two new features — liquid lace and liquid grip.
While your conventional shoe requires traditional laces that must be tied (and invariably become untied), Reebok has solved this problem by 3D-printing laces directly onto the shoe. The result is a stretch-to-fit slip-on shoe. The Liquid Factory process stretches across the top of the shoe at key pressure points to ensure that your foot remains in place, while offering the convenience of a slip-on shoe.
Liquid grip, on the other hand, promises to improve traction. Reebok used the liquid printing technique to draw stripes across the bottom of the shoe, but only placed the stripes where needed. After all, the rubber outsole often makes up the bulk of the weight of a sneaker, so by substituting this component with liquid, Reebok not only increased grip, but also reduced weight.
A few things didn’t change, of course, most notably the proprietary Floatride cushioning midsole. This midsole, after all, was named the Best Debut from Runner’s World in 2017, and is likely what makes the Floatride such a popular shoe among athletes.
“Last year we launched the Liquid Factory concept with the Liquid Speed shoe. It was definitely a striking silhouette, as we aimed to showcase the way that the 3D-drawing process could change the way shoes are made,” said Bill McInnis, Head of Reebok Future. “What we’re excited to highlight with Liquid Floatride is how we can apply the Liquid Factory process to any of our existing products, to make great shoes even better.”
The company seems to have ambitious plans for its Liquid Factory process moving forward. McInnis added, “The next generation of Liquid Factory products will be even more innovative, as we can create the entire shoe using the Liquid Factory process – outsole, cushioning and upper fit systems – the whole shoe. We are looking forward to bringing many more products to market that incorporate the ground-breaking Liquid Factory process.”
The limited-edition Liquid Floatride Run will be available on March 21 at the Reebok website.