The Norwegian company Kindernay was founded in 2010. It takes guts to start a company manufacturing bike parts in Norway, a country not known for cheap labor. But as the years went by, Kindernay made progress and the project seemed more and more realistic to me.
Late 2021, Kindernay launched the VII. I enjoyed riding this new 7-speed IGH, it was a smaller and lighter hub compared to the XIV. Also, Kindernay had made progress with the peripherals. Their new “twosie” shifter, a precise feeling shifter with both levers combined into one unit, was a nice step up.
But they were becoming less responsive. I noticed their hubs were out of stock on the website. Weeks went by, and there was still no stock. Also, my contact at Kindernay was out on sick leave. Rumors popped up in various online comment sections. Some said Kindernay was going bankrupt.
Why would Kindernay need a € 13.000.000 factory? Their product seemed great, and I believe several bike manufacturers considered it for their bikes. If Kindernay was scaling up to meet demand, I guess they would be able to raise the money. If the demand wasn’t there, the timing to go bigger probably wasn’t great. But what do I know.
When previously visiting Kindernay, I’ve spoken to engineers and I believe there is world class technical knowledge behind the products. I hope someone sees the value of this expertise and the product. Someone save Kindernay!
The Kindernay XIV and VII
After nine years, I got to ride the Kindernay XIV, a 14-speed internal gear hub (IGH). A hub manufactured in Norway. I’ve got little technical insight into how an IGH is designed. Still, as far as I could tell, this was a solid design and it looked well crafted.Late 2021, Kindernay launched the VII. I enjoyed riding this new 7-speed IGH, it was a smaller and lighter hub compared to the XIV. Also, Kindernay had made progress with the peripherals. Their new “twosie” shifter, a precise feeling shifter with both levers combined into one unit, was a nice step up.
Plans for the future
What was next from Kindernay? They wanted electronic shifting. So far, they’ve had hydraulic shifters. I tried keeping in touch with Kindernay so I wouldn’t miss any upcoming news.But they were becoming less responsive. I noticed their hubs were out of stock on the website. Weeks went by, and there was still no stock. Also, my contact at Kindernay was out on sick leave. Rumors popped up in various online comment sections. Some said Kindernay was going bankrupt.
Kindernay is down ...
Kindernay denied these rumors (which is understandable as they were still operating). My impression was they were working on securing financing for a big factory, and they would soon be up again. It seems they tried to secure funding for a 150 MNok factory (~€13M) and raise funds after having lost 21 MNok in 2022. For whatever reason, they didn’t succeed, and the news dropped today. Kindernay is bankrupt.Why would Kindernay need a € 13.000.000 factory? Their product seemed great, and I believe several bike manufacturers considered it for their bikes. If Kindernay was scaling up to meet demand, I guess they would be able to raise the money. If the demand wasn’t there, the timing to go bigger probably wasn’t great. But what do I know.
... but are they out?
I think there is still hope for Kindernay. In a Norwegian article published on shifter.no, the trustee of the Kindernay assets says there’s been some interest in buying the company.When previously visiting Kindernay, I’ve spoken to engineers and I believe there is world class technical knowledge behind the products. I hope someone sees the value of this expertise and the product. Someone save Kindernay!
