On April 30, the Tennessee-based frame manufacturer Lynskey filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Lynskey cited several reasons for the bankruptcy filing, including increased operating costs, cash-flow struggles, and e-commerce-related issues.
Court filings show that Lynskey has between $1 million and $10 million in debt, with assets totaling roughly $50,000. Some 200+ creditors are owed, including SRAM and FSA, both of which Lynskey has racked up six-figure tabs with.
And, perhaps some customers are owed as well. It was initially a Reddit post that turned us on to this story. The user reports that they ordered a gravel bike in September but still haven’t received it. According to the poster, Lynskey had “strung [them] along like numerous people on Reddit, citing part shortages.”
On May 5, rather than a gravel bike, the user received a letter in the mail from a Chattanooga law firm. The letter informed them of Lynskey’s filing.
While a “part shortage” certainly didn’t help the company, Lynskey puts the lion’s share of the bankruptcy on the move to e-commerce, specifically the Shopify platform. According to court documents, Lynskey fell behind on order fulfillment due to a lack of certain components, and invoices piled up. Meanwhile, Shopify “instituted arbitrary reserve deposits and egregious chargebacks for delayed orders, to the tune of at least approximately $550,000.”
This seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Some customers are getting lucky and not experiencing the same struggles with Lynskey as the original Reddit poster. In the same thread, one commenter mentions that they just received their Lynskey Elysium that day (May 5). According to the commenter, the bike was shipped just a few days ago.
However, in response, another commenter says their Elysium never arrived. They speculated that “maybe your part selection was something they already had on the shelf.”
It is important to note that a Chapter 11 filing doesn’t mean the end for the brand. Fingers crossed, Lynskey will be able to reorganize their debts and keep their doors open. Currently, Lynskey’s website is still active with heavily discounted frames (nearly 50%). While there is no mention of the filing on the website, Lynskey’s “Lifetime Warranty” information is still available on the homepage.
Like another Reddit commenter who received their bike a few weeks ago, we wonder if their lifetime warranty “is about to become a 3-month warranty.”
We’ve reached out to Lynskey but haven’t received a response since publishing. We’ll update the article if we hear back from them.
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