IN BRIEF
Daforza, which bought the British electric bike brand Wisper from AMPS Bikes in February 2026, published a statement on 8 September about the supply problems it inherited with the brand: €120,000 of goods remain owed by the Asian manufacturer Cycleman, on an order placed in October 2021. Daforza says it turned down a draft agreement that would have given Cycleman worldwide rights to sell bikes under the Wisper name. It is announcing an entirely new range for 2027, from which Cycleman has been removed.
| New owner | Daforza (Distribution) Ltd, since February 2026 |
| Disputed order | October 2021, components for around 5,200 bikes ($4.7M) |
| Deposit paid | 470 000 € |
| Delivered to date | Around €350,000 |
| Balance outstanding | 120 000 € |
| First shipment | Around 1,450 units, in Portugal, late October 2022 |
| Discontinued models | Wayfarer, 705 and 905 |
| New range | 2027 |
Buying Wisper also meant buying its troubles.
A 2021 order that never arrived in full
It all starts, according to the statement, with this order placed with Cycleman, a long-standing Far East manufacturing partner that also builds the Reany Bike brand. Deliveries promised for spring 2022 were not met, Daforza writes, and the first shipment only reached Portugal at the end of the year — after the season. On inspection, the distributor describes extensive defects — cracked welds, paint, brakes, wiring — and hundreds of frames stripped back to bare metal, a job that took up most of 2023 and cost a second season. Cycleman acknowledged that it was responsible for the outstanding balance, the statement adds.
The clause that sank the deal
In January 2026, the statement says, Wisper founder David Miall met Cycleman managing director Mark Rao and its sales director Alan Wan in Belgium. An agreement in principle was reportedly reached: Cycleman would release quality-checked stock up to the value of the balance, allowing Wisper to see out the 2026 season, and Wisper would let it sell the rejected goods elsewhere.
The draft agreement received afterwards contained, according to Daforza, a decisive clause that had not been agreed in Belgium: the right for Cycleman to sell bikes and components under the Wisper name worldwide, for a minimum of five years. The proposal was rejected. According to Daforza, four reasons drove that decision: the risk of rejected stock coming back to Wisper under warranty, uncontrollable resale territories, dilution of the brand, and the absence of any proof, according to the statement, that the 5,200 units exist.
At Eurobike, in June 2026, the release of €50,000 of stock was announced for the following week, the statement says, and no bike, display or battery was subsequently shipped. Two further written understandings followed, the last one reducing the release to €25,000 of stock; neither was carried out, Daforza writes. According to the statement, Cycleman managing director Mark Rao said during a video call bringing together Wisper, AMPS, Incycles and Daforza that he considered he had no obligation to repay the outstanding balance, nor to deliver bikes to an equivalent value.
Wisper bikes already sold: warranties and parts supply
This is the part that affects those riding a Wisper today. To cover warranties, Daforza says it bought back around £15,000 of parts in the summer of 2026 — parts already paid for, it points out. It adds that Cycleman stated in writing that it would sell it no more parts without the five-year licence being signed — something it describes as an attempt to obtain brand rights under duress.
For everyday parts, the distributor says it is looking for other sources: 375 Wh and 750 Wh rack batteries, motors, displays. Those batteries require new case moulds and CE certification, and factory-new units are unlikely to be available before the start of next year, the statement says. In the meantime, Daforza says it is reconditioning existing casings with new cells — a process it describes itself as slow. The statement also enters a caveat over the whole matter: Daforza says it intends to keep honouring its commitments to current owners “as far as supply will allow”.
A 2027 Wisper range without Cycleman
Daforza says it spent 2026 developing a new Wisper range with no Cycleman in the supply chain, with the ambition of making it a British heritage brand again. That said, this account has only one voice: the reporting outlet says it approached Cycleman for its response, which does not appear in its article.
