It’s been a tough year for the bike industry and just before Christmas we received another sad announcement: Hövding, the makers of the airbag for cyclists, had to file for bankruptcy!

According to Höving, the reason for the insolvency application was a provisional sales ban issued by the Swedish Consumer Agency on November 1, 2023, followed by a permanent sales ban and a recall of the Hövding 3 product on December 15, 2023.

An appeal against the sales stop and recall of the Hövding 3 has since been upheld by the competent administrative court, which means that the innovative airbag helmet can continue to be sold. Nevertheless, the damage was so great that Hövding’s Board of Directors no longer sees any basis for continuing the company!

Hövding does not go into the reasons why sales were banned in the first place in the press release. Presumably there were safety concerns regarding the deployment of the airbag. We had already reviewed the current version of the Hövding here and also reported on its predecessor, the Hövding 2, which actually became unusable due to a false release.

With over half a million units sold, the product was nevertheless a success and, after 12 years on the market, is still unique. In particular, people who did not want to wear a helmet for various reasons found a real alternative in the Hövding – which can protect them very well in an emergency, as the German automobile club ADAC also tested here.

All in all, a real loss for the industry. We can only hope that a financially strong investor will take over the company and steer it back on track! Interested parties can still purchase the Höving from various dealers (for example here on Amazon). However, you should be aware that there may now be problems with the warranty and service. The Crash Replacement program, which offered a 100 euro discount on a new Hövding if the airbag deployed, is also likely to be history.