A rider reports a 2024 recall with no UK hub, then £150 lost on theft insurance
- Report
- 005
- Status
- Broke
- Model
- Cruiser / Cruiser ST (per the rider; unconfirmed)
- Purchased
- May 2023
What happened
A reader’s own account, submitted to Cowboy Bike Broke and published as the rider’s statement of their experience; it has not been independently verified. Cowboy has a right of reply through the contact page.
The rider says they got their Cowboy as a present for their 30th birthday, purchased in May 2023, and that it was recalled in 2024, after only 18 months of riding. Since then, they say, they had next to no updates; being based in the UK, where no recall centre had opened, they sent countless emails, most of which went unanswered. The bike was their main transport to work, and as of their submission (9 July 2026) they had kept riding it.
Separately, the rider says that in July 2026 they tried to resubscribe to Cowboy's theft insurance after the app suggested it, and paid £150, only to be told they were not eligible because the insurance now had to be purchased within one year of the bike's activation. The money, per their account, was taken and had not been returned as of their submission: in the rider's words, another £150 lost. A screenshot of the app showing that eligibility message is held on file.
One thing did not square: the rider entered the model as a Cruiser / Cruiser ST, but as far as we know only the Cowboy 4 ST frames were subject to the recall, and the rider says theirs was recalled. On 9 July 2026 we asked them to confirm the exact model, to attach the recall notice they received, and to say what, if anything, Cowboy had offered them since the recall; no answer had been received when this site was archived in July 2026. Nothing here has been independently verified.
What the rider says
The rider’s own words, as submitted.
I've sent countless emails, most of which have gone unanswered.
Another £150 lost to a company that clearly does not care about their customers.
Timeline
Every entry is anchored to a date and, where possible, an underlying record. Flagged entries mark the key moments.
The rider says the bike was bought in May 2023 as a present for their 30th birthday. They entered the model as a Cruiser / Cruiser ST; we asked them to confirm it, since to our knowledge only the Cowboy 4 ST frames were recalled, and had no answer when this site was archived in July 2026.
On file · Rider's submission · on fileThe rider says the bike was recalled in 2024, after only 18 months of riding, and that since then they had next to no updates. Based in the UK, where no recall centre had opened, they say they sent countless emails, most of which went unanswered. We asked for the recall notice itself, which would confirm both the model and the date; it had not been received when this site was archived in July 2026.
On file · Rider's submission · on fileThe rider says the bike was their main source of transport to work and that, as of their submission in July 2026, they had kept riding it since the recall.
On file · Rider's submission · on fileThe rider says the Cowboy app suggested they resubscribe to theft insurance and they paid £150, but were then told they were not eligible because theft insurance now had to be purchased within one year of the bike's activation. Per their account, the money was taken and had not been returned as of their submission. A screenshot from the app showing that eligibility message, dated 9 July 2026, is held on file.
App screenshot · on file