There is no happy ending for Ghost Bikes. Insolvency proceedings against Ghost-Bikes GmbH in Waldsassen, Bavaria, were initiated on November 1. The search for an investor was unsuccessful. None of the offers received promised creditors a higher return than the sale of the remaining inventory.

The remaining bicycles will therefore be sold as a single lot to a wholesaler. Individual orders are no longer possible effective immediately. Business operations will then be completely discontinued. At the time the proceedings were opened, Ghost still employed 53 people.

From a Garage to an International Manufacturer

Ghost was founded in 1993 by Uwe Kalliwoda and Klaus Möhwald in Waldsassen, Upper Palatinate. The small bicycle workshop grew into an internationally renowned mountain bike brand with a wide range of models, from cross-country race bikes to enduro and e-mountain bikes.

In 2008, Ghost became part of the Dutch Accell Group. As early as 2023, the group relocated bicycle production from Waldsassen to other countries. Now, business operations at the company’s founding location are coming to a definitive end.

Haibike and Winora Saved—Ghost Is Not

Ghost’s decline is part of the Accell Group’s far-reaching crisis. The Dutch bicycle group was acquired in 2022 by the U.S. private equity firm KKR—ironically, just as the COVID-19 bicycle boom was coming to an end. Falling demand, high inventory levels, and massive price pressure plunged the group into difficulties. Even extensive restructuring efforts could not prevent the collapse.

In early August 2026, the German Accell subsidiaries filed for insolvency under self-administration. While a buyer was found for the sister brands Haibike and Winora in late October in the form of Bike Tree GmbH, which belongs to the Singapore-based DuTech Group, Ghost remained without a savior.

With Ghost, yet another long-established name is disappearing from the active mountain bike industry for the time being. It remains to be seen whether the brand rights will find a new owner at a later date and whether Ghost could return under different management.