Late last year, the US’s biggest e-bike manufacturer Rad Power announced that all of its prices would increase for 2022. Karbon Kinetics Ltd, which manufactures the Gocycle folding e-bike, has now followed suit, the prices of two of its folding bikes rising by £1,000.

We reviewed the Gocycle G4 in November and think very highly of it. Unfortunately for consumers, the £3,399 price tag for the basic model has now risen to £3,999.

The G4i meanwhile has gone from £3,999 to £4,999, with the top-of-the-range G4i+ up from £4,999 to £5,999.

Softening the blow a tad, Gocycle mudguards and integrated light kits (RRP £244) are now included as standard with all three veresions.

Richard Thorpe, the chief executive of Karbon Kinetics Ltd, flagged the rises to the Wall Street Journal last week, explaining: “It’s all disruption, which costs money.”

Describing a situation where Karbon Kinetics finds itself competing for computer chips with car manufacturers and online ordering bots that swoop to secure available stock, Thorpe said: “It’s like the Wild West out there.”

The situation has hampered production. As just one example, Thorpe said his firm was still awaiting delivery of an electrical component ordered more than a year ago.

Similarly, Rad Power – who produce the RadRunner and RadWagon among others – increased prices across their entire line-up from January 3, mostly by about £200.

Announcing the move, a spokesperson highlighted, “a global supply chain crisis with a lack of resources, parts and exponential increase in sea and land shipping.”