As One of the most decorated Track cyclists of all time, Sir Chris Ho There may not seem an obvious candidate to support The growing mobility of electric bikes. common avoidAfter all, it is E-bikes are not real bikes..
However, the six-time Olympic gold medalist has done just that, investing in a new UK startup that has created a click-on contraption that makes it easy to convert a push bike to an electric one, and less Again with less fuss.
fastAs the company is called, it is picked up Since its founding in 2020, Hoy has raised £12.8 million ($16.3 million) in an initial seed round. While the Click-On e-bike system was originally slated for a 2023 launch, the first production run for just a few hundred people began last week, with the remaining pre-orders set for the coming months.
TechCrunch spoke with Hoy after he took delivery of the first official Skarper delivery (an investor benefit, to be sure) to find out why it could be the next big thing in the world of e-bikes — even if You prefer pure. Pedal power, as someone of Ho’s stature must do.
“I’m probably not the type of person you’d imagine would be an e-bike advocate, but once I tried my first e-bike years ago, I got it,” Hoy told TechCrunch. . “When you see that you’re still cycling, you’re still using your body, but you’ve got that ‘invisible hand’ pushing you along, you’ve got it. .and you realize that for some situations, you’d rather ride a pedal-assist bike than a non-pedal-assist bike.
The benefits of electric bikes are well understood. A commuter may not want to arrive at the office drenched in sweat, a tempting proposition for up-and-comers with a motor. With zero emissions compared to other forms of motorized transport, e-bikes also have a lower environmental impact, while e-bikes can also bypass heavy traffic, cut lines of vehicles, pass through parks and other areas normally occupied by motorized vehicles. is out of bounds for
And some people just can’t get out on a fully self-propelled bike, whether it’s because of their age or health condition.
But not everyone wants to buy a dedicated e-bike, especially if they already own one. And this is where Skarper comes into play.
‘Too good to be true’
Shortly before retiring from competitive cycling In 2013Hoy actually started Own range of bikes in partnership with UK retailer Evans. With the project on hiatus, Hoy says he was thinking about e-bikes even before Scarper came along.
“I’ve been a big fan of e-bikes, and I was thinking about doing my own range,” Hoy said. “But I saw this, and thought: Why would I want to build an e-bike when this is the solution you need?”
It was during a mid-pandemic Zoom chat with the CEO of Scarper. Evan Brown and COO Uri Meirovich that Hoy was first introduced to the concept. The idea was to attach the unit to the bike’s rear disc brake to make it electric, with an included kicker that could be quickly removed.
“I’ve been there since the beginning — then I was given a picture, an idea, and it seemed almost too good to be true,” Howe said. “I thought how on earth would it work, how would they deal with heat, vibration, and generate enough power to propel the bike?”
That was one of the big questions early on – how would it work from a physical and structural point of view? A standard bicycle is not built like a motorcycle. And most other e-bike conversion kits on the market mess with cabling and wiring, while they’re also often front-wheel drives, which completely change the feel and balance of the bike.
The Skarper is designed for disc brake bikes with 160mm disc rotors, although it is possible to adapt to other types of bikes for those with a little technical knowledge. The kit consists of a DiskDrive rotor, complete with an integrated gearbox, which replaces the bike’s existing disc brake rotor on the rear wheel. It also serves as a clip-on electric motor mounting system.
While anyone is able to fit the Skarper e-bike drive system themselves, the company has also partnered with an installer network to do the work for free.
While electric bike conversion kits have been around for a few years, Skarper’s pitch is all about ease – not only is it click-on and click-off, but it also causes minimal disruption to the bike itself. In fact, co-founder and COO Uri Meirovich emphasizes that Skarper isn’t about “changing” or “transforming” the bike.
“We’re here to expand that,” Mirovich told TechCrunch. “Traditional conversion kits permanently alter your bike, often compromising its original design and ride quality by changing the bike’s wheels, wiring, or handlebars. Mounting the battery on or elsewhere compromises the bike’s balance and appearance.”
So in some ways, it’s all about having two bikes in one. This means that the owner of a beloved road-, mountain-, hybrid-, or gravel bike need not compromise the integrity of its original design and quality.
“Like all great ideas, it’s much easier when it’s already part of the bike – a disc brake, which already deals with huge forces, huge torque. [rotational force]and huge amounts of heat,” Hoey continued. “So that’s a great starting point, using the structural rigidity and integrity of the frame to drive the rear wheel. From an engineering perspective, I think this is an elegant solution.
Once the Skarper unit is installed, it can be removed in seconds, but it’s also possible to disable the e-bike functionality by turning it off, or triple backpedaling if the rider doesn’t need it. can be connected via “pause mode” by Help with electricity for a while. It can also save battery.
The Skarper system takes 2.5 hours to fully charge from empty, providing a range of up to 50 km (31 mi) with a top speed of 25 km/h (15 mph).
Grand design
Skarper counts about 22 employees, including more than a dozen engineers spanning the industrial, mechanical, electronics, software and testing fields. Additionally, the company teamed up with Red Bulls. Modern technologies The organization, which is behind Red Bull Formula One Racing team.
However, Hoy himself was involved in the design process from the get-go.
“My input is from a cyclist’s perspective – that’s my area of expertise, obviously,” Hoy said. “It was all about how it drives and how it feels. Does the Skarper affect handling? What can we get away with in terms of size or weight or shape? I’m kind of a test pilot. I would be – I would carry the unit, and I was using it properly and applying it in different scenarios and situations.
However, there’s no escaping the price point — at £1,500 ($1,900), the Skarper isn’t cheap by any means. But it’s not designed as a budget way to get an e-bike, and it’s not meant as a device to be used once in a blue moon.
“Let’s say you have a £1,000 e-bike: the quality of the components, the brakes, the gears, the tyres, the materials used on the frameset, the saddle – everything about it is ‘budget’,” Howe said. . . “It’s the cheapest they can try and keep that price down. With the Skarper, it’s basically the highest quality motor you can get, and you attach it to your pride and joy. And if you look at how many times you will use it in a year, it becomes very economically viable.
There is also the issue of security. An expensive standalone e-bike There is an attractive proposition for thieves.and we’re also seeing startups emerge behind this trend, helping victims reclaim their stolen bikes. With the Skarper, the user can certainly attach it to their $5,000 road bike, but just as easily attach it to a junkyard to give it a little extra pizzazz, and then remove it when they reach their destination. give
“I imagine someone has an old, tatty bike that they’ve had for years, or maybe they just bought on eBay — something they’re happy to have locked up outside their office. “Yes,” said Howe. “Nobody’s going to bother stealing it, or even look at it twice. But then, they can clip it on and turn it into a really high-quality e-bike.
For now, Skarper is only shipping to UK customers, however Meirovich confirmed it will open orders for mainland Europe in mid-2025, with the US to follow. Notably, the model that will eventually go on sale in the US will be faster than the UK and European Union (EU), as the US has a 20mph upper speed limit for this type of vehicle.
“Skarper has received more than 100 distribution requests from around the world, including big-box retailers in the USA and major players in most European markets,” Meirovich said, adding that international orders are being met. will require some modification. “There are minor changes that will be required to comply with EU and US regulations, and we are in the process of obtaining this certification.”
Credit : techcrunch.com
