MICROMOBILITY
stone/180kg on their 20 x 4-inch wheeled, road legal, pedal assist e-bikes with over 80Nm of power for their 36/21/756 Samsung battery. Knaap Bikes was at this year’s Eurobike, which took place
from 13th to 17th July in Frankfurt, where May also mentioned the weight capacity of the brand’s bicycles. “Most bikes are limited by a 16-stone warranty,” explained May. “The Knaap bikes have a 28-stone rider capacity. To change the industry dynamic, we must start with bike shops making their environments better places for everyone, welcoming environments for all, including larger riders. Simple things like putting those bikes in the window – even adding the warranty weights so larger people walking past the door can see there is something for them. “All too often, over the last year, I have spoken with
leading, larger rider advocates in the industry who are frustrated at the lack of open eyes, ears, and minds at this huge, almost untapped opportunity market for every possible type of bike and e-bike shop. “Over 48% of UK adults are over the weight of a standard
bike warranty – it’s not inclusive, it’s not accommodating and surely that’s not right. Just look at the photos published by almost all of the organisations promoting cycling – next to zero images of anyone over 14 stone on anything other than a normal traditional bike, let alone something designed for larger riders. “Every cycle store owner that I have spoken to recognises
this potential customer coming through the door but very few until now have a solution for them.”
Win-win
Knaap also has a focused eye on what May calls the ‘super- cool sector’. “As well as being supercool to every age group that sees it, it is ‘the most instagrammable bike ever’,” May said.
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The brand has ambassadors in the surfing, skating, scooter and BMX markets to ensure that their bikes ‘still have an edge to them’. These include UK Surfing Champion Stanley Norman, former world scooter champion Dante Hutchinson and national GB BMX rider Ash Finlay. There is also a significant focus on its hire customers,
recognising that they need as much help as possible to help Knaap get ‘bums on seats’. To do this, Knaap offers a six months-to-pay programme where hire locations can add from three-50 of its bikes to their fleets and pay over a six month period.
“This helps small capital restricted businesses to secure an asset they can immediately deploy and generate revenue,” May said. “We combine this with insisting that they photograph every
rider after they have hired, by taking a photo with the customer camera and letting them post it on their social channels. This instantly turns a hire customer into a visual promoter and helps build the overall awareness of their store and the availability of the Knaap bikes, it really is a win-win.” Now, May is looking at the vision into 2023 and 2024, helping
independent bike shops have a product that touches a market they haven’t serviced before. “It’s super cool, and what I’ve coined as the pub bike. It’s designed for that journey that’s too far to walk but not enough to justify the car. “That’s where micromobility sits. We know it’s in that region but wouldn’t it be good to do it in a cool, comfortable, relaxed way?” E-bikes make the transition into traditional cycling much easier, May continued, and e-bike riders have to go back to the store more often than if they were riding a traditional bike, which increases the service revenue for the retailer. “It’s a win-win for the customer because they can exercise
and move more efficiently and more comfortably, and for the retailer because they’ve got service revenue that’s coming in on a repeating and recurring basis.” ●
December 2022 | 41
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