MICROMOBILITY
SHIFTING GEARS
Intra Drive has created an 8-speed gearbox motor to help, designed with a circular economy ethos. Rebecca Bland speaks to founders Mark Ravilious and Peter Slotwinski
E
lectric bikes are the way forward in so many ways. They are playing a small part in averting the climate crisis by offering last-mile delivery
solutions. They present viable alternatives to polluting vehicles for families, sole drivers and commuters. And so it makes sense that the brands behind the e-bikes and technology you buy are equally as conscientious about the way their products are used and produced. One such company is Intra Drive. Founded by engineers Mark Ravilious and Peter Slotwinski in 2016, they have been working on an 8-speed gearbox motor, designed with a circular economy ethos. This benefits both workshops and consumers, as the motor and gearbox unit itself will be far more accessible.
So, if the user suffers a fault, in theory, they won’t have
to ship it off to Intra Drive to get it fixed. Thus, saving time, energy and emissions from not carting it around. Beyond this, it also means that the parts can be replaced easily and thus the unit can be kept in service for as long as possible. “We plan to manufacture in the UK and do the assembly here in Edinburgh,” added Ravilious. “We’re building a majority European supply chain, and aiming to reduce the environmental impact of the product to make something that is very reliable, durable and dependable.”
Origin story
The original idea was born out of frustration with derailleur gearing systems, and the desire to address how many consumable parts are on bicycles, as Slotwinski explained.
www.bikebiz.com Mark Ravilious and Peter Slotwinski
“Your chain, cassette etc. wears out, pretty much goes in the bin yet gearboxes are intrinsically circular. In cars, it’s very common for gearboxes to be reconditioned or sold on – a gearbox can outlast a car. “And so it made sense to apply this technology to bikes. To
make them more durable and longer lasting which, in itself is more sustainable because you’re keeping things in service for longer and reducing consumerism.” Ravilious added, “I think the way we manufacture products
needs to change and the only thing stopping us really is imagination and conviction, I suppose to do that.” As important as an environmental manufacturing ethos is, it’s not the sole variable that’s going to convince bike brands to try out a relatively untested product. So, what else has Intra Drive done to sway the big names? They’ve made it work within Shimano motor fitments, so that brands don’t have to retool and they can use the same mounting bracket for the frames – as Slotwinski explained. “We’re a B2B business, and we’re selling the full e-bike
system to bike brands. So the idea was to reduce the time to market and the engineering overheads of bike brands that are selling bikes with Shimano motors. So it should be easy for them to quickly integrate and potentially sell our drive units in parallel with their existing line-up.”
Securing investment Intra Drive has just completed a successful Crowdcube campaign, with 240 individuals backing the project to 130% of the target amount. This will no doubt improve confidence
January 2024 | 29
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