MICROMOBILITY
quantities of some bigger players, as Slotwinski discussed. “I suppose, as a smaller manufacturer, and from discussions
in bike brands that are in communication with Intra Drive about using their unit.
“It’s been good seeing people’s response on social media and on news articles that have come out surrounding the Crowdcube launch. A lot of people are really into the product and the sort of values of the company, who have supported us. I mean, 240 people who’ve invested is pretty cool. It’s amazing.” Now that investment has been secured, it means that the four-man band in Edinburgh and London can expand. They’re hoping to recruit a sales manager and production manager in the near future. But equally, this means the brand can move on from prototypes to pilot production. “Around June we should make 20 units from the manufacturer.” Added Slotwinski, “We had five prototypes made, but over the last year we’ve been building a manufacturing supply chain. And the aim of this phase is to use those manufacturing suppliers that can scale with us to make a pilot run of 20 units. Then we will be using those 20 units to then engage with more bike brands and to build on traction from there.”
Versatility
By operating on a smaller scale, it means Intra Drive can adapt to a brand’s requests, and perhaps even work with other small brands that can’t meet minimum order
30 | January 2024
I have had with bike brands, that being smaller we’re a bit more flexible. So if a bike brand has some specific battery format requirements or special use cases, we’re more inclined to entertain those requirements and give a more personalised service.” Ravilious added, “On the other hand, if a large bike brand
likes the sound of our product, aligns with our values and wants to adopt our technology, we would be open to that and we can scale much more rapidly if we need to. We’re already talking to several large automotive OEMs who are interested in manufacturing our product. So, there is the possibility there if we teamed up with a large bike brand.” The types of bikes that the Intra Drive unit works with are almost universal. There are obvious benefits to electric cargo bikes utilising this sort of technology, but as Slotwinski pointed out, “mountain bikes are great for acceptance of new technology.” This means that the brand can cast the net wide – if you think about what sort of bikes utilise the Shimano system now, Intra Drive can match that because of the mounting plate. “So right now we’re spreading our net quite wide, we’re chatting with commuter bike brands, mountain bike brands and cargo bike brands.” Added Slotwinski, “But I do have a feeling that in the long term it will be the cargo sector,
last-mile delivery that will really be the focus of our product line.”
www.bikebiz.com
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