The origins of Intra Drive

This piece first appeared in the February edition of BikeBiz magazine – get your free subscription here

 Intra Drive has created an 8-speed gearbox motor to help, designed with a circular economy ethos. Rebecca Bland speak to founders Mark Ravilious and Peter Slotwinski

Electric 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. 

“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 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. 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 quantities of some bigger players, as Slotwinski discussed.

“I suppose, as a smaller manufacturer, and from discussions 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.”