Why Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy is backing Skarper to make any bike an e-bike

As one of the most decorated cyclists of all time, Sir Chris Hoy may not seem like an obvious candidate to support the fledgling electric bike movement. A common objection, after all, is that e-bikes are not real bicycles.

However, the six-time Olympic gold medalist has done just that, investing in a new UK start-up that has developed a pressure switch that makes it easy to convert a push scooter to electric, and back again, with minimal noise.

Skarper, as the company is called, has raised £12.8 million ($16.3 million) since it was founded in 2020, and Hoy helped raise the initial seed. While the Click e-bike program was launched in 2023, the first production run started to go out last week for a few hundred people, with the remaining orders set for the coming months.

TechCrunch chatted with Hoy as he received the first official delivery of the Skarper (an investor benefit, of course), to get his take on why this could be the next big thing in the e-bike world — even if you prefer pedal power, as Hoy’s superior does. .

“I’m probably not the type of person you would think would be an e-bike advocate, but when I tried my first e-bike years ago, I got it,” Hoy told TechCrunch. “When you see that you are still cycling, you are still using your body, but you get an ‘invisible hand’ pushing you, you get it. And you realize that in certain situations, you can just ride a pedal assist bike instead of 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, making car support for commuters an attractive proposition. It also has a reduced environmental impact with zero emissions compared to other motor vehicles, while e-bikes are also able to dodge traffic with aplomb, cut through traffic lines, take turns in parks and other areas normally off-limits to motorized vehicles.

And some people can’t go out on a full self-driving bike, because of their age or health condition.

But not everyone wants to buy a dedicated e-bike, especially if they already have a bike. And this is where Skarper enters the fray.

‘Too good to be true’

Just before retiring from competitive cycling in 2013, Hoy actually launched his own range of bikes in partnership with UK retailer Evans. With that project on hold, Hoy says he already had thoughts about ee bikes before Skarper came along.

“I was a big fan of e-bikes, and I was thinking about making my own range,” Hoy said. “But I saw this, and I thought: Why do I want to build an e-bike if this is the solution you need?”

It was during a mid-pandemic Zoom chat with Skarper CEO Eon Brown and COO Uri Meirovich that Hoy was first introduced to the concept. He was given the idea of ​​attaching a wing to the rear disc brake to make it electric, and added a kicker for quick removal.

“I’ve been there since the beginning – at that point I was given a picture, an idea, and it seemed too good to be true,” Hoy said. “I thought how on Earth is it going to work, how are they going to deal with heat, vibration, and generate enough power to run a bicycle?”

This was one of Hoy’s big questions at first – how would this work from a physical and structural point of view? A regular bicycle is not built the same way as a motorcycle. And most of the other e-bike conversion kits on the market involve messing with cables and wiring, while they are often front wheels too, which completely changes the feel and balance of the bike.

The Skarper is designed for disc-brake bikes with 160mm disc rotors, although it is possible to adjust other types of bikes for those with less technical knowledge. The kit features a DiskDrive rotor, complete with integrated gearbox, which replaces the existing disc brake rotor on the rear wheel. This also works as a clip-on electric motor mounting system.

While anyone can fit the Skarper e-bike drive system themselves, the company has also partnered with a network of installers to do the job for free.

Although electric bike conversion kits have been around for a number of years, Skarper’s pitch is about ease of use – not just clicks and clicks, but also causes less disruption to the bike itself. Indeed, founder and COO Uri Meirovich insists that Skarper is not about “changing” or “transforming” the bicycle.

“We’re here to improve it,” Meirovich told TechCrunch. “Traditional conversion kits change your bike permanently, often compromising its original design and ride quality by changing key components such as the bike’s wheel, cables that run all over the place, or adding a battery to the handlebars or elsewhere, which disrupts the balance and look of the bike. .”

So in a way, this is about having two bikes in one. This means that a person with a favorite road-, mountain-, hybrid-, or gravel-bike does not have to compromise the integrity of its design and real quality.

“Like all good ideas, it’s easier when it’s already part of the bike – the disc brake, which is already dealing with great power, great torque. [rotational force]and very hot,” continued Hoy. “So that’s a good starting point, driving the rear wheel using the structural rigidity and integrity of the frame. From an engineering point of view, I think it’s a good solution.”

If the Skarper unit is installed, it can be removed in seconds, but it is also possible to disable the operation of the e-bike by turning it off, or by engaging the “pause mode” by reversing three times if the rider does not need it. temporary electrical assistance. This can also save battery.

The Skarper system takes 2.5 hours to fully charge from empty, providing a range of up to 50km (31 miles) at a top speed of 25km/hour (15 miles/hour).

Great design

Skarper counts about 22 employees, including more than a dozen engineers working in the fields of industrial, mechanical, electronics, software and testing. Additionally, the company has worked closely with Red Bull’s Advanced Technologies outfit, which is behind the Red Bull Formula One racing team.

However, Hoy himself was involved in the design process from the beginning.

“My input comes from a cyclist’s perspective – that’s my area of ​​expertise, obviously” says Hoy. “It was all about how it rides and how it feels. Does Skarper affect management? What can we avoid about size or weight or shape? I would be a kind of test pilot – I would take the unit, and I would use it properly and test it, using it in different conditions 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 installed as a bike hose to get an e-bike, and it’s not intended as a tool to be used once in a blue moon.

“Let’s say you have a £1,000 bike: the quality of the components, the brakes, the gears, the tyres, the materials used in the frame set, the saddle – everything about it is ‘budget’,” says Hoy. “It’s the cheapest they can do to try and keep that price.” low. With Skarper, this is the highest quality engine you can find, and you attach it to your pride and joy. And if you look at the times you will use it for a year overall, it will be very powerful economically.”

There is also the issue of security. An expensive private e-bike is an attractive proposition for thieves, and we’re even seeing startups get behind the trend, helping victims recover their stolen bikes. With the Skarper, a user can attach it to their $5,000 road bike, but equally they can attach it to a trash can to give it extra pizzazz, and remove it when they reach their destination.

“I imagine someone who has an old, toxic bike that they’ve had for years, or maybe they just bought it on eBay – something they’re happy to leave locked up outside their office,” Hoy said. “No one will bother to steal it, or look at it twice. However, they can attach this to it and turn it into a really high quality e-bike. “

Currently, Skarper only ships to UK customers, however Meirovich has confirmed that it will open orders to European countries in mid-2025, with the US to follow. What is noteworthy is that the model that will be sold in the US will have a higher speed than that of the UK and the European Union (EU), as the US has a maximum speed of 20mph for this type of car.

“Skarper has received more than 100 distribution requests from around the world including big box retailers in the USA and key players in many European markets,” said Meirovich, adding that few changes would be needed to fulfill international orders. “There are minor changes that will be required to comply with EU and US regulations, and we are in the process of obtaining these certificates.”