SMART BIKE RACK FOR LOCKING AND CHARGING E-BIKES

The world would be a lot more sustainable if more people left their cars at home and chose to cycle instead. Especially in the Netherlands, that step may seem small. Yet it is often the little inconveniences that make people reach for their car after all. Paul Stöver and his co-founder Maarten Smit set out to remove one of those barriers. While working on a solution, they developed Lock and Load: a bike rack that automatically locks and charges your bike. With their startup Revost, they are now bringing their innovation to market.

Paul regularly cycled to work. There, he saw first-hand how inconvenient it was for his colleagues to charge their e-bikes. Most people know the problem: what do you do with your e-bike battery when you arrive at work? You have to take it out of the bike, carry it inside and then charge it. It is heavy, vulnerable to theft and simply inconvenient. Paul: “I thought: there must be a way to solve this.”

From bike bag to bike rack

Lock and Load is a bike rack that automatically locks and charges an e-bike as soon as you park it. A special nut with a click system is attached to the bike. “As soon as the bike is in position, the nuts engage with the receiving system in the bike rack. Two pins then lock the bike, creating the electrical connection between the bike and the rack,” Paul explains. Through his employer TMC, he met Maarten, who was looking for a graduation project. While Paul focused mainly on the technology, Maarten brought expertise in marketing and brand development.

For Maarten and Paul, simplicity is key. “We really want to get as many people on bikes as possible and make the sustainable choice as easy as possible,” Paul adds. According to the young entrepreneurs, this also creates opportunities in Twente. The region already has strong cycling infrastructure with the F35, making it more attractive to choose the bike. With Lock and Load, Revost wants to build on that by making parking, locking and charging an e-bike just as easy.

Taking the first steps in practice

The latest version of Lock and Load is now being piloted at the University of Twente campus, at Campus & Facility Management (CFM). The bike is available to employees who need to get around campus. And it has not been without its challenges. Technical issues emerged during the pilot. According to Maarten and Paul, that is exactly what this phase is about. “We basically expected it not to work perfectly the first time.”

Still, Lock and Load has received positive signals from users at CFM. While employees normally use the regular bikes already available there, they chose the e-bike instead and even took it home with them. A small but telling signal for the Revost founders: when using an e-bike is made easier, it can also increase people’s willingness to actually use one. At the same time, they want to make things easier not only for cyclists, but also to keep the barrier to adoption as low as possible for organisations. “Its universal applicability. That’s what really makes it unique,” Maarten explains. Because Lock and Load works with different types of bikes, organisations do not have to commit to one specific type of bike.

Keeping things moving

Revost is growing not only by building and testing, but also by discussing questions around legislation, safety and technical standards. Paul completed Novel-T’s START programme and he and Maarten are now part of the ADVANCED programme, where they regularly discuss their strategies with their business coach. “You recognise a lot of the theory you’ve read before, but at Novel-T, they take it further,” Paul says. In addition, the support from Novel-T connects Revost to a broad network of entrepreneurs, experts and other organisations. Now that Lock and Load is being piloted, they are not only refining the product, but also continuing to build Revost as a company.

A network of sustainable choices

For now, Maarten and Paul are focused on one thing: making sure Lock and Load is ready to move further into the market. But they are certainly not short on ambition. “In ten years, we’ll have a whole network of Lock and Loads across the Netherlands, and maybe we’ll be working on three other ideas as well,” Paul says confidently. “We’re always working on three other ideas, of course. In our heads,” Maarten adds with a laugh. One thing is clear to the entrepreneurs: they have plenty of ideas to make the sustainable choice the easy choice.