A new line of Greyp mountain bikes was presented in Zagreb last night. Unlike with the cars developed by Mate Rimac and his company, the emphasis with the Greyp Bikes is not on speed and power, but on connectivity and smart solutions which should bring about a unique user experience. The technology is the main difference between the new Greyp G6 and the existing mountain bikes, reports Večernji List on March 16, 2019.
Unlike its predecessor, the G6 is a pedelec model, which means that the rider has an electric motor assist, but as soon as he or she stops pedalling, the assistance also ends. The novelty of the new generation of Greyp bikes is their constant internet connectivity through eSIM technology, which opens up new possibilities for bicycle use and riding experience, and allows its owners remote control of specific bicycle functions as well as their monitoring. In addition to all the electronics and software, the G6 is a fully-fledged mountain bike. The frame is made of reinforced carbon fibre composite, with enduro-geometry and 27,5+ tires.
“It took us four years of intensive research, development and testing to create a product that we can present to the public. The features of the system and the technology platform are more important than the product itself. Unlike traditional bicycle companies, instead of equipping a bicycle with electric drive, we have developed a bike around the drive, sensors and constant connectivity to the internet. I believe that we have linked the bicycle and digital components in a unique way, integrated the sensors and cameras, networked the bicycles, developed a mobile app and created a whole new bike experience”, said Mate Rimac.
One of the main features of the new bicycle is the role of the smartphone which becomes the main user interface. Connectivity allows you to send commands to the bike or download images from integrated bicycle cameras even when the bicycle and the user are not in the same location. Cameras capture every situation, and videos and photos can be shared real-time on social networks.
“The whole bike is about connectivity and the Internet, the Internet of Things… There is eSIM, and you do not need a physical SIM card. Each Greyp comes with eSIM, which is just software, and until 2020 everybody will have a free Internet package. We are doing this for our other projects as well, both for our cars and for the cars of other manufacturers, because we are working on connectivity systems for others,” said Rimac.
Rimac explained that America, surprisingly, is still a very weak market for electric bicycles. “By far the largest market is Europe, particularly the German-speaking area, so we are focusing there for the time being,” Rimac said, adding that he thinks that Germany will be the largest market for the new bike.
“The main task was to develop the system. And now we want to expand this system to others because it is perhaps even more important to build that user ecosystem than to produce bicycles,” Rimac said.
Rimac also announced that in April the company will move a large part of the production to a location about half an hour away from Sveta Nedelja, where it is now, and that they wanted to remain in the area.
Translated from Večernji List (reported by Zoran Vitas).
More news about Mate Rimac can be found in the Business section.
