Kiwi-built rack takes strain out of e-biking
When Te Puke couple Don and Ann Healy bought a couple of e-bikes a few years ago, they would never have imagined the journey it would take them on. After purchasing their e-bikes, the couple found biking together a lot of fun, raving about the electronic features which meant they could go places they wouldn’t normally be able to visit.
Don and Ann quickly encountered one setback with owning and enjoying e-bikes — the weight of them. If the couple wanted to drive somewhere and take the bikes to explore a new trail, the 20-25kg weight of each bike made it very difficult to lift them onto a standard bike rack.
They searched for options to solve the issue and were surprised to discover there was nothing suitable on the market for their needs.
Don, being a handy kind of chap and quite a problem-solver, thought to himself, “This isn’t good enough, I’ll build one myself."
And so he did.
A couple of prototypes later, Don had built an easy-to-handle, relatively lightweight (around 10kg) bike rack that looked remarkably similar to other standard bike racks. The winder would lower the arms to a height where there was no lifting involved and then be raised well off the ground. In addition, the arms are also detachable for safety and storage.
Winding the bikes on and off became a breeze and something Ann could handle easily.
“It enables older folk to move around the country with their e-bikes,” says Don.
Don has always been active, both professionally as a plumber on commercial buildings and recreationally, enjoying skiing and boating. However, riding an e-bike with Ann along New Zealand’s bike trails has been the highlight of his life. Enabling others to do the same was a huge motivator in developing his idea.
The e-bike market is currently experiencing significant growth and becoming a mainstream transport option for commuters and explorers.
When Don and Ann showed their racks to bike shops, there was an enthusiastic response – they knew they could sell a whole lot more e-bikes if buyers knew there was an easier way that they can get the bikes on and off a vehicle for more use.
In 2019 60,000 e-bikes were sold in New Zealand alone, mostly to older age groups wanting to stay active and to continue to explore their golden years.
A reasonable percentage of this group would initially be the target market for this invention. New Zealand provides the perfect test ground as a bike-loving nation with elderly e-bike riders on the rise. Opportunities to further expand to international markets can then be explored.
With nothing else quite like this on the market and the realisation that this unique product had a great appeal, Don and Ann obtained Australian and New Zealand patents with the intention of manufacturing and marketing it themselves.
This wasn’t an easy or cheap process, but Don and Ann knew they needed to commercialise their bike lift.
Age and health have unfortunately got in the way of Don and Ann’s dreams, so they are passing on this extraordinary opportunity to someone else — an entrepreneur, a manufacturer or someone already involved in the biking industry can make Don’s dream a reality.
The patents for New Zealand and Australia, along with detailed CAD drawings and the prototype, are offered for sale. There is an information memorandum available to explain the opportunity and those interested are invited to contact the broker.