Startup Mantra: The cycle comes a full circle
VIR Mobility co-founders aim to revolutionize cycling in India by creating high-performance electric bicycles, tapping into urban and rural markets.
Why a bicycle? Why would anyone put their energies and money into reinventing the wheel? Why would one set up a company to manufacture bicycles when the giants are doing so?
For Rahul Gurung, Ravi Kumar and Sahil Uttekar, the co-founders of VIR Mobility, this humble vehicle that is part of any Indian’s life holds many more possibilities than is visible or known to most. Says Rahul, “In India, the sale of bicycles is ₹1.14 crore every year. Though in urban areas scooters, motorbikes and cars are the most used mode of transport and cycles are generally part of an exercise programme, in Tier 2 and 3 cities and in rural areas bicycles are the only mode of transport available.”
Checking usage
Considering that the sale of two-wheelers in India last year was ₹1.8 crore (Source: Statista), bicycles are not far behind. Ravi adds, “I come from an armed forces family background. I remember growing up, all families in the cantonment areas in India used bicycles. Kids going to school or the store, jawans, almost everyone in cantonment areas use a bicycle. No one gives an underage kid a motorbike to ride, rules are followed to the last letter.”
“Besides if you go to cities that have large university campuses, most students use bicycles. In Kota or any IIT campus, bicycle is the only mode of transport,” he said.
The lowly bicycle plays a big role in our lives. Yet it was a sector that was largely ignored. “Cycles lack speed and convenience. I remember in school we could not go cycling uphill, so we’d walk with it, and then cycle whilst coming down. So, Sahil who has been deeply involved in electric mobility for several years along with Rahul, who was initially working on converting petrol scooters into electric vehicles and myself set up VIR Bikes with the idea of making the cycle do more than it was.”
Besides the rural areas, Ravi felt that cycles could do more in cities as well. “Urban commuters lose over 100 hours per year stuck in traffic, costing the global economy $1 trillion annually. Governments worldwide are implementing measures to reduce congestion and promote sustainable transport. In Pune’s context, the city is amongst the top five most congested cities in the world, and we need faster adoption of new ways to commute, primarily focused on cycling.”
Despite bicycles being present in almost every household, they remain underutilised. Many traditional cycles are left unused due to the effort required for commuting, especially in urban settings. In contrast, electric two-wheelers like scooters have gained mass adoption due to their ease of use. We saw this as an opportunity to transform existing cycles into electric cycles and make them a viable alternative for daily commuting. While e-bicycles make up 35–40% of the $41 billion global bicycle market, in India, they account for just 5–8% of the $2.76 billion market.
Getting the product-market fit right
They began with the idea of converting a traditional cycle into an electric one. “But we faced significant technical challenges regarding frame compatibility, wheel sizes, and performance. As we studied the market further, we identified a lack of high-performance, feature-rich electric cycles. Existing e-bikes were either too expensive or offered low-capacity batteries with poor performance. To bridge the gap, we designed two prototype batteries integrated into the frame and batteries mounted externally”
They built 100 cycles and sent them across the country to our friends and people known to us. We sent these to Kashmir, Northeast India, Kerela, Pune and other cities. This pilot study lasted three months when users came up with suggestions. Felt that they needed a higher battery capacity. It could run for 30 km but now our batteries give a 50 km run on a single charge that can be extended to 90 km. The second improvement we made was to make it lighter, so it could be carried around easily. In fact, we have a foldable model that can be put in the trunk of your car. I took it with me to Goa and in the city, cycled all around. The third suggestion was to make it more aesthetically good-looking. So, we took the battery and put it in the frame. Now if you see our cycle, you won’t even be able to find the battery, it’s that slick.”
And while they were at making these innovative changes, they went a step ahead. They made the battery charging point a C pin the one that’s used to charge mobile phones. “This way the battery can be charged from any point easily. In fact, we are the first in the country that has a C pin charger for a cycle battery.”
After this three-month study, the duo got their product-market fit right and were ready for production.
Building the Vir Bike
The founders knew they needed people to help with the design. “We had a few technical challenges whilst developing the prototype. At the heart of the bike is a deep understanding of the core components like motors, batteries and controllers. Besides this our research and development was customer driven. Our early adopters gave us crucial feedback that shaped our design improvements. The three of them invested their savings of ₹50 lakh. “We also have received a government grant of ₹45 lakh from the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS). Today we have manufacturing capability of around 25 to 30 cycles per day, but we can take this production capacity up to 100 cycles per day.
For this, they will need additional funding that they will raise from investors. Says Ravi, “We have a committed investment of ₹10 crore from a media partner that will help us scale production and expand the distributor network.”
To the market
Seems like marketing is all about perception. For though the total addressable market is largely in the rural areas the trio have decided to start their selling journey with Pune. Even though rural India makes up for a major percentage of the sales of cycles. Ravi explains dichotomy, “A cycle is seen as having low status even though it is a major mode of transport in the villages. In cities they are used by school children (if at all) or as a form of exercise. For rural India moving from a cycle to a scooter or motorbike is a status symbol. As is a product that is promoted by city dwellers.”
Understanding this purchase behaviour, Vir Bikes begins its journey with cities like Pune even as it moves into areas like Islampur, which has a high percentage of cycle users. “City sales will push rural sales. In the city, a cycle is aspirational, but in rural areas, it is a utility item. Also, it is important that our cycles get tagged on social media, as that builds the perception that is also taken into account by the investors.”
Competition
Says Ravi, “The Indian e-cycle market has two major segments—one online and two offline. The online segment offers low-cost, low-performance e-bikes with generic retrofit kits, while the offline segment has established players like EMotorad, AlphaVector (91 Cycles), and Hero.
“We aim to compete with these big brands firstly by adhering to international standards. We meet all global benchmarks that ensure our cycles are lightweight (<20 kg) and built for durability. Secondly, we are the first in the world to do this to introduce a Type-C connector, reducing human error and improving safety. In addition to all this, we are competitively priced against premium brands and outperform the budget models.
Currently, Vir Bikes sells through Amazon, Sadar Bazar, a B2B wholesale market, and is developing an offline dealership network. They aim to expand their domestic presence by deploying 1,000 units in the next financial year and plan to reach global markets by participating in international trade shows.
With sales hitting 150 e-cycles in five months, Vir Bikes looks poised to reach its goal of 1,000 bikes this year.
