Airbags for automobiles had been around for a long time, but Delhi-based Grandpitstop has designed airbags for motorcycles, and also various particular, clean-to-use add-ons.
When Arjun drove his KTM 390 Duke bike from Delhi to Ladakh this summer, little did he know that his motorcycle could skid within the centre of nowhere and he would awaken with a dislocated elbow, a damaged leg, and bruises.
There are many driving fans like Arjun who face challenges on long rides as two-wheelers do no longer have safety features like four-wheelers do.
British road-protection employer RoSPA, as part of studies, exhibits that the probabilities of -wheeler injuries are 38 instances higher than 4-wheeler accidents.
With safety for two-wheelers as its cognisance, Delhi-primarily based Grandpitstop has discovered its commercial enterprise route. The vehicle tech startup is constructing its very own motorbike accessories brand to make using more secure and relaxed.
Founded through IIT-Delhi graduate Nitin GR in September 2016, Grandpitstop has seven patents registered within the US for its clean-to-use motorbike accessories.
The award of a patent early this 12 months for airbags has generated pleasure among the team. The founder says it’s miles a utility patent, and any organisation putting in airbags in bikes will need to take a licence from the organisation, for you to additionally be a primary sales circulation for the startup.
Is this the first ever for bikes? Automobile massive Honda had launched an airbag-set up a motorbike in overseas markets like the US, Canada, Australia, but recalled the product in 2016 due to potential risks.
“It was established on just one aspect. The Grandpitstop’s airbag is set up in four sides and inflates from anywhere the motorcycle receives the hit,” says Nitin, CEO and founding father of Grandpitstop. “When a motorbike skids, it can be on any side,” he introduced.
These airbags may be installed on any bike. However, the product will take 12 months or so earlier than it hits the market.
From a motorcycle lover to every other
Nitin is an avid motorcyclist and owns a Harley-Davidson Sportster. He once traversed an extended 800 km stretch on a motorcycle from Hampi to Mumbai in a single day. He started riding in the course of his numerous travels at the same time as working with oilfield offerings employer Schlumberger after finishing his Mechanical Engineering from IIT Delhi in 2007.
“These ache points prompted the engineer in me to give you answers. I commenced constructing prototypes, which have been favored by fellow riders, and gave me the motivation to look at greater pain points,” he provides.
Nitin designed and developed products like DIY puncture kits, a transportable paddock stand, which permit bikes to dispose of cumbersome paddock stands and get a compact online which is the size of a palm. These ideas translated into a full-time startup in 2016 – Grandpitstop.
The different products presented by using the startup include protective gear, comfort goods, apparels, motorbike customisation, DIY kits, maintenance tools, tools like motorcycle dolly for heavy-weight bikes, which allows motorcyclists to park in a small storage or tight parking spots. It makes manoeuvring a motorcycle a smooth task, which generally isn’t always the case with heavy-weight bikes.
The competition
About opposition in the India market, Nitin points out that the after sales-accessory market in India is unorganised and fragmented. “There are very few players catering to online demands with new-age merchandise.”
“We do have competition within the global marketplace, but we strive to face out with the present-day generation, and better designs. We protect our intellectual property across the world with the aid of patenting them across unique geographies, so we anticipate to seize a large amount of pie the world over,” he provides.
Business model and market opportunity
Biking in India is changing from a way of the shuttle to a social status symbol. “Our customers are knowledgeable, tech-savvy with a decent spend, and buy products on-line. We attention on promoting online through Amazon and different channels,” Nitin says.
Nitin adds that India has seen a brand new segment of mid to top class bikes with an outstanding boom rate of more than 20 per cent. These are two-wheeler riders that very own motorcycles above Rs 1 lakh like RE, Bajaj – KTM, Dominar, Harley Davidson, etc.
“Currently, there are 1.4 crore such bikes on the road and will unexpectedly develop at extra than 20 percentage per 12 months to three. Eight crores by way of 2022,” he provides. The bike producers, too are bringing more great bikes within the top rate class to India.
Growth and investment
The startup started out exporting products to the US this 12 months and plans to go into other international markets. Grandpitstop sells about 3,000 products in a month, that’s ten instances higher than that its sales for a month, 12 months in the past.
In two years, it has accomplished spoil-even and is registering a steep increase in sales from Rs sixteen lakh last 12 months to Rs eighty-one lakh this year.
