The Rise and Rise of the E-Bikes
Ebikes are here to stay, that much is certain. The exhilaration of powering up steep climbs, riding extreme terrain and having power to spare is addictive. But it is also true that many riders have not fallen in love with ebikes in the same way that they have with their non-assist bikes. These riders feel that part of the magic of the ride is missing with an e-bike, partly due to the level of assistance and partly due to the handling characteristics and weight. They feel that as e-bikes have become more powerful and capable something has been lost.
We wanted to build an ebike designed specifically for these riders.
A minimalist ebike, integrated and sleek with no bulky components or distractions to take you out of the moment, bringing you closer to the trails and the ride. This was the idea which gave birth to our RS Concept.
What Is It?
RS stands for Rider Synergy and the idea of “More Bike, Less E” is key to this concept. Our ambition was to develop not just a lightweight ebike, but rather a totally new way of thinking about e-bikes, a completely integrated system which fitted seamlessly into your ride.
RS Concept works with the rider rather than taking over, and supplies power in conjunction with the rider rather than giving full power right away. A traditional e-bike´s power delivery can swamp the rider´s input, taking over if you like. Some riders like that, but the riders we were focussed on felt that this removed some of the physical aspect of riding their bikes which added to the magic.
We wanted our RS concept to work with the rider, giving a much more natural feel.
The idea was that it would feel very much like a fitter version of you, with the motor providing an analogue assistance level matching your input, rather than the more digital, “on/off”, input of traditional ebikes.
The graph below shows how we wanted the RS Concept to feel, vs a more traditional e-bike assistance mode.

The Shimano Collaboration
The RS concept was an idea we have had for a long time. We knew what we were looking for way before the technology was available to make it a reality. It was only when Shimano shared the plans for their new EP8 motor with us that we realized that this awesome drive unit offered us the perfect platform on which to build our RS concept.
To fully realise our concept we just needed to convince Shimano to work with us to adapt their motor. Trust us when we say that this wasn´t an easy task. Luckily our design team can be pretty persuasive when they are this passionate about something!
The idea of creating our own power plant for Rise was daunting, but we believed that this would be the only way to realize our goal of a complete RS system for trail bikes. It took lots of visits to Shimano and a lot of work but eventually we created our RS firmware. This is the control system which works inside the EP-8 motor to give the characteristics we were looking for.
Customisation
We are all different, we understand that, and we have included two pre-programmed modes for the RS Concept. Profile 1 is a more sporty mode, which demands more of the rider but offers an improvement in range. Profile 2 offers more assistance, and lowers the amount of effort that is required from the rider, with a slight decrease in range.
Testimonials
Our award winning RISE is built around the RS Concept and it is this system which gives it some of the qualities which we love. We aren’t alone and the RISE has generated praise around the world as you can see in some of the media articles.