Report HP Velotechnik: A visit to the specialist manufacturer of recumbent bikes
Timo Dillenberger
· 18.02.2024
In the article on Velotechnik
The beginnings of HP Velotechnik
At the age of 18 and 20 respectively, the "H" and the "P" in HP Velotechnik thought about how to get to school without getting their trouser bottoms wet, even in the rain. The result of these brainstorming sessions by Paul Hollants and Daniel Pulvermüller can be seen today, almost inconspicuously, in the factory halls of the recumbent bike manufacturer. At the time, it was the bulky protective cover that led to the recumbent position and the need for a third wheel, rather than the other way round. The bonnet has disappeared, but the recumbent bike has remained as an innovative means of transport and sports equipment, or bicycle technology for short.
In Kriftel near Frankfurt, around 60 people design and assemble the elaborate bicycles - from two-wheeled, lightweight sports bikes to S-pedelec tricycles or, more recently, even handbikes. The former fastest woman on two wheels has just been presented with one of these models at the Eurobike trade fair: Former track sprinter Kristina Vogel has been dependent on the sole strength of her arms since a training accident. With her HPV handbike, the Olympic champion has, in her own words, "rediscovered her passion for cycling".
Individuality instead of mass production
A walk through the halls is striking: In relation to the actual assembly area, the parts warehouse and workshop are larger than average. You hardly see any finished wheels at all. The problem with being a speciality wheel manufacturer is the significantly lower proportion of standard parts that can be used across the entire model range. This starts with the front wheels of a trike, whose hub is only attached on one side, continues with handlebar constructions under the seat and in the seat itself and ends with the specially designed frame and optional folding mechanism. If you add up all the different models, wheel sizes and equipment features, HP Velotechnik offers an incredible 400,000 possible combinations, not even counting the 400 available frame colours.
This is also the reason why there are hardly any finished bikes waiting in the packaging department: you hardly ever build for stock, as the probability of this exact bike being ordered is quite low. And the needs of speciality bike customers are obviously much more diverse. Depending on the order situation, there are sometimes more, sometimes less prepared frame sets hanging under the ceiling of the workshop. A mechanic spends between four and almost fifteen hours assembling such a vehicle. This presents problems that a conventional wheel fitter would never encounter. For example, the track of the three-wheeled models, i.e. the alignment and inclination of the wheels, has to be adjusted in the same way as for a car.
Process of new developments from HP Velotechnik
Not only are the drive cables a whole lot longer than on a ride-on pedelec, they must not kink or tear off despite the adjustable and often foldable frame. HP Velotechnik doesn't really need a classic assembly stand either. Both the carousels for pre-assembly and the stands for final assembly of the bikes had to be customised, so you couldn't just order them from Park Tool. It is therefore no surprise that, in addition to the bike prototypes, a number of tools, brackets and templates are also manufactured right next door in the metal construction and electronics workshop. It is the short distances that are repeatedly emphasised as a competitive advantage in this context.
Although the frames and a few add-on parts are manufactured in Taiwan, there is none of the otherwise widespread development ping-pong in which the factory and planning office send plans, samples and changes over long distances for weeks and months. In Kriftel, new ideas from the founders, engineer Martin Wöllner or one of the employees are designed, built, test-driven, improved, modified and test-driven again in and within a radius of a few kilometres around the hall, and only at the end is the data sent to Asia for series production.
According to Wöllner, it was very rare for a new development to be completely "for the bin". 60 percent of the development work would take place in his CAD computer, meaning that the details would have to be optimised on the first bike ridden. The handling in particular, i.e. contact points between the person and the bike as well as the seating position, can only be roughly calculated on the computer; this is where you rely on the feeling in your bum and the hands of Daniel Pulvermüller and his highly experienced crew.
One wheel - around 4200 parts
During the tour of the "hallowed halls", an employee scurries past us into one of the aisles of the parts warehouse and fishes a few components out of the boxes as he passes by. These are three of a total of around 4200 different parts that could be fitted to an HP Velotechnik bike. In the first few weeks, he says, you still get a little lost among the high shelves, but after three years he hardly needs the digital storage system to find them. The wall alone, with its countless screws, rings and nuts in a wide variety of configurations, seems to top any DIY store shelf - keeping an overview here is something to be proud of! After all, an empty compartment here could stop the assembly of an entire model series, and logistically it is certainly not the easiest way to produce special wheels.
However, the many possible combinations of frames and components inevitably mean that the required part simply doesn't exist yet, says Alexander Kraft, who looks after PR in-house. In this case, it is an invaluable advantage to have not only the appropriate tools in the neighbouring room, but also experts who can use them to produce special parts in one-off quantities.
HP Velotechnik: Independence instead of delivery problems
Alongside a colourful group of people and a few apprentices, we notice a gentleman who we initially thought was Hollants or Pulvermüller senior. However, the 87-year-old metal construction expert is anything but a representative - Jakob Lamnek still puts in several hours a week with his technical expertise and meticulousness, especially in the in-house production of parts and tools. "Special need" parts such as the ergo pedals with lower leg fixation are so rarely in demand that they cannot be built completely to order. And when, for example, the material for the coupled brake, which operates two front wheels simultaneously, ran out during the parts shortage from Asia in 2020, the team in Kriftel immediately set to work on an in-house development instead of waiting for the next container.
Here, in turn, it is even an advantage not to need so many standard parts as a speciality wheel manufacturer. This makes them less dependent. The current situation is great, says PR man Kraft. "If China gives itself a good shake," he says, making fun of the market share gap, "we'll be covered for another six months." HPV builds and sells around 2000 bikes per year, mainly in Central Europe and the USA, but also in Japan, Arabia and Norway, where, unlike in most countries around the world, special bikes are subsidised or covered by health insurance.
Safety, comfort and stability
Speaking of which: handbikes like the one for Christina Vogel are not the only foray into the realms of rehabilitation and the like. While the recumbent position and the three wheels have so far tended to serve comfort and stability for sporty gait, the shifting age pyramid is being taken as an opportunity to think ahead in terms of models for senior citizens. For the latest addition to the family, the Delta tx, they have planned with a motor for the first time from the outset and moved the two-wheel axle to the rear. With one wheel at the front, it is much easier to get on and off, and the tipping stability is still pretty good despite the significantly more upright and higher seating position than on all previous models.
In combination with a Bafang M300 motor that is dependent on cadence and not pedalling power, the wide front wheel travel, which ensures superior straight-line stability, and the automatic gearbox that can be ordered, the result is a bike that enables maximum safety and concentration on the road. The company has long focussed on the needs of the physically impaired in its developments, with around five to six out of every hundred bikes leaving the company with adaptations and conversions for very special needs.
Growing success for years
HP Velotechnik is not only listed as a medical device manufacturer, but also as a vehicle manufacturer with the Federal Motor Transport Authority. The latter so that you don't have to visit the TÜV for individual approval for every fast S-Pedelec. This applies to all manufacturers of the "tightened" e-bike variant. However, while the standards for single-track S-pedelecs have been in place for a long time, it took around nine months and countless appointments to homologate the first S-trike. The inspectors were only satisfied with indicators, a sight glass for the hydraulic fluid in the brakes and a front position light - details that are more familiar from motorbikes than pedelecs. Other add-on parts that have to be designed, manufactured and or integrated into the system in marginal quantities.
Sales figures at HP Velotechnik have been rising steadily and quite reliably for years, according to press officer Alex Kraft. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage for speciality bike manufacturers. Demand and fan base are manageable but constant, and the company is not subject to extreme fluctuations due to trends. It is difficult to say whether the complicated logistics could even cope with fivefold quantities.
But somehow you also get the feeling that the Kriftel-based company feels quite comfortable in its niche as a speciality bike manufacturer. After all, HPV can proudly claim to have already "put several thousand satisfied customers on the cross"! Proof: there are currently quite a few customer enquiries about upgrading their faithful companion to a pedelec. You don't make such an investment in a bike you're not happy with.
HP Velotechnik in figures
Despite the prototype (school project, see photo above), the first HPV models were two-wheelers. Since then, the company has won a number of prizes in the special bike segment for two and three-wheelers.
- Foundation: 1993
- Company headquarters: Kriftel near Frankfurt
- Employees: 60
- Surface area: 2200 square metres
