Christoph Lermen, where did you get the inspiration for the Pinion gearbox?
While mountain biking with my business partner Michael Schmitz, we kept noticing the disadvantages of derailleur gears. During a company outing at Porsche, where we worked in the development center for engines and transmissions during our studies, the idea of building a transmission for the mountain bike came up over a beer. That was in 2006.

Where did you see the disadvantages of conventional gears?
The chain is a machine component that should run in oil. On the bike, the chain runs unprotected and at an angle, which is an abomination as a mechanical engineer.

What did the first steps look like?
In 2006 and 2007, we built various gearbox concepts, which we rejected and revised several times. We were not only challenged as mechanical engineers, but also had to manage the founding and development of the company. Finding a suitable investor was particularly time-consuming.

Was the bicycle industry involved right from the start?
We developed the gearbox almost entirely without any contact with the bicycle industry. As a gearbox is a machine component and not a specific bicycle component, we were able to go it alone for the most part. Only the manufacturer Endorfin was involved and cooperated with us.

You come from the mechanical engineering and automotive industries. Where do you see the differences to the bicycle industry?
The bicycle industry is very open to experimentation. In some cases, people work on a trial and error basis, which would not be the case in the automotive industry. The bike industry ticks differently, it is more shirtless and pragmatic. The approach is more relaxed. The automotive industry is more scientific and professional. Both ways of working have their advantages and disadvantages.

Have you encountered rejection from the bicycle industry?
10 or 15 years ago, it would have been more difficult to launch the gearbox and assembly standard. Today, hydroforming and special tube shapes are commonplace, which has made it much easier for us to work with bike manufacturers. In addition, there are certainly manufacturers for whom our product does not fit.

You have "reinvented" the gearshift on the bike. Do you see the need to reinvent the mountain bike in other places?
The brakes on mountain bikes have reached a good level, and the suspensions also seem to have matured. The possibilities for e-bikes have certainly not yet been exhausted. We still see great potential here, especially in combination with our transmission technology.

Pinion presented a concept study for an electric motor gearbox at Eurobike 2011. What is the current state of play here? We are pushing ahead with this idea, but not as a top priority.

Where will the Pinion company be in ten years' time?
In ten years' time, Pinion will have an entire product family, not just a gearbox. In addition to the electric motor version, we are currently thinking about a gearbox that offers fewer than 18 gears. We are a young company and we first have to build trust with customers and manufacturers. The longer we are around, the more doors will open for us.

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