E-bike app developer: hire in-house or outsource? Neither!

Sooner or later, the classic e-bike display will be obsolete. Instead, the smartphone will become the control centre for pedelecs. And the right mobile apps will play a key role in this. In our overview article on e-bike apps, we looked at what distinguishes good e-bike mobile apps and what advantages they bring for e-bike owners. This time, we will look at the topic from a different perspective.

The development towards connected e-bikes holds enormous potential for e-bike manufacturers as well. By offering customers engaging digital experiences, they increase the attractiveness of their e-bikes. In addition to that, new earning opportunities arise, especially through their own apps. And this brings us to the central question that many e-bike manufacturers are grappling with: Is it better to develop e-bike apps in-house or to leave it to others? And where can a suitable app developer be found?

In this article, you can also learn more about successful app developers and why you might have already found the perfect solution for your company.

eBike Connectivity means direct contact with customers

You may be wondering why we are writing this article to educate you on what you need in order to develop the best e-bike app.

At PowUnity, we have been dealing with the topic of e-bike connectivity and apps for years. We started out in the B2C sector and thanks to our GPS theft protection for e-bikes, we have made e-bikers forget their biggest fear – the fear of a bike theft. Together with the PowUnity app, our GPS tracker is now one of the leading solutions for theft protection in the e-bike sector.

Today, fleet operators and e-bike manufacturers also receive advanced systems from us, consisting of hardware- and app-development. But the B2C customer, the e-biker, is still “on the phone with us” every day. We work closely with e-bike manufacturers and pass our key learnings and experiences from direct 1:1 customer contact on to them – in order to turn more people into satisfied e-bikers.

We are happy to share this expertise with you below.

Central concepts and their meaning for connected e-bikes

In order for e-bike mobile apps to “play to their strengths”, several prerequisites must be met. In this context, the following terms and necessary features are crucial.

Digitalisation

In our case, digitalisation means that digital components are added to an analogue product or service. Ideally, this process significantly improves the product or service.

IoT

IoT is the abbreviation for “Internet of Things”. This refers to the networking of physical objects with and via the internet. When we talk about e-bike IoT, we are primarily talking about the connection of e-bikes to the internet.

Connectivity

Components of an e-bike such as sensors, the motor or a digital frame lock can be connected digitally to each other, to a smartphone or to a central hub. In this context, we speak of “eBike connectivity”.

When it comes to a smart e-bike, the processes mentioned above work together:

1. First, components such as locks, motors or sensors are digitised.
2. Then these components are connected to each other and to a hub or smartphone.
3. Lastly, connection of the digital environment with the internet is created.

On this basis, new products and services can be developed that significantly increase the value of e-bikes. Developing a mobile app and connecting it to an e-bike (e.g. via the use of a QR code) is only one part of a comprehensive digitalisation process, but a very important one. Because with nothing more than a mobile app, the manufacturer is able to establish a direct connection to the customer, since all services converge here.

Why a good e-bike app is so important for manufacturers

Mobile apps for e-bike owners primarily cover the following features:

1. Theft protection and insurance
2. E-bike maintenance and servicing
3. Fitness tracking
4. Navigation and ride statistics (incl. trip details)
5. Settings for the e-bike itself
6. E-bike display
7. Community features (incl. additional services such as payment gateway integration or e-wallets cloud environment)

These functions bring different central advantages:

• 1. and 2. provide a sense of security. They thus help to reduce hurdles that stand in the way of buying an e-bike.
• The remaining features primarily increase the motivation to use the e-bike.

The central purpose of e-bike apps is, therefore, to reduce fears or hurdles and to motivate people to ride more. Both increase the willingness to buy an e-bike and to use it instead of getting into the car.

An additional advantage: manufacturers can establish direct contact with their customers through their own app. This is not otherwise the case in the usual supply chain of manufacturer > distributor > dealer > customer.

More and more manufacturers are recognising the potential of mobile apps and are making efforts to exploit it. The start-up Cowboy Bike, for example, is doing a good job. The topics of “connectivity” and “apps” play a prominent role in the presentation of its e-bikes.

Important note: Whether an e-bike app fulfils its potential depends crucially on good development. Otherwise it can backfire. And then the app might have a negative impact on the riding experience and on sales.

A comparison from the automotive industry shows how crucial a functioning e-bike app strategy is: the Cupra Born e-car scores points with an excellent driving experience and attractive design. But a cumbersome operation and an unhappily designed display have a deterrent effect on many prospective customers.

Developing an e-bike app – advantages and disadvantages of different methods

As an e-bike manufacturer, doing without a mobile app is not a good idea. But what is the best way to develop your app idea?

You can find the advantages and disadvantages of different strategies below:

1. Build an in-house app development team

Doing everything yourself is an option that seems obvious at first. After all, this way companies have full control.

Unfortunately, building a good team of developers for a mobile application (e.g. for an e-bike sharing business, bike rental software or even scooter sharing app for electric scooters) involves a lot of effort. This is because software development is not usually in the DNA of a bike manufacturer and outstanding software developers are quite hard to find. It often takes years to put together a promising team. And if the team then starts from scratch, your company will be likely lagging behind the competition that might be almost impossible to catch up on.

2. App development by an external team

And what about outsourcing? In this case, there is no need for the time-consuming team build-up. The catch: unlike the development of a bike, app development is an ongoing process that is never really finished. Whether communication protocols, operating systems or programming languages, technology is constantly changing.

Since agencies for app development do not usually think in the long-term, but charge by the hour, high costs are incurred on a permanent basis. And this does not mean that the mobile application is worth such investment.

3. Do nothing and promote the apps of others

Finally, companies can wait and see or promote the apps of motor suppliers like Bosch. This method does not initially incur any costs. Depending on how good the app of the motor manufacturer is, customers might be also satisfied.

However, companies then leave direct communication with customers to motor manufacturers who gain a knowledge advantage and the dependence of the companies increases. Moreover, individualisation options are eliminated. In the worst case, the motor manufacturer eventually turns away or launches its own e-bike brand. Although tempting for a short time, this strategy is risky in the long run.

4. White-label app from PowUnity

Are you looking for an alternative to the above methods for your company? One that doesn’t require you to invest a lot of money and effort in building up a team, and offers short development times as well as a good price-performance ratio?

Then we recommend a white-label app solution from PowUnity.

With PowUnity, no app platform product is developed, given to the customer and then simply invoiced. E-bike manufacturers are our partners. We do not only develop an app for you that is continuously updated at no additional cost. But we also work together to develop a joint business model from which we will benefit as partners now and in the future.

Well-known e-bike app developers and what sets them apart

There are only a few well-known developers of e-bike apps. After all, this is a relatively new discipline.

Nevertheless, we would like to mention a few examples.

Bosch

Bosch has not only made a name for itself as a manufacturer of e-bike drives. The company also convinces as an app developer. But what plays a role here is that Bosch bought the start-up Cobi in 2018, which had focused on the development of e-bike apps. In this way, the company acquired valuable know-how in addition to its existing expertise.

Speaking of know-how, Bosch has a lot of it anyway. After all, it is a large corporation that is known for its technical expertise. There is no lack of financial resources either.

However, Bosch is a pure “product supplier” that focuses on its own success. Manufacturers have to do without app customisation options and a joint digital project or business model. They do get a ready-made app, but nothing more.

Rimac Automobili

The young Croatian Mate Rimac is the founder of the car manufacturer Rimac Automobili. He also launched the e-bike brand Greyp.

Greyp bikes are equipped with a comprehensive bike app as standard. You can tell that the company thinks and acts in an innovative way. However, only its own brand benefits from this as Greyp does not offer app development for others.

Paolo Dozio

Independent app developer Paolo Dozio developed the BLEvo app for Specialized Levo e-bikes. The motto: “Transform your (Specialized) Levo into a Smart Levo”.

Sounds ambitious, but the BLEvo app delivers on the promise, as Dozio knows exactly how to address customer pain points. The app even scores significantly better in reviews than the Specialized Mission Control app from the manufacturer itself.

However, the software does not have the nicest UI/UX design – and that makes it difficult for the customer to use the app. This shows how important it is to know and correctly understand the app users, to develop an e-bike app together with the customer and not to ignore the market.

PowUnity

Sometimes a little self-praise is allowed. After all, PowUnity with its GPS tracking system has a successful connected e-bike product on the market. In addition, we are currently developing a new PowUnity e-bike app in direct customer contact, which will be tailored to the needs of our BikeTrax users in terms of functionality and user-friendliness.

We also offer e-bike manufacturers a white-label solution for their app needs, backed by our app development work. This means that there are no development costs for manufacturers. Instead, they benefit from additional revenue through a shared digital business model.

The best strategy for e-bike companies

In summary, we would like to give manufacturers the following tips on the topic of “e-bike app”:

How do I find the right app developers?

Stop scrolling through directories of app developers, “looking for a needle in a haystack”.