Through various iterations, a successfully made prototype was developed. The first public testing was no one other than Simon Calder (Travel Editor for The Independent) in September 2020, where Simon travelled over 60 miles, capturing the sights of London! TK-1 didn’t stop there, and neither did the team. Hitting another milestone in December 2020, TK-1 was tested and proven internationally. The TK-1 kit was packed up and taken on the flight in hand luggage and flown to Dubai. A standard bicycle was purchased from Dragon Mart, and without the need for any specialist tools or changing the structure of the bike, it was successfully converted into a mid-drive e-bike!
The team at TK-1 felt compelled to act when they saw the e-bike industry making technology unaffordable to the masses and not addressing the problem globally, which is 2 billion bikes exist, but if someone wants to have an electric bike – what do they do? Throw it away? Have two? These were the questions that needed to be addressed. A more alarming statement: 15 million cycles end up in landfills, and each one takes 31 years to degrade.