Gravaa KAPS hardware & design direction

What I enjoy about working with start-ups is how much I learn about new technologies in a short time. In my collaboration with Eindhoven-based Gravaa, I learned that cycling is all about control: over speed, braking, weight and, above all, grip on the road.

On a gravel bike or mountain bike, you encounter very different surfaces during a ride — asphalt, sand, mud and gravel — and a single tire pressure is rarely optimal for all of them. Softer or looser surfaces generally benefit from lower tire pressure, while harder surfaces may require higher pressure for efficient riding.

Gravaa addressed this challenge by developing KAPS (Kinetic Air Pressure System), a hub-integrated technology that allows cyclists to adjust tire pressure while riding. A miniature pump, powered by the rotation of the wheels, increases tire pressure, while electronically controlled valves allow it to be reduced when needed.

During the realization phase, new questions arose: what should the system look like, how should it be operated and what should it be called? OID guided Gravaa through this phase of product development and designed the system hardware. In close collaboration, we developed a product set centred around the cyclist, designed to be intuitive to operate and straightforward to maintain.

The collaboration between Gravaa, OID and Total Support for CAD engineering resulted in a highly innovative product. KAPS was introduced at EUROBIKE in September 2021 and subsequently developed into commercially available Gravaa wheelsets.

Photo credits: Hubtech.nl, vojomag.nl and cyclingtips.com.