The SportTech firm behind an indoor bike simulator has raised £2.4 million of investment.
London-based Muoverti is behind innovative TiltBikes, which allows riders to balance and steer, accelerate, brake and engage the whole body.
Following the public unveiling of its pre-production prototype at London’s Rouleur Live event in November 2021, the company saw a significant increase in interest from the media, consumers and potential investors, resulting in a new injection of capital.
The total £2.4m raised to date includes a convertible loan from the government’s FutureFund.
Muoverti – Italian for ‘keep moving’ – was founded by entrepreneurs Christoph Wilfert and Alex Caccia, also the original founder of the WaterRower.
TiltBikes include lateral frame rotation combined with self-centring handlebars, allowing the bike to move freely under the rider to preserve the body’s natural fluidity. Steering also enables riders to move freely in virtual spaces.
Physical forces including rolling resistance, incline, weight, acceleration, deceleration and inertia are computised and embedded into the company’s patented dynamic control algorithm. As the algorithm updates a thousand times per second, it says the electromagnetic resistance control behaves completely as the physics would have it behave. This enables real-time simulations such as drafting, angular wind speed and rolling resistance, as all forces can be software-controlled.
Data sensors on the bike also capture rider motions such as left-right balance and seated vs standing position in addition to common cycling metrics, such as power and cadence. A companion app communicates gearing, grade, and more than 20 cycling stats in real time to visualise performance and make the bike a highly effective training simulator.
It also has virtual shifting, which is programmable to match gear ratios, number of speeds, cassettes and groupsets from leading manufacturers. Virtual brakes decelerate the bike’s in-game movements.
Meanwhile frame swapping allows for the mounting of alternative configurations, such as a time trial or mountain bike. The bike can be customised with preferred handlebars, cranks, pedals and saddle.
The bike has also be used as a controller for gaming consoles, such as Xbox, thanks to built-in joystick controls which remove the need for a keyboard. Able to pair with smartphones, tablets and PCs via Bluetooth, it is compatible with popular training apps such as Zwift, RGT and Trainer Road.
“We’re now in the enviable position of having an incredible group of investors who are also networked and passionate cyclists, ready to support us in more ways than one,” said CEO Wilfert.
“This puts us in a strong position to achieve upcoming product milestones, move closer towards production and recruit the talent that will bring TiltBikes to life.”
As part of scaling up operations, Muoverti recently moved to new facilities in Wandsworth which will allow for further R&D and rider testing as well as becoming home to the fast-growing team.