Why Australia’s Tiller Rides e-bike company is Tesla for bikes

The Perth man describes his designs as the Tesla of e-bikes and wants to see one in every Aussie household in the future.

Julian Ilich has some huge ambitions – he wants to see at least one of his e-bikes in every home across Australia.

He’s even more passionate about it after a landmark report revealed the shocking impact of climate change Australia, which has already warmed 1.4C.

He sees e-bikes as part of the environmental solution to climate change.

The Perth resident, who is the co-founder of Tiller Rides, has spent four years developing a new e-bike called The Roadster.

He describes it as Australia’s own Tesla of e-bikes, with advanced digital features that make other e-bikes “look like an old Nokia phone in comparison”, he claimed.

“Not only is it cheap to run, costing 20 cents to charge a battery that will last 95-100kms, it has insane features other e-bikes could only dream of,” he said.

“One of my favourite features is its connectedness – the bike has its own inbuilt sim card which connects back to our central database.

“Just like a Tesla, The Roadster can self-diagnose any problems it may be having, and we can often fix your bike remotely by sending updates.”

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Tiller Rides co-founder, Julian Ilich, sees e-bikes playing a future in tackling climate change. Picture: Supplied

The 46-year-old said he first became interested in e-bikes as a way to reduce his carbon footprint – an unusual move for a man who spent his childhood growing up around cars as his father was a mechanic in a championship Formula One team.

“I wanted to do something about the planet and started riding more regularly and realised it was painful. I had to get lights out every time and make sure it was charged and worry about whether it was going to get stolen but I’m motivated as I wanted to make a difference in the sustainability area,” he told news.com.au.

This saw the birth of Tiller Rides, with the aim that someone could leave the house with their helmet and just get on the bike rather than worrying about their fitness or getting sweaty, issues which stops many people taking up riding, according to Mr Ilich.

Since then the company has raised over $3.4 million from investors with 200 also pre-ordering bikes.

The first 500 bikes will begin arriving in Australia in December selling for $4490, while another fundraising round which aims to make $2.2 million has just been launched to help the company launch across the East Coast.

Tackling transport emissions

Mr Ilich said he has been focused on climate change issues for a long time, but the ominous report from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change “seems to have rocked the doubters more than any other report”.

Even under the lowest emissions scenario, temperatures would rise by up to 1.7C globally within the next 20 years, and could reach 2C within 40 years, according to the report.

He said it showed making cities more sustainable should be at the top of the priority list.

“Otherwise there is no point having beautiful cities if they are going to be underwater in 50 to 100 years. It’s a big wake up call and I hope it makes a difference,” he said.

“The motivation for our business is around this area. The transport sector is a huge emission source and really Australia’s emissions are still increasing ... In Australia we find it hard to imagine not having cities built around cars but it’s absolutely possible considering the amount of money we spend on freeways, which could be used for bike infrastructure.

“We can’t solve the climate problem without solving the transport problem. Electric cars can’t be the only answer as e-bikes have a much smaller footprint, are cheaper to own, cheaper to run and they will be a bigger player than anyone in Australia can imagine right now."

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Other features of The Roadster include a mobile or Bluetooth connected app that allows users to lock and unlock their bike remotely as well as track the speed and distance travelled. Picture: Supplied

The engineer believes that in years to come every household will own one or two e-bikes to go to work, school and the shops and use cars, potentially from share services as well as Ubers, for longer journeys.

He added Tiller Rides ultimate goal was to make sure people had no excuses to avoid hopping on a bike.

They have gotten rid of the need to carry heavy locks around to protect the e-bike after many users shared their hesitation to take their bikes down to the shop for fear of it being stolen. There’s also a carrier on the back that can take goods weighing up to 60kg.

“The Roadster includes the world’s most comprehensive anti-theft system, so you’ll never stress about your bike being stolen again - a retracting quick tether cable lock and keyless motion sensing alarm, mobile connected GPS tracker and central locking of all other removable features,” explained Mr Ilich.

Just like a Tesla, The Roadster can self-diagnose any problems it may be having, and we can often fix your bike remotely by sending updates. Picture: Supplied

It’s frame houses the bike’s battery, electronics, mechanics, and even a storage compartment with a puncture repair kit and rain poncho and it’s almost “maintenance free”, he added.

“Our bike doesn’t have a greasy chain that will chew through your clothes - it has a belt drive powering the tires, one of the only e-bikes in the world that operates this way,” he said.

‘Supercharged’ demand

The e-bike market in Australia is booming with sales up a staggering 800 per cent in five years, with around 50,000 Australians buying one in the 2019/20 financial year.

This past year, 80,000 e-bikes were expected to be snapped up, although Mr Ilich noted there has been a massive shortage compared to demand, particularly as Covid “supercharged” the e-bike industry.

In countries such as the Netherlands, every second bike that is sold is now an e-bike, with the global e-bike market in 2020 valued at $23 billion.

Julian said an e-scooter or an electric cargo bike is next up for the company. Picture: Supplied

Amid safety concerns, Australia’s regulations of e-bikes include a maximum continuous power of 250 watts for the motor and the maximum assisted speed is 25 km p/h.

“A lot of people were importing what were essentially illegal kits and were going way too fast,” acknoweledges Mr Ilich.

“Our e-bike is activated by peddling a pedal and we don’t have a throttle on the handlebars so it can be classed as bicycle .... so it’s a little bit of bad rap sorted out with design standards.”

Other features of The Roadster include a mobile or Bluetooth connected app that allows users to lock and unlock their bike remotely as well as track the speed and distance travelled. They can also charge their phone while riding via an in-built port.

Next up for Tiller Rides is a scooter or an electric cargo bike for people with dogs or kids, who need to go and pick up something bigger that can’t fit on push style bike.