Shift faster

The origins of Pinion lie pretty much exactly where the art of engineering and passion meet a real problem. For company founders Christoph Lermen and Michael Schmitz, this point was in Weissach, Swabia, at Porsche's development center. There, Schmitz, an industrial engineer, and Lermen, an aerospace engineer, worked on new gearboxes for SUVs and sports cars. A very high level, because a sports car transmission must be able to withstand brute force, be relatively light, naturally durable and still shift as smooth as butter.

Lermen and Schmitz are not just transmission experts, however. The two engineers are also passionate mountain bikers. And at some point in early 2006, between a torn rear derailleur and a jumping chain, they had had enough of the outdated drivetrain technology on their bikes. "As budding engineers and enthusiastic mountain bikers, we had a dream", recalls Managing Director Christoph Lermen of the early days. "We wanted a bicycle gearshift that worked as intuitively, precisely and wear-free as a sports car"

The idea for Pinion was born. In October 2007, Lermen and Schmitz applied for their first patent, followed a year later by test rides with the first prototypes. After six years of development, many prototypes and countless hours on the test bench, the time had come in 2012: the first production-ready P1.18 gearbox crossed the Himalayas - playfully, reliably and without interruption.

The advantage of the transmission, which is now available in seven variants: It can also be shifted under load and when stationary and works permanently wear-free. Maintenance is limited to an oil change once a year - "a matter of ten minutes", promises designer Dirk Stölting.

Automotive standards for the bicycle

A lot has changed since the first prototype. Almost 60 international bicycle brands now use Pinion transmissions. The company now has just under 20 employees. And although the two developers now only build bicycle drives, they have remained true to their beginnings in Weissach. This is because the automotive industry's standards for development, production and quality control still apply at Pinion today.

Every Pinion gearbox is "Made in Germany". This applies to all areas of gearbox development: from the idea and design to production and gearbox assembly; every step takes place in Germany. It all starts with new ideas and internal design. This is a continuous process at Pinion, explains designer Dirk Stölting: "Every day we question our processes, products, materials and routines anew. We aim to improve ourselves every day."

This is also the aim when designing the individual components, which are each tailored precisely to the defined area of application, explains CEO Michael Schmitz

"Made in Germany" goes even further at Pinion. Schmitz and Lermen also rely on a regional network of suppliers. "Our partners are medium-sized companies that have internalized the standards of the automotive industry for decades," says Christoph Lermen. This is also how the collaboration with RATHGEBER came about. "We manufacture to the highest standards", says Lermen, and we expect the same from our suppliers. For the Denkendorf-based company's spectacular new C-Line, RATHGEBER supplies elegantly manufactured plaques made of aluminum, which are used to close the sides of the magnesium housing - impact-resistant, durable and elaborately brushed. However, the family-run company not only delivers the highest quality, says Lermen. "RATHGEBER's scalable capacities ensure that we always have all the components we need for assembly - even when we have to absorb large order peaks".

Will the whole thing work in the long term? Christoph Lermen and Michael Schmitz answer the question in their own way. The gearboxes are designed for at least 60,000 kilometers of mileage. And if that doesn't convince you: the engineers give a five-year guarantee on every Pinion gearbox.

The basic Pinion technology can be found here in a graphic.