Let's just say that Finland is not exactly a biker's El Dorado. The area around Helsinki, which is where Niko grew up, is flat. It was OK when he started out on a moped and then later with his 125 cc motorbike. But the time came when Niko wanted more. There were very good reasons why, as a student, he decided to do his Erasmus semester in Munich. Having the Alps, with their winding roads and fantastic passes, almost next door promised ideal conditions for a two-wheel enthusiast. In the end, he extended his stay and stayed on to write his Master's thesis. And his student's loan? Was spent on a motorcycle.
In the meantime, Niko has already been in Munich for ten years. And it is where he is at home. He now only ever goes back home to Finland to visit his family. "Here, I have been able to turn my passion into my career," says the 33 year-old, who has found his dream job as a team leader in motorcycle development and design with the EDAG Group.
As a mechanical engineer, the first thing that comes to mind with Munich are the major corporations such as Siemens or BMW. To begin with, service providers like the EDAG Group were just not on his radar. The first time he became aware of the EDAG Group was at a recruiting event at the university. At the time, in 2011, the Motorcycle business unit had just been established and was still very small. Niko has been with the department almost from the very beginning.
"The great thing about our Motorcycle Department is that we are a small world of our own within the EDAG Group," says Niko. He enjoys the working atmosphere, the flat hierarchies, short communication paths and pragmatic solutions. Everyone who works here loves bikes – be they engine-driven, electric or muscle powered.
After work, Niko and his colleagues like to get together for a mountain bike tour or a motorbike ride. Winter will find them riding supermotos on an indoor track, or out in the mountains for a skiing trip. And if someone happens to be reading a motorcycle magazine in the tearoom, this is always a combination of professional interest and hobby. "I became a passionate biker because I was hooked on the sensation you get riding one. In the meantime, I find the technology equally as fascinating," says Niko. It goes without saying that EDAG Group employees also enjoy tinkering around with motorcycles.
Niko and his team deal with the development of motorcycles, from the initial sketch to the finished product. He develops models for BMW and other major motorcycle manufacturers. However, small startup companies are also among his customers. As a result of the bicycle hype of the last few years, which has also been fuelled by the corona pandemic, demand in this field has seen explosive growth. "We also use our motorcycle know-how in the development of bicycles," says Niko.
Because when it comes to the question of mobility, all sorts of things are changing. The bicycle is no longer just a piece of sports equipment for recreational activities. Commuters certainly see it as an alternative to the car in the city, explains Niko. And the electrically motorised variant not only allows the cyclist to cover longer distances, but also enables older people to remain mobile for longer when they no longer have that much strength themselves. Niko does, however, believe that it will take a while for the trend towards electric motors to catch on for motorbikes. For many motorcyclists, the noise the combustion engine makes is still too important. A question of time - or the law.
But to get back to the bicycle. Anyone currently wanting to order a new one will quickly realise that this might take some time. In the first half of 2021 alone, 1.2 million eBikes were sold in Germany, as ZIV (the bicycle industry association) announced. Due to shortfalls in the supply of raw materials, delivery times for individual components, frames for example, can be up to two years. Developers like Niko also have to deal with this problem. For this reason, he and his team use an unusual process to produce prototype frames quickly. "What we do is mill the development frames from a block of aluminium, which enables us to quickly develop frames for small series on site." The timeframe from project start to the first frame is just eight weeks.
Biking, however, has recently lost something of its meaning for Niko. He now prefers to spend his spare time with his daughter. She has just turned one, so it will be a while before she can get onto her first bicycle. But Niko will be happy if she, too, should one day became a true biker. And until he has more time for his hobby again, he looks forward to watching Munich's roads and maybe spotting the odd bike or two that he has helped to develop. That is really quite special and makes you feel very proud."
