Wout van Aert, Marianne Vos and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot have used Gravaa's tyre pressure system - now the partner of Team Visma | Lease a Bike bankrupt. The Dutch company Gravaa B.V. from Eindhoven filed for insolvency on 21 January 2026. The court in East Brabant appointed R.A.M.L. van Oeijen as insolvency administrator. Last year, Gravaa started series production of its innovative Tyre pressure-The company has already started to roll out its new regulation system in the Netherlands. Despite the partnership with the WorldTour team Team Visma | Lease a Bike and concrete interest from other racing teams, the company was unable to generate enough orders to survive economically. According to the company, it was difficult to receive enough orders to scale sales and achieve margins. The ongoing financial difficulties in the bicycle industry following the coronavirus pandemic have made it difficult to obtain significant orders. The company is still hoping to find investors who believe in the future of the product: "Some industry players are showing interest in taking over the assets and restarting the company. We are willing to do so and hope that this will lead to a stable solution and the success we envision for Gravaa. Our app and backend will remain operational for now, and we have products in stock so that teams and individual racers can continue to ride and use Gravaa in the coming races."
The Gravaa system: How it works
The Gravaa system was developed by founder Gertjan van Ginderen after he had the idea during a beach race in south-west Holland to use the Tyre pressure during the journey. The system consists of a small, energy-efficient pump in the hub system, which is driven by the rotation of the tyres. An intelligent clutch ensures that the pump switches off as soon as the desired tyre pressure is reached in order to save energy. Special valves enable a fast air flow through small parts. The electronics ensure communication and control, while the system communicates with smartphones or bike computers (Garmin and Wahoo) via Bluetooth and ANT+. Two specially developed buttons on the handlebars are used to control the air flow.
World champion title with Gravaa
The Gravaa system attracted particular attention when Marianne Vos used it during her victory at the Gravel World Championships in Flanders. According to media reports, the system made a decisive contribution to her 14th world championship title, as it enabled her to continue riding after a puncture three kilometres before the finish. "I was able to regulate the tyre pressure. That was very practical," explained Vos after the race. Her rival Lotte Kopecky, who lost to Vos in the final sprint, is said to have commented: "Every time Marianne changed her tyre pressure, I knew: Damn, now I'm pedalling 20 watts too much!" Vos was also able to increase her tyre pressure for the final sprint on asphalt, which she said probably helped her to win. The system was also used by Pauline Ferrand-Prévot in her victory at Parsi-Roubaix 2025.
Is Gravaa simply too expensive?
The Gravaa system allows cyclists to adjust the tyre pressure to the terrain in real time. Instead of riding with a single static tyre pressure, users can lower the pressure when transitioning from road to off-road, increase it again for asphalt and even automatically restore the pressure after a puncture - without having to carry a pump. The Gravaa system took six years to develop. Over the last two years, the engineers have worked hard to transform the prototype, which was provided to Team Visma | Lease a Bike for Paris-Roubaix 2023, into a consumer-ready product - with better durability, ease of use and minimal maintenance requirements. One hurdle to market success is likely to be the high sales price: the purchase price of a wheelset is around 3,000 euros.
Current situation and future prospects
Despite the insolvency, Gravaa's app and backend infrastructure will remain in operation for the time being. According to the company, products are still in stock so that teams and individual racers can continue to use the Gravaa system in upcoming races. Some industry players have already expressed interest in taking over the assets and restarting the company.
Kristian Bauer
Editor
