ABOUT SENSITIVUS GAUGE

About the Sensitivus office

THE IDEA – UNLEASHING POTENTIAL

The bike industry is going through a period of tremendous change, and technology is a central component in that transformation. The integration of sensors, electronics, smartphones, and digital services is now possible, as is the quantification and comparison of new aspects of both bikes and athletes.
This transforms brands from mere suppliers of physical parts to providers of integrated and much more interesting user experience.

HISTORY

Sensitivus builds on a 6+ man-year effort to develop a low-cost high-quality bike power meter based on patented optical sensor technology from Danish Technical University.

Unfortunately, this laser sensor technology turned out to be not quite mature yet, so the industry side of the project turned to proven strain gauge sensors instead and transformed all the science and patents into a very robust low-cost power meter. Sensitivus Gauge is the result of this shift in focus from new sensor technology to known and proven strain gauges – and from university to industry.

Bike power (watts) is the best indicator of training load or performance – independent of shape, terrain, wind, etc. This is the next big thing in bike training after heart rate sensors.

To democratize the access to power for training, everything at Sensitivus is designed for low costs: technology, manufacturing process, etc. This is also why we don’t try to build a brand and sell to cyclists directly. It is simply much more efficient to leverage brands that are already in the market. The product is the technology required to integrate the power sensor into new and exciting products.

We are located in the number one bike country: Denmark. Here we grow up with bikes as an integral part of daily life. Some turn more serious about it, and all have very intimate first-hand experiences with the tough life of bike components: salt, snow, rain, etc. We bring this experience into the design along with the simple, yet advanced technology.

Sensitivus means “sensitive” in Latin, just in case you were curious.

MILESTONES

2015 – BORN

Founded as Sensitivus Gauge ApS focussed on selling power meter technology directly to brands.

2016 – CROWDFUNDING

Launched Team ZWATT as a “test brand” for consumer-facing activities.

Ran successful crowdfunding campaigns on both Kickstarter and Indiegogo (top 1% of all Kickstarter campaigns worldwide). Introducing rechargeable batteries and a novel magnetic charger for two power meter products: Zimanox (arm-based) and Zpider (spider-based).

2017 – BRAND VALIDATION

Two well-known brands launched power meters based on our technology at the Sea Otter Classic bike show. This was covered extensively by the media.

2018 – CARBON

Introduced a carbon spider power meter under the Team ZWATT brand based on the Zpider product using an FSA K-Force Light crankset.

2019 – MTB CARBON

Started shipping a carbon MTB power meter named ÿding (spindle-based) under the Team ZWATT brand.

2020 – B2B REFOCUS

Announced the one-time license for full non-exclusive access to the mature and proven $6 power meter technology. All schematics, source code, and everything needed for integration and further development of all aspects of power meter products.

Selected for world’s lightest power meter crankset – the 325g THM Carbones Clavicula all carbon crankset.

2021 – TORQUE SENSOR

Started shipping the most responsive low power zero friction contactless torque sensor for e-bikes. Based on new and innovative technology combining the best from power meters and RFID technology. 100% customized for a perfect fit for new e-bike designs.

FOUNDER

About sensitivus - founder Rolf Ostergaard

Sensitivus was founded in 2015 by serial entrepreneur Rolf Ostergaard (M.Sc.EE). Here are a few fun facts about Rolf and his career as an electronic engineer and entrepreneur.

Ever seen the movie Everest?

This is based on a true story from events in 1996. A satellite phone plays a key role in one very touching scene where Rob talks to his pregnant wife while dying on the mountain.

Fun fact: Rolf designed about half of the electronics in the real satellite phone used in 1996.

Do you play golf?

Golf pros know the Trackman radar tracker. This incredible device tracks a standard golf ball with amazing accuracy and displays the complete 3D path of the ball. It even measures the starting spin of the ball.

Fun fact: Rolf designed the electronics for generation 1 and part of generation 2 for Trackman.

Are you a space nerd?

If you like space stuff, you may have heard about the LISA project by ESA. With their own words, LISA will be the first observatory in space to explore the Gravitational Universe. It will gather revolutionary information about the dark universe.

Fun fact: Rolf designed part of the electronics for a prototype tested on earth. Believed to be the most accurate instrument designed ever.

Besides power meters, Rolf has designed all kinds of products in companies such as Thrane & Thrane in Denmark and 3COM in Silicon Valley, California as well as a number of different startups. Rolf also runs EE-Training to teach expert level signal integrity for engineers designing the fastest electronics for tomorrow across the globe. Rolf is listed on a few patents and acts as a board member and advisor for local companies doing hardware related products.