Our Story
Two engineers set out to fix the last mile.
They ended up rethinking the ride.
Hornback began with a fold no one believed was possible. It grew into full-size e-bikes, step-through rides, trail-ready foldables and lighting that thinks ahead. This is how two IIT Bombay batchmates built it, one stubborn detail at a time.
From DRDO drones to the daily commute
Nishith Parikh and Rajkumar Kewat met as batchmates at IIT Bombay and recognised something in each other. The itch to solve problems everyone else had learned to live with. Together they built kamikaze drones for the DRDO, patented a home automation system, and designed solar lamps that won awards.
Then came the problem hiding in plain sight. The last mile. That stubborn stretch between the metro station and the office, between the bus stop and home. They chose to solve it the most eco-friendly way there is: with a bicycle you could take anywhere.
Designing the ‘magic fold’
The brief sounded simple. It was anything but. Build a cycle that performs like a regular cycle, yet folds small enough to board any public transport. No shortcuts. No toy wheels. No wobble.
A cycle that performs like a regular cycle, yet folds to go onto any public transport.
Five years. Countless welds, tests and late nights. Prototype by prototype, the mechanism became the iconic fold at the heart of every Hornback foldable today.
The prototypes that got us here
CHAPTER 01
Fabricating the first prototype
CHAPTER 02
First prototype in the jig
CHAPTER 03
The second prototype rides
CHAPTER 04
The fourth prototype, nearly there
SMAC. The fold worth patenting
Most folding bikes make two quiet compromises: small wheels and a single member frame. Hornback refused both. Keeping full-size wheels on a proper frame made this one of the most complex engineering projects in the history of the bicycle.
The breakthrough came as multi-planar joints that move through three degrees of freedom while the bike folds, where most folding cycles hinge on a single plane. We patented it as SMAC: Synchronous Mechanism for Adaptive Commuting, finished with stainless steel 304 joints at exactly the points where stress matters most.
The result is a bike that rides like a full-size cycle, because it is one.
The fold was just the beginning
Solving the fold taught us something bigger. People don't want a folding bike, an electric bike or a stylish bike. They want their bike, without compromise. So the engineering culture that produced SMAC kept going, and Hornback grew into a family of rides for very different lives.
X Series Foldable E-Bikes
Full-size foldable electric cycles with five ride modes and up to 75 km on a single charge. That's your commute, all week, before you ever plug in.
Explore foldable e-bikes →
Unibyk Step-Through E-Bikes
No leg swinging, no fuss. Just step on and go. Effortless mounting for every age and every outfit, with the same honest engineering underneath.
Explore Unibyk →
Xpand & M1 Foldables
Non-electric machines from 16.5 kg that climb trails or slice through the city, then fold to fit your life.
Explore foldable MTBs →
ZORQ Series
Six layers of enamel paint, internal cable routing, and now the ZORQ EV with up to 75 km of electric range. Beautiful bikes, pedal or electric.
Explore ZORQ EV →
PulsePods. Safety, the Hornback way
The instinct that built the fold never retired. PulsePods, our signature 3-in-1 handlebar light system, keeps riders seen with a full-time running light, a breathing pulse that draws the eye, and a high-visibility flash for traffic and low light.
Add folding pedals, folding handlebars and stainless steel 304 joints, and a pattern emerges. Every Hornback carries dozens of small decisions made in the rider's favour. The quest doesn't stop, and if you have an idea, we're all ears.
The people behind the ride
Find your ride in the story
Foldable, electric, step-through or pure style. Every Hornback carries five years of stubborn engineering. Find the one that fits your life.
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