This month, we caught up with Nico Capogna, CEO and co-founder of Pin Bike. He shares his thoughts on the future and challenges of the cycling industry.
Can you tell me more about Pin Bike and your role?
I’m the CEO and co-founder of Pin Bike. We started the company seven years ago with the vision to accelerate the transition to sustainable urban mobility. In urban areas, car culture still dominates which is evident in advertising and ingrained in people’s habits. At Pin Bike, we believe economic incentives are key to changing those habits, and we’ve developed a system to support this transformation.
Pin Bike provides gamification systems that enable municipalities, schools, and companies to offer economic incentives to cyclists. Our patented technology ensures anti-fraud certification of trips, which sets us apart from traditional apps. This reliability allows for meaningful incentives, such as more than €100 per month per user. Beyond encouraging cycling, our approach also strengthens local economies by ensuring incentives are spent locally and provides actionable data for smart city planning through our monitoring dashboard. The real-time data, collected across the entire Pin Bike system in Europe is available for all.
As for now, more than 40 municipalities across Europe have adopted Pin Bike, including major cities like Bergamo, Braga, Florence, Istanbul, Lisbon, Stockholm, Tallinn, Turku. Pin Bike can count on 23k users across Europe who have cycled more than 1M Bike2Work and Bike2School rides, thus cutting 1k tons of CO2 and earning more than 2M euros.
Alongside our technology, we offer project management to ensure smooth implementation, citizen engagement, and effective use of the dashboard. Bicycles are an ancient means of transport, but they’re also incredibly innovative when combined with modern technology.
What cycling trends are you most excited to see by the year 2030? And by 2050?
We need to act quickly to make meaningful changes in mobility. By 2030, I hope to see political leaders fully committed to transforming urban mobility, not just by converting cars to electric but by rethinking the dominance of cars altogether. Cycling provides solutions for health, economic efficiency, and better use of urban space, but achieving this requires a cultural shift.
By 2050, I’d hope for cities designed with cycling at their core, prioritizing it as a primary mode of transportation. This means more extensive cycling infrastructure, smarter city planning, and an acceptance that cycling isn’t just for sport or leisure but for everyday commuting.
What do you see as a major challenge in the cycling industry, and how can Cycling Industries Europe (CIE) play a role in overcoming that challenge?
The main challenge is promoting urban cycling for commuting, not just sport or leisure. Cycling Industries Europe (CIE) can help by raising awareness about urban cycling’s potential and supporting policies that provide incentives for it. We also need European institutions to recognize certified incentive systems, like ours, as they do for solar panels or electric cars. Urban cycling has significant benefits, and clear policies and funding mechanisms can stimulate it.
Seven years ago in Italy, the attitude was different. When we talked about urban cycling, many politicians treated it like a simple game, a niche concern rather than a serious issue. However, Covid marked a turning point. Since then, sustainability has gained more attention. This shift is also influenced by funding opportunities in the European Union as Horizon and European Social Fund which we participated in.
What or who in the cycling industry inspires you, and why?
The inspiration for Pin Bike came from Belgium’s model of paying citizens for commuting trips. My personal passion for cycling, however, comes from experience. I wasn’t always an enthusiast, but that changed when I moved to Rome.
As a student, I moved into a new house, and someone offered me a bike to get around. At first, I thought it was a crazy idea—Rome seemed impossible for cycling, with its lack of bike paths and chaotic traffic. But I decided to give it a try. Within a month, I realized that urban cycling wasn’t just practical—it was the best way to experience the city. I fell in love with it.
If I hadn’t moved into that house and been given that bike, I might never have discovered how transformative urban cycling can be. Before then, I thought of bicycles as something for leisure, maybe a Sunday ride. Now, I see them as essential. That’s why I encourage others to try urban cycling. It’s not enough to talk about the benefits—people need to experience it for themselves. Once they do, they’ll see how it can transform their perspective, just as it did for me.
Can you describe in around five words how cycling is saving the world?
Space, health, savings, society, sound.
Cycling improves urban space efficiency, boosts health, offers economic advantages, enhances societal interactions, and reduces noise pollution. Together, these benefits contribute to healthier, happier cities. Personally, I cycle almost daily for work and errands. For me, cycling is a way of life—a perfect balance of practicality and enjoyment.