Room for Everyone: how Gnargo built its Trishaw with VPL
VPL supplies Gnargo's Bosch drive system, 3X3 hub, and Gates belt, and produced this video.
Gnargo Bike Co. builds a passenger Trishaw in Bentonville, Arkansas. It carries two seated passengers, or one wheelchair user who rolls in up a ramp. In our new film, Room for Everyone, co-founders John Schoffner and Zach Springer show it in Portland during MADE 2026.
Why support matters when you pick a drive system
In September, Gnargo published a post called The race to the bottom isn't ours to win. It looks at what e-bike rebates are doing to the cargo bike market, and it asks:
"What happens when the electronics fail and no local shop can diagnose them?"
The post goes on to ask about batteries, displays, and connectors that go out of production, and about companies with no plan to support a bike five years out. Gnargo's response is to build on the Bosch eBike system, which it values for its diagnostic tools, trained service providers, replacement parts, and long-term product support, alongside growing relationships with 3X3, Gates, and Velocity USA. In Gnargo's words: "This is not the cheapest way to build an e-bike. That is precisely the point."
Every brand that picks a drive system is also picking who will help when something goes wrong. For a small brand, getting into a system like Bosch's, and integrating it well, takes guidance. That's the work our team does.
What VPL does for brands
VPL is the official North American distributor of Pinion, Gates, Bosch, Supernova, Texlock, and 3X3. Zach Krapfl and Forrest Yelverton founded the company in 2019, and we're based in Paonia, Colorado.
Our team brings decades in the bike industry. Frank Scurlock, who oversees business development, has a 30-plus year career that includes Gates and RockShox. Marc Seemann, who manages Pinion sales and technical support in North America, started in Iowa bike shops and spent 8 years in technical sales and support at Gates Carbon Drive.
As Krapfl told Bicycle Retailer in 2023: "What's most important for us is to make our customers successful." For a brand building with us, that means:
- Help with engineering, industrial design, and fabrication, from concept to a prototype and then a production bill of materials
- Pricing and CAD (3D design) data for Bosch parts, once an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) is signed
- Our BOM (bill of materials) Generator, which walks you through the Bosch line step by step
- Bicycle component recommendations and a sample shipment
- Access to Bosch's service and warranty teams after launch
Our clients include small custom framebuilders and brands such as DeVinci, Niner, Vaast, Batch, Co-Motion, and Crestline.
How it worked on the Trishaw
Gnargo came to us on a recommendation from Priority Bikes. In our interview, the Gnargo team described how our reps work: each one goes "deep rather than broad." In the film, they put it this way: "We had an expert within each of these brands that was able to represent them."
Those specialists worked together on a drivetrain recommendation, one that wouldn't push the parts beyond their limits and would leave room for future updates. The Trishaw's drivetrain pairs a Bosch Cargo Line motor with a 3X3 NINE internal gear hub and a Gates Carbon Drive belt. Because VPL represents all three, Gnargo says it has one place to turn: "We only need to go to one place if something starts to happen."
John Schoffner, Gnargo's co-founder and fabricator, said in the film: "It was really a no-brainer, and VPL definitely made it possible. Like, we couldn't have done it without them."
We also introduced Gnargo to Bishop's Family Cycles in Victoria and Vancouver. At MADE 2026 in August, Gnargo told us Bishop's had become its exclusive Canadian dealer for the Trishaw.
The Trishaw at a glance
Specs as listed by Gnargo:
| Part | Spec |
|---|---|
| Motor | Bosch Cargo Line mid-drive, 120 Nm maximum torque |
| Battery | Bosch 800 Wh removable (dual-battery 1,600 Wh option) |
| Controls | Bosch Purion 200, 3X3 wireless shifter, no throttle |
| Gearing | 3X3 NINE 9-speed internal gear hub |
| Drive | Gates Carbon Belt Drive |
| Wheels | Three 20-inch wheels hand-built by Velocity USA with Clydesdale rims |
| Brakes | Tektro Auriga hydraulic discs |
| Carries | Two passengers side by side, or one wheelchair user with the bench removed and the optional Q'Straint securement system installed |
| Payload | 600 lb |
| Built | Fabricated and assembled in Bentonville, Arkansas |
Building a bike that needs long-term support?
Bosch's builder process for North America runs through VPL. Email info@vpl.bike, and we'll follow up with a survey about where you are in your build. Then someone from our team will reach out. Bosch says the full build-out takes about 6 to 9 months, depending on prototype approval.
New to Bosch? Start with our guide, So this is your first time building a bike with a Bosch eBike System.