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Asus Bike Booster

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Re: Asus Bike Booster

#231

Post by Toutouxc »

Fnoord wrote: post #84
bri3d wrote: post #12

Friction drive e-bike conversions were popular years ago. They generally: * Wear tires surprisingly quickly * Absolutely suck in any form of weather or terrain condition (dirt, rain, etc.) * Have ~20% less efficiency than any other drive form. But, they are easy, and they do work.

Looks like you can't have a passenger anymore either. I like to have my kid on the backseat of my e-bike. I'm not in the market for this, but I am in the market for making my cargo bike electric. Having to slow down at a traffic light and then start from zero absolutely sucks. It goes very slow, it is rough, and you won't have time. I'd use it just for that specific use-case.

If it’s for a chill cargo bike, just get a hub motor kit. It’s the proper solution, there are tons of them and they are cheap and durable.

Re: Asus Bike Booster

#232

Post by bendews »

selfhoster1312 wrote: post #181
fwipsy wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, $2k? You could get a decent ebike for that money. And the installation doesn't look any easier than a hub motor... Only seems worth it if you already have an extremely nice bike. I think of friction drives as being aimed at budget-conscious commuters, not serious mountain bikers.

I was shocked by the price, too. I mean a motor and a battery can't be so expensive, especially such a "small" battery (300Wh). That being said, having driven electric bikes for a while, here in France they're ridiculously limited in speed and power. 25km/h limit on flat land usually makes sense (except on long straight lines), but when you get climbing even slightly you get down to ~10km/h and have to provide more e…

I have a heap of ebikes, all 250w and 25km/h limited. A Bosch performance line motor on a MTB going up a steep hill is effortless compared to a budget shimano motor where it can barely make it up no matter how much effort you put in to pedalling. Torque makes a big difference.

Re: Asus Bike Booster

#235

Post by Toutouxc »

tadfisher wrote: post #67
bri3d wrote: post #12

Friction drive e-bike conversions were popular years ago. They generally: * Wear tires surprisingly quickly * Absolutely suck in any form of weather or terrain condition (dirt, rain, etc.) * Have ~20% less efficiency than any other drive form. But, they are easy, and they do work.

They could have made basically the same thing except with a sprocket to help drive the chain.

Go ahead, sit down with a piece of paper and try to design it in a way that doesn’t prevent shifting, doesn’t skip under load, doesn’t require you to use a longer chain, works with rear suspension and doesn’t interfere with your legs.

Re: Asus Bike Booster

#236

Post by leptons »

bri3d wrote: post #12

Friction drive e-bike conversions were popular years ago. They generally: * Wear tires surprisingly quickly * Absolutely suck in any form of weather or terrain condition (dirt, rain, etc.) * Have ~20% less efficiency than any other drive form. But, they are easy, and they do work.

I made one in 1985 for my 10 speed bike, it was pretty fun for a while. I was in my early teens at the time.

Re: Asus Bike Booster

#237

Post by fulafel »

selfhoster1312 wrote: post #179

A smartphone app to change motor speed, really? Not even talking about your motor getting hacked (with the S in IOT standing for security and all), getting out a fragile device that captures all your attention while biking is really dangerous for you and the device. So they say there's a button on the thing itself which is not so much more practical. If they insist on wireless controls, the cost of a waterproof batte…

What do you mean by changing motor speed? It has a cadence sensor so should work like normal ebikes. Pedal faster for more speed, stop pedaling for less speed.

The web page tells that the app can be used to switch between eco/normal mode but that seems to be the extent of it.

Re: Asus Bike Booster

#238

Post by shrx »

Bjorkbat wrote: post #126
NDlurker wrote: post #66

If I ever convert my bike to electric, I'll probably go with this https://www.swytchbike.com/

I actually bought one of these and love it. My road bike is indistinguishable from any other normal road bike with the exception of it being much easier to get around now. From experience I can say that it seems like a lot more common sense to simply replace the front wheel of your bike with a wheel containing an electric motor, rather than attaching whatever Asus is selling to your bike.

Do you feel the power is sufficient? It says it's only a 250 W motor. What is the battery range?

Re: Asus Bike Booster

#239

Post by jwr »

veunes wrote: post #227
mvdwoord wrote: post #187

It seems to me this is a product for almost no one. Inefficient delivery of power, bulky, "smart" detection in stead of reliable operation and most importantly, the only target market I could imagine cannot use it. Not sure about other places and climates, but over here, most bicycles have fenders. Bicycles without fenders are typically used for specific recreational activities and those sure as heck do not want this…

I can see one audience: someone with a bike they already like who only occasionally needs assistance and wants the whole thing removable

Once you try a (good!) electric bike, you don't really want to go back. Life is just so much better. For urban commuting, you no longer think about heat (getting sweaty), distance, inclines, wind, etc.

Obviously I'm talking about good electric bikes, with mid-mounted engines that detect pedaling strength. These feel great, unlike electric motors strapped to bikes, which feel like, well, electric motors strapped to bikes.

Re: Asus Bike Booster

#240

Post by mik1998 »

AngryData wrote: post #202
mik1998 wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No one relies on bike theft to "survive".

No one goes around stealing bikes just because they want to do bad things.

There is a large amount of people who go around stealing bikes for fun and some cash; and often "street cred" or something akin to that.
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