Earlier quoted context omitted.
The whole European Union has that limit. Without it it's not an electric bicycle anymore, it's a moped or electric motorcycle, that sort of thing, and you have to register it, have a driving license and so on.
do they enforce it? California has similar laws but they are not enforced. People ride 40mph (64kph) down bicycle trails and bicycle lanes. And, they still ride like most cyclists here, ignoring red lines, stop signs, and all other traffic laws.
Asus Bike Booster
441–450 of 476 posts
Re: Asus Bike Booster
#442Friction 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.
This bike booster will probably come in at less than half the cost but the Bimotal kit is another option that doesn't have the tire wear issue, offers better performance, and the form factor is much nicer. https://bimotal.com/products/elevate
Re: Asus Bike Booster
#443The only feature I care about here, is that it charges over USB-C PD, which every ebike battery for the last 12 years could have done, and should have done, yet here we are. Is it the very first? I have no idea. But it's the first that I've run across, and I'm ecstatic that it exists. Proprietary power bricks for anything are stone-age and should be shunned by the market. Maybe the ebike market will start doing so.
Only the 2021 spec for usb pd supports 36v (common bike battery voltage) and more than 100W delivery. My bosch ebike charges at 36v 4A.
I also think that a small usb c connector could easily break when used in an ebike. But this should not prevent standardizing a “bigger usb c” to be used in ebikes.
Re: Asus Bike Booster
#444All these sites have hype about AI features like AI Chat. however I use the chat, and it wastes about 3-10 seconds just to load, then I ask for the price, and it fails to understand even the page we were on (edit: "I don't understand what product you're referring to, please tell me the product"). Then I literally paste the page's product from the page into the chat, and it finally wastes my time more and sends a whol…
Re: Asus Bike Booster
#445Re: Asus Bike Booster
#446Earlier quoted context omitted.
This bike booster will probably come in at less than half the cost but the Bimotal kit is another option that doesn't have the tire wear issue, offers better performance, and the form factor is much nicer. https://bimotal.com/products/elevate
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.
Re: Asus Bike Booster
#447Earlier quoted context omitted.
Cameras don't solve crimes, Flock or otherwise, unless the cops consider the crime serious. It is almost universal that cops don't consider bike theft serious. This is beginning to change in a few cities but not most.
From what I can tell, they are mostly fully occupied with dealing with emergency situations and domestic violence calls. There isn’t the resources allocated to searching for bikes. Especially when there often isn’t much to go off. Making the search process easier makes locating stolen stuff becomes more of an office job that’s cheaper to do so the math works out better.
Re: Asus Bike Booster
#448The worst part was filing down the metal brake assembly so it didn't rub the hub motor on the rear wheel. I assume that was a very unique compatibility issue. Besides that, it was no more difficult than assembling a computer, just a bit of screwing and wrenching which any bike owner would be able to do (add in some spitting and cursing if you've never worked on a bike before, as I hadn't). Done in a weekend.
The second hardest part was figuring out what to buy. The most straightforward option is a full hub motor conversion kit, which should work for any commuter application. Trying to individually buy parts (likely from aliexpress) is cheaper but a hassle to coordinate, since there's no standard for ebike part compatibility. Then there's also the choice between PAS and torque-sensing, throttle, etc.
I ended up buying the minimal throttle conversion kit from Grintech (~$1200 total) and installing it on a used hardtail mountain bike I got for $200. The bike goes ~26mph on a 48V battery, 30mi range, works like a charm.
Re: Asus Bike Booster
#449* cadence sensor, looks like an optical sensor that has wireless connection to the main unit and/or app * app to adjust the mode * USB-C PD 100W - (improvement would be to allow for 2 inputs, charge at twice the speed, like new Anker Prime power bank) * removable/swappable batteries, love this * built in brake light, very nice
Re: Asus Bike Booster
#450Earlier quoted context omitted.
Personally I also don't see the niche they serve. If I'm going far away I take a train or a car. I pretty much exclusively use my bike to ride to a nearby grocery store or do other close-by errands. If I'm doing short errands like this, I really prize being able to get on and off quickly and lock my bike up quickly. A device like this needs to be taken with you when you leave your bike to prevent theft. It's a whole…
Are you elderly, differently able, live in extremely hilly or hot terrain, or only willing to bike if it’s half the current effort? That plus “already has a bike” is a massive market.
> That plus “already has a bike” is a massive market.
I imagine people who are elderly or differently abled would benefit more from an e-bike which is competitively priced to a bike + this device which will likely cost more than $1,000.