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

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fwipsy 2 hours ago | parent [-]

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.

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selfhoster1312 27 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

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 effort. I guess that's where the 750/1250W 70Nm unrestrained motor comes in handy, and if you live in a place with lots of small hills the choice is either that kind of motor or a car, not the 1000€-total Decathlon/Carrefour electric bike.

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bramblerose 11 minutes ago | parent [-]

In my experience the issue is one of torque, not of power. Most cheaper electric bicycles (including most Decathlon models) have a hub-mounted motor which cannot deliver power effectively at low speeds -> it stops assisting when you most need it. For hilly terrain you need a motor that's mounted on the crankshaft so that it can take advantage of the gears.

To compare: a tour de france runner outputs 400-500W on mountain climbs while keeping up to 20-25km/h. So a 500W motor (plus 100W power output from yourself) should be enough for smaller climbs!

	▲	DonHopkins 4 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		My Koga has an Enviolo stepless bicycle automatic transmission, which frees me from thinking about shifting, so I can pay more attention to riding safely and effortlessly. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48761621 DonHopkins 44 days ago \| root \| parent \| prev \| next [–] Enviolo stepless bicycle automatic transmission (never manually shift again, accelerate while continuously shifting under load), with a carbon fiber belt drive (maintainance free, silent, never get grease on your pants or hands again), and Bosch Performance Line mid-motor (strong zippy performance from the geniuses who paid a €90 million fine for Dieselgate), plus GPS tracker with "recovery service" (required for insurance). https://enviolo.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQrgKBQrkag https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xY2S-9gjHI https://www.koga.com/en/enviolo-gear-hub https://www.koga.com/en/bikes/e-bikes/evia-pro-automatic?fra... It's a dream bike, optimized for comfort and city riding, but Koga is not available in the US, though. Here's an American bike that has similar features (not as nice as the high-end Koga Evia Pro Automatic though), the Harley Davidson Rush/CTY (step through model is easiest to mount/unmount/ride): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SjN8RN9g7Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoX9S5UhETE https://serial1.nl/ The Enviolo Automatic also come in a heavy duty version paired with high performance motors for bakfiets (cargo bikes), for 3-4 children, big dogs, and groceries: https://batavus.com/en-nl/products/fier-3-bbfn3 https://www.dw.com/en/bosch-pays-90-million-euro-fine-over-d... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_emissions_scandal Edit: Fair, they're ideal for city bikes, stop-and-go traffic, and the flat Dutch landscape where they're produced, where the biggest "mountains" you encounter are the bridges over canals. Their city model has 310%, trekking 380%, and the new utility hub has 400% gear range, which you can use on a normal bike, bakfiets, or speed pedelec. https://enviolo.com/news/enviolo-launches-the-utility-hub/

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flexagoon an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> Only seems worth it if you already have an extremely nice bike

How nice should one's bike be that you'd rather turn it into a mediocre ebike for the price of buying a good ebike?

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KennyBlanken 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

You can get a nice ebike for that money if you're even slightly patient in waiting for a sale to hit.

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CitrusFruits an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

Bimotal is removable after the installation: the motor and battery can both be taken off in under 30 seconds and you're left with just the cables and a specialized brake disc. I'd say that's its main differentiator. It is definitely more for premium bikes though and even then isn't for everyone.