12/4/23 4:29 PM

Saw this demonstrated at a holiday market in Brooklyn. A local business startup. Fascinating device. Attach it when you want a boost.

https://clip.bike/

12/5/23 7:59 AM

Interesting, kind of a reverse dynamo. Questions occur as to how well it works in practice, and whether there is a market for it, but I guess we'll see!

12/5/23 12:27 PM

Or with a wet tire?

12/5/23 3:02 PM

Interesting to think about the implications for the forces on the fork, and for tire wear since you now would have two wear points on the front tire: force from the motor onto the tire, and then from the tire to the pavement. But maybe most target users wouldn't put on enough miles for this to be an issue.

12/6/23 12:38 PM

It's got to be pretty heavy and having weight high up on the front wheel can't be good for handling.

12/7/23 8:30 AM

Under ten pounds. I've had more in front panniers. Or in handlebar bags.

12/7/23 12:47 PM

Yeah, my Strong All road with front pannier/mount and Ortliebs with modest day trip load gotta be 25lb.

12/8/23 12:18 PM

The very real advantage to add-on Epower units such as this one is that over the years it seems that most of the ready-to-ride economy ebikes are priced such that the bike itself (considering the subtracted cost/value of the E-bits) tends to be hugely over-priced.

With an aftermarket aux-power unit, a decent paid-for bicycle can be electrified for just the cost of the unit, without grossly over-paying for the balance of what tends to be a low-end mtb.

True, this thing isn't doing anything good for a bike's handling, but appears clutter-free in regards to it's wiring and unit construction.

It's doubly good that it features a quick-release function making it practical for leaving your inexpensive bike unattended as usual in public places.

At such point that ebikes and conversions like this one in general can adopt easily-changed generic battery packs (sourced for little more than the cost of their good battery cells), their economic practicality can be better realized imo.
I predict that in the coming years, increasing numbers of recent and current ebike contraptions will be sold at garage-sale prices only for need of an over-priced or hard-to-source battery pack(!), ...and I will no doubt be picking up a few and tooling up to properly rebuild their batteries (perhaps with better cells than are available at present).
It's the same as with my Craftsman C3 power tools, where a proper replacement C3 battery pack having good cells costs as much or more than an entire sale-priced, post-C3-battery-era tool ensemble with batteries and charger.

12/8/23 12:34 PM

Velogical makes a much smaller, rear-drive unit that looks like it costs 2-3 times as much. Something that I might consider at some point in the future:

http://www.velogical-engineering.com/velospeeder/product-information/?lang=en

Definitely a more permanent mount... My experience with Velogical stuff is that it's really well-made, but kind of quirky.

12/8/23 12:38 PM

I have a battery-powered lawnmower that cost me $0 (the prior owner nearly paid me to take it away) + $20 for a pair of lead-acid batteries. Works like a charm, and I think I've had it for something like seven years. I do think replacing sets of LiIon batteries may be a little more complicated, but not too bad.

12/10/23 7:50 AM

I've been diving into the wonder world of batteries lately, too. I've got a Metabo drill that I need to convert from NiCd to NiMh batteries. Fortunately, it came with a dual-chemistry charger and the NiMh cells are dirt cheap.

I'm in the middle of a project to convert our RV from lead-acid to lithium, which is a whole 'nuther level of complexity. It's been interesting to learn about the different lithium battery chemistries - there are a half-dozen or so - and the cell types - cylindrical, prismatic and pouch. The new battery arrives in three days, then the real fun begins!

It's somewhat alarming that the typical battery packs in higher-powered consumer goods use chemistries and cell types that are the most prone to thermal runaway if they get damaged. Stacking dozens of cells also increases the number of potential points of failure and the likelihood of imbalance in the pack that reduces capacity and performance. It adds a lot of bulk and weight, as well. The upside is that they're relatively cheap.

12/10/23 11:21 AM

The Bolt problems i read where the spot welds on the connections.

I joined two 18650 in series for a di2 system. soldered to the bit I pulled out of the early external battery mount. A charge lasted 2 seasons and still had power for system..