Hi all - we are interested to start a conversation about the UrbanX and some of the other kits out there that are designed to be self-contained kits packaged in a way making them quicker to fit.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/934648866/urbanx-convert-any-bike-to-an-electric-bike-in-60
It's a relatively new eBike kit on KickStarter with the battery and controller built into the wheel.
Other similar kits that it is compared with are the Copenhagen Wheel and also the Geo Orbital Wheel:
https://www.geoo.com/
https://www.superpedestrian.com (Copenhagen Wheel)
The advantage of these kits that is advertised is that they are self contained kits that are appealing because they are so-easy and quick to fit (due to the self contained design)
Our view is that if you select the right battery type for your bike, the only tricky part of fitting an eBike kit is replacing the wheel. So these kits are seeking to solve a problem that isn't there - you still have to do the process of swapping out the wheel, and if anything it is more difficult because of the beefy design of some of these motor wheels.
Furthermore there are two huge disadvantages:
- The battery capacity is massively limited because of it all being packed into a wheel. E.g. the Urban X is only 125Wh and it is optimistic at best to think this will get the 30 miles range advertised
- The weight balancing of the bike is terrible due to it all being in the front wheel
What does everyone else think? Will these gimmicky conversion kits fade into irrelevance or is the novelty of having only one replaceable part really that useful that there will be more uptake than conventional kits?
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/934648866/urbanx-convert-any-bike-to-an-electric-bike-in-60
It's a relatively new eBike kit on KickStarter with the battery and controller built into the wheel.
Other similar kits that it is compared with are the Copenhagen Wheel and also the Geo Orbital Wheel:
https://www.geoo.com/
https://www.superpedestrian.com (Copenhagen Wheel)
The advantage of these kits that is advertised is that they are self contained kits that are appealing because they are so-easy and quick to fit (due to the self contained design)
Our view is that if you select the right battery type for your bike, the only tricky part of fitting an eBike kit is replacing the wheel. So these kits are seeking to solve a problem that isn't there - you still have to do the process of swapping out the wheel, and if anything it is more difficult because of the beefy design of some of these motor wheels.
Furthermore there are two huge disadvantages:
- The battery capacity is massively limited because of it all being packed into a wheel. E.g. the Urban X is only 125Wh and it is optimistic at best to think this will get the 30 miles range advertised
- The weight balancing of the bike is terrible due to it all being in the front wheel
What does everyone else think? Will these gimmicky conversion kits fade into irrelevance or is the novelty of having only one replaceable part really that useful that there will be more uptake than conventional kits?
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