Skarper e-bike conversion kit now available in EU

[lenny]

"Skarper’s eBike Drive System is now available to pre-order in the EU via retailer FasterBikes. The e-bike conversion kit was launched in the UK earlier this year, with several sets offered. Each kit includes the Skarper Drive Unit, the DiskDrive Brake Rotor and a pedal sensor."

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Skarper-e-bike-conversion-kit-now-available-in-EU.923967.0.html

Home - Skarper

Click on. Take off! Unlock Your Bike's Potential: eBike Power in One Simple Click. PRE-ORDER NOW.

skarper.com

 

[Benjahmin]

Good grief that's UGLY !

 

[jamesporritt]

I can't unsee it. I want to scarper but I can't.

 

[saneagle]

1880 Euros. Are they kidding? You could buy 6 Argos ebikes for that, and they'd have more power and range. It needs to be about £600 max.

 

[Az.]

It is not only ugly, but also unpractical and extremely expensive. They will be lucky if they sell one.

 

[flecc]

Spiritual successor to the Currie Electrodrive of the 1990s:

Nothing new under the sun.
.

 

[Sturmey]

The 1951 'Cyclemaster' kit (petrol) so you are right, nothing new..

 

[portals]

The 1951 'Cyclemaster' kit (petrol) so you are right, nothing new..
View attachment 61116

That looks nuts, I wonder if any blew up....

 

[saneagle]

That looks nuts, I wonder if any blew up....

No chance because no one could ever get them started. You rode up and down the road pedalling as hard as you could with the motor whirring without a spark of life. After you did that for a week, you had legs like tree trunks so you didn't need a motor.

 

[Only-Me]

omg they are horrid

 

[Bonzo Banana]

Strange for that news report to be on a site about laptops. For me just another product with a ridiculous price point which I would never consider under any circumstances. Maybe there are some people prepared to pay that much but surely there can't be that many. Seems to have a ridiculous margin on it. The only great thing about it is it makes so many other ebike options look amazing value that cost a fraction of this price. Also its very proprietary which typically are products with short lifespans and difficult to repair plus a high risk of the company going out of business and not providing long term backup. Seems like so many reasons to avoid this product sadly.

 

[Az.]

short lifespan and difficult to repair

Tiny battery which will die quickly. What then? Is it all disposable?

 

[flecc]

That looks nuts, I wonder if any blew up....

No, they worked quite well, we sold lots of them in the early 1950s. The original black ones, 25cc., the later grey hub shell, 32cc.

Back then these tiny petrol assist motors in various makes far outsold our modern e-motors, within five years there were well over a million of them on British roads. Accurate stats since they all had to be registered, taxed, number plated and insured. And ridden with a provisional or full motorcycle licence.

But when the new Vespa, Lambretta and similar scooters arrived, the bicycles and their assist motors disappeared just as fast. After all, because they'd already had to get a full motorcycle licence, the switch to a better performing and better weather protected 125cc scooter was dead easy.
.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

Tiny battery which will die quickly. What then? Is it all disposable?

They quote 45Nm peak torque and 240Wh battery so its seems like a package that will put the battery cells under a lot of stress a bit like those Gtech ebikes so like you I think the battery pack will have a limited lifespan even if using the very best cells. In contrast those cheap 20" wheeled ebikes like the Assist models at Halfords designed like a folding bike but don't fold only give out something like 12-15Nm torque max but benefit from the small 20" wheels to boost torque. Those aren't even really 250W ebikes more like 140-160W. Those ebikes seem to offer long battery life simply by having such low torque output and not putting their cells under too much stress. Which also reminds me of that recent £245 ebike from Argos that had a decent battery pack capacity, was it 320Wh but a low current controller, again the recipe for a long life battery pack. I think its good that some ebikes play safe, they know their limitations and provide less performance to extend the working life of the product. In contrast many high end products obsessed with lightness and high margins provide short life products that really punish the cells of the battery pack, i.e. some Specialized and Trek models.

 

[lenny]

Why Olympic champion cyclist Sir Chris Hoy is backing Skarper to make any bike an e-bike

"“I envisage somebody with an old, tatty bike that they’ve had for years, or maybe they just bought on eBay — something that they’re happy to leave locked up outside their office,” Hoy said. “Nobody’s going to bother stealing it, or even look twice at it. But then, they can clip this onto it and convert it to a really high-quality e-bike.”

“Like all great ideas, it’s very simple when it’s already part of the bike — a disc brake, which already deals with huge forces, huge torque [rotational force], and huge amounts of heat,” Hoy continued. “So that’s a great starting point, to drive the back wheel using the structural rigidity and integrity of the frame. From an engineering perspective, I think it’s a beautiful solution.”"

Why Olympic champion cyclist Sir Chris Hoy is backing Skarper to make any bike an e-bike | TechCrunch

Sir Chris Hoy might not seem an obvious candidate to throw his weight behind the burgeoning electric bike movement.

techcrunch.com

 

[egroover]

So Sir Chris says...

"“I envisage somebody with an old, tatty bike that they’ve had for years, or maybe they just bought on eBay — something that they’re happy to leave locked up outside their office,” Hoy said. “Nobody’s going to bother stealing it, or even look twice at it. But then, they can clip this onto it and convert it to a really high-quality e-bike.”

Cmon Chris, adding a motor thingy on the back wheel to a sh1t3 bike you got cheap off ebay that nobody would bother nicking doesn't turn it into a 'really high quality e-bike'. It's still a sh1t3 bike, but now with a motor thingy on the back wheel

 

[esuark]

who`s going to be the first to see one crushed in the road when its fell off. (probably be too rare a sale for that occurrence to happen)

 

[Wayners]

£1.560 .
Good grief. Not for me. How serviceable is this device?

 

[Peter.Bridge]

So Sir Chris says...

"“I envisage somebody with an old, tatty bike that they’ve had for years, or maybe they just bought on eBay — something that they’re happy to leave locked up outside their office,” Hoy said. “Nobody’s going to bother stealing it, or even look twice at it. But then, they can clip this onto it and convert it to a really high-quality e-bike.”

Cmon Chris, adding a motor thingy on the back wheel to a sh1t3 bike you got cheap off ebay that nobody would bother nicking doesn't turn it into a 'really high quality e-bike'. It's still a sh1t3 bike, but now with a motor thingy on the back wheel

Not defending the Skarper, but I do think that a lot of features that make bikes very expensive are a bit redundant when you have an e-bike. You don't need as many gears on an e-bike 7 or 8 is enough, you don't need to worry so much about weight, you don't need to worry so much about the rolling resistance of the tyres. The main things are a downtube to put the battery on (there are alternatives), old fashioned bottom bracket (there are alternatives), avoid flared chain stays for mid drive, and disc brakes (convert them to hydraulic for £30 if they are cable). Get puncture resistant tyres , I would say if you want suspension then you can pay a bit more and get hydraulic - plenty of second hand bikes that would make good donor bikes

e.g. this Lapierre Edge 27 (although it has coil suspension) - they are asking £100

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