alt Hacker NewsAsus Bike Booster
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A smartphone app to change motor speed, really? Not even talking about your motor getting hacked (with the S in IOT standing for security and all), getting out a fragile device that captures all your attention while biking is really dangerous for you and the device.
So they say there's a button on the thing itself which is not so much more practical. If they insist on wireless controls, the cost of a waterproof battery-powered button to stick on the handlebars sounds worth it.
Clive Sinclair designed one of these in the 90s. It actually sold reasonably well, but was limited by the available battery technology of the period.
It seems to me this is a product for almost no one. Inefficient delivery of power, bulky, "smart" detection in stead of reliable operation and most importantly, the only target market I could imagine cannot use it. Not sure about other places and climates, but over here, most bicycles have fenders.
Bicycles without fenders are typically used for specific recreational activities and those sure as heck do not want this clumsy thing attached.. If they want any form of electrical assistance they would want it a lot more sleek and efficient.
Other than that, it reminds me of the Spartamet, a Dutch piece of tech from 1985 which added a small combustion engine to an otherwise regular city bike.
Funny, a modern version of WWII era technology
Ouch, love to see a great product like this. However, hate to see that bike theft wasn’t discussed at all.
“Easy installation” with two screws seems like a benefit to customers except when they come back to their parked bike only to find their expensive mod also had a hidden feature: “easy uninstallation”.
I remember those from 50 years ago. Back then it was a small petrol engine typically mounted on the front tyre. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%A9loSoleX
If I ever convert my bike to electric, I'll probably go with this https://www.swytchbike.com/
It is decoupled from drivetrain. So, without torque sensor, how does it know when the rider wants to speed up vs. slow down?
Reminds me of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%A9loSoleX:
*“VéloSoleX is a moped, or motorised bicycle, usually just referred to as 'Solex', […] originally created during World War II and mass-produced between 1946 and 1988, came in various iterations, while keeping the same concept of a motor with a roller resting on the front wheel of a bicycle”*
This powers the back wheel, though. I think that’s better for propulsion but it seems you’re giving up carrying stuff or a child on the back of the bicycle. Can’t even have a rack there with this contraption.
I have to say, this looks really well designed and easy to use, I want one! But why Asus? I really want to know how they landed on this.
That might be the easiest ebike retrofit/conversion I've ever seen. I have concerns about the grip in wet conditions but this looks like a great way to get that ebike I've wanted and not put my perfectly good frame to waste.
A couple other people here mentioned that theft is an issue. That's yet another reason why folding bikes seemed like the best use case for this. Not as good as a folding bike that's made for being an E bike, but if you've already got a good folding bike and a bit more zip on your commute is what you need, this seems like a interesting product.
Hah, my dad made something like this for me when I was a kid using a weed eater engine, with a makeshift lever as a clutch to engage/disengage it. This looks about as makeshift, I wouldn't trust it for serious use.
If I'm carrying around a giant battery I ought to be able to charge my devices from it, but it is silent on that front.
The design doesn't work if you have a mud guard or pannier rack. Also unclear how easily it is detached. Do I have to take it off everytime to prevent casual thievery? How do I take it off to charge inside? Does it have anti-theft bricking?
I'm struggling to understand who the target market is.
No price. This is just sensing the market, i doubt the have anything other than a dirty PoC
Everyone is hating but this is a hack and you love to see it.
would be better if there is an option for manual wired buttons to engage/disengage the booster positioned on the handlebars
I just bought a Boost conversion kit from the UK and am excited to install it in a couple weeks. If anyone has installed this kit would appreciate a comment on the experience.
(I'm in the US and have been unimpressed with the kits available here. The Boost one looks compact and well designed).
All 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 whole essay blob about why it can't tell me the price.
Is this what investors sell to the board about how they are using AI for greater efficiency? Just to waste consumers time even more?
It feels like a great product but targeted at a surprisingly transient customer base.
The cycling guys won't buy it, they want the watts from their legs.
The commuters will just get an ebike eventually.
The getting started crowd will eventually become one of these 2 or stop riding a bike altogether. Since I didn't see how much this cost, if it cost as much as a commuter bike, I really don't know who would buy something like this.
This would be great to add to my 9 year old's bike. We couldn't do long bike tours anymore because he would stop biking after 100m, telling is he is completely exhausted and must go home. I was looking for something like this!
The web page doesn't seem to load correctly in the Safari browser for macOS 26. Seems like something they might want to fix.
10 km Sports and 50 km Eco range is a no go. Plus they explicitly deny carbon fiber bikes, bikes with suspension, and tire choice is rather limited. You could've invested in a decent trekking bike with a standard motor instead, at least you get that hind wheel storage space free.
I see winter version of this. You need custom roller with holes for a particular stud pattern. So there is no slipping and no tire wear. And maybe the roller is made of metal so the snow does not stick to it.
> Motor Power 250W (Rated) / 500W (Peak)
A 4090's TDP!
They should turn it into a phone lan gaming platform with dedicated games. That would make it instantly awesome.
Fenders, anyone
Similar things are on amazon today 300-500. Not worth it imho. If you are going to keep it on, convert your bike with middrive or hub motor once.
I absolutely would not give up my double panniers and rack. I put a small Tom Bihn Bag "Daylight Backpack" with my laptop in one, and the bike charger and food and other junk in the other, empty my pockets into the zipper bag, and then I'm totally unencumbered for riding and have unlimited distance since I can plug in and charge the battery if it gets low. Riding with a backpack on my back or even stuff in my pockets is a drag. The panniers are also great for grocery and other shopping.
Haha, I like all these adapter designs though my favourite was the Copenhagen Wheel[0]. I saw someone ride one near Mission and S Van Ness and loved it. Sleek device. This particular one in the OP is definitely built for safe societies, right? Definitely not for the North American market, haha!
No price. No order form. No delivery date. Vaporware.
Come on, ASUS. You're a real company, not some kickstarter scam.
Am I missing something or that thing can be trivially stolen?
So ah, can we buy it? What's the price? Not seeing unless ad blockers are hiding something.
some bike vendor told me that the biggest problem with regular to ebike conversion was that regular bike frames were not strong enough to support the additional forces that the electric bike imposed. And it was why the ebikes were much heavier than regular bikes.
Does anyone know if that’s true and if that applies to conversions like this one?
How do these things work legally? Wouldn't the bolt on process count as manufacturing or modifying a motorcycle, depending on where you are?
If I bought this I might want a brake upgrade. Even though it probably provides only about 150W (I always assume ebike power ratings are inflated), the extra weight alone warrants disc brakes IMHO.
They aint new. I had one that was driven by a honda gx35 4 stroke
there was another company named "bee" something that did these (gas as well 2 stroke)
and many early scooters, conversions, that all followed the friction style
I love bicycle tech. Almost everything was invented in the 1890s, and every couple of decades someone tries another old idea.
https://onlinebicyclemuseum.co.uk/tour/cyclemotors-motorcycl...
i have a folding cycle and a fat bike. my only two devices still analog and keep me reasonably fit. i dont wanna e-bike them. but if i wanna long distance, this could be nice.
lol. A friction drive in current year?
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Anything for the world to actually avoid the health benefits of riding a bike. What is wrong with a standard human powered bike? I expect a global obesity epidemic in 10 years as people begin buying/building WALL-E-style beds.
Friction 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.