Turn any bicycle electric

You just pop off your current bike's front wheel and install theirs...

And then you remove your bottle cage to install their battery (hope you don't ride a small frame). And then you install the speed/cadence sensor. Then you install the display/swtich/throttle assembly. Then you wire it all up.

And then you get into all the compatibility problems - many e-bike conversion kits are sold with a freehub that's not the correct size for modern cassettes (comes with HG 9-speed, need an HG 11-speed, XD, XDR, or Microspline freehub). Axle widths and axle type (bolt, QR, thru-axle).

Granted, all the above is easier than it sounds, but it's not quite as simple as "swap wheel, done". You need a working knowledge of bicycles to do this.

Then there's the cost. Basic "unbranded" kits are $500 or so. Brand-name kits, larger battery, or mid-drive kits cost more. Is it worth putting a $500 kit on an old bike that's only worth $100? Or, are you better off buying a new bike with warranty and no need for service for years (which will cost $1500-$3000).

I'd be interested in something like the hilltoppers front wheel replacement, but the cheapest one being $550 with only 12 miles range seems like too much. The $899 specs are better, but then you're getting into deciding to maybe just buy a whole $1300 ebike instead of paying $900 for the front wheel replacement. I think if these prices were about half of what they're at they'd be selling quite well.

Note that’s a front wheel not a front tire! When I first read your comment I was very curious to see how replacing just a tire could help here hah. But yeah that kind of product makes a lot of sense! I DIY’d my ebike using a BBSHD motor and an EM3EV battery. Including the bike the total cost was $3k but this type of setup could seriously replace a car in many locations, except the roads aren’t designed for it. I have plenty of experience riding bikes on public roads but I daydream about shutting down some of the roads and making them an independent bike network. The bike itself is fantastic it’s just cars that make it risky for the average person. We could absolutely accommodate more people biking if we commit to it! Would be lower costs than driving a car and I find it more fun not to be sitting in a huge metal box. My rear rack and panniers hold a lot of cargo and with good rain gear the weather doesn’t slow me down.

Any bike can be an ebike. Not every bike can be a safe ebike. Many cheaper or older bikes have kind of crappy brakes which don't hold up well to frequent stops from high speed, especially with a heavy rider or cargo. This type of ebike conversion can be fine but know what you're getting into before you buy.

New ebikes from reputable brands come with good brakes from the factory.

> You just pop off your current bike's front tire and install theirs.

Nah, they're selling a complete wheel (wheelset?), which consists of: Axle, electric hub, spokes, spoke nipples, rim, inner tube, valve, valve core, tire.

(Addendum: To any downvoters, I was replying to the parent's original text as I first saw it. They made an edit after my reply, within their 2-hour window.)

Also transforms anonymous product to some specific cool inventor stuff who as you now know has a sense of humor, and actually understands product testing and target audience. Smart move, well done.

>I'm a bit surprised at the "pedaling charges the batteries" bullet point. That's extremely rare in the e-bike world.

For the most part it doesn't make much sense for most e-bike users that have power easily available, the time required to charge a battery is a lot (average person puts out about 100-150W) and the average e-bike battery is 500Wh or so, 4+ hours to charge it by pedaling.

A normal mid-drive has clutches specifically to prevent this from happening so you don't get drag from the motor while pedaling without the motor running.

In countries where power is not as readily available it makes a lot more sense.

> I assume it means 25 kph top speed, which is on the slower side for e-bikes.

This is the maximum speed for an e-bike in many European countries

In India, it is common to see "kmph" as an abbreviation for "kilometres per hour". "kph" is also used, of course.

This made me smile, but I looked it up anyway and it turns out it's a non-SI abbreviation for kilometres per hour.

https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/kmph

Not common in my country, the UK, but maybe in India? I know the Indian language numbering system has different number groupings, so why not.

25000 meters per hour would be 25 km/h...

The correct abbreviation is "km/h", so kmph is closer to the correct one than kph. kph seems like a measure of insane acidity.

Dhruv, rather its variation- Dhruv-ak means "constant" in mathematics in many Indian languages.

Dhruv Vidyut could be constant electricity, or Dhruv may just be the name of one of the founders or a relative of one of them.

Dhruva also means the Pole Star in many Indian languages.

It could also come from Indian mythology [0].

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhruva

In the video it appears to be only throttle controlled. I have no idea what kind of e-bike regulations India has, but I wouldn't be surprised if the answer is "effectively none". Hopefully they won't make the same mistake many other countries did with the pointlessly complicated class system for e-bikes.

> Mid-drives are certainly superior to hub-drives, so that's another plus.

can you explain the difference for someone who never heard of either?

> Can it pedal assist? i.e. only kick on when pedaling.

Looks like it drives the chain, so unless you have a freewheeling front hub pedaling may not be optional.

Their website says it's about $162

It does say a 40km range, but ebike range estimates are often highly optimistic.