Indiegogo ebike for $159 (Friction drive)

$159 (donor bike and shipping not included).

I’ve always been intrigued by friction drives (thanks Kepler!), and this one looks pretty interesting. Light simple motor, and a small 6AH battery. This could be a simple light, stealthy (if not quiet) solution to give people a boost on their current bike.

They don’t mention range (probably wisely). I’m guessing about 10 miles per charge.

What they don’t tell you is that the price will double when you add in shipping.

I am skeptical if Indiegogo and certainly refuted a lot of the initial Storm/Sondors Indiegogo fat bike claims (which were ridiculous – even though the final product turned out to be pretty good).

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/eazy-bike-the-most-affordable-way-to-own-an-ebike-technology#/

What do you think?

Save your money.

Friction Drive is a joke, better to go cheap direct drive
I understand the fascination with sleek, slim friction drive.

The better value seems to be the $169 version. This could easily be junk, or vaporware, or a scam. But at that price, it might be worth gambling your money.
I just might gamble on one.

ultimately it depends on whether they are using decent batteries, and of course what they charge for shipping.

my first set of chinese batteries lasted ~2 years of light use...

I find it amusing that they make out they have come up with something new and revolutionary. Done and dusted right here on ES so many times .

Price is crazy though. They must have some amazing buying power. Some big claims with it fitting 99% of bikes. Interesting that there is next to no detail on the mounting system. Also I like the claim of full wet weather operation and low tire wear. This I would like to see. In my experience, its either one or the other but maybe they have found the secret formula for gripping a wet tire without using an abrasive roller.

Anyway good luck to them. I hope they can do well from the venture and at the same time provide a good quality product.

yeah, I hope it work well for them.

I hate when they don't have important details. I'm guessing that they use the kickstand mounting or something similar to mount the drive. About 50% of the bikes in my stable can't take a kickstand, so I doubt this would work well on those models.