ShareRoller - Quick and Dirty Electric Bikes

[Aushiker]

ShareRoller is a portable electrical motor designed to build on the practicality of shared bicycle schemes by adding a little power and removing some of the legwork from the mix.



Created by New Yorker Jeff Guida, ShareRoller takes the shape of an ordinary briefcase, perhaps so as not to look out of place among the hustle and bustle of Manhattan's streets.

Packing a brushless DC motor capable of delivering 750 W of continuous power however, the ShareRoller attaches to the mounting bracket above the front wheel of the bike and has a thumb throttle control that pops out and clips onto the handlebars. Swinging out of the case and into position, the motor assembly then uses a drive belt to transfer 1.0 hp to the bike's tire, enabling an 18 mph (29 km/h) top speed without the need to pedal.

You can read more about ShareRoller at Gizmag and there is a related Kickstarter apparently.

Regards
Andrew

 

[Admin]

That's pretty sweet Andrew! I like that it's compatible with so many different types of electric bikes and share programs (and that they are planning to add even more mounts). Last year I visited Salt Lake City and had the chance to try their system out, it was pretty fun! Very convenient...

I like the ShareRoller design. It seems relatively quiet, the little lights are cool and it's neat that the battery pack doubles as a phone charger with the little USB outlet

These are the specs I caught from the video:

• Installs in < 10 seconds
• Weighs 6.5 pounds
• Range ~15 miles
• Top speed 18mph

 

[Aushiker]

I like the Green Bike Share concept. Looks like it is working well. Getting a little off topic but you might enjoy this Boris Bike video ...

Andrew

 

[Admin]

Ha! That's an awesome challenge Andrew... Hurts my knees just watching!

Summary: some guys in the UK rent one of those share program bikes (called a Boris Bike, number 22591) and ride it through the tour route in France up a giant hill, striving to do the entire route in less than 24 hours and get the bike back to avoid fines

 

[David Barovian]

The crowdfunding campaign for ShareRoller has been launched on Indiegogohttps://www.indiegogo.com/projects/shareroller-world-s-best-bike-scooter-motor#/ and has already surpassed its goal. The Indiegogo site contains detailed information on the latest model as well as the e-bike/scooter bundle, which will be in full production by May 2016. The MSRP is $649 for the ShareRoller with the mini battery set and less than $800 for the e-bike/scooter bundle.

ShareRoller Features:

• Compatible with mountain bikes, road bikes, hybrids, cruisers, cargo bikes, even share bikes and kick scooters
• All-in-one device that is ultra-portable and can be installed or removed in seconds.
• Easy-to-install Universal Mount fits nearly any bike and many scooters
• Quick-release battery packs with up to 55 mile range
• Tiny and light. Weighs 4.5 lbs and measures 8" x 7" x 3" with the Mini battery pack
• Top speed: 20mph without pedaling; up to 28 mph when rider pedals along
• Wireless Bluetooth throttle module allows 3 modes of control
• Variable throttle button gives the option of pedaling some, or not at all
• Smartphone App (Android and iOS) to control and monitor various functions
• ADA-inspired product. Makes bike share more accessible to a segment of disabled or elderly citizens

 

[Nirmala]

Great to see an idea like this taking shape. It seems like it could expand the market for ebikes exponentially. I could even see adding one of these to the front of my Magnum Ui5 for an extra boost on big hills. At a total weight of 4.5 pounds for the lightest version, it would not be much of a weight penalty.

 

[George S.]

If you go back to the old Kickstarter page (March 2014), you get this:

ShareRoller: First Portable Motor for Share Bikes and More is the subject of an intellectual property dispute and is currently unavailable.

Not sure where they ended up. It's an idea that has kicked around.

 

[Nirmala]

It is of course a bit of a gamble as is the nature of these crowdfunding campaigns, but I went ahead and ordered one of the smallest ShareRollers. I hope it will be effective in adding some oomph to my Magnum Ui5 and let me climb hills more easily. It is pretty hilly around here and sometimes my 350 watt motor bogs down. I actually was imagining something just like this that would mount easily on the front wheel and give me more power when needed. Also, the throttle on the Ui5 is limited by the assist level you are using, so this should also give me another full throttle on demand option when needed. I hope to be able to leave the main motor in a lower assist level and then just use this front wheel motor when I need the boost. It will be fun to try, and it means I will have a two wheel drive ebike!

 

[JeffG74]

Hi Everyone, it's Jeff from ShareRoller. I didn't realize there were comments related to ShareRoller here on EBR, so apologies for not being responsive before.

The first thing I want to address is that frustrating and misleading "intellectual property dispute" notice that's now replaced our old Kickstarter page. Please be assured that this has nothing whatsoever to do with any of our technology. It is entirely related to a baseless trademark infringement claim made by the owner of one of the bike models shown on our Kickstarter page - essentially they're unhappy that we're showing their logos.

And despite the fact that we were completely justified legally in showing these pictures, Kickstarter has a shockingly unfriendly (to small businesses anyways) policy towards any trademark infringement claim. They just take down the site and replace it with that notice, no questions asked. And it's the same notice whether it's a trademark infringement claim or a patent infringement claim.

It's so bad that the Electronic Frontier Foundation is pushing Kickstarter to revise their policy after hearing of our experiences. And Kickstarter won't change the notice page even though we've supplied them with ample legal justification to do so. Guess they'd rather just protect themselves from any legal risk from giant companies and just continue to collect fees from everyone else's hard work...

Again, there's nothing at all being challenged with our technology; in fact we've filed multiple patents ourselves on various features of ShareRoller. So hopefully that's cleared up and I can spend the rest of my time here answering your questions about our product!

Please visit the ShareRoller Forum to post any questions and I'll do my best to respond quickly.

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

Thanks for your interest!
-Jeff

 

[Nirmala]

Some of this info is available elsewhere on these forums, but I wanted to share some of the technical info that Jeff has shared recently to give a sense of how thorough he is being in the development of this device. I mentioned how my Magnum will very occasionally overheat on steeper or longer hills and he shared the following about the ShareRoller's approach to motor heating:

"Certainly hills are the challenge of any e-bike - constant full power output, typically at an RPM that is below optimal efficiency, generates a lot of heat. We initially encountered a lot of heat-related challenges, but we've been able to achieve tremendous improvements, both with our dual-fan push-pull air cooling system as well as our temp-linked variable power reduction. Hub motors often have quite limited airflow due to their sealed design which is why they can build up heat quickly. And the On/Off temp-triggered shutoffs common with most systems are really sub-optimal. It's a far better approach to gradually ratchet back power levels, and thus heat generation, as the motor temp increases. This usually gets you to a normalized level where heat generated = heat dissipated, avoiding the need to ever shut down the motor entirely.

We've aso been able to get higher and higher efficiency motors with our collaborations with three different motor manufacturers, and this has helped cut heat generation a lot. Now on the hills of NYC (mostly bridge climbs), heat is a non-issue on a bike - it doesn't even get warm. Even on a scooter, where the rider is contributing zero power and the rolling resistance is much higher, heat is still kept in check. I'm curious to see how it will perform on longer, steeper climbs, but I think it will do just fine, especially if the rider is pedaling some."

And in response to a question on the comments on Indiegogo about the Tailwind function which is a kind of cruise control and whether it would be a problem when braking he shared the following:

"Since TailWind was designed to work as simply as possible - without any sensors added to your bike, it doesn't have a linkage to your brakes. And while it's easy to 'pause' TailWind with a single button when you want to slow, you won't have problems stopping if you forget, as the max TailWind power is rather low (~150W). It will never push you forward any stronger than an actual tailwind would, so you'll always be able to brake safely - and it shuts off automatically once you slow below 8mph.

If you prefer more complete integration, our Pedelec mode is for those don't mind installing sensors on their bikes - we already have a pedelec sensor option that plugs into the ShareRoller to enable control of motor power via pedal movement. The motor starts only when you pedal (at Low, Med, or High assist level) and stops automatically when you stop pedaling. This allows you to ride throttle-free if you prefer.


And we're exploring adding brake-cutoff sensor input as well, although this will require replacing your brake levers with sensored brake levers, or installing a sensor inline with your brake cables or levers. Brake cutoffs are generally not required as long as the pedal sensors stop the motor quickly once you stop pedaling (which ours does), so it's somewhat overkill, but we're going to try to incorporate this as a secondary option for those that really want it."

Finally, in response to questions about the throttle, use in the rain, and motor noise posed by another user on this forum, he shared:

"V3 is certainly quite different from the original V1. Every single element of the product has been redesigned and improved significantly for the V3, and it's world's better than the V1. To answer your specific questions:

- RainLock is indeed the pressure adjuster for wet conditions, however it's much more advanced than what we had in the V1. There are four levels of adjustment to it, and both initial engagement pressure and final engagement pressure are controlled with one easy-to-adjust dial. Our original V1 had just the top-mount spring piston that enabled pressure adjustment only on bike share bikes. The V3 has that original top-mount piston for bike share use plus the new RainLock selector system for other bikes and scooters.

- The throttle for the V3 is now wireless, and this replaces the wired throttle of V1 and V2. The V2 had in fact advanced to a spring-loaded retraction mechanism for the throttle cable, which was a big improvement over the V1, but we still found having a cable at all to be a bit of a hassle, hence we made the decision to move to a fully wireless throttle for V3, which is standard for all V3s.

- The throttle button throw range is exactly 1/2 inch, so you have a good eye! The way the throttle is designed, you rest your thumb against the throttle module housing, and then only rotate your thumb into or out of the throttle to adjust power. That way your thumb is firmly braced against the non-moving part, to absorb any shocks or bumps, while the action of rotating your thumb slightly inward or outward is easily controlled. It works pretty well after just a bit of practice. Also, don't forget that we have both the TailWind cruise control throttle mode and the optional Pedelec sensor control mode. In TailWind, you only need to touch the throttle to turn it on, adjust the level, or pause/resume it. Otherwise the motor is running automatically and you don't have to worry about continually holding a throttle. And of course in Pedlec mode there's even less throttle interaction, as stop/start is controlled by your pedal movement, and only the throttle select button is used to change between Pedelec modes (Low, Med, High). I hope that all makes sense!

- Motor noise will never go away completely with these types of motors - so it won't ever be fully silent like some direct-drive hub motor systems. However, we've minimized it quite a bit with our latest motor designs, and it's barely audible under low-power cruising. It's only when you're using full power - i.e. during hard acceleration or high speed into a headwind - that it gets louder. Frankly, one of the biggest safety complaints pedestrians make about e-bikes is that they move quite fast and can't be heard - this is why electric cars often have artificial safety awareness noises built in. So in one sense, having an e-bike system that is somewhat audible does help address the safety concerns many have about e-bikes."

I find their level of thoroughness impressive, and I am very hopeful that the final product will be effective and useful. They have extended the preorder pricing until Dec.2nd, so you can still get this unit at a discount from the retail price here: http://igg.me/at/shareroller/x/12713097

 

[George S.]

Hi Everyone, it's Jeff from ShareRoller. I didn't realize there were comments related to ShareRoller here on EBR, so apologies for not being responsive before.

The first thing I want to address is that frustrating and misleading "intellectual property dispute" notice that's now replaced our old Kickstarter page. Please be assured that this has nothing whatsoever to do with any of our technology. It is entirely related to a baseless trademark infringement claim made by the owner of one of the bike models shown on our Kickstarter page - essentially they're unhappy that we're showing their logos.

And despite the fact that we were completely justified legally in showing these pictures, Kickstarter has a shockingly unfriendly (to small businesses anyways) policy towards any trademark infringement claim. They just take down the site and replace it with that notice, no questions asked. And it's the same notice whether it's a trademark infringement claim or a patent infringement claim.

It's so bad that the Electronic Frontier Foundation is pushing Kickstarter to revise their policy after hearing of our experiences. And Kickstarter won't change the notice page even though we've supplied them with ample legal justification to do so. Guess they'd rather just protect themselves from any legal risk from giant companies and just continue to collect fees from everyone else's hard work...

Again, there's nothing at all being challenged with our technology; in fact we've filed multiple patents ourselves on various features of ShareRoller. So hopefully that's cleared up and I can spend the rest of my time here answering your questions about our product!

Please visit the ShareRoller Forum to post any questions and I'll do my best to respond quickly.

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

Thanks for your interest!
-Jeff

I posted the Kickstarter link. It did make it sound like there was a problem with the technology or patents. It's good to hear your side of the story.

 

[Nirmala]

Questions for @Jeff Guida from ShareRoller:

1- Does the throttle override tailwind or pedal assist? Can you set the tailwind at the low setting and the throttle at the highest setting and then just use the throttle to override when you are climbing or need an extra boost?
2-I saw somewhere where it mentioned a regeneration mode. How is that activated if you are using tailwind? Can you activate it manually?

Thanks, and I am still looking forward to trying this. My brother in law is going to give me his Giant Cypress DX in March when he moves away, so I will have a regular bike to try it out on, as well as trying it on the front wheel of my Magnum ebike for a two wheel drive ebike. It is nice having a generous brother in law

 

[JeffG74]

Some answers:

1- For TailWind the throttle does indeed override whenever it is pressed so you can easily add extra power for climbing or acceleration. This is how I ride most of the time. Always-on TailWind plus extra throttle on-demand anytime is a great combo. For pedelec mode, we intend to keep the throttle active as well, but you'd still have to be pedaling in order for the motor to operate. What this does is give you a 'real-time infinitely-variable pedelec mode' setting so that in addition to a base Low, Med, High selection, you can always adjust the level of assist provided by pedelec by pressing the throttle button real-time.

With traditional cadence-sensing pedelec systems, the amount of power delivered when you pedal can either by controlled by a static setting (L, M, H) or linked to your pedal RPM (pedal faster = more power). We don't like the 'pedal faster for more power' approach since it's often at lower cadence that you want the extra power. So enabling the throttle to increase the pedelec level 'on-demand' feels like a better solution to us.

2- Regen isn't active when TailWind is on since the motor is alwasy putting out power. However, all you have to do is Pause TailWind and regen automatically turns back on, say if you are cruising downhill and don't need any assist at all.

A Giant Cypress DX will be a great platform for ShareRoller - we've got one of those exact bikes sitting here in our office. I believe it's shown in our video pulling the trailer and riding through Central Park a bit... A nice bike from a generous brother in law indeed

 

[Nirmala]

Thanks Jeff. That is very helpful.

 

[Nirmala]

I just received an update from Jeff at ShareRoller. They are still on track for May shipment of existing pre-orders, and they have opened up another round of pre-orders at about a 30% discount from retail that will ship in June. You can learn more on their indiegogo page at: http://igg.me/at/shareroller/x/12713097

 

[MLB]

There is zero doubt in my mind that small friction drive motors are the wave of the future here in E bikes. For MOST riders, the smaller size, lighter weight, even smaller battery and less range MAKE SENSE other than range anxiety and "gotta have more" types. IF you peddle all the time and ride for fitness and just want to go further faster they just make perfect sense.
I don't need the quick change ability and would prefer more discrete and permanent installation type. But this or something similar will be replacing my more powerful than needed, rear Falco wheeled recumbent trike in the next year or two. Then I can go back to the 29'er rear with 3 speed internal hub and 90 gears(!!) overall.

 

[Nirmala]

The latest version of the Shareroller has three sizes of battery and also the batteries pop on and off of the drive like the batteries on cordless power tools. So with the largest battery and/or with one or more spare batteries along for the ride, you will not have to worry too much about range anxiety. And when the battery does wear out, the overall weight of the bike will still be lower than a typical electric bike and therefore much easier to pedal home.

 

[Nirmala]

Here is the latest from Jeff Guida at ShareRoller:

Hello ShareRoller Indiegogo backer:

First off, our apologies for the long quiet period - our team has been extremely busy making improvements to the product and gearing up for production.

To that end, we have some very exciting news to announce. We've been listening to your feedback since the campaign first began, and two major wishes were common: Is there a way to reduce the weight and size of ShareRoller over the front wheel, or to mount it over the rear wheel? And, is it possible for ShareRoller to work in varying surface and weather conditions without any adjustments needed from the user?

And incredibly, our engineers have achieved two major breakthroughs in the past few months that should satisfy both of those desires. Even better, we've decided to incorporate these transformative improvements into the ShareRoller V3 launch, at no extra charge to you:

1) Automatic Motorized Traction Control: Permanently solves the challenge of varying friction levels due to dust, dirt, water, and tire pressure. Optimizes efficiency at all times, while permanently preventing slippage, in any weather conditions. And all without any manual adjustments needed from the rider!

2) Ultra-Versatile Dual-Mode Mounting: Allows ShareRoller to be used as a one-piece device mounted entirely over the front wheel (as shown in our IGG campaign) OR as a two-piece unit, with the weight and bulk of the batteries mounted on the bike downtube or scooter upright. (And the two-piece use also enables rear-wheel mounting). One device, Two ways to install. This gives you the best of both worlds: super-convenient all-in-one usage for bike share use or casual riding AND optimum-balance, dual-point mounting for minimizing the weight and bulk over the wheel, especially beneficial for off-road riding and scooter use. Either way, ShareRoller can still be installed or removed in seconds, and easily carried with you when needed.

We realize you'd love to see exactly how all this looks and functions, but unfortunately our patent attorneys won't let us show any details until a later date. But rest assured that the modified design is even better in every respect than what you were expecting.

We believe that these two additions to the product make ShareRoller by far the most versatile and best performing friction drive system ever created. There's nothing else like it anywhere. And we hope you share our excitement in what these improvements will do to your ShareRoller experience!

What's the downside? Well, as you might imagine, incorporating these significant improvements required a ton of engineering work and process revisions (not to mention cost!). As a result, it's going to extend our production timeline by a few months and we now expect to deliver ShareRoller this August. We know you've been eagerly anticipating your ShareRoller delivery, and that Summer is rapidly approaching, and we're very sorry that you're going to have to wait a bit longer than expected. But we fully believe that these transformational improvements will be well worth the wait!

Thanks for your continued support and enthusiasm.

Jeff Guida & The ShareRoller Team

.......so some good news regarding the new mounting options and the automatic traction control, but some bad news: delivery delayed until August. At least the delivery delay is in service to real improvements to the product. I am especially glad about the new option to mount the batteries elsewhere on the bike as instead of a typical upright bike, I am going to try this on a recumbent that I just picked up on Craigslist. It has a steep fork angle and the usual mounting of the ShareRoller might have affected steering adversely. Here is the bike I will be trying the ShareRoller out on (in addition to adding it to my Magnum Ui5 to create an all wheel drive ebike):

View attachment 5798

 

[Superstig666]

Hi, I have been looking into buying a friction drive and you seem to be fully clued up with the latest detail on the ShareRoller.

Do you know if the SR will work with bike that have front suspension forks? I notice they are working to allow use with a rear wheel although I would prefer to keep the unit as one so can be easily removed when not in use.

I am currently looking at the ADD-E and GO-E also so would like to know whether it is worth waiting for the SR before taking the plunge on one of these.

I have been told that orders are not currently being taken as the project ended so also keen to know when it will be available to order again.

Many thanks for your help!!

Jamie

 

[Nirmala]

Hi, I have been looking into buying a friction drive and you seem to be fully clued up with the latest detail on the ShareRoller.

Do you know if the SR will work with bike that have front suspension forks? I notice they are working to allow use with a rear wheel although I would prefer to keep the unit as one so can be easily removed when not in use.

I am currently looking at the ADD-E and GO-E also so would like to know whether it is worth waiting for the SR before taking the plunge on one of these.

I have been told that orders are not currently being taken as the project ended so also keen to know when it will be available to order again.

Many thanks for your help!!

Jamie

Hi Jamie,

Yes the SR will work with front suspension forks. They have different mounting plates depending on what kind of brakes your bike uses, but there is one that works on suspension forks even if you have disc brakes also. And the newest version will allow you to either keep the unit all in one or separate the battery from the motor and mount them separately. The details on that have not yet been released due to some patent issues.

I would guess that orders will open up again sometime around August when the first units are supposed to be shipped, but these kinds of product launches are unpredictable and often take longer than predicted.

I cannot answer your question as to whether it is worth waiting, but I personally think the ShareRoller has a much better list of features and options than the ADD-E and GO-E units.
It seems to be a very well thought out product.

I hope this helps.