Small, cheap, simple, lightweight add-on friction drive

[Nirmala]

Here is an interesting approach, keeping it small, light, and cheap with very limited range...but it might work well for some users with short commutes or the like, and you could always buy an extra battery or two:

http://www.semcon.com/en/Stories/Case-stories/Case-studies-All/Smart-engine-turns-any-bike-electric/

It is still just a prototype, but it seems like a viable concept.

 

[Nirmala]

And here is a not so cheap, but easy to install and lightweight mid-drive add on kit that replaces the left crank arm:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/bimoz-the-world-s-smartest-e-bike-drive#/



As usual for these crowd-funding projects, they seem to be exaggerating the range by a lot. They claim 40-60 km out of 80 watt-hours and for their large battery, 130-150 km out of 200 watt hours. That might work if you only turned it on for the last 1/4 of your trip

 

[George S.]

This campaign makes no sense. The battery is silly. A range of 130 km? Maybe it's running the light?

The cooler that was super successful on Kickstarter is now underwater. They may beg the backers for more money.

http://www.theverge.com/2015/11/18/...r-amazon-kickstater-shipping-production-delay

Those blender motor strikes can be a real "beach".

 

[Nirmala]

Yeah, at least the friction drive mentioned above is being honest about the range. In this video, the developer claims a range of just 5 km which might not be bad really for the price. But the motor only puts out 150 watts. So again it is a very limited application, maybe for someone who just wants to pedal around a very flat neighborhood.

 

[Nirmala]

And then for the ATV crowd, there is this:

I wish there were more of these where I live, as we have lots of gas powered ATVs and boy are they noisy. Plus the Swincar looks like fun! Four wheel drive, high clearance, and this thing will go just about anywhere.

 

[Nirmala]

Or how about amphibious!