What the what?! This is so cool. I love everything about the demo. No (spoken) words, just a cool functioning product, in its intended uses cases, in different situations -- on fire, soaked in water, soaked in mud.
Even if the product actually did nothing useful (which is not the case here), the video itself a great marketing copy. <3
As a product person, this excites me.
However... I'm curious. This was launched ~2 years ago (per the YT video [1]). What happened? Is this still working? How is the company doing? Any ideas?? I don't see any other videos on their channel. I see some action on their Twitter [2] but sporadic.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFsnS0Yb1Bs [2] https://x.com/dhruvvidyut
Let's check the numbers. They claim :
Range: 40km
20 min pedaling charges 50%
Top speed 25kph
So at 15kph, it would take 2.6 hours to reach the stated 40km range. 86.6Wh / 2.6hrs = 32.5W
A model based calculator [2] says that with 32.5W you indeed cycle at 15.5kph.
LiFePo batteries have an energy density of 325Wh/L, so we would need a battery volume of: 86.6Wh/325Wh/L = 0.27L, but a quick search for an example online reveals that a commercial 10Ah 12.8V takes up 1L. That would seem to fit within the product.
I was initially doubting the claims, but it seems to check out ?
[1] https://blog.2peak.com/en/what-are-the-average-watts-of-a-go... [2] https://www.gribble.org/cycling/power_v_speed.html
This is great.
Also interesting that they use .co.in (as in we are from "India") and their name is also very indian . As an indian I actually respect that
Vidyut means electricity in Hindi and dhruv means stars If I remember correctly.
Dhruv is a very common name in India , One of my 5th standard classmate was named dhruv , Like dhruv rathee is a youtuber.
As an indian I appreciate this project. I suppose I have seen it on the Indian shark tank as well but I am not sure!
The demo video on the top of the homepage is awesome. Explains the use case, how it works, key specs and so on, all in a nice smooth video.
That's a quite a look, reminds me a bit of something from the Fallout universe. I'm a bit surprised at the "pedaling charges the batteries" bullet point. That's extremely rare in the e-bike world. 25,000 mph top speed seems somewhat optimistic however.
I assume it means 25 kph top speed, which is on the slower side for e-bikes.
Am I missing something... it looks like the chainring is able to spin independently of the pedals, as if they moved the freewheel from the rear hub to the bottom bracket. Without that this would never work like he demonstrates. I've never seen the freewheel on the chainring/bottom bracket on a bike in the US, is this a common in other parts of the world?
Fitting all that (battery, motor, controller, voltage converter, charger) into a small package is pretty impressive.
Mid-drives are certainly superior to hub-drives, so that's another plus.
Can it pedal assist? i.e. only kick on when pedaling. That's often a legal requirement.
Doesn't mention cost, weight, or battery capacity.
I'm assuming most of the parts beyond the aluminum chassis are off the shelf. It would be a nice thing to open source, or at least sell the plans so anybody* can build.
* with access to a machine shop
Remember to get a strong frame, as a hub motor can shear a weak frame surprisingly easily. The front fork snapping off in a turn is no fun.
Edit: I said hub motor by accident, but it applies to these motors too.
This is an interesting alternative to existing kits where you need to replace a wheel (hub-drive) or do surgery on your bottom bracket (typical mid-drive). It also appears to not need an external charger (the charge port appears to be a universal C14, the same as a computer) which is very convenient.
On the downsides, I have severe doubts over the battery cell quality at that price point, and it looks significantly heavier than other options from the metal case alone (I don't see actual specs for weight).
Love the demo video. The mud and fire scenes made me cringe, which I'm sure is exactly what they were going for (as the motor keeps spinning regardless of the foul treatment)!
I will keep my standard mid-drive conversion kit (I've used TSDZ2 and DM-02 in the past) but always love to see alternatives coming online for other segments of the market.
It reminded me of the Sinclair Zeta[0][1]. I hope their product work out better.
https://youtu.be/Hkzreg-m3PY?si=vUMc7mTHEspxIW07 Video includes a tear down
I think readers of hacker news That find the original post interesting might enjoy this as well:
It's a different product for a different market, but a really cool idea and the people who have been working on it are super smart.
Anyone particularly excited about this concept might be interested to know that it already exists (for a little less than $400).
PikaBoost[1]
It works. But not nearly as well as an ebike, of course. Here's a youtuber doing a fairly in depth review and test of one [2].
[1]https://livall.com/products/livall-pikaboost-2-electrify-you... [2]https://youtu.be/m_wVzoNrDL8?si=gCwvHZgrsV3klZ49
The chain is spazzing out in every shot like it's tightening and loosening over and over again. Mid drives already wear out chains quickly. Seems like this is just asking to snap a chain
I got a Zehus Halos [0] for my racing bike, a Commencal Stewart; I ripped out all of the gears and replaced the rear wheel with a wheel from Nfixed [1] who builds wheels with the Halos. Conversion couldn't have been easier -- just replace the rear wheel, take away the gears and replace the front blade. The result is an amazing bike, fun, easy, beautiful.
I still haven't pushed the range to the max, but with break regeneration and moderate assistance, it seems like the range would be 50-60 km, which is more than enough for me.
I highly recommend it!
[0] https://www.zehus.it/product-categories/all-in-one
[1] https://nfixed.com/products/gen3-0-zehus-halos-all-in-one-sm...
IANAEE but is the frame itself enough to dissipate heat of the internals while being sealed shut like this?
love the concept and would like them to succeed. just feels like that the relative ease of installation also means it might be easier to steal, especially with the battery integrated inside the kit.
How are the pedals not moving with the chain?
Not even this would be incredibly dangerous (pants caught on the chain? the motor won’t be stopping at all), but it would make it an illegal e-bike in much of the world since it doesn’t qualify as pedal assist, it’s now a flimsy motorcycle.
This is impressive engineering. So much better than the available ebike conversion kits. I want one!
That could be a really quick retrofit -- looks like only the chain and chainguard would need to change for the standard utility type bike.
Top speed would probably depend on the rear cog, unless they're doing something really sneaky.
That looks a lot less robust than a lot of the ones on the market but also a lot easier to install. Might be a solid approach because the install is off-putting to very many people.
I did this to my road bike using a comercial kit: https://boostbike.uk/
It completely changed my commute.
Cool hack if I've ever seen one in this place! I love how "steampunk" it looks (for lack of a better term). Though I feel like if they're gunning for global appeal they would have to streamline the looks a lot.
This is so awesome I might have to watch "3 Idiots" again.
In another video it says expected price 15000 - 20000 rupees which I guess is like £150 or $200. Quite cheap as these things go. (vid, not in English https://youtu.be/HoTucoz1Uro?t=111)
Here is a HNer that made his own e-bike : https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29198205
Really cool product. Great Demo video. This guy is doing it right
The design is beautiful. Looks like you only need to replace the chain with a slightly longer one (easy peasy). Take my money.
Very cool concept. It’d be helpful if there was videos of it working or some details on the process you made to build it. Or even why you did.
Tongsheng tsdz2 750W mid drive torque sensor motor conversion kit is $310 on aliexpress.
okay, the 20 mins of pedaling charging the battery to 50% is a nice feature. there's plenty of time I'm pedaling my bike without pedal assist that could be recovering some of the battery on all of my trips.
Every bits of the demo video is awesome. I want to make friends with you.
That's neat retro styling, maybe part Flash Gordon?
Love it. I want my product to have a video like that.
8 crore = 80 million.
Video makes it look like you can just drop it in and go. No. You have to change out the chain for a longer one.
Misleading title - this won't work on a recumbent.
this wont work on several lady bikes because how their frame is designed
For readers, see also Zehus hub motor, I've seen it used in higher end e-bike conversions.
Why would i? "Analogue" (pure mechanical) tech is king.
I'm mystified at the multitude of "this is great" comments on an essentially unspec'd and implausible product. Is this elaborate joke that everyone's in on?
HN has been an engineering-oriented forum and bicycles are "real engineering". Every kind of modern bike is engineered for it's intended use and the idea you can add power and weight without consequences should be suspicious to the engineering mind.
Note: The video shows a USB cable for a charger, which couldn't charge a large-ish battery in an acceptable period, at one point it seems to show power imparted direct to the tire (which would lose a lot of power) but really, how this thing works at all is hard to tell, it's kind of silly to take seriously, even but jeesh.
I love everything about the demo video on the homepage. It's always fun to see a creator beat up their product and see it withstand the abuse.
As far as "any bike can be an ebike" I'm surprised that Hilltoppers[0] haven't gained more traction over the years. You just pop off your current bike's front wheel and install theirs.
[0] https://hilltopperbikes.com/product-category/electric-bike-k...