Brooklyn-based e-bike conversion package maker CLIP has launched BOLT, a front-mounted electrical motor designed to remodel customary bicycles into e-bikes. The corporate is advertising the system because the world’s most reasonably priced quick-install e-bike improve, with a deal with making electrified transportation accessible in low-to-moderate earnings communities and rising markets.
Not like conventional e-bikes, which frequently begin at round US $1,000 and go up rapidly from there, BOLT is positioned as a low-cost different. The system includes a 450W motor and a swappable battery system, offering pedal help as much as 15 mph (25 km/h).
The package installs on the entrance fork of most grownup bicycles, making it an choice for riders who need an e-bike expertise with out buying a devoted electrical bicycle.
Whereas CLIP has beforehand focused the business-to-consumer (B2C) market with its simply mountable e-bike conversion kits, BOLT might be distributed primarily by business-to-business (B2B) channels. The corporate appears to have its sights set on bike sharing and different business operators of motorbike fleets.
Within the US and Europe, CLIP is promoting the system to companies for $250, together with two 144 Wh battery packs. In rising markets, BOLT might be supplied at a $100 value level, excluding the battery, with customers paying a $5 monthly subscription price to entry rechargeable battery swaps by native companions.
“BOLT is designed to make e-bike commuting actually accessible and equitable for individuals in all places, from New York to New Delhi,” mentioned Som Ray, Founder and CEO of CLIP. “BOLT removes the value obstacles of conventional e-bikes whereas maximizing environmental impression to scale sustainable transportation worldwide.”
CLIP is framing BOLT as each an environmental and social mobility device, citing the excessive value of conventional e-bikes as a barrier to widespread adoption. The corporate states that over 60% of its riders come from low-to-moderate-income communities, and it plans to companion with native organizations to increase entry.
The product is being marketed as a low-impact different to full e-bike manufacturing, with CLIP claiming that BOLT requires 50 occasions fewer sources to fabricate and has a 30 occasions smaller logistics footprint in comparison with standard e-bikes. The system is manufactured in Kolkata, India, with localized meeting in North America, Europe, and India.
CLIP has positioned BOLT as a disruptive pressure in e-bike affordability, which tracks with the system’s fairly uncommon design. As a substitute of a standard hub motor or mid-drive motor, CLIP makes use of a friction drive that presses towards the entrance tire of the bike, forcing it to roll ahead. The system’s front-mounted motor configuration is notably totally different from mid-drive or rear-hub e-bike motors. Moreover, its business-to-business gross sales mannequin signifies that particular person riders won’t be able to buy the system instantly, relying as a substitute on third-party distribution networks.
The corporate has but to announce particular partnerships or large-scale deployments, although it has set bold local weather objectives. It claims that widespread adoption of BOLT may eradicate as much as 3.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions yearly.
As BOLT seems set to enter the market, its impression on the rising e-bike sector stays to be seen. With its low value level and modular design, the system may enchantment to budget-conscious riders if it proves to be a viable and dependable different to conventional e-bikes.
