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This Portable E-Motor Turns Any Bicycle Into an Electric One

By Emma Taggart on January 12, 2021

Urban commuters who favor bicycles as their mode of transport might agree that cycling from point A to point B can be a bit of a workout. E-bikes with a battery-powered “assist” are great for giving you a boost, but they’re often expensive and stolen often. That’s why a Brooklyn-based startup decided to design CLIP, a portable and detachable e-motor that turns any bike into an electric one.

The electric bike conversion kit looks just like what it’s named after—a clip. It’s compatible with all city, road, and hybrid bikes with a 26″ to 28″ front tire. CLIP is as light as a laptop, fits in your backpack, and you can simply attach and detach from your bike as needed. With a black frame and brushed aluminum side panels, it looks sleek and modern enough to look good on any bike. It incorporates a 450W motor powered by a 36V, 144Wh battery, allowing commuters to reach a maximum of 24kmh / 15mph within a 10-15 mile range (around a 45 journey). CLIP can also be fully recharged in just 40 minutes, so you’ll always be ready to go.

“[We] realized that the solution to this problem had to be nuanced and apply to a wide demographic of urban commuters,” explains Somnath Ray, co-founder and CEO of CLIP. “The solution had to be portable and lightweight, so it could be easily detached after every use and taken along, so it can’t be stolen, modular and inexpensive so a person who doesn’t own a bike or has a complicated inter-modal commute can bring it along to use it on shared bikes; or just rent it from a vending machine.”

Check out CLIP below and find out more about it via its website, where you can also pre-order your own.