Can this lightweight motor kit shred? Bimotal E-MTB First Ride

[@Area13ebikes]

What do you think a good price would be for this motor kit?

[@Alex-uh1mj]

300

[@bulletproof4716]

A $300 to 400 max

[@Gojira_Wins]

$500 at most. This is not worth the $2,000 they've been asking.

[@artiep6358]

$1000 with a screen and 2 batteries

[@GETTINREAL123]

@@artiep6358 I agree!

[@Joerides7]

As a serious cyclist for decades that has a garage full of multi-thousand dollar analog bikes, I completely understand the market they are shooting for. I've struggled with e-bike purchase decisions because for me to get an e-bike with the components I prefer, I have to spend 10-12k. Since most mountain bike trails in Michigan ban e-bikes, I still own several nice analog mountain bikes to ride on those trails. With this system, I could use the mountain bikes I already own on the few trails that allow e-bikes, and save me a lot of money over buying a top of the line Trek or Specialized emtb. The big negative for me with this motor is the lack of pedal assist. I'm not sure I can get past that.

[@mikemorgan8588]

Do you realize that e bikes aren’t weight concerned? The motor provides the power X2 any spandex rider could sweat out. Quality in the drive train isn’t so important for hub drives. What remains important is stopping power.

[@FlyingScot911]

Also a serious rider here with over 300K kilometers under my belt mostly on road exploring BC, WA, WY, UT, CA, and Mexico to name a few but a lot of mountain biking here in BC as I close in on 68 years old. I finished a new build about 2 months ago. Have over 3,000 km on it so far. Mostly in the mountains here in BC exploring forestry roads, back country exploration, gold panning, and of course commuting. Not my first rodeo. I've built 5 bikes including a couple of the best folding bikes for a friend while improving on each one as I learn. The new build is off the charts fun. Total weight of the bike is under 55lbs so I can take it on transit as that is the weight limit here in BC. Have great components. Soma steel frame, hand-built durable wheels (DT Swiss 350 front hub and rim, DT Swiss 350 Hybrid 36H Hub (designed for eBikes) in the rear on a 36 spoke Cliffhanger rim, Schwalbe moped rated (50kph) 2.15" tires, Shimano XT LInkglide 1x11drivetrain, SRAM Code RSC brakes with 180mm rear/220mm front rotor. Brakes were the reason I upgraded to this build. I wanted the best stopping power with the largest front rotor I could find. Power is supplied by my favorite motor CYC Stealth Gen 3 ( I started my first build with the Gen 1. 150nm of torque and 1,500watts. The best feature is the torque sensing pedal assist. It is so smooth. Hands down my favorite feature as it literally puts me at Tour de France level riding capability. I mostly ride in the lowest pedal assist mode of 1. My favorite riding sessions are doing intervals on long hill climbs. In the olden days I'd do my intervals on the flats. Way more fun on the hills. There is something about pedaling at 30+ kph on hill climbs that I just love, depending on slope of course. The bike will climb a wall. My range is 100km now after 3 years with the same battery. I calculate my cost to be about $5000USD. I saved quite a bit by buying some parts on Facebook market place. Got a new $700 shock for $120 and my new hand-built $500 front wheel for $200. I also save by bringing all of the rest of the components i.e. handlebars, stem, seat, suspension seat post, rear rack, from my very first build. But yes, I could easily, if I had it, spent 10 to 15 grand on a build but I don't need $2,000 front shock, $5,000 custom hand-built titanium frame or an expensive full suspension frame. I have the best components for exactly what I need on an eBike for my riding style and terrain. I like to say I have twice the bike for half the money compared to buying from a bike store. And I don't have to worry about parts. I can source, swap, or fix anything myself now. The reason for that is when I started this journey 3 years ago I could not find a single person at any of the bike shops in the city where I live that would even talk about DIY let alone give any advice or recommendations. Not only that. You can't even bring a bike in to their shops for any kind of work. They just refused any help or support since I didn't buy a bike from their shops. On my first build they wouldn't take the crank off because I was going to install a mid-drive motor. When I took my first DIY ebike into a shop to get a hydraulic brake upgrade ($700) they wouldn't sell me the brakes because they were going on a DIY ebike. So I bought a bike toolkit and started learning and doing everything myself. The local shops left a shit ton of money on the table by refusing service not just to me but the entire DIY community. Having said all of that...if you are a serious cyclist ya gotta have a really good pedal assist to get all of the benefits of the best builds. IMO CYC has the best torque sensor. My 2bitcoin

[@toanjuan]

I want one!

[@mikemorgan8588]

@@Joerides7 , Look into motorcycle trails. Jump the fence and get real. You’re looking for motorcycle trails, not mountain bike trails.

[@MumfordJim]

@@mikemorgan8588 I do not think I would ever buy an Ebike that was not Pedal Assist. I Truly believe in PAS. I would buy one without a throttle. Have ridden a lot of Ebikes while in Europe without throttles, l believe Europe does not allow a throttle.

[@franjolu]

I think that the Bimotal kit is a potential game changer. I am contemplating the possibilities it opens beyond the original intended application... I can envision adding it to either (or both) wheel of my mid-drive Lectric XPremium ebike; or perhaps install on any Scooter, bike, trike, or even a canopied light weight quadricycle bike... Also, the motor could be used for driving a portable mini lathe or mini mill, for a ubiquitous machine shop.

[@georgekrpan3181]

It's an amazing product that's in my future. The gear reduction that that thing has is why it seems so torquey. The motor is spinning at higher RPMs which is good for power and for the motor.

[@karlfonner7589]

I just went back to acoustic bicycles. Regular bicycle gave me back the freedom I once had as a kid without having to charge everything and do this and that. It’s nice to lift up a 24 pound bicycle and just go out and ride.😊

[@Mash3OH3]

I prefer my Home made electric bike and it's around 60 to 70 pounds and I'm built like a tank cause of it lol. I gave up my push bike. After riding for decades of course. I got the juicy legs to show of it. I'm at that stage where I just want to throttle everywhere and if I need exercise I'll just go to the gym

[@maximumchargeEV]

This is a great product. I was thinking the other day of what would the best "prepper" ebike be and it would probably be a non electric bicycle with this modular type of system on it that's serviceable and removable.

[@MickyBee73]

Totally agree Alex, this is super interesting future E-motor tech.. Being able to more or less just slap it onto any bike is a game changer in my opinion!

[@bellyacres7846]

a neat idea as it gets popular - the price will come down on it and the PAS features will help too. a unit for the front should be a nice addition for those wanting that.

[@AussieBob2023]

I have had the Bimotal Elevate system on my Santa Cruz High Tower CC for 1.5 years now and it’s fantastic for me and my wife has it too on her Trek Lush,S so much of a game changer for her! We just got the new update installed that you can customize 3 different modes echo flow and elevate with your phone with their new app! Next update will be pedal assist making it a type 1 e-bike. Worth the money Yes ride the bike you love!!!

[@TomJordans]

You do a terrific job with your videos. I built up two ebikes with Bafang mid-drive motor kits and this looks really promising. Thanks for sharing and test riding.

[@Bustadhed]

That's freaking amazing !!! Just wish someone could take something like those old generators used for powering bike headlights & tail lights and use them to recharge ebike batteries as your riding , you know like a magnito on a motorcycle .

[@SchoolforHackers]

I’ve had that idea too! Those generators could put out 12v 5amps. Scale up a little and you could have some serious braking and regen.

[@bfemmel]

I have been trying to get my wife out on the trails and this would be perfect. She can use the Mountain Bike she has and just give her an uphill boost which is what she needs. And for myself, after having been lax in my riding habits for a couple of years this would be a great way to get out on the trail with my current bike and not worry about ending up 1000 feet lower than the car when my legs have died at the end of the day.

[@johnschulte5482]

Would this go on a front tire to give an e-bike extra torque and traction on steep hills?

[@Area13ebikes]

Yes it can be installed up front.

[@AussieBob2023]

They have also installed it on both wheels!

[@Killianwsh]

If you are going to talk about the sound of the motor in your video, please don't overlay separate music on the video. It makes it extremely difficult to hear what you are talking about.

[@artiep6358]

So if it goes in your brake rotor. I’m guessing you could use this as a front wheel drive to an e-bike like an assist or for when your batteries run out. Cool

[@corkeys52]

Wow If they add some things i would buy it. Great job. About time someone did something right.

[@dalehall3110]

For 2 grand I'd have a QS 138 mid drive with Fardriver controller AND a huge battery....

[@mjs1374able]

In my experience with weight loss and gain 30 to 50 pounds is a lot in performance difference. I own a electric skateboard and ebike. I'v fluctuated 35 pounds up and down over a couple yrs and its almost night and day difference in performance in my experience.

[@bobbybecker80]

I wouldn't pay $2K in order to be a beta tester. Most individuals with any amount of MTB have a spare bike (IMO), so ease of removal is a non-issue.

[@joesurf68]

I was an early investor on kick starter for the Bimotal. I am OK with the early high price but I have an older COVE bike that comes from Canada with 8 inch rotors with with a two piston brake caliper. I was initially told the motor would work at future time with the 8 inch rotor (now fixed by Bimotal) but not with my two piston break caliper I had to instal a 3 piston caliper. I am not that tuned into break calipers so have no idea what it would take to make a change. Hopefully Cove can give me an idea or I can find a used 3 piston caliper. I also built an ebike on a beach cruiser about 10 years ago with only a throttle and I prefer that bib time over pedal assisted street and mountain ebikes I have tried.

[@alaskabornheathen8902]

As someone that doesn’t ride e-bikes, this would be great to get into e-bikes. Not even e-bikes, but making a mountain bike more capable. You could get 2 and make your bike 2WD. But it’s too expensive for someone like me. I would consider it for half that price. Maybe in a couple years they’ll have offset R&D costs.

[@jaydub308]

You'd think that but it's over 2k per setup. That coupled with it not being peddle assist isn't as good as you'd hope. I hope this company makes it. But I ended up cancelling my order.

[@ZZTalkZZ]

Could it be used as a booster for an existing rear hub?

[@ghostfox3560]

is it possible to test that motor kit on a touring bike or a beach cruiser frame? I am a little curious on how that would handle on either of those styles of bicycles. Especially as the wheel size decreases in diamiter.

[@Alee91322]

I think if it were just over 1k it would sell like hot cakes!

[@tannercayenne]

I would like to see it mounted on front wheel for an awesome 2WD setup. Do you think that's possible?

[@Area13ebikes]

Yes it can.

[@PTS220]

This is the only 2wd video I have found

[@oldmanebikes8392]

This is bad ass I wonder if it could be put on a front wheel. But it definitely fits in with people that spend like 10k on there mountain bikes.

[@johnbrodiegay1862]

I’ve ridden a prototype with Bimotal motor on both the front and back wheels and it rips

[@oldmanebikes8392]

@@johnbrodiegay1862 nice I think it would be great on an Ebike on front wheel and just use for big hills. But the price is a little bit crazy. Lol

[@plokmko0]

great for a bike park to not need a uplift service and just needs a mount on the frame to centralize the motor's mass for going downhill and freeing up unsprung mass on the rear suspension.

[@jaydub308]

I placed an order with this company and ended up cancelling it. There was a little too much unknown with it. This is the first independent review of it. At this point I rather have a 2nd dedicated ebike. I'm glad there's another option for people. Unfortunately until they can get it more affordable. ignorant speculation says it won't take off.

[@billlandon2160]

Instead of buying a $2k e-bike get an $89 Huffy Warhawk and this

[@michelleevans9869]

Love the idea and with buy so I can keep my current bike but hopefully come down in price

[@charlesdee63]

I understand your argument for the niche position for this ebike motor kit, BUT!! They are gouging the consumer because it's unique when, if it were priced more reasonably, ( an Ecells 5 star ebike is the same price!!), they could sell 10 times as many kits. They are screwing the consumer and, by doing so, screwing themselves. Great idea but for more than twice the price of a top flight mid drive conversion kit, they can keep it.

[@nevamind932]

Super cool!

[@toddwynn1968]

Thanks sir how much are the extra batteries 😊

[@Xtrafix2015]

Very ingenious and awesome but just like you say, wish it had more stuff to make it proper. I’ll wait til price drops tho cuz I kinda want one

[@alanflatau1685]

I hope price will not kill the product??

[@sammyjames1929]

Love it!

[@MickyBee73]

This is very interesting indeed 👍⚡🚲

[@keithnewton1966]

Love the design, price is totally out of the ballpark and not sure about reliability. I may have missed it but is it on off throttle or variable speed?

[@bimotal]

Variable speed--more specifically the throttle modulates torque.

[@bbigtn]

Be nice to have this setup with base mounts on more than 1 bike. Can only ride 1 at a time anyway.

[@TRG36]

Amazing concept for self shuttling. No good for my area because our trails require pedal assist, no throttles. But the price is ridiculous.

[@_jeff-lie]

tes dyno cyc x1 pro gen 4

[@Alex-uh1mj]

Its very niche, it's not possible for it to have torque sensing. Its added unsprung mass to the rear wheel. Its competing with $330 torque sensing mid drives that will probably out perform it.. It has potential at $600 max with the battey

[@DM-fp8uw]

A good battery is at least $400. You are looking at close to $800 for a low end TZD mid drive system.

[@DM-fp8uw]

Does it have different pedal assist levels or do you get Max power all the time. If it only had the 50nm of claimed power, but hell a Ramblas only had 20 during your tests.

[@PeterPangea]

Must be wheel or drivetrain loss of some sort - I’m curious how much the torque will change if it’s mounted on a road bike with way less rolling resistance

[@charlesdee63]

How far is " I made it all the way here"????

[@boostercontrol100]

Very cool!!

[@SilvaDreams]

This brings me back to the early days of what would evolve into E-bikes. Just an electric motor that you attach to your chain/rear hub and just run a wire up to a throttle. Definately not worth more than a few hundred dollars.

[@economicfusion6065]

I want it as a power adder to my 50lb mid drive mountain bike

[@falcosparverius1]

It needs a small display at the throttle.

[@davideoman1000]

I wouldn't pay 2 grand for that since it's not even complete! Why should I pay a premium price for an incomplete item? The idea is great, and I would love to own one but the motor only price of 1200 is probably the max I would pay for the complete kit and even at that price I would be hesitant to get one.

[@kevin15ben41]

Your tire might have been rubbing during the dyno test.

[@Anonymous-jm3mg]

First of all I enjoy watching your channel. My thoughts about this motor kit is, if I had a 3 D scanning and printing system, I'd buy the motor kit, tear it down, scan and print everything, buy the batteries and hardware to build the rest of the system and sell a few copies to riding buddies. I'd use this system for saving my legs on the climbs, then take the system off at the top and put it in my pack and bomb the downhill. Then repeat the process many times. Thanks.

[@bimotal]

Just FYI some of our gear tolerances are on the order of 10 microns and made with case-hardened steel. Please share the scanning / printing tech you have to reproduce this, we'd love to use it in our development process :)

[@JohnBabcock-qy1cs]

Hell yah! 😂

[@CrazyLaoK]

I saw this one on TikTok, many people said they are waitting for chinese $999😂

[@erichollister5753]

Looks great just too much money

[@johnbenz7573]

I believe if you have a pebble that fly's into your gear you are finished. Not for me.

[@Darkwormhole777]

That is way too expensive almost 2k?, I could get a ebike for less than half of that price.

[@khaoticgrumpy]

Good price would be 350$

[@Stellar001100]

I was thinking about getting this motor until you said $2000.

[@chrisregister8021]

Let me know when they are a $1000......

[@theresejames8826]

I've bought 2 e bikes. Both cost less than this product. Who is this product for?🤔. I have a hybrid bike I'd like to convert. I can't justify the price when I can buy the whole e bike.

[@MrCentralDriver]

$500 max.

[@fud1376]

2 Grand its still way TOO expensive...As are all these bloody e-bikes....!

[@gergofodor8275]

If u clip off and put it in your backpack,and carry down the hill,u will lighter than before when its on xour bike ! XD For sure !

[@learning3162]

you dont sell Batteries anymore? i been waiting for long to buya battery from you since you seem the most trustworthy with battery making

[@charlesdee63]

Don't fall for it to fast guys. It's WAY over priced

[@dreski8222]

Get a better camera

[@davidmoore9385]

I will wait for the Chinese to clone it

[@Jfa-letsgo]

Way over priced for what you get

[@timf6916]

Not my cup of tea.

[@bulletproof4716]

It's 100% not worth the price tag for that price I can build a better and more powerful ebike. For the same price I can get a CYC x1 pro gen 4 kit and a battery

[@DM-fp8uw]

I agree the only advantage is easily switching between bikes and not that many people need that. Also nice to throw the motor and battery in a backpack when it's locked up. Still not worth it though.

[@bulletproof4716]

@@DM-fp8uw 💯