Skarper's Revolutionary E-Bike Conversion Kit May Be the Best That Money Will Buy

One team looking to revolutionize the e-bike conversion kit game is a tiny start-up dubbed Skarper. With only 600 followers on their Facebook since their unveiling just a couple of months ago, let's see if we can't raise that number a tad because the tech this company offers could be precisely what you're looking for to start living an electric life.

Now, much about Skarper as a company isn't revealed on the manufacturer's website. But, there is plenty of information on the members pushing this start-up forward and the history they bring. From lawyers with extensive business knowledge to pilots and Olympic champions, all seem to bring a piece of their craft to the table. The result? Let's find out.

Hopping right into the thick of things, there's something very important that you need to consider if you're looking to jump onto the Skarper train, and it's all about how this trinket feeds electric power to your bike. Unlike other conversion kits that either require you to add a motor to your rear wheel or are simply applied to your tire, functioning by using pressure with a roller onto your bike's tire, the Skarper system uses your bike's disc brake to work.

That's right, there won't be a need to laboriously modify your front or rear wheel to add a motor, not to mention a battery pack, nor is there any uneven tire wear upon your rubbers; Skarper drops all of that and applies all it's magic to your bike's rear disc brake. However, for this to function correctly and without snapping your rear brake, the Skarper team devised a special disc (DiskDrive) that you need to add to your rear hub. Once that's done, all you have to do is clip the system onto your bike, and off you go.

Ok, so we have that DiskDrive modification you have to make to your bike, but what's lurking in that hand-held unit? Nothing more than the power and function behind the entire system. Inside this sleek and minimalist grey box hides a myriad of components, among which you'll find the motor and battery pack for the gimmick to work. A 250-watt motor can crank out 50 Nm (36.8 lb-ft) of torque and carry you around at speeds of 32 kph (19.9 mph) or whichever your local laws and regulations dictate. Pretty dang powerful for such a small package.

Powering all this is a battery pack with no more than 202-watt-hours of juice, and while that sounds like nothing at all, it's enough to offer a range of up to 60 kilometers (37 miles) in ideal settings. Nonetheless, if you happen to run out of juice, with just 30 minutes of charge time, you can squeeze out up to another 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) of range. A full charge only takes up to 2.5 hours, nearly half the charge time that some e-bikes boast.

Now, if you're wondering how much something like this is going to run you, the manufacturer's website shows starting prices from £1,000 ($1,200 at current exchange rates). Personally, I've seen systems priced this high that offer less capability, so naturally, I'm interested. The question is, are you? Sounds like e-biking just got more accessible and a whole lot more fun.