The Quick-Install Bimoz E-Bike Mid Drive Kit [VIDEO]
Apr 14, 2016
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By Richard Peace
European firm bimoz say they are nearing a rollout of the ‘lightest and easiest e-bike retrofit system’ that will fit ‘almost any conventional bicycle within twenty minutes.’
bimoz has been designed to replace the non-driveside crank arm with a crank incorporating a gearless (direct drive) motor, powered by a fame-mounted battery.
So fitting is a matter of swapping out the crank and frame-mounting a connector and battery. Here’s a video that shows the installation:
The 250 watt direct drive motor is built into the left crank arm.
bimoz say other selling points are:
- High performance, sub-2 kg 250W motor (with standard battery)
- Direct drive technology without motor gears
- It can become your personal trainer. Using the bimoz app you can ‘cycle up mountains’, even on the flat, as pedal resistance can be programmed into the unit.
bimoz inventor, Italy’s Giacomo Carcangiu’s has a racing engineer background which he says ‘has been a major advantage in the development of such a light solution. Besides the innovative patented drive we only use materials like aluminum and magnesium, combining lightweight and robust, high-quality finishes. In addition, combining the drive housing with the pedal system saves weight.’
bimoz Product Manager, Roland Eschler, told Electric Bike Report ‘ bimoz will be manufactured in Bari, Italy (well known as Bosch has an e-bike factory there). We plan to sell bimoz online and offline, starting to build up a worldwide distribution network within the next couple of months. Due to it’s simple installation we will also have direct online selling through different online shops worldwide. Currently we are running an IndieGoGo campaign.’
It will be interesting to see how bimoz overcomes the inherent technical conundrum of mounting a gearless motor in the crank area; a comfortable pedalling cadence for most riders is around 60-100rpm whilst motors like to spin at a far higher rpm to work efficiently.
Carcangiu told EBR ‘By optimising electronics and the number of poles and coils the Bimoz is efficient from 45-120rpm’.
bimoz Paper Specification:
Motor +standard size battery: 4.4 pounds or 1.97kg
Motor weight: 3 pounds or 1.37kg
Top speed: 15 mph or 25kmh
Max torque: 50Nm
Gearshift detection: Yes
Regenerative braking: No
Battery capacity: 80Wh or 220 Wh
Price: starts at $899 on their IndieGoGo campaign
Stay tuned for more e-bike news!
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This is awesome! Although today’s mid-drive solutions are kinda quiet, a gearless, direct drive design should be silent like a BionX.
Can’t wait to try one out or, hopefully, Richard, you will be able to do a full report on one!
It is a start but probably not powerful enough for use in U.S.
As usual for these crowd-funding projects, they seem to be exaggerating the range by a lot. They claim 40-60 km out of 80 watt-hours and for their large battery, 130-150 km out of 200 watt hours. That might work if you only turned it on for the last 1/4 of your trip 🙂
@Nirmala: Only time will tell. But you do have a good point. Some of the math doesn’t add up. Perhaps they are not using standard ferro magnets, but rather neodymium magnets to cut down on weight and size, but even then…
I do hope this is real, though.
I am afraid that they did not do their homework. They claim to have the lightest and easiest kit to electrify your bike, but the “add-e” was funded on Indiegogo a while back and the “me-n-e” is presently being funded on Indiegogo. They beat the “bimoz” is both categories. And the “me-n-e” is offered at about a third the price. Of course, the “bimoz” is a mid-drive and the other two are friction drives and the range depends on a lot of factors, terrain, wind velocity and direction, weight of bike and the rider. Usually the range giving by a company is the best possible scenario.
well, I don’t think you can compare the Add-e and similar system to a mid drive motor. They are very noisy and the grip is pretty bad…..
Was wondering if you only used it (turned the unit on) to help on the steeper hills how far could you go on a battery charge?
I hope it’s got legs, as it appears to be an especially light and elegant solution which could drive additional e-bike growth at a lower price point.
Can this work on a recumbent tadpole trike, with the crank ahead of the two front wheels?
Like it! Priced right if it performs as stated. I will follow info on this one.
I’d love to try one of these out. Got a workmans cycle heavy duty kind. could be nice if it fits…am 61 so a little help is good 🙂 Right now I have a Martin e bike but had to get the back tire drilled for larger spokes it does not carry the weight it is advertised for tho NOW IT DOES with the larger spokes!
Real world review anyone?
purchased at the crowd funding campaign. Its now over a year late, but I expect they’ve worked it out and will deliver in January. I’ll let you know, it will be about my 5th or 6th ebike kit to try out. I was attracted to this because it wasn’t a motorized wheel. Weight is good, range is a tbd (to be demonstrated – I too think its opimistic, but have high hopes), torque seems light, but driving crank allows for gear help up hills, size and install seem to be an advantage. I’m a regular commuter so it will get miles applied to it. Geared kit motors don’t hold up. Direct drive are big, bulky, heavy and weight is badly distributed. Yes, high hopes – I’ll let you know how it goes.
Hi jdub5310
Please let me know your impression when you have received and tested the Bimoz kit.
Up to now I could not find anyone that has tested it.
I only read reviews of people tat read the indiegogo website
interesting