Anyone who owns a bicycle can use the Asus Oxiis E250G1 Intelligent Bike Booster to transform it into an e-bike in just a few simple steps. Equipped with a cadence sensor, it is designed to respond just as quickly as a conventional e-bike, and can be charged via a USB-C charger.
I’ll start by saying that I’m usually not very plussed about attachments that drive an acoustic bicycle’s tires. Nevermind that they might not meet the rules in some jurisdictions (eg California) to qualify as a class 1/2/3 ebike, but also that they tend to give poorer performance than even the simplest hub motor ebike. This design also seems to not work if there’s a rear suspension, which is common in cheaper “bike shape objects” (BSO). But the whole point of this is to enable a BSO to become real transport, and I won’t knock on that idea. But this type of implementation doesn’t really seem all that great.
That said, there’s a different realm where this would be incredible and that’s with motor-assist for wheelchairs. From the thumbnail alone, the packaging of this motor is almost perfect for mounting behind and below a wheelchair, and presumably they already have some sort of control loop where it’ll cruise once you’re moving but slow down when you’re braking.
I know a few folks that have added motor assist to their wheelchairs and it’s been a large improvement in going farther than they would otherwise have; for this use, endurance and ease of charging are more important than speed. But the price point for existing medical-grade equipment is very high, at some $5000 USD.
If this product were introduced at even just $1000, it could sell like hotcakes to wheelchair users. And I’m 100% onboard with the idea of using electric mobility for everyone.