Asus Bike Booster

“The interesting part of this thing, at least to me, is that it doesn't permanently turn your bike into one”

“For my needs, sure. One caveat is that if I’m doing a longer trip I might save power by turning it off when the ground is flat/downhill”

“Systems like this one throw that all out the window, and are much less likely to succeed as a result.”

“it charges over USB-C PD, which every ebike battery for the last 12 years could have done”

“Decent enough I think to make it worth it for the space and cash saved.”

“adding a motor to rear triangle alters weight distribution and adds unsprung weight”

“It just feels like a solid bike in that mode, a bit heavy, of course.”

“The noise is higher than a conventional e-bike motor and is high-pitched, similar to an RC car”

“A bike part you can't use in more than light rain seems like a pretty big drawback to me.”

“Excellent unless you have a mudflap in your back wheel in countries where it rains.”

“But 3.7 kg in a backpack... yeah, no thanks”

“Like this thing seems pretty neat, just strap it to my bike and go? Sign me up.”

“easy on, easy off, easy to fence.”

“Attaching and detaching it looks relatively simple, though - removing it for downhills doesn't look arduous.”

“Seems like a “ohh ebike is becoming big” management decision to somehow do a quick and dirty thinking it would be useful.”

“this won't work on any regular bike that has a fender, which is most 'regular' bikes people would use for city-driving/daily commutes”

“simply pull one-handed the seat release lever, and leave with both the seat and the motor attached”

“$2k makes sense only if the bike underneath it is valuable enough that you specifically want to keep riding that bike”

“it's removable enough that your bike can still just be... a bike”

“would be better if there is an option for manual wired buttons to engage/disengage the booster”

“A smartphone app to change motor speed, really? Not even talking about your motor getting hacked”

“How nice should one's bike be that you'd rather turn it into a mediocre ebike for the price of buying a good ebike?”

“you're giving up carrying stuff or a child on the back of the bicycle”

“this is a hack and you love to see it”

“It feels like a great product but targeted at a surprisingly transient customer base.”

“Even though it probably provides only about 150W (I always assume ebike power ratings are inflated)”

“I actually bought one of these and love it.”

“this is fundamentally a stopgap product for “curious” customers dipping their toes into e-bikes”

“this looks really well designed and easy to use”

“This is an inherently inefficient design, where that inefficiency means increased 1) battery use and 2) tire wear.”

“I'd buy one of these if there was any way to lock it up.”

“The angle of force is perfect even for the most fragile frame.”

“This would be great to add to my 9 year old's bike.”

“People who already invested in an expensive traditional bike and want to have the option to add electric support”

“If this (or any ebike) is a thing that gets someone on a bike that otherwise wouldn't be on a bike, it is a good thing.”

“Given the size of it and the significantly less weight it adds to the bicycle”

“This Asus thing can be put onto a nice bike that isn't a piece of shit boat anchor”

“if you've already got a good folding bike and a bit more zip on your commute is what you need, this seems like a interesting product”

“These would be great for many places that have storage restrictions on e-bikes”

“That might be the easiest ebike retrofit/conversion I've ever seen.”