Electric Bikes are a great alternative to cars in urban areas. But usually the price tag for electric bikes is a put off. Spending a four or five figure value on an electric bike isn’t worth it for most of the consumers. The price tag is even a bigger put off for those who already own a pedal bicycle. A Japanese-Swiss company Sunstar addressed the problem and came up with a solution that is both cheaper and more practical. They introduced a modular Virtus electric drive. That transforms an ordinary pedal bicycle into an electric bike.
Virtus recently joined the growing list of aftermarket e-bike add-ons that include the likes of Rubbee and Velospeeder. As a modular mounted device, the Virtus is more cleanly integrated power option just like those used on permanent electric bikes.
According to Sunstar, the Virtus will fit on any conventional bike frame and provide the rider with a speed of 15.5mph (25kmph). They made it compatible with some of the famous bike frames, those that are popular among the masses. The versatility of the product has also contributed to broaden the potential consumer base. Instead of having to spend big on an altogether electric bike, one can simply transform their pedal bike into one.
The main components of the Virtus are it’s 250-watt, 55-Nm motor and a multi-sensor controller. The controller provides access to motor output, tracks torque, cadence, crank angle and speed. The multi-sensor unit can also be used on the simple pedal bicycle providing performance-tracking. The hardware connects to the user’s smartphone wirelessly to support performance tracking and control features.
The Virtus comes with three battery options. Two of them providing the user with 11Ah, 400Wh battery either mounted on rear rack or atop the down tube. Whereas the third option is with dual battery system that is a 400Wh battery and an 8Ah, 300Wh battery attached to the down tube. The system also includes a LCD computer that helps adjust between four modes, tracking battery level and getting read-outs of speed, mileage and other metrics required by the rider.
The Virtus is portable and can be removed from one bike in a matter of minutes and then installed to another one. So if you are fond of bikes and their types such as the mountain bike, race bikes, this is the product for you. Virus’s prototype will be revealed by Sunstar at this week’s Eurobike show. No other specs on the dimensions have been revealed yet except for the weight that is 7lb (3.2kg). It seems as the system will both be available over the counter for the user to assemble on their bikes and also integrated into full bikes. So would you buy one? Let us know in the comments section below.