Pikaboost can turn any bike into an ebike in 30 seconds

Riding a bike is one of life’s simple pleasures, but some of us need a little extra boost. The problem is that ebikes on the whole are bulky and expensive. If you can afford one then they’re great, but then if the desire to ride a normal bike again takes hold of you you cannot indulge it; you’re stuck on a big, heavy machine. If instead you have a LIVALL Pikaboost in your backpack, you can quickly convert any bike into an ebike, get the boost of power you need exactly when you need it, and can remove it in thirty seconds turning your bike back into a standard machine again.

There are plenty of electric bike conversion kits on the market, but most are bulky, expensive, and require complex installation that effectively permanently converts your bike into an electric bike. The Pikaboost in contrast is compact, portable, and can be installed in seconds when you need it, and is up for backing on Kickstarter right now. 

What is the Pikaboost? 

The Pikaboost ebike conversion kit is about as simple a piece of design as you’re likely to find. It takes the form of a single unit containing the battery, seatpost clamp, circuitry, and the friction wheel. You simply clamp the unit to your seatpost so that the friction wheel rests on your rear tyre, tighten it up, switch it on and you’re good to go. 

Given that it’s so portable you can take it with you just in case you need some assistance, and you can easily remove it if you lock your bike up in town. Despite its size though it’s powerful enough to provide all the assistance you need to increase your range, take the strain off your knees, and maintain a constant output regardless of the gradient, all the while using the bike you already own.

The Pikaboost is waterproof, naturally, so you needn’t worry about getting caught in a downpour, and unlike other systems where the battery is a sealed unit, the batteries in the power pack are replaceable by the user at home, so no costly extra servicing fees and visits to the bike shop.

The Pikaboost riding experience 

The Pikaboost is there to assist, not to turn your bike into a motorbike. Built-in sensors detect the type of terrain you’re riding over and can adjust the level of assistance accordingly, meaning no clutter on the handlebars beyond a quickly mounted brake sensor. Just set the unit to one of three modes and ride the bike as you would normally, except with a helping hand.

In Cruise mode the Pikaboost helps you maintain a set speed; think of it like cruise control on a car. It detects your riding speed, and gives you just enough help to maintain it. Speed up a bit and it’ll help you maintain this new, faster speed too. Use the brakes? No problem, the Pikaboost will detect the added resistance from braking and cease adding power. 

In Eco mode the Pikaboost’s inbuilt gradient sensors detect when you’re heading uphill and only give you assistance then. On the flat and downhill it’s all down to you, meaning you can get more of a workout in but without having to worry about all those lumps along the way.

Finally, in Exercise mode the Pikaboost offers no assistance, but instead uses the forward motion of the bike to recharge the power pack, improving both the battery life and range over other systems. 

Other Benefits

Beyond the portability and simplicity of the system that we’ve already touched on, the Pikaboost has some other neat features that separate it from the competition. Having a battery pack is essential for an electric bike conversion kit, but being able to make use of that power in other ways can really help you out in other ways too. The Pikaboost has a USB socket, effectively turning it into a powerbank for you to charge your phone, bike lights, or other devices either while riding or just whenever you have the Pikaboost with you. 

As well as the power regeneration you get while using the Pikaboost in Exercise mode, the unit also recharges itself while braking and riding downhill in Cruise and Eco modes too, just to keep you going that little bit further. 

Finally, because safety should always be a priority when riding any bike, the Pikaboost has built in fall detection which will immediately stop the motor in the event of a crash so you’re not left with an uncontrolled spinning back wheel.

Where can I buy a Pikaboost? 

The LIVALL Pikaboost isn’t available to buy yet, but it is instead available to back on Kickstarter right now with five levels of rewards to opt for, so if it sounds like something that’ll make your riding life easier then don’t hang around; you’ve only got until December 18th to get involved.