Startup Insider – July 2019

ElectricBikesareagreat

alternativetocarsinurbanareas.

Butusuallythepricetagfor

electricbikesisaputoff.

Spendingafourorfivefigure

valueonanelectricbikeisn’t

worthitformostofthe

consumers.Thepricetagisevena

biggerputoffforthosewho

alreadyownapedalbicycle.A

Japanese-SwisscompanySunstar

addressedtheproblemandcame

upwithasolutionthatisboth

cheaperandmorepractical.They

introducedamodularVirtus

electricdrive.Thattransformsan

ordinarypedalbicycleintoan

electricbike.

Virtusrecentlyjoinedthe

growinglistofaftermarkete-bike

add-onsthatincludethelikesof

RubbeeandVelospeeder.Asa

modularmounteddevice,the

Virtusismorecleanlyintegrated

poweroptionjustlikethoseused

onpermanentelectricbikes.

AccordingtoSunstar,the

Virtuswillfitonanyconventional

bikeframeandprovidetherider

withaspeedof 15. 5 mph( 25 kmph).

Theymadeitcompatiblewith

someofthefamousbikeframes,

thosethatarepopularamongthe

masses.Theversatilityofthe

producthasalsocontributedto

broadenthepotentialconsumer

base.Insteadofhavingtospend

bigonanaltogetherelectricbike,

onecansimplytransformtheir

pedalbikeintoone.

Themaincomponentsofthe

Virtusareit’s 250 - watt, 55 - Nm

motorandamulti-sensor

controller.Thecontrollerprovides

accesstoTheVirtuscomeswith

threebatteryoptions.Twoofthem

providingtheuserwith 11 Ah,

400 Whbatteryeithermountedon

rearrackoratopthedowntube.

Whereasthethirdoptioniswith

dualbatterysystemthatisa

400 Whbatteryandan 8 Ah, 300 Wh

batteryattachedtothedowntube.

ThesystemalsoincludesaLCD

computerthathelpsadjust

betweenfourmodes,tracking

batterylevelandgettingread-outs

ofspeed,mileageandother

metricsrequiredbythe

rider.motoroutput,trackstorque,

cadence,crankangleandspeed.

Themulti-sensorunitcanalsobe

usedonthesimplepedalbicycle

providingperformance-tracking.

Thehardwareconnectstothe

user’ssmartphonewirelesslyto

supportperformancetrackingand

controlfeatures.

TheVirtusisportableandcan

beremovedfromonebikeina

matterofminutesandthen

installedtoanotherone.Soifyou

arefondofbikesandtheirtypes

suchasthemountainbike,race

bikes,thisistheproductforyou.

Virus’sprototypewillberevealed

bySunstaratthisweek’sEurobike

show.Nootherspecsonthe

dimensionshavebeenrevealedyet

exceptfortheweightthatis 7 lb

( 3. 2 kg).Itseemsasthesystemwill

bothbeavailableoverthecounter

fortheusertoassembleontheir

bikesandalsointegratedintofull

bikes.Sowouldyoubuyone?

Transform Your Ordinary

Bicycle into An Electric Cycle

FARHAN MASOODISCO-FOUNDER

SOLOINSIGTANDAREGULARCONTRIBUTOR

OFSTARTUPINSIDER

By Farhan Masood

14  | Startup Insider