Skarper Introduces New DiskDrive E-Bike Conversion Kit

Skarper, a British start-up, has launched a revolutionary e-bike conversion kit that powers your bike with a specially engineered disc brake rotor. Because changing out a wheel, wires, batteries, and fittings is time-consuming, most electric bike conversion kits are not easily detachable. Skarper looks to change this with its newest innovation.

The new Skarper e-bike conversion kit streamlines the time-consuming conversion procedure by incorporating everything into a single, compact device with a patent-protected mechanism for driving your bike’s rear wheel. The electric bike conversion kit is contained within a single-piece drive and battery assembly. The device attaches to your non-drive side chainstay through specially designed tabs. The motor then powers a custom-built rotor known as the DiskDrive.

The DiskDrive is meant to replace your rear rotor while also moving the bike forward. The package is about 3 kilograms, and installing and removing the disc is as simple as changing your rotors. The Skarper rotor is a brake and a drive in one, with a range of up to 37.5 miles (depending on how you ride and how much you rely on the electric assistance). Even better, the company promises a 2.5-hour full-charge time. A cadence sensor is attached to the cranks on Skarper’s system, just as other e-bike conversion kits, to adjust power output.

Skarper claims to employ more than a dozen engineers and designers from its London headquarters. Dr. Alastair Darwood, the inventor, is in charge of development. Dr. Darwood has already made several advancements as a result of his medical expertise. These include orthopedic and anesthetic medical equipment created while working for England’s National Health Service (NHS).

Darwood’s unique electric bike conversion kit is backed by a group of cyclists who have all invested financially in the firm. Skarper is keeping the details under wraps, but in addition to the road/urban model seen above, the firm has been working on an off-road version with Red Bull Advanced Technologies. This unit, according to Skarper, in an article published by BikeRadar, delivers “huge amounts of power and plenty of torque. It means you can clip-on the system to carry you to the top of the mountain, unhook it and stow it in your pack and then you’re free to ride the trails on your / without the added weight and expense of an e-mountain bike”.