Strictly Electric, a Mumbai-based EV startup has launched India’s First Universal Electric conversion Kit for Bicycles called the EasyKit. If you own a regular bicycle, you can upgrade it to electric in less than 20 mins in a completely DIY manner with the EasyKit.
Strictly Electric was founded in Dec 2019 by Mihir Pawar (CTO) & Durgesh Garud (CEO). Prior to Strictly Electric, Mihir has worked in several companies as a marketing professional and Durgesh used to work as the Chief operations officer for atlancer.com. Strictly Electric was founded with a vision to promote the mass adoption of EVs in India. To achieve this vision, they decided to design, manufacture and sell high-quality electric bicycles. Now you might think, why electric bicycles?
The answer is simple, they are the most efficient mode of personal transportation when it comes to micro-mobility. E-Cycles have already penetrated the European markets in a massive way and it’s for good reason. Following are the benefits of using an Electric Cycle;
1. The operational cost is the lowest when it comes to modes of motorized personal transportation.
2. It’s one of the most eco-friendly modes of transportation in the world since the energy consumption is quite low on account of the comparatively lower bodyweight of the cycle.
3. It also promotes health and fitness.
4. It’s easier to navigate traffic with electric cycles.
5. It doesn’t require a driving license.
6. Most daily routine journeys made via personal transportation are less than 20 km, hence this makes it a perfect option for personal micro-mobility.
However, when they researched the market of e-cycles in India, they realized something;
Cycles come in a lot of varieties; road bikes, mountain bikes, cruiser bikes, recumbent bikes, city bikes, Racer bikes, etc.
Different people have different choices when it comes to their cycles, and the e-cycles available in the market are standardized to around 2-3 formats. Furthermore, since most of the manufacturing cost goes into making the power train, the quality of the cycle itself was compromised to make it more cost appealing; while e-cycles that came with a good frame and mechanical components would generally cost a lot.
Furthermore, an e-cycle is, at the end of the day, a cycle. So you want to be able to use it just like a cycle from time to time. But the fixed heavy batteries made it difficult to do so. There were also many problems with the fixed battery setup; for example, you would need to carry the entire cycle to the charging spot in your house or office which made it difficult to use as a daily commuting option.
This is when they realized that most people in our country already have cycles, so why not just upgrade them to electric and give features that solve most of the above problems. This is where the concept of EasyKit was born.
EasyKit can convert ANY cycle to electric. If you have a cycle, just get the EasyKit and upgrade it to electric. The conversion process is completely D.I.Y and would take around 20 mins. You get detailed instructions and all the tools needed for the conversion process along with the kit.
After 2 years of Research and Development, Strictly Electric has successfully launched EasyKit for prebooking on its official website (www.strictlyelectric.in) on 20th January 2022.
This is what makes the EasyKit so noteworthy;
1. The battery box is compact and detachable, so you can charge the battery anytime and anywhere.
2. You can just take out the battery box and use it as a normal cycle if you feel like it.
3. Since it is a universal kit, you can just use the same kit on a different cycle anytime you wish to switch things up.
4. The upgrading process is extremely simple and can be done by anyone.
5. The operational cost is around 10 paise/kilometer. Much more affordable than an average petrol vehicle. This means you will be able to recover the cost of the kit for sure if you use it as an alternative for your petrol mopeds for shorter
commutes.
6. The Range is 25 km and the kit charges up to 70 percent in 1 hour. Therefore, range anxiety is never going to be an issue as you can charge it anywhere with our compact charger.
7. If you like cycling long distances but get tired after a while then we’ve got you covered as well. You can use our pedal-assist mode which calculates the effort you put in while cycling and instructs the motor to give you an extra boost of power. It’s like a gymming cycle where you can control the amount of your physical effort.
8. If you don’t feel like using the pedals, just use the throttle mode and drive your cycle like a moped/scooter.
9. Even if you haven’t got a cycle, you can just get any cycle you like and won’t have to compromise on one standardized design. It’s true freedom of choice!
10. It comes with a sleek attractive design as opposed to the bulky industrial look currently available in the market.
With all these benefits you can now actually shift to using your upgraded e-cycle as an alternative for daily commuting!
