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Similar friction drives have existed for a while. The battery is very small compared to a regular ebike (typically they start at about 300wh.) Also, IIRC the friction drive is not very efficient.

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Like when wet. Or icy or both.

I think the number of people who want to use something like this when it's icy out is pretty small. You'd want studded tires, for instance... and it's generally those who are really committed who ride in those conditions. This looks more like 'dipping a toe in the eBike water'.

Looks more like a "hill assist device" to me.

This one is 158 Wh

I saw. Most entry-level ebikes have at least 10ah * 36v batteries; a few lightweight models have 7ah. So this has about half the battery capacity of the cheapest ebikes.

Given the size of it and the significantly less weight it adds to the bicycle, I'd say half capacity is pretty fantastic.

(Of course, "capacity" is misleading, as this will be less efficient than a real e-bike.)

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