Sometimes it seems like good ideas are strangely hard to come by. Good execution of a good idea is even harder. There’s no doubt that the Clip electric bike mount is a good idea. It’s easy to attach — assuming the bike it’s attached to is compatible and doesn’t have a front fork — easy to use, and comfortable to wear. There are a few issues with the execution, though. Ultimately, there’s a fairly narrow group of riders who will benefit from the Clip.
First of all, what the hell is this? a clip? The company says it is “the first direct electric bike upgrade that you can take with you.” Simply put, it is a battery-powered electric motor that attaches to the front fork of a bicycle, similar in principle to the old Solex mopeds. A small wheel is positioned so that it contacts the front tire of the bicycle, creating a friction drive clutch to add electrical energy to a regular bicycle. And the good news is that it works.
After assembling a bicycle that has been submitted for assessment by Priority bicycles — a single-speed cruiser with a great belt drive — we found no problems at all attaching the Clip unit to the front fork. The combined battery and the motor unit weighs less than 10 pounds and is easy to carry. Attaching it to a bike requires two hands and a bit of fiddling to get the drive wheel to make good contact with the front tire, but that only takes a few seconds. The forks get a little floppy under the weight, but once you get them moving, that feeling goes away. There is no feeling of the Clip unit accidentally coming off the bike, even on rough surfaces. A small remote control is attached to the main Clip unit for charging and uses a rubber flap to attach to the bike’s handlebars. There is a large red button to activate the motor and a smaller button that activates regenerative brakes.
So far, so good. On flat surfaces, we found the Clip to provide a decent amount of assist, making pedaling much easier. A boost function is activated by holding down the big red button, and it’s powerful enough to help the bike gain speed even when the rider isn’t pedaling… as long as there’s no incline (more on that below). We tested the Clip in a small urban area near our home and found it to work quite well. Assist is instant when you pedal, and the amount of power the unit provides makes perfect sense in an area full of parked cars and people walking dogs and pushing strollers. Range is listed as up to 6 miles with the base Clip Commuter or up to 12 miles with the upgraded Clip ExplorerWith a little human-powered pedal assist, we think the range estimates are probably about right, assuming there’s no incline.
We also tested the Clip in a residential area with some easy but long climbs of several hundred feet, and there we had trouble. Our single-speed test bike didn’t have any gears to make pedaling uphill any easier, so we used the Boost function to gain some speed for the incline. It worked, which the rider can see happening via a set of LED lights on the unit, for about 30 seconds before we felt the electric assist cut out. And when it does cut out, it feels like it cuts out completely. After pulling over, removing and reinstalling the Clip unit, we repeated the test with the same results. A dive into the FAQs – thoughtfully accessed via a QR code right on the Clip unit – revealed that the Clip is equipped with safety systems to prevent the motor or battery pack from burning out or overheating, which is a good idea. Unfortunately, there’s just not enough power to adequately climb even the moderate hills on our test route.
We recommend choosing a bike with gearing options; even a simple three-speed system would make pushing a heavy cruiser uphill much easier, especially with the added weight of the Clip unit. It’s also possible that tire choice will affect how much assist the Clip can provide, but we only had one test machine. Your mileage may vary, as they say. And we mean that literally in this case.
The Clip is an excellent idea, and one with several clever choices and useful design details. For buyers looking for a little help in relatively flat urban areas, this clip-on e-bike unit makes a lot of sense. Riders who need more than the minimal electric assistance the Clip provides may want to look into a dedicated e-bike.