Does this TINY 2.3kg electric bike conversion kit ACTUALLY work?! | Kamingo review
Are you in the market for a lightweight, lowcost electric bike conversion kit? Well, if you are, then keep on watching. What’s up, electro heads? Welcome back to the channel. And if you’re new here, my name is Alish and I am a builder, rider, and reviewer of all things electric. And today I have with me a very interesting electric bike conversion kit because not only is it built differently, it runs differently, but also offers a lot of versatility for your analog ride. Now, let me take you back just a little bit. So about a month ago, I visited Eurobike 2025 in Frankfurt, and it was amazing to be there to see so many different brands and products that are already and coming to market. So, there was this one company that I came across that I actually thought, “Wow, this is interesting. I’ve never seen anything like this before, and that is the ebike conversion kit company, Kamingo. So, they have developed this motor right here. A whole kit in fact, that just straps onto your bike. Even I was able to fit it myself. And today, I’m going to tell you all about it. Before I get into it, I want to make it clear that this kit is in its prototype phase and improvements will be made for the final version coming very soon. But I must say it was so easy and quick to fit compared to other conversion kits. When you break it down, the Kamingo kit is made up of three main components. A handlebar mounted controller, a rear friction assist motor, and a bottle cage mounted EVgrade battery. Together, they work as one system to create that electric assist. The rear friction motor clips onto the bike frame and raises and lowers with its robotic arm, turning the back wheel to provide the electric assistance. This isn’t the first plug-and-play style conversion kit. Others, like Clip, for example, are in the market. However, they’re pretty oversized and they do draw the eye. Kamingo is very neat and compact thanks to the battery being separate and even the battery is pretty inconspicuous as it looks like a water bottle. The battery is 266 watt hours, is of an EV grade, and Kamingo claims can deliver up to 55 miles or 90 kilometers of range on one charge. I’ll of course be letting you know what I find with my own range test a little bit later. The battery and motor alone weigh in at just 2.3 kg, which is unbelievable when you think about an electric bike itself, how much they weigh, particularly the cheaper ones because they’re usually using bigger parts and heavier materials to cut down on costs. It can weigh in at a much heftier weight. I’m talking, you know, plus 20 kg, 2.3 kg for just the motor and the battery. on an analog bike like this one behind me, which I think weighs about 10 kg, maybe a little bit less. So, this is weighing much less than your average cheap electric bike. And that is particularly important because I know that can be quite off-putting for people who do want to buy a bike, but they just find it too cumbersome, particularly if you’re somebody that needs to get up a flight of stairs or two to get to your house and you need to take your bike with you for keeping it safe and sound. So, I’m particularly excited to talk to you about how I have found this kit out in the real world. And there are just a few questions that I’m going to be answering today. And the first is with this friction drive, which is very different to what I’ve seen before. Does it actually work? Secondly, does it work when it comes to hills? Big question. And third is what about wet weather? Does water compromise the friction, the grip of the motor on the tire? Well, that’s all to come. First, let’s get this built. Inside the box, you get a number of components, including the motor, display, and battery, which I put on charge straight away, and I love magnetic connector. I’ll admit it took me two attempts to fit the Kamingo kit, but that is my own fault because this first bike I wanted to convert sadly wasn’t quite right. You’re going to need a triangular seat stay for the motor to attach for starters, which this bike did have, but this brake wire, which is very important, got in the way. Also, the bullhorn handlebars were not the one. Kamingo currently only offers one size for the controller. So, that’s something they’ll need to work on as handlebars do come in all shapes and sizes. But good news, Kamingo has let me know that this current controller size is temporary. So, keep your eyes peeled for options down the line. This bike though was just the ticket. So I got the battery pack on charge, removed the bike’s mud guard as this would get in the way of the motor and began attaching the parts. The motorbase mount is easy to screw on. There’s no need to drill into your bike. It just sits on the seat stay. The battery case uses the water bottle fixtures that are already on this bike. Very clever. The cadence sensor straps onto the crank and then all that’s left to do is to pop on the battery. the motor, which is secured with the lockable batwing style clamps that you see here, and then also wire the battery to the motor, which I’ll admit isn’t the prettiest. I mean, the way I’ve done it anyway. And then attach the display to the handlebars. Whilst the Kamingo kit is supposed to fit quite a few different bikes, remember that the tire size does matter. So, if it is a chunky tire, we’re talking like proper like studded mountain bikeesque tires, then it’s probably not going to fit. But, they’ve got all the details and information on their website and on their Kickstarter as well, where you can see a good breakdown of what does and doesn’t work. A whole selection of brakes are fine. There are a few that you should avoid. However, disc brakes are recommended to be the best to go with the Kamingo kit. And finally, if you do have a carbonfiber frame, don’t fit the kit. The really big seller about this kit for me is the fact that it is detachable. So, you can take the motor, you can take the battery and the display with you if you need to lock your bike up. So, you can turn it back into analog and you can almost make it less appealing to steal if you need to lock it up in public. You can take those very important components with you. Now, I will say after riding in some quite mucky terrain thanks to a lot of rain that’s come down recently with some thunderstorms that we’ve had here in London, there’s been a lot of mud that’s built up at the back of the motor where the motor clips onto the bike. So, when you take it off, you can see that there’s quite a buildup. My hands have gotten a little bit mucky taking it off. So, look, this is just what happens in the real world, okay? We can’t be riding clean, sleek roads all the time. There’s going to be some mud. The way that the display is fitted as well, it only releases off one side, which actually with the bike that I have isn’t brilliant because there are just bits in the way, like the display for the gears. So, I’ve had to like try and push it along as far as possible before the handlebars get too chunky to be able to take it on and off. So, I would like to see Kamingo maybe do a release where you can just lift it straight up top rather than left. But what’s also cool with the battery, not only is it removable and you can take it with you, but you can also use it as a power bank. So, there’s a USBC connection where you can pop your cable in and maybe even charge up your display or your cadence sensor. [Music] [Music] So the first thing I want to make very clear is although this motor does have a 750 W peak output, it is legal for the EU, the UK, it is a continuous 250 W motor that can get up to 750 W to give you a bit of boost. So I have been giving the Kamingo kit a good test ride and I have some thoughts. Now, before I go into it, I just want to quickly go over what settings and assist modes that you have available. So, first and foremost, you have the non-electric mode. So, you can release the motor from the tire. It moves up like a robotic arm and you can ride your bike like a normal analog bike. Then you have your electric assist mode where that robotic arm will come down, touch the tire, will put pressure on the tire and once you start pedaling, the cadence sensor which you attach to your crank will pick up the fact that you are pedaling and it tells the motor to start helping you assist. And then there is the third mode which is boost mode. So this is for throttle assist alone. So that means that if you live in the EU, if you’re in the UK like me, then unfortunately you’re not able to use that third mode, but you can use that if you of course live somewhere like America where throttles are legal and allowed. So the way you get that is by setting up your location in the Kamingo app. You tell it where you are located and it will allow you to use the bike as is legal in your country. When you have a standing start, it’s not like this big boost of power that you get. This is very much an in the background assist, but actually once you start to pick up speed and you get faster and faster, oh my goodness, the Kamingo kit really takes over and it makes your bike feel so lightweight. It’s made a difference, that’s for sure. And I have to say, I don’t know if you can hear, but I’m quite congested. I’ve got a summer cold and just having a little bit of assist. Even just going at these lower speeds, it’s just helping me not feel completely wiped. A few other cool pointers I’d like to mention is the fact that this kit has regenerative braking. That’s quite rare to find with an electric bike. If you don’t know what that means, say if you’re going down a hill or you’re braking, the motor will capture the kinetic energy produced and use it to charge the battery and maximize your range. Very cool. It’s also got tilt protection. So, in the unfortunate case that you topple over, the motor will cut the power when it goes over 45°. It’s time for the hill test. I know you have been waiting for this one. And I’ve chosen my usual incline that I like to come to to test my electric bikes. So, let’s see how this fares. I will say when I’ve ridden some slightly smaller inclines, there’s been not as much assist as I’d hoped for. I mean, not that it’s going to get any better on a steeper hill, but anyway, it’s time to show you. So, this is the steepest I’ve done yet. Let’s do it. And get the gearing right. We go up the hill. We start to climb. Shift the gears. And it’s taking the weight off for sure. It’s making the climb easier. It’s making it much easier than what it would be if I was not using the Kamingo kit and just using this analog bike alone. Going to shift down a gear as it gets even steeper. I mean, this is telling me I’m doing 12 km an hour. And whilst there’s still effort going through the legs, it just takes a little bit of that weight off. It’s not as torquy and not as punchy as I would like it to be, but I think that just does come down to the fact that this is a motor that is pushing your tire along from the outside. Kamigo has told me that they will be updating their kit to have a torque sensor instead of the cadencebased sensor currently installed, which should give a faster response and better climbing support. So, overall, there is assist there. But, of course, the performance will vary depending on rider weight and the incline you take on. By the way guys, if you are finding this video at all useful, please hit that like button and hit subscribe as well because you don’t want to miss out on all this electric bike content in the future. Oh no, no. So, the hill test is complete, but how does the kit fare in wet weather? Well, I accidentally found out. Just had a very brief downpour of rain on my cycle home and I am absolutely covered in water. Not just from the rain, but because of course you’re going to need a mud guard with Kamingo. One thing I will say as well, obviously we want to know how does it really fare when it comes to wet weather and I think the belt’s slipping. I mean the display was telling me at points that that I was going at about 43 km an hour, which is not the case. So I think there’s been some slippage whilst I’m riding. That said, it still assists. It still does the job. It also makes a heck of a squeak as well. as it’s trying to keep that friction against the tire. So, it’s usable, it’s workable, it is just a little bit slippy. Kamingo has responded to this to say that the slippage issues have been resolved. This rubber tire setup is a prototype, and with the final tread set, it works much better. On this trip alone, I cycled around 15 miles in total and I h haveved the batteries range. So, I’d say I’d be able to get around 25 miles on one charge. Now, yes, that is less than what Kamingo claims and they’ve told me that this is down to their prototype cadence algorithm, which is being replaced. So, I’ve been assured that the range capabilities should improve for the final version. So, now that I’ve spent some time with the kit, I think there’s definitely some points that I want to share with you guys. Now, as we all know, you can’t have a mud guard, a standard mud guard anyway when you’ve got the motor fitted. So, Kamingo do offer their own mud guard, which of course will be an additional cost, but that does mean that you’re going to be able to ride it in wet weather and not get splashes up your bum and your back and also not splashing other people as well, which is really important. One other thing that I did notice as well is that there are, of course, because this is mainly wireless, there are a lot of components that need to be kept charged up. So, you need to obviously charge up the battery, need to charge up the display, the cadence sensor, and also no, that’s everything. That’s everything. But that is something that you do need to stay on top of. For example, the display. I would like to see it have a bit more battery life. I haven’t been able to see there be a onoff button for the cadence sensor actually. So, they seem to be continuously running. So, I would like to be able to turn those off, particularly overnight when I’m not using them, so they’re not just using energy. So, that is something that I would like to see changed. Well, good news. Kamingo has heard me and will be supplying a display with a power button and will last up to 2 weeks per charge. So, no need for frequent charging. Also, it’s worth noting that Kamingo do offer 2 years of warranty. You can pay a little bit more to get 3 years, but yeah, that’s good. There’s a reason why Kamingo have already done so well with their Kickstarter and there is just a little bit time left to be able to jump onto their early bird offer. If you would like to purchase one of these kits, you can get a really nice price with their Kickstarter deal. So, make sure to head on over to their website. I’ll make sure to drop a link down below and you’ll be able to bag yourself a bit of a steal. But guys, let me know what you think down in the comments. Have you been persuaded to get a Kamingo kit? Is there anything where you’re thinking that’s just not right for me? Let’s get your thoughts and your feedback. I would love to hear from you. But anyway, that is enough from me. I’m going to get myself back home. Going to have a cup of tea and I will see you for the next one. Ciao. [Music]
Having raised over £1,000,000 already on their kickstarter in just a few weeks, Kamingo is on track to jostle up the market with their lightweight, low cost electric bike conversion kit!
I got the opportunity to spend some time with this unusual device. It takes minutes to install, is removable in seconds and doesn’t compromise your much loved analogue bike.
Let’s get into it!
00:00 The Kamingo kit
01:09 The components
02:16 The weight
03:05 The questions I’ll be answering
03:34 The build
05:05 Compatibility
05:42 A HUGE selling point
06:04 My experience
07:28 Is it legal?
07:48 Assist modes
09:37 Regenerative braking?!
10:04 Hill test
11:49 Rain test
12:56 Real world range
13:20 Important extra info!
#Kamingo #electricbikeconversionkit #electroheads
⬇️ Check out the Kamingo kit Kickstarter! ⬇️
🔗 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/280461875/kamingo-turn-your-bike-into-a-powerful-e-bike-in-10-seconds
Lumos helmet worn by Eilis:
🇬🇧 UK: 🔗 https://ridelumos.com/ELECTROHEADS
🇺🇸 USA: 🔗 https://uk.ridelumos.com/ELECTROHEADS
LUMOS DISCOUNT CODE: ELECTROHEADS
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