Why Electric Assist?
Say goodbye to gridlock and say hello to your bike lock.
Move faster, further, higher and longer with as little or as much effort as you want. Sweat free rides are here to stay. An electrified city or cargo bike will keep you fresh and clean even in the sweltering heat of the summer. Public transit too crowded for you? For the price of a monthly bus pass you can finance your own electric city bike. Break free from the ever increasing traffic congestion that plagues our cities and roll in quiet and comfortable bliss as you pass the masses trapped in their steel cages.
From a gentle tail wind to no effort hill climbing, Urkai pedal assist bicycles will keep you smiling the whole way whatever your destination. Urkai has pedal electric (pedelec) packages that can give you full assistance for up to 40 Km and partial assistance for over 140 Km on a single charge. Speaking of a single charge, all of our battery options can be charged for less than a nickel!!!
The efficiency of these bikes is unsurpassed, an electric bicycle can obtain the equivalent of approximately 800 Mpg or about 0.3 L/100 Km, if you pedal equally as hard as the motor, these numbers double!!! Electrification makes your trips effortless and efficient, not to mention extremely cost effective. The ability to pull up to the front door of almost any location and have free secure parking is another massive two fold (time & money) benefit of bicycle electrification.
At Urkai, we have a unique position in the pedal electric market because our super strong, steel framed European bikes, lend well to the added stresses that occur when placing a motor and battery on a bicycle. Not only are our bicycles strong enough to handle the added weight and torque of electrification, but they also have greater cargo capacity to accept all of your regular items as well as the electrical components.
The European bike is the perfect blank canvas for creating your electric bike masterpiece. There are two different methods of electrification that we use at Urkai. Both systems are fairly similar, they both have a motor, battery and a controller to make sense of it all. The systems differ by where the motor is placed, either in the front wheel hub or at the crank (mid-drive).
Both of these systems can be applied to any of our bicycles with either little or no modification whatsoever. These can also be fitted to most* other bicycles with slight to moderate modification (*to see if your bike qualifies please contact us).
Urkai is fully compliant with Federal and Provincial legislations for pedelec bikes. Our electrified bicycles are fitted with motors no greater than 500 watts and are speed limited to 32Km/h. Helmets must be worn when on an electric bicycle and operators must be at least 16 years in age.
Bicycle Electrification Options
The most popular choice for European bikes.
Our most simple system has a motor placed in the front wheel hub. This discreet application is barely noticeable as bikes that have a front roller brake and hub dynamos are essentially identical in size to a front hub motor. The quiet and efficient operation of a front hub motor is perfectly suited for installation on a city bike and is the most modestly priced method to electrify a bike.
This front wheel hub motor setup is sufficient for 80% of our customers. A 36 Volt, 250 Watt geared motor and a controller that allows adjustable levels of assist. Capable of pulling the bike up to 32 Km/h, on the highest setting it will feel like you have a strong tail wind and it can be turned off to freewheel with little resistance.. This package is similar to the current OEM version from Azor and the previous Bakfiets.nl setup.
All but the biggest hills and loads can be tackled by this setup. Roller brake compatiblity makes this option a no brainer with any Azor, Eendracht or Bakfiets.nl bicycle. If you require a little more power please look at the Heavy Duty option. Motor and controller packages starting at $699.99 and batteries from $649.99 plus installation.