According to Notebookcheck Bikee has announced that the Lightest e-bike conversion kit is now being produced at scale. The company claim it is, "the lightest electric bicycle mid drive motor on the market."

'Lightest' in the above context is the brand name for this interesting looking retrofit kit that comes courtesy of Italy-based company Bikee. It looks an apposite tag though. The claimed motor weight is just 1.75kg for the 250W rated version. When paired with a 250Wh battery as standard, that would add 4kg to the weight of the recipient bike. There are more powerful (and non-UK legal versions) available too, which can operate at up to 1,000W. Battery options top out at 840Wh and the motor has a claimed torque of 120Nm, which is right up there with the most powerful UK legal mid-drives.    

Further stats are also impressive. Overall dimensions are 90x102x148mm. "It fits in one hand," say Bikee.

It features torque-sensing and Bikee also say it can be removed quickly to allow your bike to be used as a lighter, non-electric bike. "The motor takes off in just 5 minutes: only three bolts lock the motor in place," is the way they word it.

A so-called 'Superhero' version comes with smartphone connectivity and allied features such as 'heart sensor assist' and smartphone locking. 

The Lightest e-bike kit was first announced via an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign in 2020 but was not subsequently made widely available. It's not clear what has changed in the meantime to bring it to the stage where it can now apparently be readily ordered. Current prices for the 'Lightest' e-bike kit start at €499 with orders expected to be delivered from March 2023.  

It will be interesting to see how the Lightest kit measures up to the recently announced CYC Photon, another retrofit mid-drive kit, that we've recently covered here and here.   

> Best e-bike conversion kits - motorise the bike you already have