Fast Company – “When product designer Somnath Ray started commuting to work by bike to lower his carbon footprint, most of the ride was easy—but a few steep hills were so challenging that he realized that the effort might discourage other people from making the same transportation choice. He started working on a new solution: a simple attachment that temporarily converts any bicycle into an electric bike. The new design, called Clip, attaches to the front wheel of a bike in seconds. Two arms lock around the bike’s fork, and the other end connects with the front of the wheel. A tiny controller attached to the handlebars has a button that you can push to boost your bike’s speed as you pedal up a hill (its maximum speed is 15 miles per hour). The whole thing is streamlined and weighs seven pounds; a tiny, 450-watt motor sits on the front end, and the batteries are housed in the arms of the device. It’s small enough to fit inside a backpack…Clip, which will be on the market in the coming months and is available for preorder now, sells for $399, which the company hopes will make it more accessible to riders who otherwise couldn’t afford to switch to an electric bike. It also isn’t as heavy as conversion kits that have to be permanently attached, and if someone wants to use it only for certain rides, it’s easy to leave at home. The company is also in talks with bike-share companies that may lease the device to subscribers, avoiding the expense and logistical difficulties of adding electric bikes to their fleets…”