First ride review: Skarper e-bike conversion kit. After 3 years in development and £12.8m of investment, it's finally ready

With an investment of £12.8m, 3 years to engineer and involvement from Red Bull Advanced Technologies and Sir Chris Hoy. Was it worth the wait?

a small compact e-bike conversion system housing everything it needs and mounts on the Chainstay of the bike
(Image credit: Skarper)

It is a biblically wet London afternoon, forget Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell in Four Weddings and a Funeral. I am picking my way through a grey and cold Camden Town, having to choose if I want to be splashed by taxis or have my eyes poked out by umbrella-wielding tourists. I am heading for a quiet mews just off the main thoroughfare and away from the famous market to visit Skarper.

Skarper’s e-bike conversion kit has been in development for three years but will soon be available to the general public. To make it possible, the company teamed up with Red Bull Racing’s Advanced Technologies department and raised £12.8m of investment. Skarper also has the backing of Olympic gold medalist Sir Chris Hoy, who devastatingly announced his terminal cancer diagnosis this week.

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