If you’re interested in the Swtych bike kit – full name Swytch eBike Conversion Kit – then you may have found it tricky to work out how much the darn thing costs. To further complicate things, Swytch uses a “50% off pre-order” tactic to lure potential buyers. Indeed, we know that to celebrate the launch of its updated kit it will offer 60% off for a limited time.
Read our full review of the original Swytch eBike kit
Here, having contacted the Swytch team, I’ve attempted to simplify things by giving the prices for the Universal eBike Conversion Kits.
Before we get to that, a brief note on how Swytch operates, because it is unusual. You can buy kits immediately by heading to its eBay shop, but you’ll be paying the full list price (from £999). That means you avoid the considerable wait, but at quite a cost.
Instead, it sells most of its kits by attracting people onto its “waitlist”, which you sign up to via its website. This entitles you to the 50% (or 60%) off I mention above. Every couple of months, it releases a batch of kits that people can then buy.
I hope that makes sense. I find it needlessly complicated, but it seems to be working for the company.
How much is the Swytch Universal eBike Conversion Kit?
Swytch provides two versions of its Universal eBike Conversion Kit: the ECO and the PRO. They cost £999 and £1,249 respectively, but if you indicate your interest on the website you will be offered 50% off pre-orders.
As such, here’s the real answer to question “how much is the Swytch eBike?”: from £399. Or at least, it is while the 60% offer lasts.
To be precise, the price of the Swytch AIR is £399, a “saving” of £600 from the standard price of £999. The price of the Swytch MAX is £524, down from the list price of £1,299.
If you own one of the Swytch kits, you can order an upgrade kit for £249 (from a list price of £599).
So, which should you choose? Here’s an easy comparison of the two:
| Model | Swytch AIR | Swytch MAX |
| UK price (with 50% off) | £399 | £524 |
| Range | Up to 15km | Up to 30km |
| Power | 250W | 500W |
| Weight | 700g | 1.1kg |
Note that Swytch reserves the right to adjust the pricing – it officially announces the price to everyone on the “waitlist” at the same time – but it has been stable at those prices for some time.
The other thing to note is that it can take up to 12 weeks to receive your unit. If you want it right now, you’ll need to pay the full price via the eBay store I link to above.
How much is the Swytch Brompton Kit?
Swytch previously designed a special version of its kit for the Brompton folding bikes, squeezing the motor into the forks so it can fold as normal. We await confirmation, but it appears that the new kit will also work with Brompton bikes with no need for a special edition.
I hope to answer the question of whether the Swytch Universal Conversion Kit is worth the money in my review, but feel dutybound to point out that you can buy “proper” eBikes such as the Pure Flux One for less than a grand.
UPDATE 3 January 2022: I have now published my full review of the Swytch eBike kit.
UPDATE 14/15 September 2022: This article now includes updates for the new version of the Swtych kit.
I love my Swytch kit! It’s literally changed my life – Its such a great piece of kit and now I can cycle to work with no issues
I just took out my Swytch-converted bike for the first time today and it was a blast. I had some issues with getting the motor wheel axle to fit in the slots in my front forks which required a LOT of rasp and file work to get it to fit, and the button near the charging port that you need to push to actuate the battery pack (one time only) required too much fumbling around trying to find it; it’s basically invisible. Swytch would do well to put a little dab of white paint on it so you can see it.
Other than that, assembly is very straightforward and well-laid out in the manual. It took several hours (for me) to get everything installed just so and I was elated that the power boost kicked in on the first try. Most of my riding hasn’t required me to run the battery beyond the 2nd or 3rd boost level, and that’s been fine. I did try it in the higher positions and frankly, I didn’t notice a huge difference. On the other hand I’ve not tried riding it up any kind of a steep incline- maybe it will surprise me and zip me right up that hill. Otherwise, I think the kit is well worth the price.
Thanks Bill. I know that Swytch read these posts so maybe they will take note of your comment about the dab of white paint. In other news, I’ve now written the full review of the kit and can confirm it will definitely get you up that steep incline!
It’s exspensive. I am thinking that the govt could do with giving us a hand in switching to all things electric. Maybe I will raise it .
I wish they’d have a program that helps disabled people like me who have a very limited income. I would love to try it but can’t afford it. I could sure use this since I suffered 2 heart attacks 6 months ago.
I bought a Universal Swytch Kit in 2021 and I have not been able to use it because of the one after another problem with the bracket, the power pack, and Swytch ignores my emails.
It’s a shame that the wiring inside the battery pack is so unreliable. The cable which goes in the yellow connector gets disconnected whilst riding and opening and closing the battery pack for reconnecting the wires is very difficult as the cover is extremely tight.
I’ve read about this and am very much wanting to get one since my car accident has left me physically unable to drive a car anymore. I can only operate a bicycle now to get to my job and the grocery store. But unfortunately my physical condition has been slowly deteriorating over the years and I’m desperately in need of a kit like this since my bicycle is especially fitted for my medical needs due to kindness and talent of my incredibly helpful neighbor Tom (for which I would be homeless now if it wasn’t for him). But again I am facing homelessness again here soon if I can’t find a way to get an electric kit for my bike (since it is getting way too difficult for me to turn the pedals more than a few minutes at a time). My neighbor Tom offered to help me financially to get a kit like this, but unfortunately he passed away in a car accident just a few days after he made the offer. Now I’m hoping the government will make some type of program to help people like me to financially afford a Swytch kit or something similar that is easy enough to install ourselves like the Swytch kit offers… in my case it’s imperative to my survival but even $100 out of my own pocket would be beyond my budget. I’m asking anyone and everyone to please help in any legislature efforts that would make it possible for people like myself to receive the financial assistance to get a kit like this for our medically outfitted (or altered) bicycles. Thank you. If anyone can point me in the right direction for my own needs please feel free to reply to me. Again, Thank you.
-Daniel Alan Monroe
(Same name with (AT)gmail(DOT)com appended to contact me)
For the money that it would cost in Canadian Dollars ($760 for the ECO) it’s not worth the aggravation if something doesn’t work properly. I don’t have anyone who could help me fiddle a fix. It all needs to work flawlessly from the get go. Looking at the comments below, that doesn’t seem so good.
I have a basket in the front of my bike, can this kit work?
Hi Tim,
When you say 15km or 30km, can I take it that’s assisted time – so if you went a 60km trip you could use this for the uphills only? Otherwise it seems a very limited distance.