Just landed with my Cyclotricity Stealth 1000W

[PH001]

Hi all,

Just wanted to check in and say hello on what seems like an excellent forum. Just got my first pedelec yesterday as per title and was putting it together in the garage last night. I was looking at the Stealth for some time..mainly because I just like the styling but somewhat disappointed to discover that Cyclotricity have put the price up by over £200 for the 2016 model with only very slight improvements:

• Larger 52T front sprocket (up from 48)
• Marginally better forks (SR Suntour rather than Zoom), but the Suntour is pretty rubbish tbh, so god knows how bad the Zoom were!
• Slight higher spec disc brakes (but still bargain basement)
• USB port on battery
• Hard paint for decals rather than stickers
• Wider handlebars
• Thumb throttle removed (but can be purchased as an optional extra)

I don't really see that warrants a >20% price increase but it's still reasonable value for money at just short of £1,300 so took the plunge anyway.

Obviously very early days yet but initial impressions are this is a £150 bike with about £700 worth of kit on it. The battery and motor all seem good quality - the ride is about what you'd expect from a £150 bike, but most of the components are pretty easy to upgrade if you desire.

The 52T front sprocket is a welcome change but it really would be better with two sprockets up front. I still have mine restricted to 250W at mo as I'm mainly doing road riding but I do have the benefit of a huge disused quarry only a couple of miles away so looking forward to the full fat 1000W bombing around there.

Probably contrary to most people I don't intend to run it at 1000W on the road - to be honest it doesn't warrant it as 250W seems perfectly adequate if you are a reasonable fitness level. I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to pedal on the flat with the motor completely off - I was expecting more drag but there doesn't seem to be any I can feel. Going up an incline will be another matter due to the weight!

So will report back in a few days when I have really got to grips with it and unlocked full power. They are quite fun aren't they!!!

 

[Alan Quay]

Hi PH,

Welcome to the forum.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[dinger19]

Welcome to the mad world of pedelecs and enjoy your new ride.

 

[PH001]

Thanks for the welcome. So I headed down to the quarry last night and tried out the 1000W mode...yeh, big difference!!! Hits 30mph on the flat in about 15 seconds (and that was gravel too). The one thing that did come to light is that the cable disc brakes are woefully inadequate for 1000W, so my first upgrade will be putting some decent quality hydraulic ones on.

This does mean I will lose the motor disconnect while braking but who on earth pedals and brakes at the same time anyway????

 

[Artstu]

This does mean I will lose the motor disconnect while braking but who on earth pedals and brakes at the same time anyway????

It's a safety cut-out, early bikes needed them as the motors continued to power for a couple of seconds after stopping pedalling, and a dab of the brake was required to kill the power. If yours cuts out instantly there is no need, although you have to wonder what would happen if there was a malfunction. Then again my Bosch bike has no such safety cut-outs either.

 

[trex]

the throttle may jam.

 

[PH001]

It doesn't have a throttle, but yes I agree with you Artstu, it's probably a safety thing for CE in the event of a single fault condition. Then again, it's not hard to stop the motor with a decent hydraulic setup. Like you say, there are loads of ebikes out there that don't have switches on the brakes.

 

[Yamdude]

Brake cut out switches are for wimps......
Chuck Norris would never fit them....... i think that says it all.

 

[cibaker1]

I too am loving the 1000w Stealth, I have only had it for a short time but have covered over 250 miles (mainly off road) so far. I agree that the brakes could be better as I am already on my second set of pads, although to be fair I am very heavy and some of the riding I have done involves some very steep descents down a mountain side. The power cut out though is important as the power does not stop the instant you cease pedaling. The only other things that lets the bike down is the lack of gears for when your battery dies and the battery life itself. To be fair though as I have said I am a heavy rider and most of the time I am tackling steep inclines off road. I am currently achieving around 22 miles in 250W mode but only around 12 miles in 1000W. The throttle is very useful when starting on a slope. I do find that I am having to tighten the rear spokes quite often.
The Stealth is a smashing looking bike at a reasonable price but is let down by some poor quality components however, these can be upgraded over time.