I've been meaning to post about my fitting and using experience for some time but decided to wait till I had done a few hundred miles.
After much reading of this forum and lots of helpful information and advice, I decided to take the plunge and ordered a kit from Cyclotricity without the pedal assist but with the 10 Ah pannier rack battery.
Though this isn't specially a review of their product I have to say they where superb to deal with. The kit is very well made, it arrived on time, very well packaged and for the price and for my requirements I find it suits me perfectly.
Prior to it's arrival I acquired a superbly made torque arm from Cyclezee, again a joy to deal with (being a bit of a belt and braces person I wanted a bit of reassurance that my alloy forks would be OK).
I have two bikes and wasn't sure which was going to get the kit but in the end I decided to put it on my Raleigh hardtail “winter” bike and maybe save my “best” bike for shorter rides which wouldn't stress my dodgy knee too much.
I found that fitting was easy by following the on line instructions and with very careful use of a file to widen the forks and a long overnight charge I was ready to go the morning after.
I can hardly describe the wonderful feeling of being able to once again cycle 20 miles plus without feeling I was damaging my knee on the pretty severe hills we have around here but was amazed how much the extra weight changes the handling characteristics of the bike.
I wasn't aware too much of having to pedal harder on the slight hills and almost no extra effort on the flat but it does make a familiar bike feel like a first time ride.
After a couple of hundred miles or so I had become quite used to the bike again, even the strange understeer effect becoming oversteer when turning under power!
My riding is mainly off road and I soon began to miss the rear suspension of my Schwinn Rocket.
Having become a complete convert to assisted cycling I realised that I would now always want to use a bike with a motor so decided to remove the kit from my Raleigh and fit it to my Schwinn.
After a bit of fiddling to fit the battery to the seat post rack and more very careful file use on the forks I was ready to go again.
I nearly took the kit straight off, my super bike which had seemed like a part of me now had a totally alien feel, however experience with the Raleigh made me persevere and now after a hundred or so more miles the bike feels fine though much less nimble and this is where the kit will stay.
Summing up,
I'm glad that I didn't fit a pedal assist system as my wish was to pedal as much as possible under my own power and just use the throttle where I need a bit of help, this works perfectly for me but may not suit some folk as much.
I love the small thumb throttle which I've fitted on the left so I can easily use the rear shifter whilst under power and have now become adept at using it gradually rather than as an on/off switch!
I didn't fit the cut off brake levers as I prefer the ones I have but I converted one of them to a “kill” switch in case the throttle ever sticks on.
I carefully followed the Cyclotricity instructions about battery charging and find that even with aggressive MTB tyres (front 35psi/rear 45 psi) I still have three green lights after 25 miles or so in very hilly terrain (I'm no lightweight either).
I could have probably managed with a smaller battery but I guess I'll have a bit spare for when the battery deteriorates over time.
I suspect that a rear motor would be slightly better in some respects as on stoney/gritty tracks I can get a bit of wheel spin as the front wheel bounces, no big deal but I think I'll be buying more front tyres than I used to.
Maybe a bottle battery would be better for weight distribution though no room on my frame for that.
To finally finish up after this rather long post, I could not be more pleased with the kit and the outcome of fitting the kit which has made it possible to continue my enjoyable hobby for a few more years.
Dave.
After much reading of this forum and lots of helpful information and advice, I decided to take the plunge and ordered a kit from Cyclotricity without the pedal assist but with the 10 Ah pannier rack battery.
Though this isn't specially a review of their product I have to say they where superb to deal with. The kit is very well made, it arrived on time, very well packaged and for the price and for my requirements I find it suits me perfectly.
Prior to it's arrival I acquired a superbly made torque arm from Cyclezee, again a joy to deal with (being a bit of a belt and braces person I wanted a bit of reassurance that my alloy forks would be OK).
I have two bikes and wasn't sure which was going to get the kit but in the end I decided to put it on my Raleigh hardtail “winter” bike and maybe save my “best” bike for shorter rides which wouldn't stress my dodgy knee too much.
I found that fitting was easy by following the on line instructions and with very careful use of a file to widen the forks and a long overnight charge I was ready to go the morning after.
I can hardly describe the wonderful feeling of being able to once again cycle 20 miles plus without feeling I was damaging my knee on the pretty severe hills we have around here but was amazed how much the extra weight changes the handling characteristics of the bike.
I wasn't aware too much of having to pedal harder on the slight hills and almost no extra effort on the flat but it does make a familiar bike feel like a first time ride.
After a couple of hundred miles or so I had become quite used to the bike again, even the strange understeer effect becoming oversteer when turning under power!
My riding is mainly off road and I soon began to miss the rear suspension of my Schwinn Rocket.
Having become a complete convert to assisted cycling I realised that I would now always want to use a bike with a motor so decided to remove the kit from my Raleigh and fit it to my Schwinn.
After a bit of fiddling to fit the battery to the seat post rack and more very careful file use on the forks I was ready to go again.
I nearly took the kit straight off, my super bike which had seemed like a part of me now had a totally alien feel, however experience with the Raleigh made me persevere and now after a hundred or so more miles the bike feels fine though much less nimble and this is where the kit will stay.
Summing up,
I'm glad that I didn't fit a pedal assist system as my wish was to pedal as much as possible under my own power and just use the throttle where I need a bit of help, this works perfectly for me but may not suit some folk as much.
I love the small thumb throttle which I've fitted on the left so I can easily use the rear shifter whilst under power and have now become adept at using it gradually rather than as an on/off switch!
I didn't fit the cut off brake levers as I prefer the ones I have but I converted one of them to a “kill” switch in case the throttle ever sticks on.
I carefully followed the Cyclotricity instructions about battery charging and find that even with aggressive MTB tyres (front 35psi/rear 45 psi) I still have three green lights after 25 miles or so in very hilly terrain (I'm no lightweight either).
I could have probably managed with a smaller battery but I guess I'll have a bit spare for when the battery deteriorates over time.
I suspect that a rear motor would be slightly better in some respects as on stoney/gritty tracks I can get a bit of wheel spin as the front wheel bounces, no big deal but I think I'll be buying more front tyres than I used to.
Maybe a bottle battery would be better for weight distribution though no room on my frame for that.
To finally finish up after this rather long post, I could not be more pleased with the kit and the outcome of fitting the kit which has made it possible to continue my enjoyable hobby for a few more years.
Dave.
