New Ctyronex Models

[Pedalo]

I see on the Cytronex web site a couple of new models have been added to the range:
Cannondale Quick 8 (which has hub gears) and a Cannondale Quick CX700.

The Ridgeback cyclone looks to have been discontinued.

Not sure where these new bikes fit in the range price wise but both have a weight of 17.25Kg so presumably they are at the lower end.


(D'oh - spelling mistake in title which I can't seem to edit!)

 

[matt-derby]

Cytronex

Ridgeback is still there, scroll across to right to see capo and cyclone in right hand column.

Interesting to see a hub geared offering from them, I'd have thought the Alfine would have been a nice option.

Looks like the line-up is heading towards a single brand too like the original Trek versions.

Looking forward to Presteigne!

 

[Pedalo]

Ridgeback is still there, scroll across to right to see capo and cyclone in right hand column.

Interesting to see a hub geared offering from them, I'd have thought the Alfine would have been a nice option.

Looks like the line-up is heading towards a single brand too like the original Trek versions.

Looking forward to Presteigne!

The No-hills Cytronex shop website is showing the Ridgeback as 'no longer available' so pretty sure it's been discontinued. I wonder if the Claud Butler will also be discontinued as soon as current stock is sold. I agree there does definitely seem to be a Canondale bias...

 

[eddieo]

Cannondale Quick 8 looks a nice bike. why do they use the nexus hub rather then the Alfine 8 do you think...probably price I guess.

no prices of bikes of cytronex site, is that not a bit odd.

 

[HarryB]

Cannondale Quick 8 looks a nice bike. why do they use the nexus hub rather then the Alfine 8 do you think...probably price I guess.

no prices of bikes of cytronex site, is that not a bit odd.

We think that the Alfine is more to do with branding as the Nexus 8 is now the premium version of the 8 speed (the regular 8 speed having been discontinued) so you are not losing anything - certainly they seem to be about the same price at about £150.

The bikes have only just gone on the website so they haven't got a price yet. Maybe Mark could enlighten us?

 

[eddieo]

its a bit confusing as there ia a red line? version of the nexus.....I always thought the alfine 8 was supposed to be the better hub

 

[HarryB]

its a bit confusing as there ia a red line? version of the nexus.....I always thought the alfine 8 was supposed to be the better hub

I agree, very confusing. I think the reason that Mark is sticking with the Canondales is that they work very well with his kit. Recently I was looking at a replacement bicycle, Afine hub etc. Some I looked at had the gear/brake cables running down the downtube where the Cytronex has its main cable run so would be incompatable.

 

[flecc]

its a bit confusing as there ia a red line? version of the nexus.....I always thought the alfine 8 was supposed to be the better hub

Actually Alfine is the system, a co-ordinated set of best matched and quality components, the changers being an important part of this. I think the 8 speed hub in the Alfine system is the Premium one.

Shimano have now confused this by starting to call the hubs Alfine too.
.

 

[eddieo]

"Confused things" your not kidding

do you think the nexus geared quick 8 will be good enough?

it looks good in this add (not 8 model)

YouTube - Cannondale Quick Infomercial

 

[Lloyd]

Nexus inter-8 is the standard hub gear setup, follwing on from the 7 speed. Then they released the inter-8 'red band'. This is the premium version. Then they released Alfine, there are many arguments about what the differences are between red band and alfine, but as far as I am aware the important differences are Alfine has centre lock disc mounts, and is spangly silver. Also alfine shifters are rapidfire, nexus inter-8's seem to come OE with twist grip, although I am unsure as to if they are compatible with each other. Also the flange arrangement and spoke hole combinations differ on the Alfine. Oh and the red band has a red sticker on it

 

[eddieo]

thanks Lloyd for clearing that up!

 

[Pedalo]

Anyone know what the gearing range on the Quick 8 is likely to be compared to my Trek? I've seen figures of 300% vs 500% talked about for Hub vs Deraileur but would you expect that 300% range sit roughly in the middle of the 500% range or at the top or bottom?

On my Trek I nearly always stick to the front middle chainring and only very occasionally switch to the lower one when going up a steep hill. If the hub gears are at the low or middle end of my current range I'm thinking they would suit me quite well. Also I often ride in quite wet and muddy conditions and I think they'd be better suited for this.

 

[flecc]

If the hub gears are at the low or middle end of my current range I'm thinking they would suit me quite well.

You can place the hub gear range wherever you like with a simple change of the one cheap rear sprocket. They are typically available from 16 to 24 teeth for Shimano hubs.
.

 

[Lloyd]

Do you know what the sprocket sizes are? That's what it will come down to in the end, you can change where in the spectrum the gear ratio sits by changing chainring/sprocket. Bigger rear will bring the range into the lower end, and vice versa. Bigger on the front brings the gear range higher, and vice versa. The 'range' (referring to the fixed spread of potentiol gears, ie. 300%) will remain the same, as that is fixed within the hub. You can just tailor the start/finish point by changing the sprockets.

Something else to bear in mind, alot of the gears on a triple chainset setup will 'cross over', by that I mean some gear combinations on a derallieur setup will duplicate the end result.

Generally speaking though, you will find hub setups out of the box will be somewhere comfortably in the middle of a derallieur gear range, you will loose the very top and very bottom end of the range.

 

[Lloyd]

Sorry bit of a crossed reply there. Whoopsy.

 

[Pedalo]

You can place the hub gear range wherever you like with a simple change of the one cheap rear sprocket. They are typically available from 16 to 24 teeth for Shimano hubs.
.

Thanks Flecc (& Lloyd).

Looking back at the specs of the Quick 8 again it says the rear cog is 18 teeth. If they are normally available from 16-24 teeth presumably 18 teeth places the default configuration quite high. Good that it can be easily changed though.

 

[flecc]

Sorry bit of a crossed reply there. Whoopsy.

No problem Lloyd, I think second opinions are always good and reassuring to questioners.
.

 

[Pedalo]

Though thinking more I guess it also depends on how many teeth on the front crank (which is a 'Truvativ FiveD 1.0').

 

[Lloyd]

It really is simple once you got the hang of it! What is the front ring size? That will make a bigger difference. You can also drop down to a 14 or 13t rear sprocket, but this means some playing around as I could only find a Sturmey sprocket when I did mine (they were not offset like the shimano ones), but with a little jiggery-pokery it can be done, the end result with a 44t front ring meant my cadence matched the 30mph 'on the flat' top speed of the 'Project X' Kalkhoff I used to run. Don't expect to climb many hills though running that combo.......

 

[Lloyd]

I really am too slow at typing