New range of Cytronex bikes

[matt-derby]

Cytronex bike line up

Hi

Mike63 I much preferred the Trek which is a terrific bike in it's own right.
Despite the fact that all the other manufacturers appear to be fitting front suspension Cytronex does not offer this on any of it's models.

Mark mentioned that kits will be available in the next batch of systems he is receiving later in this summer, so fitting this to any bike with similar set-ups to the existing line-ups with suspension would achieve this. The downside of course is that you would really not be using the bike until next season. However, we could always buy a standard bike now and retro-fit it when possible. Getting fitter in the process!

I have also some concerns of the new Cytronex line-up. The Trek range before were similar in cost.. Some of the bikes in the new line-up seem better value than others, the Claude Butler being the best of the bunch!

 

[Clarkey]

This line-up, especially the single speeders, looks pretty much like just what I am interested in (I am the person after an electric fixie). The sheer number of models being made available must surely indicate that a kit is nearly ready?

 

[Annex]

I am looking forward to getting a Cytronex kit and let it be installed e.g. on a TREK, like 7.3 FX. The kit is to be availabe mid summer, but I don´t know its price.

My need is commuting (12 miles) on a flat paved surface. I hope to make this 12 miles in 40 minutes assisted and still feel like I had cycled only 6 miles. Is my wish realistic? Maybe those of you who are experienced pedelec drives can describe how the pedelec easies your rides.

-Annex

 

[HarryB]

I am looking forward to getting a Cytronex kit and let it be installed e.g. on a TREK, like 7.3 FX. The kit is to be availabe mid summer, but I don´t know its price.

My need is commuting (12 miles) on a flat paved surface. I hope to make this 12 miles in 40 minutes assisted and still feel like I had cycled only 6 miles. Is my wish realistic? Maybe those of you who are experienced pedelec drives can describe how the pedelec easies your rides.

-Annex

No I don't think you are being realistic as you will spend a lot of time above 15 mph, the bike provides no assistance at the sort of speeds you will need to go at. So you will feel like you have cycled 12 miles, you may even feel like you have travelled more than 12 miles! Most people seem to average around the 12-13 mph on their cytronexes,

 

[wibble]

I am looking forward to getting a Cytronex kit and let it be installed e.g. on a TREK, like 7.3 FX. The kit is to be availabe mid summer, but I don´t know its price.

My need is commuting (12 miles) on a flat paved surface. I hope to make this 12 miles in 40 minutes assisted and still feel like I had cycled only 6 miles. Is my wish realistic? Maybe those of you who are experienced pedelec drives can describe how the pedelec easies your rides.

-Annex

I think the whole point of an ebike isn't to make you go faster, but rather to flatten out those hills. So if you've no hills then you're probably gonna be better off sticking to a regular bike.

Although the wind can be a real drag on the flat and so maybe an ebike could help you out there. Perhaps you're on the coast with a nasty wind?.

 

[Annex]

Thanks HarryB for your correction. I was unprecise: I am not intending to cycle more than 15 mph. I could not in my present condition. Assisted at 15 mph my ride will take 45 minutes. With normal unassisted bike last summer I did about 60 minutes but. Now it would prolly take more.

So with maximal assistance and no traffic lights (I do have few) I could reach to work in 45 minutes. Then I would feel I have ridden only 75% of my real range (45 minutes out of 60 minutes), wouldn´t I? Is this more realistic now ?

 

[Annex]

I think the whole point of an ebike isn't to make you go faster, but rather to flatten out those hills. So if you've no hills then you're probably gonna be better off sticking to a regular bike.

Although the wind can be a real drag on the flat and so maybe an ebike could help you out there. Perhaps you're on the coast with a nasty wind?.

Wibbles,
I am on the coast of the Bothnian Sea, but I have cycled here so little so far that I think it is the mileage, where I need assistance, not the wind. Wind is the same as hills, both take muscle power and endurance, which I am lacking both.

Maybe I have read too many ads: I want to make cycling easier (yes!) with assistance. To not feel exhausted at the end of day. Is this not realistic?

With a normal bike I can do the trip, but preferably not twice a day. I did it last summer less 5 times.

-Annex, middle-aged and not fit, wanting to use a motor as a personal trainer

 

[wibble]

Wibbles,
I am on the coast of the Bothnian Sea, but I have cycled here so little so far that I think it is the mileage, where I need assistance, not the wind. Wind is the same as hills, both take muscle power and endurance, which I am lacking both.

Maybe I have read too many ads: I want to make cycling easier (yes!) with assistance. To not feel exhausted at the end of day. Is this not realistic?

With a normal bike I can do the trip, but preferably not twice a day. I did it last summer less 5 times.

-Annex, middle-aged and not fit, wanting to use a motor as a personal trainer

Oh they'll definitely assist you and take a lot of the effort away. It's just that with your earlier post I was under the impression that you was wanting an ebike for extra speed.

But if you're happy to relax and coast along at 15 mph then they're great.

 

[JohnInStockie]

But if you do run out of juice then it's not really a problem with a Cytronex. Whereas on most other ebikes you're left with no option but to get off and push it up the hills.

I tthink thats a little harsh Wibble, I have never needed to push an ebike Ive owned, except the Twist when the tyre exploded!!

With the easy ride and gearing, I guarantee I will never need to push the Pro Connect, no matter what the conditions are.

 

[JohnInStockie]

I am looking forward to getting a Cytronex kit and let it be installed e.g. on a TREK, like 7.3 FX. The kit is to be availabe mid summer, but I don´t know its price.

My need is commuting (12 miles) on a flat paved surface. I hope to make this 12 miles in 40 minutes assisted and still feel like I had cycled only 6 miles. Is my wish realistic? Maybe those of you who are experienced pedelec drives can describe how the pedelec easies your rides.

-Annex

As Harry correctly said, it all depends on the rider, after all these are power assisted bikes. You really ought to try out a few bikes first. On my Pro Connect I do my 11 mile route in between 37 and 45 minutes depending on wind and conditions.

My Average speed since March according to my comp is 14.9 mph.

But I do have an 18tooth adjustment

John

 

[wibble]

I tthink thats a little harsh Wibble, I have never needed to push an ebike Ive owned, except the Twist when the tyre exploded!!

With the easy ride and gearing, I guarantee I will never need to push the Pro Connect, no matter what the conditions are.

You can still manage to comfortably ride your ebike up a hill when your battery is dead?.

When my Wisper battery ran flat it was no longer practical to try to pedal it up a hill. The effort required made it pointless. After all, we buy ebikes to make going uphill easier, not harder!

 

[JohnInStockie]

You can still manage to comfortably ride your ebike up a hill when your battery is dead?.

No, I dont think the word 'comfortably' would be in the sentence describing that. On the flat, no probs, comfortable, and uphill very slowly like a normal bike with a little bit of extra drag.

After all, we buy ebikes to make going uphill easier, not harder!

He he, although I know someone who did just that. They hadnt worked out the nature of the 'pedelec' mode on the Torq and rode around for a short while without using any power at all.

 

[Annex]

You really ought to try out a few bikes first. On my Pro Connect I do my 11 mile route in between 37 and 45 minutes depending on wind and conditions.
My Average speed since March according to my comp is 14.9 mph.
But I do have an 18tooth adjustment
John

I have tried only Helkama 2800EZ, which looks like ProConnect in some aspects: at least the battery looks the same. It has a freewheel and 8 hub gears. Weight is 28 kg, which I´d rather not drive with no assistance. With my short testing I cannot say, how light the driving would be on my way. Maybe my first wish that pedelec would save ½ of my energy consumption was too optimistic. But John, I would be happy to reach your results How much has the Pro Connect helped you regarding the time you use for you 11 mile route?

-Annex

 

[JohnInStockie]

Hi Annex

It has helped quite a bit, and continues to do so. For ref, I think the Pro Connect comes in at about 20.5Kgs, so is considerably lighter than the other bike you tried. I can do my commute roughly about the same time in a car.

I've altered the way I ride, I keep trying to increase my cadence. The Panasonic system helps from a very low 40 upto a fairly low 65, meaning that if you are on a leisurely ride, you can ride moderately without putting hardly any effort in, on the other hand as I am commuting, I tend to only use the power to get to and stay at top speed, for which the Pro Connect is perfectly designed to do.

Ive riden without the power on, and in low mode on a number of occasions, and also at lower and higher cadences. I find the big difference is the speed that you get to top end cruising speed AND the control that you have over the speed via the driver through gears effect.

Its very easy to take the wheels off too if you need to and the Nexus Inter 8 is an excellent piece of kit with 307% range and next to no maintenance, and the overall quality of the bike is superb.

Hope that helps

John

 

[Mark/Cytronex]

Cytronex Range

Just seen this thread so thought I would just answer a few points.

The single speed bikes were developed for London, where the manual variety is extremely popular, especially with couriers. With a single speed there is nothing to think about so you are free to concentrate on the traffic, they are more robust and have less maintenance issues and whilst you lose efficiency through lack of gearing you gain it through the perfect chain line. Also in town where the ride is stop, start there are efficiency losses whilst constantly changing gear and this is another reason why single speed is popular.

The problem with single speed is that hills generally aren't an option, until now. Also acceleration can be sluggish on a manual single speed. This is why we developed the Cytronex version. We produced a prototype first, not sure how it would feel, but none of us were in any doubt after the first ride that it will be a big hit.

The single speeds just have one latching on/off button, if you are weaving through stationery traffic and need slow control you switch it off, but at other times you can leave it on. When you start pedalling you feel the power kick in, basically it will push at whatever speed you are doing up to the maximum speed.

The only way to really see what it is about is to try it. Even though my commute is hilly and there aren't many junctions I have been riding the single speed bikes since Presteigne because I just love them.

So can they climb hills? To prove the point I entered the Presteigne hill climb on a road legal Genesis Day One single speed and I think at 8th place out of 21 I was probably the first road legal ebike to finish?

Still single speed won't suit everyone and I appreciate that we still need to add front suspension to the range, which we are working on.

I think it is a fair point to say that I enjoy the creative process of developing Cytronex, and I apologise to those customers who became frustrated at the wait. It is also true that several of my friends have Cytronex Powered bikes and I constantly get teased for not producing them on a large scale. However, I am a marketing professional, and the real reason is that I want to get the product to the stage where it can be properly mass produced first. We introduced the new range because a lot of people had been waiting, so the bikes are still hand built at a very slow and careful rate. The kit will allow us to produce on a much larger scale, but it has been delayed until late summer to ensure that it is very easy to fit, retains the high aesthetic standards, is compatible with a wide range of bikes and can be legally supplied in the many countries around the world from which we receive enquiries. I also want to produce as many components as possible in the UK.

As for whether we will be around in years to come, the answer is emphatically yes - we aren't going anywhere! We have a number of other successful businesses including a dental practice (Sam is a dentist) and internet shops (we sell thousands of electric toothbrushes a year, for example). This is what has allowed me to concentrate on developing a world beating product rather than being distracted by having to keep building what we have to keep cash flow up. The ebike business is my passion and Cytronex is here to stay.

Hope this answer some questions and sorry I don't have much time to keep in touch.

Regards,

Mark

 

[Clarkey]

Well the single speeds sound just fine to me. Once I get the horror of moving house out of the way I will scoot down to Winchester and beg a go!

When a kit is available I hope it will be going straight on to my Soma Rush.

 

[winterdog]

so mark when is the Cytronex IPO

 

[Barnowl]

so mark when is the Cytronex IPO

Initial Public Offering? LIY I believe

Clarkey,

Soma Rush sounds great. I'd love one. I'm sure some Soma fans would cringe at the thought though. I wouldn't.

Interested to see it. Post some pics if you do the dirty.

 

[Clarkey]

Initial Public Offering? LIY I believe

Clarkey,

Soma Rush sounds great. I'd love one. I'm sure some Soma fans would cringe at the thought though. I wouldn't.

Interested to see it. Post some pics if you do the dirty.

Yes, I am sure that many would, indeed, cringe at the thought. I just have it in my head that it could be made into something quite special with a suitable motor. I want to 'bowl along' at a silent and relaxed 15mph cruise using a rather higher gear than I would otherwise choose. The motor would be there to add a bit of grunt .

I have no objection to spinning (I have a couple of F-frame Moultons which absolutely require it!) but when I lived abroad I had an old clunker town bike with a huge fixed gear (about 85"). Fortunately it was totally flat where I lived but I just loved the feeling of cruising along with a slow cadence, however inefficient it is in reality.

 

[CheKmx]

Trek Soho?

These look very interesting but I'd be tempted by something like the new trek soho with a cytronex kit. I think the combination of low maintenance hub gear and belt drive with the electric assist would make an excellent all year commuter.