Those who have seen my other thread will know that I ordered a Trek-Cytronex at Presteigne from Mark and Sam of No-Hills.com (http://www.no-hills.com/). The bike is basically a Trek 7.3 FX hybrid with a Tongxin motor in the front hub. For those who haven’t seen the discussion over the past couple of weeks, this is basically the same motor as used in the well regarded Brompton Nano marketed by Tony Castles but there has been some debate about the reliability of the controller supplied by Tongxin. My own research suggests that the problems were associated with a limited number of controllers and seem now to have been resolved. Anyway, if I have any problems, I promise to tell you all.
So, before I describe the bike and the ride, let me dispel any myth that I might actually be fit that could have arisen from my admission on the other thread that I used to race competitively. I did, but that was 40 years ago! I rode a few time trials, either on a tandem or as two-ups with my sons when they were starting to race themselves (the last about 6 years ago), but rapidly stopped when I could no longer keep up with them! Add to that, the fact that I have just emerged from 4 years (hopefully successful) treatment for prostate cancer and that I am currently 2 stone overweight, and you will begin to get the picture.
When I picked up the bikes this morning, Mark warned me that one of the two batteries had not been through the three charging cycles necessary to get them up to full power. So, having charged them both on the small intelligent chargers supplied, I gallantly put that one on my wife’s bike!
We set out for a country pub about 5 miles away, by a route that was designed to be as hilly as I could make it. The whoop of joy and smile on Lynne’s face said all that needed to be said as she cut the motor in on the first hill. The motor actually takes about half a second to make itself felt as it is “sensorless” and relies on the back EMF to tell it what it is supposed to be doing. The Trek doesn’t have a throttle, but a two speed switch. The first speed tries to take you along at about 12.5 mph (I think…… Mark will correct, I’m sure) the second speed wants to take you to the legal maximum of about 16.5 mph. What speed you actually do depends upon the steepness of the hill and how much effort you put in. On the flat, it will simply cruise along at those speeds without assistance from the rider (but what’s the point of that!). The slightest touch on the brake activates a microswitch that cuts the motor out instantly.
After pub No 1, we proceeded to pub No 2, chosen because the way home would then involve about 600 yds of a 1in 6 hill. Suitable fortified by the second pint, we were ready to tackle the hill. I went up it at about 8 mph with little effort and never out of the big chainring. On this particularly tough hill, the speed chosen for the motor seemed to make little difference to the final speed achieved.
The battery that hadn’t been pre-charged (and Mark had warned us would be “pants”) started to fail at 15 miles. Mine was still going strong, but I was determined to discharge it so I set off on a small local loop taking in the best hills I could find. I also set the motor permanently on full power. It began to weaken at 18 miles, so the claimed range of 20 miles seems feasible with less extreme treatment. I suspect the Welsh hills for which these bikes are destined may necessitate spare batteries, but I thought this would be the case when I first settled on the bike. The batteries fully re-charge in about 90mins by the way, but you don’t get any LED display of how much charge is left so it pays to keep an eye on how many miles you have done.
So the bottom line is that I really love these bikes so far. They are light (at 17Kg including batteries – most manufacturers I discover quote weights without batteries). They look and feel like a normal bike, which matters to me. Most other cyclists probably won’t even realise that you have motor assistance! My ride averaged 12.3 mph on hilly terrain. Maximum speed was 25.3 mph and I could happily maintain 17-18 mph on the flat – a speed at which the motor does no work, so I guess I could leave it on all the time.
I will post further impressions when I’ve had another outing, but I know that I have the first two bikes that Mark has sold so, if you have any specific questions, I will try to answer them.
Happy cycling,
Chris
So, before I describe the bike and the ride, let me dispel any myth that I might actually be fit that could have arisen from my admission on the other thread that I used to race competitively. I did, but that was 40 years ago! I rode a few time trials, either on a tandem or as two-ups with my sons when they were starting to race themselves (the last about 6 years ago), but rapidly stopped when I could no longer keep up with them! Add to that, the fact that I have just emerged from 4 years (hopefully successful) treatment for prostate cancer and that I am currently 2 stone overweight, and you will begin to get the picture.
When I picked up the bikes this morning, Mark warned me that one of the two batteries had not been through the three charging cycles necessary to get them up to full power. So, having charged them both on the small intelligent chargers supplied, I gallantly put that one on my wife’s bike!
We set out for a country pub about 5 miles away, by a route that was designed to be as hilly as I could make it. The whoop of joy and smile on Lynne’s face said all that needed to be said as she cut the motor in on the first hill. The motor actually takes about half a second to make itself felt as it is “sensorless” and relies on the back EMF to tell it what it is supposed to be doing. The Trek doesn’t have a throttle, but a two speed switch. The first speed tries to take you along at about 12.5 mph (I think…… Mark will correct, I’m sure) the second speed wants to take you to the legal maximum of about 16.5 mph. What speed you actually do depends upon the steepness of the hill and how much effort you put in. On the flat, it will simply cruise along at those speeds without assistance from the rider (but what’s the point of that!). The slightest touch on the brake activates a microswitch that cuts the motor out instantly.
After pub No 1, we proceeded to pub No 2, chosen because the way home would then involve about 600 yds of a 1in 6 hill. Suitable fortified by the second pint, we were ready to tackle the hill. I went up it at about 8 mph with little effort and never out of the big chainring. On this particularly tough hill, the speed chosen for the motor seemed to make little difference to the final speed achieved.
The battery that hadn’t been pre-charged (and Mark had warned us would be “pants”) started to fail at 15 miles. Mine was still going strong, but I was determined to discharge it so I set off on a small local loop taking in the best hills I could find. I also set the motor permanently on full power. It began to weaken at 18 miles, so the claimed range of 20 miles seems feasible with less extreme treatment. I suspect the Welsh hills for which these bikes are destined may necessitate spare batteries, but I thought this would be the case when I first settled on the bike. The batteries fully re-charge in about 90mins by the way, but you don’t get any LED display of how much charge is left so it pays to keep an eye on how many miles you have done.
So the bottom line is that I really love these bikes so far. They are light (at 17Kg including batteries – most manufacturers I discover quote weights without batteries). They look and feel like a normal bike, which matters to me. Most other cyclists probably won’t even realise that you have motor assistance! My ride averaged 12.3 mph on hilly terrain. Maximum speed was 25.3 mph and I could happily maintain 17-18 mph on the flat – a speed at which the motor does no work, so I guess I could leave it on all the time.
I will post further impressions when I’ve had another outing, but I know that I have the first two bikes that Mark has sold so, if you have any specific questions, I will try to answer them.
Happy cycling,
Chris
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