Lud

We're doing lots of night cycling on dark lanes, and I'm getting fed up with remembering to keep lights charged on my wife's 3 year old Carrera Crossfire. There's a USB output socket under the speedo, but the manual states that the 5 volt output is only 0.5 amps. The 2.5 watts available would be insufficient for the type of lamp I'm considering. There's nothing in the manual about tapping into the wiring to power a lamp. Does anyone know how to do this ? There are plenty of lamps on the market which can operate from the Carrera's 36 volts, it's just a matter of where to splice the wiring....

I tried a very short ride on a friend's Kalkhoff. It has a bottom bracket motor so it drives through the gears, whereas the Crossfire's hub motor is effectively a single speed and not so good at steep hills. The Kalkhoff seemed slightly noisier and less refined, but is better-equipped with lights/rack/mudguards, and longer-range battery. On the whole quite satisfied with the Crossfire, although I wish they hadn't bothered with that nasty, clunky suspension fork and used the money saved to specify a nice chromoly steel rigid fork instead.

Don't think the chain is anything unusual, it should be a standard derailleur 1/2" x 3/32". Specifying a heavier chain (eg 1/8" width as used on single speeds) wouldn't be logical as the motor drives the wheel directly so the chain experiences no more than normal cycling demands. Regarding the chain-slap, all I can think is that the freewheel is sticking, so that if you move the pedals back slightly during a descent the chain slackens as it fails to reverse the block. Can you back-pedal easily or is the block reluctant to rotate backwards? Do you get the same symptoms if you ride with the motor completely switched off? Haven't heard of swapping to double-chainring, as you say it's probably complicated. On battery management, this seems to be wide-open for discussion, lots of opinions - even the instructions which come with the bike aren't clear; page 4 of the Ebike manual says simply "charge the battery before riding" (do they mean top-up whenever you return home?), page 8 says "always discharge the battery completely and then fully charge it". Always? The separate manual for the Phylion battery states on page 6 that the battery "features no memory effect", which in theory means there's nothing to worry about however we use it! I try to follow the advice which I've seen from various sources, I top-up fairly regularly and do a full discharge/ recharge around every 6 weeks. Doing a full discharge needs planning, you need to be near home when below 5% and preferably not at the bottom of a long hill! (there's a very noticeable power drop on my bike during the last few percent run-down). Regarding cutting-out, I've had about 3 instances in 6 months ownership, instantly resolved by pressing the button on the battery. Cutting out seems to be caused by the "wrong kind of bump" in the road.

Thanks to all for excellent info on this forum. After much research we've just bought a Crossfire, and very pleased we are after 100 miles. A few random observations, hope they're of interest: 1. We bought the "large ladies" 18" frame which fits my wife at 5ft 4" and easily accommodates me at 6ft 0" thanks to the generously long seatpost. (The bike is basically for her to keep up with me on joint rides - I ride a traditional non-electric fast tourer, but it's useful for me to use it occasionally) 2. My only minor gripes are the clunky front suspension and hydraulic disc brakes - for the same money a quality chromoly fork and Vee brakes would make for nicer handling and simpler maintenance. 3. Pannier rack: there's been discussion about the issue of distance between rear dropouts owing to the motorised hub causing problems with fitting standard racks. I've just fitted a rack by bolting its legs to the inside of the dropouts, thus reducing the need to spread the legs so much. 4. I've already ordered a Schwalbe Greenguard rear tyre. The prospect of trying to fix a rear puncture in a storm doesn't bear thinking about! 5. Very pleased with lack of resistance when in unassisted mode, this means it's not a complete disaster if you get stranded with a flat battery, it's just like pedalling an ordinary bike with a load of groceries on board. 6. Regarding complaints about assistance cutting out by 16mph, yes it's frustrating but this is the deal for avoiding the red tape of insurance, number plates etc, and qualifying legally as a "bicycle" for use on cycle paths. If you want to go fast get an uprated bike but stay on the roads (or a 1000cc Kawasaki if you really want speed!).