Mine is also pretty useless!

Thanks rob...glad it's not just me

 

 

 

 

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Hi, just thought I'd add my experiences of the 1000W Stealth after having had it for 12 months.

 

The Good:

- Really love having an electric bike, for my 18 mile (9 each way) commute. Especially love the power of the 1000W. Not really sure I'm getting any fitter.

 

The Not So Good:

- The noise of the rear wheel. I replaced the freewheel gears which stopped a horrid grinding sound, I tightened the spokes which stopped a load of creaking sounds. Now I just get some horrid vibration at lower power levels, ie power level 1 or low throttle.

- My wife complains that I have almost replaced every part over the past 12 months. Not strictly true, but more than I have on any other bike.

- The battery indicators are a very very rough guide, I mostly rely on the distance I know I can cover. Power level 2 on 1000W will do about 20+ miles for me, but there is a fair bit of free wheeling.

- Taking and putting the back wheel on and off is a royal pain in the backside. I dread having to do it and results in alot of swearing. The first time I did this I hadn't noticed the organisation of the washers and had to take it off and put it back on 2 or 3 times, before I had the spacing right. I worry I'm going to break something. Buy good tyres to minimise the risk of puctures is the tip here :-)

- I go through the brake pads quicker than I thought I would and replacing them was a learning experience for someone who has never had disk brakes before.

- The squeeling of the brakes is REALLY annoying, if anyone knows how to fix this I would be grateful. But saves on using my bell.

- I wish the spare batteries were cheaper, especially the charger, I would like to keep one at work and one at home, but at £70 for the charger that isn't going to happen.

 

What would make this a much better bike IMHO:

- Better quality brakes as an optional extra.

- Better quality bike computer as an optional extra, one that would be clearer on power left...... and actually showed the time :-)

- An improved mechanism for getting the rear wheel on and off the frame (after unplugging it), so that I can put the bike in the car without needing the patience of a saint.

 

I had a spectacular crash about 3 months in when I took a corner and hit the curb...... put me out of action for another 3 months while my shoulder sorted itself out. I learnt a new found respect for the power of the bike.

 

Would I buy the same model again? For the price I paid (£1095), yes because I could get it on the work cyclescheme. Otherwise I would probably look around a little more..... maybe end up with the same one, but now its price is rising other models may seem more attractive.

Tend to agree with pretty much everything you have said there. I have only had mine a month or so, but it sounds very similar.

I have done around 450 miles so far, and the initial set of break pads are nearly gone. I have emailed Cyclotricity to let me know what pads I need but they havent responded yet....

 

I do 15 miles into work, and I tend to use levels 2 and 3, its mostly flat and its on 1000w power....there have been a couple of occasions when its ran out of gas just before I get to work. Was a bit worried about that, as the battery only takes around 2.5 to 3 hours to charge after that, when the site says 5 hours to fully charge? As for the lights on the battery...pointless. I can have a flat battery and there will be 2 green lights left...unless of course there is a problem with it.

 

I will have to drop it back to 250 watts and do a comparison I guess.

 

My rear wheel is extremely noisy, particularly at a certain speed or under a certain load i think....once you get past that point, it quietens down again.

 

I think I need to tighten my spokes up at the weekend, as Im getting a few creaks from the back.

 

My intention was to replace the standard tyres with some decent ones, but I have spiked tyres on now for the winter, so I will change them come the spring.

Massive difference in rolling resistance with the spikes on, but I do feel a lot safer, especially after this mornings -6 commute!

 

I think I have sussed out getting the rear wheel off...its a bit if a pain, but ive done it a couple of times at home now, so should the worst happen and i need to change it while out, I think i could manage it now. Plenty of cable ties in my bag!

 

All in all, Im pleased with it, but long term if I can get fit enough, I will probably try a lightweight normal bike for work, and wont be lugging about 25kgs and wont have the worry about electrics failing etc

Those rough zones from the motor can probably be tuned out by changing parameter P1 in the LCD. Press and hold the up and down buttons within a few seconds of switching on to get to the settings menu. Press and hold them again for a long time to get to the advanced settings. Make a note of P1 value, then try random numbers until you get one where the motor runs smoothly throughout its range. In theory, the number should be the same as the number of magnets in the motor for a DD motor, but that doesn't always work.

Thanks d8veh I will have a look later...although they were soecific not to change any settings as it may invalidate warranty of the motor if they are set wrong....the only one i have changed is P6 i think which changes the motor power

No harm will come to your system by changing P1. Obviously, If you motor runs rougher, change it back or try another number. It's not good to run with a rough motor. That value has something to do with the syncronisation. It affects how smooth the motor runs.

Will do thanks d8veh

I have done around 450 miles so far, and the initial set of break pads are nearly gone. I have emailed Cyclotricity to let me know what pads I need but they havent responded yet....

 

Andy,

I bought a couple of these from Halfords:

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-parts/bike-brakes/shimano-br-m965-metal-disc-brake-pads

Simply because they were the same shape.....

They seem to work, but I have no idea about the materials used and whether I am ruining the discs by using them.

Cyclotricity could really do with some owner FAQs.

Maybe we could help them with that....

Those rough zones from the motor can probably be tuned out by changing parameter P1 in the LCD.

 

Hi d8veh,

Oh that would be great if I could smooth the wheel out, it would make my overall experience 100x better.

Thanks, I will go and have a play when I'm back home.

Ian

Andy,

I bought a couple of these from Halfords:

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-parts/bike-brakes/shimano-br-m965-metal-disc-brake-pads

Simply because they were the same shape.....

They seem to work, but I have no idea about the materials used and whether I am ruining the discs by using them.

Cyclotricity could really do with some owner FAQs.

Maybe we could help them with that....

 

Thanks Ian

 

Ill have a look at them on the way home tonight, Ive still not had a reply from Cyclotricity.

Hi d8veh,

Oh that would be great if I could smooth the wheel out, it would make my overall experience 100x better.

Thanks, I will go and have a play when I'm back home.

Ian

 

I had a bit of a play with the settings on the way to work this morning.

P1 on mine default is 46.....

I have taken it up to 50 with no change, and now heading backwards...only got to 45 so far, but no difference.

 

I should have checked what that range goes from and to as it could be a long excercise......

Thanks Ian

 

Ill have a look at them on the way home tonight, Ive still not had a reply from Cyclotricity.

 

 

I found these.....

 

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/clarks-organic-pair-of-disc-brake-pads/

 

Looks like VX824 is the part we will need

I recently bought some Baradine sintered pads from Tredz

http://www.tredz.co.uk/bike-brake-pads/search/brake+pads

Very cheap at the moment if you can find the right size, they don't squeal unless they are wet!

I've used them in the past and they work fine, I bought a dozen sets whilst this cheap.

Dave.

I had a bit of a play with the settings on the way to work this morning.

P1 on mine default is 46.....

I have taken it up to 50 with no change, and now heading backwards...only got to 45 so far, but no difference.

 

I should have checked what that range goes from and to as it could be a long excercise......

The numbers go right up because the controller can be used on a geared motor. I had that roughness on a Q75 motor. The calculated number was 214.4. I tried everything around there, but had the same roughness until the motor got up to a decent speed, then I tried random numbers. At the second attempt, 160 gave perfect smooth running.

 

The roughness was like vibration, which you get because the pulse timing from the controller is slightly out.

 

It might be worth trying a harmonic, like 92 or 154 if 46 is the number of magnets.

Wow, wasnt expecting there to be that much range to look over....Ill try a few out on my way home later, cheers

I tried 92 last night...no change to the noisy motor, but it messed up the speedo, it said 1 was doing 7mph instead of probably double that...so ive set it back to 46 and given up

Only just seen this thread.

I had my Stealth about 3 years ago and hopefully the bike itself is better made now because I had a nightmare with components.

The customer support from Zak at Cyclotricity is the best I've ever had and he even travelled 140 miles from Aldershot one Sunday with his chief mechanic to fully repair my bike with new components.

The 'new' Stealth with 500 watt motor was now OK but sometimes you get disillusioned and in the end I bought a 2nd hand Trek 4300 and took all the parts over to that and threw the Stealth away.

I now have the Trek 4300 and Trek 7.5FX both with Cyclotricity 250 watt front motors and the Cyclotricity kit has been superb.

I did have a 500 watt rear motor at one point for 1 month (it is still in the garage if somebody wants to buy it) but the bike became too heavy to pedal on it's own (I like to do most of the work).

I tried 92 last night...no change to the noisy motor, but it messed up the speedo, it said 1 was doing 7mph instead of probably double that...so ive set it back to 46 and given up

 

Well, a couple of days after messing around and putting it back to default....no more noise....just a nice reassuring hum as you buzz along

Maybe I spoke to soon.

This morning, after about 8 miles or so into my commute, a kind of clacky sound developed from the back wheel. Sounds a bit like the noise if you held a fork against your spokes as the wheel goes round?!

Slowly got louder as I went on, then faded, then came back.....happens either when pedaling or not pedaling, and also when you hand spin the wheel.

 

Had a quick look when I got into work, cant see any loose spokes or anything obvious....any suggestions welcome....

Sounds like a loose magnet in the motor.

 

It can also happen when one or both main bearings wear.

 

Could also be rust if water got in.

 

Basically, there's a very small clearance between the magnets and stator poles. For whatever reason, they're probably now touching.

Sounds like a loose magnet in the motor.

 

It can also happen when one or both main bearings wear.

 

Could also be rust if water got in.

 

Basically, there's a very small clearance between the magnets and stator poles. For whatever reason, they're probably now touching.

 

Ah great

 

Thanks for the info. Is there anything I can do if any of those are fixable, or is it a warranty job?

Oh, I should also ask if it is likely to explode or fall apart any time soon!

I have sent Cyclotricity a link to a video and they have come back to me.

They believe it may be the freewheel? (Which after some discussion is the rear gears?)

So I have to return the rear wheel, at my expense for them to inspect and repair or replace...

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgF6zSD0wPI

 

I must admit i am slowly losing confidence in this bike and the support behind it

You can test if it's the freewheel by pedalling it with the motor switched off. If it only makes the noise when free-wheeling, it's the freewheel, otherwise, it's something in the motor. If it doesn't make a noise at all with the power off, it's probably an electrical fault. In which case, check all your connectors.

Thanks for the tips.

The wheel is boxed up now and being collected tomorrow.

I had already taken it off before I saw your message so wasnt able to test that. The freewheel/cogs have a small amount of lateral movement in them...dont know if that is a problem, and when turning the spindle by hand, it did feel kind of rough....but I dont know how it should feel.

 

Anyway, im now bikeless again until it gets sorted...hopefully sooner rather than later.

Cyclotricity have done their bit I, but its so frustrating having only had the bike since end of October and Ive had these problems, and there's nothing I can do except wait.....