Anybody any experience of getting a Cytronex repaired? Mine keeps dropping into fault mode. I have been in touch with Cytronex and it seems that the battery contacts may have suffered ‘arcing’. They are extremely pushy about returning the battery for diagnostic but refuse to give me any idea of the likely repair cost, merely stating that ‘repairs are usually cost effective’, whatever that means! I am loathe to return it to then be told it’s £00s to repair and then go through the faff and cost of getting the faulty battery back should it be too expensive to fix. Cytronex don’t like speaking to customers and all communication has to be by email which is a bit irritating. Might consider a Swytch kit rather than repair.

You arent bound by law to have them complete the work. You send the stuff in, they analyze it and email you a quote. From there you either agree or say no thanks and have it returned to you.

Anybody any experience of getting a Cytronex repaired? Mine keeps dropping into fault mode. I have been in touch with Cytronex and it seems that the battery contacts may have suffered ‘arcing’. They are extremely pushy about returning the battery for diagnostic but refuse to give me any idea of the likely repair cost, merely stating that ‘repairs are usually cost effective’, whatever that means! I am loathe to return it to then be told it’s £00s to repair and then go through the faff and cost of getting the faulty battery back should it be too expensive to fix. Cytronex don’t like speaking to customers and all communication has to be by email which is a bit irritating. Might consider a Swytch kit rather than repair.

 

Mid-2020, I had the same problem with arcing. Cytronex told me I had been fitting the bottle incorrectly, and this after I had used it successfully over 120 times! After a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, I finally agreed to return it for repair, and I am in Florida! Shipping was expensive and they charged me a discounted 67.50 GB pounds for new contacts

 

<<REPLACING GOLD CONTACTS IN CUSTOMER'S BOTTLE - HALF COST AS AGREED

To dismantle customer's bottle, remove battery packs and main circuit board, extract connector, de-solder damaged pins then replace with new pins, re-solder and assemble bottle.

£67.50

 

To dismantle customer's bottle, remove battery packs and main circuit board, extract connector, de-solder damaged pins then replace with new pins, re-solder and assemble bottle.>>

 

They also suggested I buy the new bottle cage, at 85 pounds, which has a lever system to positively engage the contacts. This indicated to me that they had been having problems with the screw type connector, but of course they don't admit it. I don't think they even offer the screw type and longer. At least it wasn't offered when a friend recently ordered a C1.

 

I have three Cytronex C1 conversions, one in the UK on a solo bike and two US versions in Florida, one on a tandem and the other, solo. The C1 is an ingenious product, well thought out, very easy to fit and performs very well.

 

Cytronex email support is very quick, but don't dare suggest that anything is wrong with the design as they won't accept this! Cases in point: the contacts problem and, more recently rusting painted spokes. Their first reaction was "stainless steel doesn't rust." They don't live near the Gulf of Mexico or they would know differently. Then I got into another exchange with Mark Searles, the designer/owner, waffling on about what they do and don't use for spokes, but never admitted any fault on their part or even thanking me for bringing the problem to their attention. Some time ago he told me he would no long accept any future orders from me and repeated this just recently. Yes, we have had a lot of email exchanges, but that's life.

 

Again, the product is excellent, the email support is very fast, but they seem to have the attitude that the customer is always wrong, in any dispute, in my personal experience.

Their recently introduced battery upgrade is good: 10% greater capacity and Bluetooth connection via smartphone, which allows monitoring of battery capacity and on-the-fly power level adjustments.

Their trouble-shooting website is very useful, too: www.cytronex.com/troubleshooter

 

As for Swytch, I have no personal experience, but I see mentions here in the US. Compared with Cytronex, it is less expensive, but looks less professional and installation is not always straightforward. In spite of all our differences, I continue to recommend Cytronex both in person and on line.