Colban, I am on my 2nd commute today. My first attempt saw me get 2 miles down the road before the chain snapped! I got home on power alone and went to work that day on my motorbike. Cyclotricity sent a new chain out no problems with their customer service as you may have read from others posts. The broken chain was a KMC - a brand I use on other pedal bikes and on my motorbike so that was bad luck. So My first commute on friday was great. I am riding this bike as supplied - restricted. I won't be using it illegally on my commute as some of the cycle lane is "shared" and it is quite frightening for pedestrians to have bikes buzzing past at high speed, so my review to date will only be for the standard restricted power. So I am getting to ride along on assist level 5 and with some pushing maintain a good speed of about 17mph. This is allowing me to do my 8 mile commute in about 30 mins. At times it is easy to push up to 20mph and of course uphill im back to lower speeds. The bike is light and rides nicely without assist. Handling is good and the ride is comfortable, more so than my old Synergy mistral. The power delivery is slightly different to my mistral. I get a bit of lag when moving up through the gears - I haven't worked out why. I am getting a little chain jumping - I suspect I need to fine tune the shimano 6 speed gear set. The revoshift itself is fine to use. I prefer the set up on my mistral, but it is still fine on the revolver.
The thumb throttle is ok, but I don't really use it as the cycle assist does everything I want. I bought the 9ah bottle battery as my commute is only 8 miles each way (16 miles per day). So far on one charge I have done 16 miles and have 2 of the 4 LEDS on the battery still lit up. I am pleased with the ride so far and want to try it out de-restricted when I find an appropriate place to do so. Brakes seem adequate and the overall experience is enjoyable.
I bought this bike through the cycle scheme - list is £799.00. If I had to purchase outright, I would have looked at getting a better base bicycle and adding a kit, but being able to get the bike for almost half the list price, ready to go (almost) seems like a no-brainer.
Still love my mistral, but the revolver is lighter, quicker and handles better. If it is as reliable in the longer term, I will be very pleased - I intend riding this as my main commute. I will update with any significant info over the coming days / weeks months......
