I have been lurking on this forum for while and have found it a great source of information.
I wanted to leave it a while before sharing my experience of a cyclotricity kit fitted to a Cube Cls bike.I have now done more then 1500 miles so thought I would do the review.
I am reasonably fit through running and have raced distances up to 60 miles,I regularly cycled to work(20 mile round trip) but was finding the effort was impacting upon my evening training sessions and races so I was cycling less an less.
Having been to see cyclotricity ,I was impressed with the kit so approached my local bike shop to get a new bike to convert,I decided on the Cube and the bike shop seemed keen to fit the kit which I wasn't sure about as I quite fancied having a go.
However,I decided to let them do the conversion as I hoped it would be give me a warranty on the whole thing.
The main decision was front or rear wheel and I decided on rear as cyclotricity were offering a 250/500 watt wheel.I went for the pannier 10amp battery as I use panniers anyway.
It did take a while for the bike to be ready to pick up,one of the reasons being that the larger controller would not fit in the pannier and there was no bag available to carry the controller however a plastic box was eventually supplied.Some months later,Cyclotricity wanted the box back so the bike shop replaced it with the bag they now supply.
A bigger disc had to be fitted also as the shimano calliper was rubbing on the hub.
The bike works well and looks smart,but is heavy,I didn't realise that the updated back wheel would be a lot heavier(8kg).The whole bike weighs 28kg as a result,and I,m not really sure where all the weight comes from as the basic bike is supposed to weigh just 13.8kg.
I have managed 2days of riding to work and back and had 45 miles before recharging but have read it's better to not let the battery get too low so recharge every day.
I fitted a torque arm for safety and went through some cheap panniers before fitting some more expensive axioms which are excellent.
The bike has had some problems,the rear disc came loose,which was due to the bolts holding it stripping out of the hub.The bike shop said it was a faulty hub and cyclotricity said it was incorrectly fitted by the bike shop.
I contacted cyclotricity directly and after some discussion they agreed to repair the wheel.
The rear dérailleur ripped it self part going up a hill so I had to get the bike shop to fit a new one which I had to pay for,luckily the rear wheel wasn't jammed so I could come home under throttle.
The bike shop think the rear dérailleur exploded as it hit one of the little bolts around the hub and in gear 1,the dérailleur is very close to the hub.
I find the motor very quiet which means any strange noises get noticed.
I have suffered spoke creak which seems to come from where the spokes enter the rim,but a drop of oil on each spoke seems to resolve it until the next wet outing washes the oil away.
I specified continental touring plus tyres as I didn't fancy getting a puncture in the dark and slime for the inner tubes.
Despite this,I have had one puncture on the rim side of the tube and its a mystery to me why this occured.
Luckily it was at work in a well lit car park.
The battery seems to give less power on cold days but is still easily capable of my commute,I have been out in minus 5.
I always keep the battery in the house to recharge.
Rain has caused no problems and I have been out in some appalling conditions.
My commute is about 10 mins quicker,I tend to ride in on level one or 0 but use 3 coming home and 5 on the main roads but using the thumb throttle on hills.
The thumb throttle hits the gear trigger shifter so I can only use about half of the travel,without changing down,but this still seems to give all the power I need.
The 500watt setting was a waste of time for me,I don't go off road very often and setting 3 seems to give the same power as the 250watt setting 5,settings 4and 5 don't seem to give any additional power but the throttle is more powerful up hills.
I use the bike every day as it doesn't tire me out for running so it is a success,and great fun.
If I was starting over,I would go for the much lighter 250watt front wheel as it easier if I get a puncture,and a lot lighter.I can make good progress without assist,but getting on my old ride to work bike,it just feels a lot more agile and nicer to ride without assist.
I have now fitted a 250watt front wheel kit to an old catalogue full suspension bike,this doesn't give as a good range,and I can hear the motor,which can be quite noisy when working hard up a hill.I use the same battery and have devised a way of fitting the pannier mount.This bike weighs around 24kg but is an experiment at the moment.
It is supremely comfortable on the road compared to the cube which is quite comfortable anyway.
I do suffer with back issues,I have a suspension seat post but the roads on my commute are truly dreadful in places so my next upgrade will be the sun tour ncx seatpost.
I wanted to leave it a while before sharing my experience of a cyclotricity kit fitted to a Cube Cls bike.I have now done more then 1500 miles so thought I would do the review.
I am reasonably fit through running and have raced distances up to 60 miles,I regularly cycled to work(20 mile round trip) but was finding the effort was impacting upon my evening training sessions and races so I was cycling less an less.
Having been to see cyclotricity ,I was impressed with the kit so approached my local bike shop to get a new bike to convert,I decided on the Cube and the bike shop seemed keen to fit the kit which I wasn't sure about as I quite fancied having a go.
However,I decided to let them do the conversion as I hoped it would be give me a warranty on the whole thing.
The main decision was front or rear wheel and I decided on rear as cyclotricity were offering a 250/500 watt wheel.I went for the pannier 10amp battery as I use panniers anyway.
It did take a while for the bike to be ready to pick up,one of the reasons being that the larger controller would not fit in the pannier and there was no bag available to carry the controller however a plastic box was eventually supplied.Some months later,Cyclotricity wanted the box back so the bike shop replaced it with the bag they now supply.
A bigger disc had to be fitted also as the shimano calliper was rubbing on the hub.
The bike works well and looks smart,but is heavy,I didn't realise that the updated back wheel would be a lot heavier(8kg).The whole bike weighs 28kg as a result,and I,m not really sure where all the weight comes from as the basic bike is supposed to weigh just 13.8kg.
I have managed 2days of riding to work and back and had 45 miles before recharging but have read it's better to not let the battery get too low so recharge every day.
I fitted a torque arm for safety and went through some cheap panniers before fitting some more expensive axioms which are excellent.
The bike has had some problems,the rear disc came loose,which was due to the bolts holding it stripping out of the hub.The bike shop said it was a faulty hub and cyclotricity said it was incorrectly fitted by the bike shop.
I contacted cyclotricity directly and after some discussion they agreed to repair the wheel.
The rear dérailleur ripped it self part going up a hill so I had to get the bike shop to fit a new one which I had to pay for,luckily the rear wheel wasn't jammed so I could come home under throttle.
The bike shop think the rear dérailleur exploded as it hit one of the little bolts around the hub and in gear 1,the dérailleur is very close to the hub.
I find the motor very quiet which means any strange noises get noticed.
I have suffered spoke creak which seems to come from where the spokes enter the rim,but a drop of oil on each spoke seems to resolve it until the next wet outing washes the oil away.
I specified continental touring plus tyres as I didn't fancy getting a puncture in the dark and slime for the inner tubes.
Despite this,I have had one puncture on the rim side of the tube and its a mystery to me why this occured.
Luckily it was at work in a well lit car park.
The battery seems to give less power on cold days but is still easily capable of my commute,I have been out in minus 5.
I always keep the battery in the house to recharge.
Rain has caused no problems and I have been out in some appalling conditions.
My commute is about 10 mins quicker,I tend to ride in on level one or 0 but use 3 coming home and 5 on the main roads but using the thumb throttle on hills.
The thumb throttle hits the gear trigger shifter so I can only use about half of the travel,without changing down,but this still seems to give all the power I need.
The 500watt setting was a waste of time for me,I don't go off road very often and setting 3 seems to give the same power as the 250watt setting 5,settings 4and 5 don't seem to give any additional power but the throttle is more powerful up hills.
I use the bike every day as it doesn't tire me out for running so it is a success,and great fun.
If I was starting over,I would go for the much lighter 250watt front wheel as it easier if I get a puncture,and a lot lighter.I can make good progress without assist,but getting on my old ride to work bike,it just feels a lot more agile and nicer to ride without assist.
I have now fitted a 250watt front wheel kit to an old catalogue full suspension bike,this doesn't give as a good range,and I can hear the motor,which can be quite noisy when working hard up a hill.I use the same battery and have devised a way of fitting the pannier mount.This bike weighs around 24kg but is an experiment at the moment.
It is supremely comfortable on the road compared to the cube which is quite comfortable anyway.
I do suffer with back issues,I have a suspension seat post but the roads on my commute are truly dreadful in places so my next upgrade will be the sun tour ncx seatpost.
