Cyclotricity kit...

Hello folks,

I've been a lurker on here for a few months whilst I've been saving up my pennies for a conversion kit. I have an old British Eagle donor bike. Solid and in good nick. From my initial research I set my sights on getting a kit from Cyclotricity. Front hub 250w motor with pedal assist.

The thing is that I haven't seen much by way of discussion on websites about their kits. Does anyone have any comments before I put an order in?

I've been in touch with Cyclotricity by email, and they couldn't have been more helpful so far, but you know...just wanted to throw the question out there before parting with my cash.

It's my first venture into the world of ebikes. It's best described as 'rolling' countryside around here. The wife doesn't drive and we live quite rurally so it's mainly for her to pop to see friends or into town, 5km away. I'd also like to use it for running the odd errand. Nothing too distant or arduous. Speed isn't important. We're both knocking on a bit so we're after something that'll make life easier on the ol' knees really.

Oh, and cost is the main criteria. We're poorer than church mice.

Many thanks,

Jeremy

Edited September 15, 201312 yr by contadino

I have a kit from them and after over 800 miles I'm extremely pleased with it.

Rather than repeat things, if you search my posts you'll find my thoughts on the kit.

I also fitted one of these (as recommended by d8veh)

DC 15 to 120V Waterproof Red LED Panel Meter DC Digital Voltmeter Two-wire E0Xc | eBay

I can keep an eye on how the battery is doing on a long ride, it's a bit fiddly to fit to the handlebars but easy to wire in.

It took about 3 weeks to arrive from China.

Hi Contadino,

I know you read my blog about the cyclotricity kit, and I said I would add to it after some rides. Well, path to hell and all that;) I'm useless with diaries, blogs et al.

Suffice to say that I'm chuffed to bits with my cyclotricity kit. It still allows you to use your bike unpowered, with minimal difference in performance (other than the increase in weight), and the lcd display allows a good choice of five selectable assistance levels (six if you count no assistance!). The other feature I like about the configuration with the lcd display is the fact that the throttle is useable in any of the selected levels, so can be used without faffing changing level selection (two bikes I'd ridden prior to buying my kit had the same display, but they were configured so that you had to select level 6 to engage throttle).

Despite some 30+ mile rides, I haven't yet run the battery 'flat', but that's because I choose to provide the power when the going is easy. The bottle mount battery would give a better 'balance' to the bike, I think, than the rack mounted one I opted for, but I would definitely recommend getting the pedelec option and the lcd display. I would also avoid the 'frog' battery (the one offered as standard with the kit).

One last point, I've tackled some steep gradients around here, and the geared motor keeps supplying assistance, often at speeds as low as 4mph - it still provides sufficient assistance to keep me moving up hills that previously I woud get off and push up!

Hi Contadino,

 

I've tackled some steep gradients around here, and the geared motor keeps supplying assistance, often at speeds as low as 4mph - it still provides sufficient assistance to keep me moving up hills that previously I woud get off and push up!

Same here and have done 40 miles without running out of battery, as Phil does, I do pedal without power on the easy bits though on the last ten miles I've been quite liberal with the throttle.

Love This thread, im finding it really useful. I will be getting my cyclotricty kit tomorrow and fitting it on as soon as I get home. I know I have to but the 12 hour first charge is going to be a killer, I just want to get on and go. I opted for the bottle battery for the better centre of gravity but not gone for pedal assist yet, I'm going to see how I get on with the kit first then if needs be I will order the LCD option for 3 reasons. 1. Looks great and back lit. 2. 5levels of assist rather than 3. 3. The settings can be adjusted for motor cut out at a faster speed.

Im off work wednesday so my first ride to work will be Thursday. My review and pics to follow shortly after that.

Same here and have done 40 miles without running out of battery, as Phil does, I do pedal without power on the easy bits though on the last ten miles I've been quite liberal with the throttle.

It's funny how the throttle sees more use towards the end of a ride!

my kit arrived today and I fitted it as soon as I got home form work, I couldn't wait for the 12 hour charge and had to give it a little quick test about half an hour ago, I weighed the kit and it comes in at just over 6kg so adding that on to my bike makes it about 18.5/19kg total, with this light weight I headed for a steepish hill just a few seconds up the road and I couldn't believe how well it climbed, I obviously had to pedal but I haven't bought the kit to use as a moped just to give me that extra assistance up a hill if I need it and it zoomed up a lot quicker than I could by pedal alone, infact I've got off and walked up it before due to how steep it is.

I have to tidy all the wires up and make it nice and neat but that's a job for the morning and then I'm going for a good 20 mile ride if the weather lets me.

my kit arrived today and I fitted it as soon as I got home form work, I couldn't wait for the 12 hour charge and had to give it a little quick test about half an hour ago, I weighed the kit and it comes in at just over 6kg so adding that on to my bike makes it about 18.5/19kg total, with this light weight I headed for a steepish hill just a few seconds up the road and I couldn't believe how well it climbed, I obviously had to pedal but I haven't bought the kit to use as a moped just to give me that extra assistance up a hill if I need it and it zoomed up a lot quicker than I could by pedal alone, infact I've got off and walked up it before due to how steep it is.

 

I have to tidy all the wires up and make it nice and neat but that's a job for the morning and then I'm going for a good 20 mile ride if the weather lets me.

Pictures please Ray, I'd like to see how the kit looks fitted to the Trek. Particularly pics showing the front forks / hub motor would be useful.

I'm inspired to go down a similar route and might purchase a Cyclotricity kit to fit to a second hand mountain bike I have my eye on. I'm tempted to go down the rear rack battery route as the motor housing seems better with that option, also I think that battery has a better range. I'd also be tempted to pay the extra £50 for the LCD display, but this would obviously increase the overall price. I'll be interested to hear how noisy you find it, I used to own an Alien bike which I loved, but it did sound a little like an old milk van whenever I used to accelerate off in the quiet of the early mornings!!

WOW!!! just been out for a bit of a ride to test out my new toy and it has really impressed me, I took the road to my work and got over 4 miles out when I decided to head back and time myself.

I started my stop watch and zoomed off up a small hill and got straight up to top speed no problem, my speedo was registering 18/19 mph on the flats and I was getting about 15/16 up the hills, I came to the longest hill but not too steep and whizzed up no problem, I had to get off and walk half way up on Sunday when I rode back from work with no e-kit on but this just glided up it no problem today, I got half way up and had to slow down for another cyclist because 2 cars was passing us but as soon as they did I stuck full throttle on with peddling and overtook with ease.

cut a long story short I made it back from a 4.1 mile ride to my front door in 14 minutes and 17 seconds but I'm taking the 17 seconds off for the slowing down for the cyclist and I also stopped for an ambulance to pass by. so with my calculations my 10 mile commute to work tomorrow should take between 35-40 minutes, that's saving me 20 minutes compared to the hour it took there and hour back on Sunday.

im just in the process of trying to upload some pics of my bike, there are a few problems that I have come across putting this kit on but nothing that I cant fix, I will write a blog/review very soon.

having a problem uploading images so will post as soon as I can

I also want to say a big thank you to Andy at ebike superstore ( electric bikes from ebike superstore - UK electric bike sales ) in stoke on Trent where I bought the kit from, he was the most local store to me and I spoke to him on the phone a several times, he was very helpful and knowledgeable about e-bikes and kits. I ordered the kit on Friday and asked for it to be delivered on Tuesday as I should of been off work and it all arrived in a huge box and packaged really well. he text me the tracking number so I would know when it was delivered and told me that if I have any problems then I should call him asap and he will sort it.

anyone in the midlands that needs an ebike or help then I highly recommend him.

plus thank you to everyone on here for all your invaluable advice and tips.

Edited September 18, 201312 yr by ray74

having a problem uploading images so will post as soon as I can

 

I also want to say a big thank you to Andy at ebike superstore ( electric bikes from ebike superstore - UK electric bike sales ) in stoke on Trent where I bought the kit from, he was the most local store to me and I spoke to him on the phone a several times, he was very helpful and knowledgeable about e-bikes and kits. I ordered the kit on Friday and asked for it to be delivered on Tuesday as I should of been off work and it all arrived in a huge box and packaged really well. he text me the tracking number so I would know when it was delivered and told me that if I have any problems then I should call him asap and he will sort it.

 

anyone in the midlands that needs an ebike or help then I highly recommend him.

 

plus thank you to everyone on here for all your invaluable advice and tips.

You did better than me. I also ordered my kit from them. First of all, they didn't send it at all. When I queried it's whereabouts several days later, I got an apology and assurance of delivery the next day. True to their word, it arrived the next day - with the wrong battery option (the std 'frog' seatpost mount one instead of the rack mount I ordered). Another phone call, a groan from their end (who can blame them - though whether it was aimed at me or whoever sent out the wrong option, I don't know!), and another profuse apology. Proper battery arrived the next day, and return of the frog one sorted with no inconvenience to me.

Whilst the initial problems were annoying, there was a genuine effort to sort the issues out, and that helped to avoid me going into denwyn mode:o So, yes there was a problem with the delivery, but it got sorted, with good grace, so I'll add a +1 to your thanks to Andy@ebikesuperstore:D

To upload pictures, use this method, which is easier and gives better quality:

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/announcements-feedback-support/15268-does-forum-picture-upload-work.html

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad322/raywilson/Photo18-09-2013082252am_zpse26f4dd3.jpg

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad322/raywilson/Photo18-09-2013092513am_zps7848b465.jpg

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad322/raywilson/Photo18-09-2013092432am_zps616b98c1.jpg

yay, it worked, thanks d8veh.

as you can see from the pics, my seat post tube is to wide for the controller housing so I have zip tied it on for the time being until I can get some longer bolts.

also you might notice that I have no front brake, this is due to the calliper being to wide and close to the electric hub so I have to get a 180mm rotor and adapter so that it misses the hub. and I need to change one of the tyres as they are completely different at the moment.

plus the wires coming out of the controller box are showing so I need to sort them out too but apart from those 4 things its looking quite smart I think.

Edited September 18, 201312 yr by ray74

Is the cable tie necessary, or do you see a potential problem?

its holding the housing on at the moment, the bolts that was supplied with it aren't long enough.

It's not very clear in the photo, but did you leave the plastic disc spacer on the motor. If so, you should remove it.

The axle doesn't seem to be very far into the drop-out. It's not possible to see if everything is correct from the photo, but, just in case you don't know, there's a critical point to look out for when you fit a front motor:

The first washer must fit completely in the dimple (lawyers lips) and mustn't touch any of the raised part. The drop-outs alone are not strong enough to resist the motor torque, especially when the axle isn't in deep enough. You need the friction from the nuts being done up tight as well. If the first washer doesn't lie flat, you get two problems: firstly, the sideways pressure on the lip when you tighten the nut can crack the front off the drop-out; secondly, you can't get enough friction to resist the torque, so both drop-outs pop when you're climbing a steep hill, and you end up planting your face on the road, which hurts a lot and ore importantly, can spoil your good looks.

To get the first washer in properly, you can file your drop-outs deeper to re-centralise the axle, which is the best solution; or you can file the outside of the washer until it fits.

I've never seen any of this mentioned in instructions from kits, although some kits provide eccentric washers ("C" washers).

its holding the housing on at the moment, the bolts that was supplied with it aren't long enough.

If I'd looked closer, I would have seen that, of course;)

yay, it worked, thanks d8veh.

 

as you can see from the pics, my seat post tube is to wide for the controller housing so I have zip tied it on for the time being until I can get some longer bolts.

also you might notice that I have no front brake, this is due to the calliper being to wide and close to the electric hub so I have to get a 180mm rotor and adapter so that it misses the hub. and I need to change one of the tyres as they are completely different at the moment.

plus the wires coming out of the controller box are showing so I need to sort them out too but apart from those 4 things its looking quite smart I think.

Looking good so far, i'm just wondering if you filed the forks deeper as well as wider (as d8veh mentioned) to centralise the disc/wheel, I had to reduce the outer diameter of the outer washers to fit the recesses and to fit above the lips. Being a bit belt and braces, I also fitted a torque arm.

It also looks as if the plastic washer is still in there behind the rotor as it's showing black rather than the silver colour of the hub motor.

You may have saved me a bit of hassle as I'm thinking of getting a more suitable bike for my kit and from your experience it sounds like a 180mm rotor would be best.

Now looking for a brand new 21" frame 27 gear hard tail of decent quality, ideally with mechanical 180 disc brakes, at around the £500 mark in the sales!

I think I may have to end up with a compromise but not on frame size or gears.

Hi link for diamondback great bike only 20 inch frame but 27 gears and 180 rotor on front £535 free delivery Hydraulic disc brakes brakes

Diamondback Response Comp 20" Hardtail Mountain Bike - RRP £745 | eBay

Frank