Cyclotricity kit...

[ray74]

also I thought the same about the black battery, it goes well with my frame colour, the cyclotricity sticker on the sides can come off and I'm contemplating taking them off and replacing them with trek stickers, I thought it might make it look less electric looking.

I have just been reading your other thread and another reason why I opted for the cyclotricity is the fact that there are loads of dealers selling them and if I had a problem I knew I could get it resolved quite easily.

 

[Yamdude]

also I thought the same about the black battery, it goes well with my frame colour, the cyclotricity sticker on the sides can come off and I'm contemplating taking them off and replacing them with trek stickers, I thought it might make it look less electric looking.

I have just been reading your other thread and another reason why I opted for the cyclotricity is the fact that there are loads of dealers selling them and if I had a problem I knew I could get it resolved quite easily.

Yes, good point about a lot of dealers selling them.
It looks in your pics that you may haver the same gear shifters as me, are they Shimano EZ-Fire shifters ?
If so, has the thumb throttle fitted ok next to them ?

 

[ray74]

hi, yeah they are the same, put he throttle on the left hand side as you will need to change gears on the right and never on the left, I have put mine on the left and in between the brake lever and the shifters but its very difficult to change gear on the left BUT you will never ever need to change gear on the crank.

when you get your kit it best to see what suits you but to be honest shifting the crank gears will never happen.

hope this helps.

 

[Yamdude]

hi, yeah they are the same, put he throttle on the left hand side as you will need to change gears on the right and never on the left, I have put mine on the left and in between the brake lever and the shifters but its very difficult to change gear on the left BUT you will never ever need to change gear on the crank.

when you get your kit it best to see what suits you but to be honest shifting the crank gears will never happen.

hope this helps.

Yes, I get what your saying...... as my shifters are incorporated into the brake lever bracket, I may remove the left shifter altogether. Then I could also remove the cable and the front derailier..... less gubbins and shaves a few grams off.
I don't ride up steep hills so my chain is always on the large chain ring anyway.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

You don't need a front derailleur. Just leave the chain on the big chain-wheel. If for whatever reason (like flat battery) you need the smaller one, you can hook the chain over with a twig. That's what I do on one of my bikes.

 

[D C]

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.

Did you manage to get the 160 rotor to work or did you have to convert to a 180 if so can I ask you which adapter plate you used?
I've just ordered a 2013 Trek 4300 which was on offer but which I think will come with a 160 rotor.
I'll use it without the electrics for a few weeks to make sure it's OK but will eventually convert it.

 

[ray74]

Hi d c. The 160 rotor made my brake calliper scrape on the e-hub and there was no way of making it fit unless I put a bigger rotor on, I had a spare 203mm adapter in my tool box of spare parts so I went for a hope 203mm floating rotor in black to match the frame colour.

I have just checked out the spec of the 2013 model you have and it looks like you have the same hayes dyno sport brakes that I have so you will more than likely have to change the rotor, I did measure it and it looked like a 180mm will be fine but I went for the 203 just because I didn't have to buy a new post mount adapter.

What colour did you get btw? Green or blue?

 

[ray74]

If you do need to change any of the rotors for larger ones then the front fork adapter is called a post mount to post mount and the rear will be an international standard to post mount (or IS to post mount), you can pick them up cheap enough on eBay.

 

[ray74]

This is my new rotor, sorry not a very good view but I have to lock it up at work so no little scallywags half inch my new bike.

 

[D C]

Hi d c. The 160 rotor made my brake calliper scrape on the e-hub and there was no way of making it fit unless I put a bigger rotor on, I had a spare 203mm adapter in my tool box of spare parts so I went for a hope 203mm floating rotor in black to match the frame colour.

I have just checked out the spec of the 2013 model you have and it looks like you have the same hayes dyno sport brakes that I have so you will more than likely have to change the rotor, I did measure it and it looked like a 180mm will be fine but I went for the 203 just because I didn't have to buy a new post mount adapter.

What colour did you get btw? Green or blue?

Green as it was the only colour on offer with 21.5 inch frame.
Do you find the Hayes brakes OK? They don't get great reviews so maybe an upgrade in rotor size would be good.
I've become something of an expert in slowing down with minimal braking using long grass/soft ground etc. as around here the grit on the tracks is akin to carborundum grains and with V brakes it can destroy rims pretty quick.
An upgrade to perhaps a Suntour suspension seat post might also be on the cards, I feel an idea for a Christmas present coming on!
Sorry again folks for straying off topic and thanks Ray for the info.

Edit to say thanks for the photo, quite reassuring to see that it can be done.

 

[ray74]

Green as it was the only colour on offer with 21.5 inch frame.
Do you find the Hayes brakes OK? They don't get great reviews so maybe an upgrade in rotor size would be good.
I've become something of an expert in slowing down with minimal braking using long grass/soft ground etc. as around here the grit on the tracks is akin to carborundum grains and with V brakes it can destroy rims pretty quick.
An upgrade to perhaps a Suntour suspension seat post might also be on the cards, I feel an idea for a Christmas present coming on!
Sorry again folks for straying off topic and thanks Ray for the info.

Edit to say thanks for the photo, quite reassuring to see that it can be done.

Let me know how you get on with fitting the controller housing to the frame, I still have my tie wrap holding it on as I haven't had the time yet to go and purchase some longer bolts, if you find some then let me know so I can go out and get the same.

 

[D C]

Let me know how you get on with fitting the controller housing to the frame, I still have my tie wrap holding it on as I haven't had the time yet to go and purchase some longer bolts, if you find some then let me know so I can go out and get the same.

Can't help this time I'm afraid as mine has a rear rack battery with controller enclosed.
Yours looks much better and will distribute the weight better.

 

[contadino]

My kit arrived today. Looks pretty tasty. The hub is smaller than I thought it would be. The (bottle) battery is bigger but lighter than I expected.

Tomorrow I start negotiating with the wife about which bike to fit it on.

 

[RichB]

Just thought I'd add my thoughts to this interesting thread.

I bought a Cyclotricity revolver back in March this year and I've used it almost daily for a 12 mile round commute. I'll concentrate on the kit, as the bike its attached to is, as I expected is fairly poor quality.
I didn't know whether I'd be into electric bikes and didn't want to spend too much so went for the revolver. I'd always had fairly high spec bikes in the past and so as soon as it arrived I replaced the forks and stem/handlebars for a more comfortable ride and de-stickered it. I cant really comment on the gear components as I always have the bike in top gear (seriously I have NEVER changed gear on the bike as the assistance is so good).

The kit it's self has been excellent. I tend to ride the bike for 2 days (24 miles) between each charge but there is always power left in the battery. The motor is smooth and quiet, although I rarely use the throttle as I rely on the PAS for my assistance. I've only had one problem with the kit, the black plastic locking mechanism snapped and I've had to epoxy it back together. The other point I feel I should raise is about the battery cradle. It is secured by the bottle mounts and doesn't feel particularly secure and rattles a lot. As others have done I've put a couple of cable ties around it also to make it more secure.

In summary I cant knock the kit for the price and it has been 100% reliable in all weathers. I've now got to the stage where I'm hooked on electric bikes and so am looking to either buy a new bike or add a kit to a bike of my choice. Trouble is there's so many options out there I keep coming back to my cyclotricity kit as it just works straight out of the box.

Cheers,
Rich

 

[D C]

Hi d c. The 160 rotor made my brake calliper scrape on the e-hub and there was no way of making it fit unless I put a bigger rotor on, I had a spare 203mm adapter in my tool box of spare parts so I went for a hope 203mm floating rotor in black to match the frame colour.

I have just checked out the spec of the 2013 model you have and it looks like you have the same hayes dyno sport brakes that I have so you will more than likely have to change the rotor, I did measure it and it looked like a 180mm will be fine but I went for the 203 just because I didn't have to buy a new post mount adapter.

You where quite correct about this, thanks for the advice.
I went for the 203mm rotor to be sure and glad I did as there's barely a centimeter of clearance, I'm not sure if a 180mm rotor would be enough.