Cytronex Trek 7300

[jerrysimon]

I see you can buy a Cytronex lookalike on ebay

POWABYKE X-BIKE X6 HYBRID ELECTRIC BIKE 18" MENS on eBay (end time 05-Oct-09 18:23:11 BST)

PS just realised its been around a while and available from Powabykes.

Regards

Jerry

 

[HarryB]

I see you can buy a Cytronex lookalike on ebay

POWABYKE X-BIKE X6 HYBRID ELECTRIC BIKE 18" MENS on eBay (end time 05-Oct-09 18:23:11 BST)

Regards

Jerry

I think the emphasis should be on lookalike. I am sure it suits some but it is not an alternative to the cytronex.

 

[jerrysimon]

Well the seller just told me he sent it TNT today so it will be Monday before I get it.

I guess that will give me a chance to take my long suffering wife out shopping as pay back for buying another ebike.

Her first response after I purchased it was right at the weekend we are going out to get a new cooker. I guess if thats all she wants I got a good deal lol



Regards

Jerry

 

[themutiny]

I see you can buy a Cytronex lookalike on ebay

POWABYKE X-BIKE X6 HYBRID ELECTRIC BIKE 18" MENS on eBay (end time 05-Oct-09 18:23:11 BST)

PS just realised its been around a while and available from Powabykes.

Regards

Jerry

It doesn't even remotely resemble MY Cytronex

.

 

[jerrysimon]

Its Here

Well TNT delivered the bike this morning. Came in a huge box

Good thing was only the handle bars were turned round and pedals taken off so made it quick and easy to get road worthy.

I initially took it out for a ride round the block with no battery (whilst I put the battery on charge). It had not occured to me just how my existing bike in its bare form was a little outdated. My Raleigh Datona is about 13+ years old has 26" wheels. At the time it seemed expensive as it had a light weight all aluminium frame.

Anyway when I rode the Trek round the block it was like night and day! It was soooooo smooth to ride as were the gears and drive chain. I am not sure if this was because of its larger wheels which it may be a bit, but the more modern bike is obviously a big factor too.

Anyway put the battery in and did the same ride. Hit the power on button and after a tiny delay its like someone was pushing me. Take it up to power two and it cruises at 15mph on the flat with no pedaling.

I decided to go for it and cycle to work late AM. Pumped up the tryes to 60 PSI and took off. Its a very different experience to my Alien kit. The whole affair seems much more subtle. I was really quite surprised about the power as I had expected it to be a lot less than the Alien kit. It most ways it is and does not have the grunt of the Alien kit, but I think for my purposes of a pretty flat 10 mile round trip to work and back its perfect. I also want to cycle more.

Its probably unfair to compare the two given initial costs, the two solutions meet very differnent needs and that the basic bike is obviously so much better than my current bike. Another big factor for me is the Tongxin motor is pretty much silent. Infact I would say it whirs slightly more when power is off than when its on.

The bike itself is used, but is in lovely condition if not in need of a good clean.

The bottle battery is easy to take off and I doubt I will leave it on if away from the bike. The finish of the electrics is very professional with built in lights and led for the trip computer being a plus. Lights seem good though the back one probably needs to be suplemented with another LED as I thinks it only has one. No flashing either ?

I showed a keen cyclist at work and he said the basic bike was lovely and a perfect commuting machine taht should last me years.

I need to run the battery down and see how many miles I get and then recondition it. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it has plenty of life left in it yet.

Anyway I will post some pics later and give another update. Currently I think I got a great deal

PS anyone want to buy a nearly new Alienocean kit. I guess I can always keep it as a back up or fit it on my wifes bike lol

Regards

Jerry

 

[Barnowl]

Hi Jerry - Good to hear your purchase was a good one. The bike sounds great. I recall that the Cytronex 7300 was not just built because of difficulty sourcing 7.3FXs but because some people had comfort issues. The 7.3FX is quite a hard ride. The 60 PSI 35c tyres rather than the 32c on the 7.3FX and of course the suspension make a big difference. I'd be strongly inclined to stick with the suspension. Good luck

 

[jerrysimon]

Thanks Barnowl.

Yes I meant to say that I LOVE the suspension forks and doubt I will change them out as I first thought.

On my other bike I have Big Apple tryes and I would have to say that the front ride on the this Cytonex is actually more comfortable.

Does the rear light flash or is it constant ?

Regards

Jerry

 

[Barnowl]

The rear light doesn't flash it's constant. The lights being Busch & Miller are quality and very bright and of course run off the bottle battery. The front light is very impressive. Best thing though is the on/off switch on the handlebars so you can switch them on easily while you're cycling. Also the LED lamp lights up the speedo. With the nights drawing in you'll find that it's all quite impressive.

 

[jerrysimon]

Also the LED lamp lights up the speedo. With the nights drawing in you'll find that it's all quite impressive.

Yer I liked that and the temperature gauge

Regards

Jerry

 

[Barnowl]

BTW you'll find that as it gets colder and down to single figures you can expect the speedo to start getting more erratic and finally give up the ghost while you're cycling into work sometime in December. It's a speedo battery thing and it all starts fully working again when it warms up a bit.

 

[Alex728]

can any of the brainy folks on here suggest where to get the fibre optics and light guides from so you could light up the handlebar displays on a different kind of bike with another LED lamp?

 

[Barnowl]

I had a look on the internet earlier in the year and couldn't find anything. Being it's part of the Cytronex system I doubt Cytronex will be forthcoming. I thought nothing of it when I first had the bike but found it a surprisingly good gadget in the dark winter months. I'm surprised that something similar isn't available. Comprises of the speedo holder (in this case for a Trek incite) , a push button, a small front reflector and a short adjustable LED lamp. I've not seen the lamps elsewhere but they must exist.

 

[Alex728]

I had a look on the internet earlier in the year and couldn't find anything. Being it's part of the Cytronex system I doubt Cytronex will be forthcoming. I thought nothing of it when I first had the bike but found it a surprisingly good gadget in the dark winter months. I'm surprised that something similar isn't available. Comprises of the speedo holder (in this case for a Trek incite) , a push button, a small front reflector and a short adjustable LED lamp. I've not seen the lamps elsewhere but they must exist.

so the lamp is just a bog-standard LED taking a DC feed off the main battery, switched in alongside front light? I had mistakenly thought from its description it was actually using the light from the front lamp via fibre optics.

In that case I'm sure I could build something similar from normal components..

 

[Barnowl]

so the lamp is just a bog-standard LED taking a DC feed off the main battery, switched in alongside front light? I had mistakenly thought from its description it was actually using the light from the front lamp via fibre optics.

In that case I'm sure I could build something similar from normal components..

Yes. Except the bog standard bit. The front light is a seperate entity. Looking at the LED "tube" almost looks likes it has some dental orthodontic pedigree. Certainly no fibre though.

 

[jerrysimon]

Deep cycle of the battery

looks likes it has some dental orthodontic pedigree. Certainly no fibre though.

Lol isn't that one of their other businesses.

Just took it out for another ride deliberalty cruising without pedaling to run the battery down for another 5 miles or so. That's about 18 miles in total today with a lot of deliberate power the last few miles to run the battery down.

Its interesting when it cuts out though this bike is lovely to cycle unpowered.

Anyway just ran it for about 20 mins with the wheel off the ground to deliberalty drain the battery as instructed. I emailed Mark at Cytronex and he replied almost immediately, saying that he was quite happy to support me as a second user. Even told me about deep cycling the battery.

I also got chance to test the lights and as you say the front is quite powerfull and easy to ride by.

In an hour I will fully recharge the battery (your suppose to leave it to cool right down I am told on a deep cycle) and then in the morning I will give it another boost charge.

So far all looks great and the battery seems to have lots of life in it, which was my main concern and they are quite expensive and I don't think Mark has any in stock at the moment.

Regards

Jerry

 

[themutiny]

(your suppose to leave it to cool right down I am told on a deep cycle)

Thought it worth pointing out that this always applies, not just deep cycle.

The Lumotec Cyo on the Cytronex Synapse has a switch on it which allows you to turn off the data light. It also controls whether or not the standlight operates (its a pretty useful feature that means the light still shines for a period after you turn it off, even when disconnected from the battery).

Glad you like your new bike.

Cheers

Nick

 

[jerrysimon]

Yes Nick your right to point that out.

I have flown areo models for a while and when using NiMh batteries they always recommend that too.

I think Nicads are more forgiving but NiMh cells need a little more care.

Not as much care as Lithium Polymer cells we use though

Regards

Jerry

 

[themutiny]

No - quite right. At 400 quid a go, you have to treat them like infants

 

[Barnowl]

I'm assuming you mean letting the battery cool down before recharging every time. I don't believe I've ever heard that. Mind you I don't think I've ever taken the battery off the bike and recharged after a run anyway. Always ends up being done the next morning - one of the beauties of a very fast recharge. Usefull to be aware though.

 

[jerrysimon]

Barnowl with the Nicads we use in aero modeling you can pretty much recharge them hot after a flight. With NiMh cells they recommend you give a short time between charges. With aero models you drain them really quickly at a high amp draw usually within 10-15 mins so they get very hot. I doubt these ebike ones get that hot, so its probably not essential but as you say best to leave them till monring anyway as then you have a full charge.

I have just put it on charge now and the instructions say to leave it all night though it will be interesting to see when they finish charging.

Regards

Jerry