Cytronex Trek 7300

[Barnowl]

Sounds good - Winchester is hilly. Was you cycling generally on good long stretches of road though. It's the constant town cycling, brake/stop/strart/accelerate, that I find heavy on the battery - not to mention a few short but killer hills. Once up to speed and if maintaining momentum for a good distance it probably doesn't make much difference to the battery drain since you're covering more ground to compensate.

 

[HarryB]

Hi HarryB,

I was under the impression that the 190rpm had less torque at the advantage of more speed, not just that it was more powerful. Horses for courses so to speak.

I'm sure flecc has mentioned something in the past about this?

Maybe it is more powerful at the cost of battery life? so again if your average journey length is small it wouldn't matter.

I've found that my course could benefit from the 190rpm.

Matt

From what we understand from the graphs, the lower rpm motors have lower power outputs (we think to put the roller drive under less strain) but the same torque. You can multiply torque by changing the gearing, so you can have a pretty good hill climber if you are prepared to sit at 5 mph! The 190 rpm motor climbs most hills better (and faster) but obviously you get to a certain point and it will give up.

 

[themutiny]

I guess for me, I've already got one bike (torq1) that won't climb hills
So I don't want another

I haven't found a hill yet that it won't climb if I'm riding the Cytronex, there are bits of porlock hill that my wife couldn't climb, and nor could I on the Torq

 

[HarryB]

I guess for me, I've already got one bike (torq1) that won't climb hills
So I don't want another

I guess they both will tackle hills of the same gradient (as the 190 rpm motor has greater peak power) but you will be going quicker with the 190 fitted. I am mighty tempted to go for it but not sure about what it will do to battery life (well I know what it will do but will I be able to put up with it?).

 

[Barnowl]

Know what you mean Harry. The weather will be cooling down soon and that means I'll be able to apply more leg power before I hit the profuse sweat barrier. The distances I do don't really warrant the extra power and it conflicts with the "exercise program". Extra 1.5 -2MPH assist - is it really worth it? Still it's tempting all the same to get the most out of it all.

 

[matt-derby]

Rpm

I'm sure I recall reading that Mark (MrCytronex) had fitted the 240rpm motor to a Cannondale and found it pretty quick up the hills, at around 23mph. I gather they don't offer that option though. That would probably be a match for the Pro Connect S.

Matt

 

[jerrysimon]

Well I rode my Cytronex in to work everyday last week. I am completly hooked on this bike. I have also put it on my house insurance but had to insure it to the value of its full new cost. Not too bad at £32 for the year against its new replacement the Claud Butler at £1400.

I am hoping to go to the Bike show at Earls Court late next week and want to go have a chat with Cytronex as well as looking round at all the bikes and bits and bobs.

I am curious about the setup on the new Cytronex bikes and how they differ.

My one minor niggle is that you can't turn power off without blipping the brakes. It not a big deal though. Also curious why the new ones only cut power by applying the back break and not either

Regards

Jerry

 

[themutiny]

On the new ones it is really, really, easy to turn the power off. So much so, that in my experience, the real art is in actually getting assistance when you push the button, because the positioning of the various magnets is quite critical and they are easily dislodged. I'm therefore very glad that only one of the brakes has a magnetic switch.

 

[HarryB]

I am curious about the setup on the new Cytronex bikes and how they differ.

My one minor niggle is that you can't turn power off without blipping the brakes. It not a big deal though. Also curious why the new ones only cut power by applying the back break and not either

Regards

Jerry

The new ones have pedal sensors so if you stop pedalling then the power goes. No great hardship as you have to be going at 5-7 mph before applying the power anyway. With this set up you only really need one brake to cut the power and I think this has helped the manufacturing as the switch is less labour intensive to put in (you have two drilled into the brake levers). The later generation have the buttons by your thumb rather than on the bar ends - much better as it avoids taking your hand away from the brake lever.

 

[jerrysimon]

Interesting thanks for the replies guys.

Hopefully I can have a good look and chat at the Cytronex stand at the show next week.

Regards

Jerry

 

[HarryB]

On the new ones it is really, really, easy to turn the power off. So much so, that in my experience, the real art is in actually getting assistance when you push the button, because the positioning of the various magnets is quite critical and they are easily dislodged. I'm therefore very glad that only one of the brakes has a magnetic switch.

I think if in practice the magnet switches are difficult to set-up you then you should feed this back to Mark at cytronex. I am sure he wouldn't want users to set up the brake switches all the time after all it should be aimed at the non-technical owner rather than an enthusiast.

 

[Barnowl]

My one minor niggle is that you can't turn power off without blipping the brakes. It not a big deal though. Also curious why the new ones only cut power by applying the back break and not either

Regards

Jerry

Hi Jerry: I have no problem with blipping the brakes. I think it works well. The brakes shouldn't actually come on when you blip them so there's no loss of speed or wear. Also they do need adjusting (with the front wheel off the ground, turn screw till motor cuts out and turn back 3/4 turn etc) especially after you've adjusted the brakes.

Glad to hear you had a good week with the bike.

 

[jerrysimon]

Hi Jerry: I have no problem with blipping the brakes. I think it works well. The brakes shouldn't actually come on when you blip them so there's no loss of speed or wear. Also they do need adjusting (with the front wheel off the ground, turn screw till motor cuts out and turn back 3/4 turn etc) especially after you've adjusted the brakes.

Thanks for that. Its not a problem and thanks for the heads up for the adjustment I will check that out and make sure they are set up right.

Regards

Jerry

 

[themutiny]

I think if in practice the magnet switches are difficult to set-up you then you should feed this back to Mark at cytronex. I am sure he wouldn't want users to set up the brake switches all the time after all it should be aimed at the non-technical owner rather than an enthusiast.

I have, and he has now made some changes, ie he drills a hole in it now. Unfortunately for me, the double sided tape ahs now come off and I have had to resort to a cable tie, which in turn moves. To be honest, once you are used to it, it is no great problem. the bigger problem is the pedal sensor. The positioning of this is really critical, and if it moves out slighly it is quite difficult to reposition because it is trial and error. I lost about 15 mins on the ching challenge as a direct result. However, these are only niggles. It is still a very good system on a superlative bike.

 

[Pedalo]

Just another quick point. My Cytronex came with a rear stand which although worked ened up with the bike leaning over almost at 45 degrees. Unfortuantely it has no adjustment.

Anyway I just got one these which I saw on another Cytronex owners post here.

Pletscher Multizoom Rear Mount Kickstand

BTW my motor is the 175pm one

Regards

Jerry

Jerry,

How did it work out with the Pletscher stand? How does it mount? I'm thinking of getting one for my 7.3fx.

Thanks

 

[jerrysimon]

Jerry,

How did it work out with the Pletscher stand? How does it mount? I'm thinking of getting one for my 7.3fx.

Thanks

It worked out well. Its a tight fit over the spare lug (for a rear disk brake I think) and you need to position it all "before" you tighten everything up. If you get it wrong the bike sits over way too much at an angle, so you will know when its right.

Also make sure you put some tape on the frame to stop it scratching it up

I can post a pic if you get stuck.

Regards

Jerry

 

[Pedalo]

If you wouldn't mind posting a picture that would be great! I can't quite imagine how/where it mounts. The only other stand I've had fitted underneath the bottom bracket but there's a Tongxin controller there...

Thanks for the help.

 

[jerrysimon]

ok I will try and take a picture later and post it.

Regards

Jerry

 

[jerrysimon]

This slide show from another owner sort of shows it. That's where I got the idea to fit one.

Its the second picture on the show

Aldby's Photostream

Jerry

 

[Pedalo]

It worked out well. Its a tight fit over the spare lug (for a rear disk brake I think) and you need to position it all "before" you tighten everything up. If you get it wrong the bike sits over way too much at an angle, so you will know when its right.

Also make sure you put some tape on the frame to stop it scratching it up

I can post a pic if you get stuck.

Regards

Jerry

I finally got my stand and fitted it now.

Thanks for the tips - especially regarding the tape. I did have to move things around a few times until I was satisfied, and I'm sure I would have got a few scratches without the tape.

I found the stand is only just long enough to fit without the bike leaning over too much. You can adjust the length of it but only shorter from its current position.

I think I'm pretty much done on upgrades now:
Pletscher multizoom stand.
Madison G14Z saddle (to be honest I don't think I gave the original Bontrager one quite enough time - while I was waiting for the new one I tried another 25 mile ride and wasn't as sore as last time).
Ortlieb panniers for carting all my stuff to/from work. (Expensive, could do with a side pocket but otherwise great and are very waterproof).
Mudguards & Rack were already fitted when I bought the bike.
New brake pads (It was a right faff fitting those - I bought just pads rather than complete blocks and they were an incredibly tight fit into the existing blocks. Next time I'll replace the complete blocks!)
Kryptonite Kryptolok series 2 with kryptoflex cable.

I might add an extra light at the rear for additional visibility (possibly a blackburn mars3 or mars4 which look to be extra bright and flash) though the existing light is pretty bright.