Review Swytch Brompton kit review

[patpatbut]

I haven’t been in the forum for a while but I am still in and out ebike scene
I am sure there are loads do not like indiegogo and kickstarter but I do pledge some projects giving some support really.
The swytch kit caught in my eyes as they are based in uk and they sell reasonably cheap kit compared to others. I believe they are part of the panda bike business but I do not know much about that.
Anyway I got the kit from their first batch and it is well packaged and I believe the TV logo from outside helps a bit for the extra protection. As they are many videos about how it is installed so i won’t go details about it.
I ordered the Brompton kit and in general the installation is pretty easy. However it does have issues. The pedal sensor fitting is not straight forward as the sensor is too far from the magnetic if you mount it seat tube frame. I used a bit of old inner tube to create a platform for the sensor to mount which brings the sensor closer to the magnetic. You could remove the sensor mount and fit it next to frame bottom end. Also, swytch changed the brake kill switch to the inline one in which you need to remove the whole brake housing to install. Luckily they do provide extra long brake cable for the extra length increased by the brake sensor. However only one brake cable supplied and I have two sensors to fit. Not sure they don’t give me an extra one.
The battery mount bracket looks very solid and I am sure it will do the job fine. The only drawback is there is no way to screw the bracket really tight at the handle bar. Swytch sorts this out by adding a strong strap at the end which helps to stop the bracket from moving forward.

After using it for a week I have to say I am really impressed with it. The steering is not affected much even my 3-4kg battery in the front. From power assist 1-9 is very evenly distributed. It cuts off at around 15mile per hr but you don’t feel you hitting a wall at all. Without power the drag is very little and I don’t feel much different from my non electric Brompton. The battery charger is very light and small so easy to bring it around.

To be honest I still love my q100 eBrompton as I feel that it is a more powerful in term of hill climbing. However considering you don’t need to widen and file the fork, find a way to mount your controller and sort out the wiring thing, I believe this Brompton kit is worth to get.

P.s. the USB port from the battery doesn’t charge my iPhone so not sure why. The battery works brilliantly to what is designed for anyway. Will check with swytch to see what they say.

Any question just ask here I will see if I could give you more info

Pat

 

[David Coffey]

BEWARE BEWARE !! I have fitted the 50 mile kit to my Brompton, and for 20 miles all was well ...... but now i have a dreadful issue with the front hub motor , it grates/screeches and creates resistance and then powers off the battery, and u find yourself on a considerably heavier Brompton than u are used to , with a massivley unreliable piece of kit - i have contacted Swytch today , other users have had same issue and no fix/reply/resolution as yet :-((

 

[MattR]

BEWARE BEWARE !! I have fitted the 50 mile kit to my Brompton, and for 20 miles all was well ...... but now i have a dreadful issue with the front hub motor , it grates/screeches and creates resistance and then powers off the battery, and u find yourself on a considerably heavier Brompton than u are used to , with a massivley unreliable piece of kit - i have contacted Swytch today , other users have had same issue and no fix/reply/resolution as yet :-((

Hi David - I bought a swytch kit and had exactly the same experience and have been trying without any success to engage with the team at Swytch to get my bike working since it broke down shortly after being installed with the same symptoms as yours in November 2018. Matt

 

[BigG]

Hi David - I bought a swytch kit and had exactly the same experience and have been trying without any success to engage with the team at Swytch to get my bike working since it broke down shortly after being installed with the same symptoms as yours in November 2018. Matt

I emailed them with a simple question and after four weeks.... still no reply.
They don’t seem keen on advertising a telephone number or an address to make it easy to get in touch.
As far as I’m concerned, after sales service is the number one thing I look for and having seen the last two postings, I don’t think I’ll bother.
It’s such a shame as it looks to be a very neat system.

 

[Swytch Bike]

BEWARE BEWARE !! I have fitted the 50 mile kit to my Brompton, and for 20 miles all was well ...... but now i have a dreadful issue with the front hub motor , it grates/screeches and creates resistance and then powers off the battery, and u find yourself on a considerably heavier Brompton than u are used to , with a massivley unreliable piece of kit - i have contacted Swytch today , other users have had same issue and no fix/reply/resolution as yet :-((


Hey @David Coffey, I am just following up on your message here, it appears that we did not come to a resolution in December, which I sincerely apologise for. Please do let us know if you are still experiencing the same issues with your Brompton Kit by emailing support@swytchbike.com where we are on hand to help with any technical problems. We look forward to hearing from you soon, Swytch Bike.

 

[Swytch Bike]

Hi David - I bought a swytch kit and had exactly the same experience and have been trying without any success to engage with the team at Swytch to get my bike working since it broke down shortly after being installed with the same symptoms as yours in November 2018. Matt

Good Morning @Matt R, I couldn't find any history of communication without searching with your last name. I am just following up to see if we have managed to resolve the faults you were experiencing with your Brompton kit? If not please kindly email support@swytchbike.com as we would like the opportunity to rectify the lack of assistance and support. We look forward to hearing from you soon, Swytch Bike.

 

[Swytch Bike]

I emailed them with a simple question and after four weeks.... still no reply.
They don’t seem keen on advertising a telephone number or an address to make it easy to get in touch.
As far as I’m concerned, after sales service is the number one thing I look for and having seen the last two postings, I don’t think I’ll bother.
It’s such a shame as it looks to be a very neat system.

Hey @BigG, I am sorry to read that we did not respond to your enquiry. If you still require assistance please do not hesitate to get in touch via our online form at swytchbike.com or via email at support@swytchbike.com where we would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. If you would like to try out a Swytch bike and you're London based we would like to offer you a complimentary trial with Fat Llama. If we can assist in any other way, please do not hesitate to get in touch, many thanks, Swytch Bike.

 

[vfr400]

Did these issues get resolved? The grating noise and associated rough running is normally caused by a bad connection to the motor even though it feels like a mechanical problem in the motor. The motor connector near the motor is a prime canditate to be the cause. It's easy to leave it not pushed in far enough. There's a guide line on it for how far it has to go. That's explained in the manual with photos. After that, the next candidate is the multipin connector that joins the power pack bag. Check that it's properly engaged and check that both the pins and receiving terminals look like they're supposed to.

 

[Swytch Bike]

Hi Guys - just checking in here, if you're experiencing any problems at all with your Swytch kit at all then drop us a direct message here, or post your Zendesk ticket number if you have one so we can flag it as urgent.