RBR newsletter subscriber Steve Bayard submitted this review of an ebike conversion kit he purchased and installed, and we thought our readers might enjoy learning about it.
By Steve Bayard
When I retired 16 plus years ago I again took up my childhood passion of riding a bike. Now at 86 years young, and with a pair of 25 year old metal knees (replacements) I find I’m not as young as I was. While I still ride 40 plus miles a day, I’m riding a couple of miles an hour slower. Keeping up with those young 70 year olds in my riding group became a losing challenge.
Realizing that my faster days might be behind me, but still enjoying cycling almost daily, my thoughts turned toward purchasing an ebike. I’m used to carbon frames on my two bikes — bikes that fit me very well. So a cheap ebike didn’t interest me. Nor did an $8,000 price tag on a new carbon frame bike that might or might be as comfortable to ride. There was also the challenge of storing a third bike in my condo.
A cycling buddy with heart issues had installed a Cytronex conversion kit on his tandem and said he liked it a lot. I brought up Citronex’s site (www.cytronex.com) to investigate further. Their website is very informative and helpful. The conversion seemed relatively easy to do myself.
A week later I placed an order for a conversion kit from this English company. Three months and 1,500 miles later I am very, very satisfied with this roughly $1,500 purchase.
The conversion starts with a bottle-shaped battery that attaches by connecting it to your water bottle cage mount.
The battery has computer chips in it that talks to your cell phone for settings as well as monitoring the state of charge. Their are five potential power settings in addition to the off setting that provides no assistance at all.
A handlebar-mounted controller allows you to control the motor’s power output.
The motor is in the hub of the front wheel which is included with the Cytronex kit. Note the wire that runs down the fork to power the motor.
Cytronex offers a good selection of rims in which their motor is mounted. This a tubeless compatible rim in the photo. Both the motor and the wheel seem to be above average quality.
The conversion works as a pedal-assisted ebike only, and does not include a throttle.
That means that a sensor is mounted adjacent to the cassette. The sensor monitors when you are pedaling. Only when you are pedaling does it allow power to flow to the motor. The sensor is very responsive. As soon as you stop pedaling, the assist immediately ceases.
To sum it up, the assist comes on in a second or so whenever I want it and never assists when I don’t want it. The bike handles much like did before I installed the Cytronex kit.
The manufacturer’s site has a video showing the conversion kit can be installed in just 4 minutes. In reality it took me a couple of hours to carefully read instructions, mount the tire and install the components and carefully route the wiring. Correctly routing the wiring is essential so it does not snag and will not be subject to premature wear and tear that damages the electrical flow.
The installed kit adds just eight pounds. This is in line with the added weights of the fancy $8,000 + factory ebikes.
But how does the converted bike ride?
Using the lowest 20% power assist setting adds about 2 to 3 mph to my pedaling speed. It greatly reduces the effort needed to pedal against a 15 to 20 mph headwind. It makes riding against a headwind fun instead of an effort. I have never wanted or needed to try the maximum power output. The motor is governed at a maximum speed of 20 mph and does not assist at any speeds faster than that.
When riding with a neutral wind or a tailwind, I find I do not wish to engage the motor because the motor will often bring the bike speed up to 19 to 20 mph, a little above my desired comfortable road speed of 14 to 17 mph.
When the motor is not powered, the bike rides very similar to the way it did prior to the conversion. The effort to pedal when not using the assist does not seem to be increased from the effort required before the conversion, so it’s really just a matter of the extra weight of approximately 8 pounds.
How many miles does one get on a full battery charge? Obviously this depends on one’s desired level of assist as well as the terrain, etc. I find that on windy days I engage the motor between 25 to 33% of the time. In the flat Florida Gulf Coast a full charge on windy days will take me between 75 and 100 miles.
Interestingly, at the end of a 30 to 50 mile ride on my converted e-bike I find my average heart rate is about the same as it is when riding my other regular bike. The only difference is I come home having averaged a mile or two faster speed.
Do I still want to ride a non powered bike? Yes. I find on calm wind days I like to switch back to 100% pedaling.
If you have two bikes you like and you are thinking about an e-bike, I highly recommend Cytronex conversion kit.
One criteria is that the front fork must be of the older design with a regular quick release to hold the front wheel in place. The kit is not compatible with the newer thru-axle screw type wheel attachment. Before you order the kit, I suggest you make sure your bottle cage screws are not seized, because the bottle shaped battery needs a sturdy mount.
Each kit is tailored to fit the dimensions of your existing bike. The Cytronex website has easy to understand instructions for determining the measurements of the electrical cables. They offer a good variety of rim sizes and colors. This includes a tubeless rim offering like I purchased. The final price does includes shipping from England, but you need to set aside an additional $100 or so to pay the import duty that is assessed and separately billed after kit has been shipped.
The time between ordering the kit and its arrival was approximately three weeks.
In summary the Cytronex Kit is well designed and of good quality. It is a good value. The seller is very helpful. And a Cytronex power assist makes cycling up hills and bridges a breeze and a lot more fun tackling 15+ mph headwinds.
larry english says
does it have ‘speed levels’?
you mention it wanting to go 19-20 when you don;t want that
Steve Bayard says
The phone app has five available settings that allow you to adjust the electrical power input to the motor from 20% up to a maximum of 100%… Thus you have ability to determine the level of assist you desire… i.e. On a steep hill you might like more assist than when you are just on the ‘flats’ pedaling against a headwind…
At the lowest setting of 20% assist the Cytronex motor seems to provide about 10 – 15% additional power over and above my legs’ power… Thus when I riding with a minor tailwind the bike takes off to the governed speed of 20 MPH if I use the assist..
Doug Kirk (Madison, WI) says
What effect if any from the power being in the front wheel v bottom bracket?
Steve Bayard says
I don’t sense any negative power effects from added power on front wheel… The bike handles pretty much the same whether Assist is on or off…
There is a slight change in the weight ratio between the front and rear wheels with the added 4 lbs. of motor… This does not seem to make any significant change in handling with the possible exception slightly slower acceleration from start because the front wheel is probably 2 1/2 times heavier than a normal front wheel…