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‘swytch’?
Not seen it yet but could this be a utility/cargo solution? Bit of late evening viewing anyway.
*Edit: cripes, that thumbnail is frankly terrifying 🤣
its a very small battery and a low torque motor. Nothing other kits do not do better
Don’t know what I was expecting 🤣
Spec on website states
High Torque Brushless Motor
Conquer any hill with the high torque Swytch eBike Kit hub motor. Rated for 40Nm, this compact brushless motor has enough pulling power to drag the average adult up a 30% incline with only some light pedalling.
3kg easy solution for local zipping about/faster errands. It’s gotten me thinking again. What could I get that’s better for £500? (I actually have a powerful motor and throttle kit in the shed but it’s old, noisy, not road-legal and with no sensor-shenanigans. No battery either 😎)
could I get that’s better for £500?
Pre order price and 12 weeks wait or binp £999.
At £500 its not bad but at £999 they are having a laugh! Plus I'm guessing the rim and spokes will be cheap. Youd really want it building into your own rim if you had a nice bike so you can add an extra £50 for a wheel build.
its a very small battery and a low torque motor. Nothing other kits do not do better
What range does the battery give you? The eco kit is 35km and the pro 50km. I'm guessing the video is a £500 eco kit.
For comparison The pendleton ebike gives a range of 50 miles and full bike is £999 rrp. I just picked up a hardly used one for £575.
It looks a bit clunky to me, the battery solution in particular looks poor.
It looks a bit clunky to me, the battery solution in particular looks poor.
I think the opposite. Because it has such a low range its handy being on the bars so you can remove and charge easily. It's obviously designed at commuters who will charge it on their office desk or in the cafe. 1 hour charge gets you 10 miles or 15km.
Maybe it's just me, I've hard a vaude bar bag for commuting that I love and I've maybe got used to a box on the front. I'm guessing you can mount it anywhere but wires might not be long enough.
the battery is small - 180 or 250 whr. I had a 375 and it was too small. My current ebike is 600 and thats just enough IMO
There is no way you will get the range they suggest unless you ride in a low power mode on the flat.
Plus I’m guessing the rim and spokes will be cheap. Youd really want it building into your own rim if you had a nice bike so you can add an extra £50 for a wheel build.
No idea about the spokes and rims, you could be right. Thing is I don’t want to convert either of my bikes into a full-time ebike. Would like something quick to fit and easy to remove.
I live at the top of a big hill and most of my errands in any direction are <40k round trip ie down - flat -up.
So only the last 2-3 miles is the main culprit. Would also like to visit friends over the hill. There and back is no joke on any bike at any fitness level, but taking the car 6 miles round trip is a joke IMO.
A motor would save time on the return uphill and also lessen the chance of me re-injuring an existing ab/groin injury which is frustrating me on seated climbs. Every time it reinjures it puts me back months. Even without the injury, an e-shopperbike makes sense living on hills.
Talking this through on another thread an ebike was suggested. I don’t have room for a cheap ebike (looked at G-Tech) without having to sell my tourer , so makes sense as boost would hopefully help me not re-injure, help get fit/lose weight giving it more time to heal properly while still being time-efficient and load-efficient.
That, and I was left standing by an OAP up Bank Street just yesterday 🤣
I was steady winching 4.6mph with one full pannier (on the back of a tourer) and she just buzzed past on some town bike like she was on the flat.
Imagined being able to do that in ‘work mode’ and then just replace the proper wheel for proper riding.
Looks ok...for some reason I'm surprised to see it driving the front wheel. Unsure why I'm surprised but I think I've got in my head that the front wheel won't drive the bike as effectively as the back wheel does.
^ Not sure of the efficiency of f/hub vs r/hub motor but I did think the same thoughts.
I read about a good few benefits of hub motors:
Hub motors also help reduce other bike maintenance tasks compared to mid-drive motors. Since they don’t connect to the main pedal drive system, hub motors don’t add any extra stress to your chain or shifters, and don’t cause any of those parts to wear out more quickly. If anything, your chain will probably last longer than a non-electric bike because the hub motor will be doing more work, allowing your chain to often sit idle...
...As an independent drive system, hub motors also add redundancy. Since the hub motor and the pedal drive system are completely independent, you can lose one and still get home on the other. Chain breaks while you’re hitting it hard on a trail? Toss the chain in your bag and ride home on just electric power. Hub motor somehow fails? Pedal back. Either way, you’ve got a backup. This can be huge if you’re far from home, especially for older riders or those who use e-biking as a form of rehabilitation
https://electrek.co/2018/06/07/electric-bicycle-hub-motors-vs-mid-drive/
Mine was delivered yesterday and I've just fitted it. Won't be able to properly test ride for a few days but it definitely works.
Kit seems robust. Only area of concern is the pedal assist magnet and sensor..I ordered the wrong one but luckily their website has a suggested hack (bodge in my case) which has worked ok though time will tell if it is robust enough or needs replaced. Customer services response time by email was about 10 minutes.
Main issue was that the 10mm axle wouldn't fit my QR dropouts..they measured 9.4 mm so I had to file them back which took a while. Front wheel easily ran tubeless with my usual 2 layers of tape. Some messy wiring at the front but inevitable with the extra cabling needed.
@Malvern Rider not dissimilar situation. Commute 9 miles each way, uphill first few miles each way. Have done it regularly on the tourer (Drop bar Fargo) but just fancied a bit of extra help when I want it. Some days are great, some are a chore currently. Plan is to commute more regularly and just see how I like an e-bike. Weight isn't an issue for me but weight distribution definitely was on my mind..I use rack/panniers for commuting/shopping and so weighting the front end a bit seemed ideal to me. I've found the bike handles better when I've toured with fork mounted bags.
I ordered the Pro kit for lightly extra range though I doubt I'll have any range concerns.
Happy to answer any questions. Also happy if anyone wants to try it out.
^ Top notch, so luck would have it we might get a proper review after all 👍🏼
And (ahem) a six month update? 😉
Fully Charged are good at reviewing cars, but from what I’ve seen their e-bike slots are just a bit fluffy tbh.
As soon as I read about your issue with the oversized axle it reminded me of another conversion kit review. Almost identical. They also had to file the dropouts:
The guy on the folder was barely pedalling while Kryton was nearly having a heart attack. Why was that?
He was fitter and lighter? More appropriate gearing?
I have also just had mine delivered. Fitted it to my wife’s bike and it had very positive reviews from her so far. The QR is an issue. Managed to jam mine in but now can’t get them out (wife wanted it fitted on her other, prettier bike).
I have had a quick go too. Tried it out pulling the kiddie bike trailer (so an extra 50kg of weight). Got up my local hill with ease.
It’s not going to be a replacement for a proper ebike but it is going to get my wife out riding with me more. So it’s a win from me. So far...
Bit hacked off about the QR thing though.
(Swytch) wheel seems to use 10mm solid threaded axles that are secured to the fork with nuts - which makes sense as this provides higher clamping force required to handle the motor torque
https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/59943/swytch-ebike-conversion-wheel-axle-diameter
Surprised if Swytch still don’t mention this. I’m off to measure dropouts...
I have had a quick go too. Tried it out pulling the kiddie bike trailer (so an extra 50kg of weight). Got up my local hill with ease.
that’s basically what I want. That’s a ‘proper ebike’ for my intended use. Something that can do a 30 mile round commute with low to no assist, then drag my Longitude, me and 50kg cargo up the steep hills, easier, more quickly and without re-injuring/wrecking rehab efforts.
And then... be easily removed and stored, returning the bike again to regular pedal mode.
A ready-built ‘proper’ cargo/town ebike (even had I the budget) would be one bike too many (another to store), and probably not so versatile, or as light, I’m guessing?
(By ebike I mean local transport/utlity, not a niche product ie MTB/sport/taking air etc)
The Pendleton ebike weighs around 22kgs. The G-Tech, 16kg. My Longitude weighs Around 12kg so with a 3KG kit I’m still coming in a KG lighter than the G-Tech. And this is a fully-fledged 29er gravelbeast that can carry most anything.
Anyone know of any better kits for less money I could be looking at?
The guy on the folder was barely pedalling while Kryton was nearly having a heart attack.
He was also wobbling all over the road. He looked like someone who was on a bike for the first time.
I wonder what they are like in the wet, particularly when going up hill seated? I'd be concerned about the front wheel slipping, I'm no wattage beast and I've managed to spin my rear wheel on some steep greasy roads round the holme valley.
Has anyone ridden that hill, is it really as bad as he makes out.
I’ve never seen anyone before that worn out on an ebike .
The Pendleton ebike weighs around 22kgs. The G-Tech, 16kg. My Longitude weighs Around 12kg so with a 3KG kit I’m still coming in a KG lighter than the G-Tech. And this is a fully-fledged 29er gravelbeast that can carry most anything.
The pendleton bike to be fair is shite, it's probably a £300 bike but with the bafang motor and battery it doesn't need to be that good as it does all the work for you. The battery is the heaviest part, with that removed its not that bad. Not weighed it but I bet its more than 3kg that this kit weighs.
I suggested I built it onto a better bike but Mrs D thinks it's really pretty and likes it just how it is. She even likes the wicker basket!
@Malvern Rider I think this swytch system sounds perfect for you. Yes it's a small motor and battery but you don't need/want it for that, it's just to assist you. Easy to remove as it's front wheel. If in the future it doesn't work for you you can always change the motor and add extra batteries.
Hurry up and order it before they put the price up!
I am pretty confident it is only 3kg. It really doesn’t feel like much. I’ve just stuck the concerted trek hybrid on the roof of my car along with my 29+ singular rooster and they felt about the same weight...
My only slight concern now is the longevity of the cables - they seem a little flimsy but time will tell on that.
In terms of price - I bought the Pro and it was under £500 all in. Had to pay for customs at the last minute (over £100 which was a bit of a kick in the nuts as I hadn’t read the terms) but it was £380 when I commuter on indiegogo
Few days use now on commuting duties. I'm 75kg, bike weighs 30kg with my work gear in panniers. 40mm Gravel King tyres. Mainly tarmac some hardpack towpath.
Feels like 3 bars of assist (out of 5) is about right for me so below figures are with that setting the whole ride. I feel like I'm putting in some effort the whole ride. Country lanes so not very stop-start and can only really feel the motor on uphill sections. Gradient up to around 20%.
Yesterday extended it a bit....29 miles 2300 feet 1 bar left out of 5 (average speed 16.1 mph)
Today standard commute 18 miles 1300 feet 3 bars left (average 15.1mph)
I prefer not to use Garmin generally commuting as not fussed about the speed so not sure but pre Swytch speeds were around 12 mph on the same route as today.
Feels like there is some drag but difficult to tell for sure. I've not really ridden e- bikes before so nothing to compare it to.
Suits my purpose pretty well. Really enjoyed every commute this week, which is the whole point.
Have you got the Pro or the regular? Not really put mine (my wife’s really...) to the test. But from the sounds of what you’re saying maybe I’ll Swytch it on to my bike when I start going back to the office and do the 25km ride there and back every day. That would be aces.
I've got the Pro.
I really like the look of this kit. Sure it's not a competitor to a proper mid drive ebike, but as an add on that can be fitted by almost anyone to almost any bike it's a nicely thought out kit. I wonder how much additional batteries are...
I've had a look at Bafang kits but working out which bits I need isn't straight forward.
Bit of a customer service update too...
I ordered sensor B kit for my bike but it hadn’t arrived in time. So they shipped it with the universal (which I was able to fit).
They have since emailed to say the correct one is en route and they are throwing in a throttle too. Nice touch.
Hoping they will also do something about the axle girth issue...
Odd question -
On conversions, where the front hub is the motor, effectively pulling you, your kit and the weight of the bike, does that place more strain on the headset, and if in the opposite force by pulling on the headtube rather than pushing against it.
If a headset can take being jumped on and go on rough tracks etc then I don't think being pulled rather than pushed will make a difference.