FAQs

After 150 years, bicycle design has achieved a state of near perfection for efficiency, so we have never seen a reason to change it. Instead we retro-fit to the quality bicycle of your choice, which may be the one in your garage!

The result is the most efficient system in the world and one of the lightest (3.2-3.6kg), a bike that rides just like the original, smooth and near silent assistance).

Cytronex C1 is the first high quality retro fit electric bicycle kit that cyclists can easily fit to their own bikes and use legally on the public highway.  See reviews:

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Unlike traditional heavy electric bikes you don’t need the power on all the time, so when on the flat you can easily go faster than 25Kph, and the bike behaves exactly as the unassisted version until you need assistance.

When you do want assistance, like on a hill – a momentary press of the Boost Button with your thumb illuminates the switch and you will feel smooth, silent power assistance to make cycling as easy as you want. So you can put in as much, or as little effort as you wish. Your overall speed is dictated by the total of your effort and the power level set for the gradient being climbed.

Assistance is totally automatic – when the Boost Button is on, the Cytronex Sensor monitors both pedalling and bicycle speed and maintains the exact power level you have chosen, providing the most natural cycling experience available. If you want a different power level you can press and hold the Boost Button for a second and the colour will change – there are 3 colours available and you can pre-set the precise power you want for each in the C1 App, so you can match any other cyclist (including a pro!).

The simplicity of the Cytronex C1 is one of the key reasons it’s taken 8 years of R&D including 4 patents! The objective of the project was to make a simple retrofit kit that anyone could fit quickly and easily without bicycle tools or technical knowledge, and be able to use the resulting assisted bike legally on the public highway.

We doubt anyone in the world has greater knowledge than Cytronex about how to fit power assistance to a standard bicycle – we launched the first system in May 2008, and all the knowledge and experience gained since then has been incorporated into the new C1 kit. It took designer, Mark Searles a great deal of complex engineering and several new inventions before he was able to achieve the elegance and simplicity of the new C1.

A key innovation critical in making Cytronex C1 easy to fit to almost any bike, is the patented Cytronex Sensor. This replaces the 3 sensors that are required by other ebikes and kits on the market (pedal, speed and brake sensors) to make a road legal electric bike. We also supply simple discreet clips and cable ties to neatly connect the Boost Button, Cytronex Sensor and the 3 cables to your bike. And because we have been able to miniaturise all the key electronics inside the bottle there is very little on the bike to go wrong – just a single button, Cytronex Sensor, the bottle cage and the motor.

We think this is a very good question and it is one many electric bike manufacturers have difficulty answering. Most ebikes are purpose built bikes – the bicycle design is altered to accommodate electronics, there are many sensors to comply with regulations and all the complex electronics are built around the bike so if you have a problem the whole bike needs to be transported to a service centre.

By fitting to existing bikes we are not trying to reinvent what is already nearly perfect so the mechanics are already robust. With our experience we have spent the last 8 years designing every known reliability risk out of C1 and unlike purpose built electric bikes – any part of Cytronex C1 can be removed in minutes and posted back. We have sealed all the important electronics into one water tight container (the bottle) which can be connected and removed in seconds. The Cytronex App has diagnostics – you can even send a log file to us remotely via the app if you have a problem, and you can update your system automatically when we make improvements via the App. Whilst most ebikes are bristling with sensors to comply with regulations our internationally patented Cytronex Sensor replaces all those normally required to use an electric bicycle on the public highway and it fits without special tools. There are in fact only 3 wires on the bike for Cytronex C1 assistance – one to the motor, one to the sensor and one for the single button control, so there is very little to go wrong. In short, Cytronex C1 is designed for reliability, from the ground up.

The Cytronex ethos is about pure cycling enjoyment, we believe in lightweight, high efficiency, a proper bike and a natural cycling experience at a power level of your choice. These factors add up to give Cytronex unparalleled efficiency – the Cytronex Capo for example is still the most efficient electric bike that AtoB magazine ever tested. Cytronex C1 sets the bar even higher and the 180 Wh Li-ion battery goes a long way for just 1.5Kg. Range depends on many factors including height climbed, weight, rider input and power level used. If you set the power level to the lowest possible then you should get around 2 hours of continual assistance. You don’t need to use Cytronex power when it’s easy, so you can go a long way, with some customers attaining 120-140km on a single charge!  Cycling Plus achieved a 67 mile range on a road bike fitted with C1 – the same as the Giant Ebike which weighed a mighty 9kg more and had a battery almost 2.5 times the capacity!

https://www.cyclingplus.com/articles/forgive-me-strava-for-i-have-sinned/

Firstly, Cytronex is all about the enjoyment of cycling, so we provide the smoothest and most natural cycling experience of any power assistance system today. The least natural experience is a crank motor because your legs are directly linked to the motor and of course a rear wheel motor is linked via the chain, only the front wheel is disconnected from the rider. Combine this with our entirely British designed and built high tech “Field Oriented Sine Wave Controller” which drives the motor, and you have the smoothest assistance available.

Secondly, with Cytronex you can have any bicycle you want and we do not want to interfere with the quality components on that bike or change these components. Only a front wheel replacement allows this – quick and simple, requiring no cycle tools or knowledge, you can even swap your old wheel back again in minutes if you wish to cycle with slower friends.

Finally, in wet or slippery conditions you have two wheel drive – your power via the rear wheel and Cytronex at the front.