New CYC GEN3 X1 build and 'review ish'

[Marjoriefinnegan]

Here we go guys, a fresh build with the new CYC Gen3 X1...

Donor bike is Geometron G1.
Big question first. The new X1 is really quite quiet. Apparently it has a higher tolerance gearbox and it's paid dividends. At 350 to 550 Watts it's probably not as loud as the tyre noise. 800w is a little louder but nothing too disturbing. Very impressed!
Anyway, back to the beginning...
Took about a month to turn up after ordering with good communications.
If you're a half happy with a spanner, fitting it is pretty straightforward, with instructions that you download from CYCs site. Basically pull your old crank set and bb and replace with the new shiny motor. Split chain to fit and find the neatest way to zip tie the cables up. IMHO the toughest thing is finding a home for the battery. In this case it's low slung with the weight distribution working well. My brother runs a battery rucksack and his install looks really clean as you can imagine, but I couldn't get used to it.
Honourable mention to the new Isis cranks.
I have downloaded the cyc control app and it hooked up via Bluetooth straight away, but all I changed so far is the power levels. Out of the box it's got 3kw if you feel the need, but that's not for me.
First ride observations.
The noise levels, as mentioned, are really good.
The motor kicks in as soon as you touch the pedals and took a few minutes to get used to, but I think it's a good thing. Steep off road hill starts are a doddle with it.
The torque sensing is very good both on and off road.
350w keeps me at about 21mph on flat road and felt plenty on the trails today.
All up weight is a little over 25kgs with a 950ish wh battery.
So far, very impressed!

Photo of motor and controller.

One of the display options.

 

[Bengy22]

Nice write up! I was curious how much quieter the gen 3 would be, glad to hear isn't not nearly as bad as the previous gen. Looks like a nice bike though, when I see a bike with a battery under the tube I question if its strong enough to hold but I guess with how many I've seen now must be fine. And it sure does beat the battery bag! I do want to ask, if you are not using the full power of the pro, why didn't you go with the stealth motor option?

 

[Marjoriefinnegan]

Thanks Bengy.
The Geometron is wonderful. It's such and easy bike to ride and amazing with a motor.

I've got a big 'ol jubilee clip holding the battery on with a 3d printed plate to cup the downtube and transition to the flat of the battery pack with some double sided adhesive foam tape. A couple of strong velcro straps for belt and braces. Not using water bottle type mounts at all. So far it hasn't budged, it's just not pretty sadly.

As for why I'm using the x1 ... It fits inside the frame (just), simple as that. If the new stealth had fitted I would have got that instead, but the arms are shorter. 750/800w gets us up some stupidly steep technical climbs but 350w for everyday use.

Little battery update, 15.5 miles using mix of 350w and 550w on road and single-track used about 1/3 of the charge.

Display. It's quite fun as has human power in watts, and cadence measure which I've always been curious about. Looks like you can also hook it up to a heart rate monitor.
Downside is it seems only to have 3 power levels whereas previous display allowed for up to 9 levels. Not really that much of an inconvenience if I'm honest.

Motor is a pleasure. Still quiet and the torque sensing is really nice.
800w is actually still pretty quiet.

 

[Bengy22]

Thanks Bengy.
The Geometron is wonderful. It's such and easy bike to ride and amazing with a motor.

I've got a big 'ol jubilee clip holding the battery on with a 3d printed plate to cup the downtube and transition to the flat of the battery pack with some double sided adhesive foam tape. A couple of strong velcro straps for belt and braces. Not using water bottle type mounts at all. So far it hasn't budged, it's just not pretty sadly.

As for why I'm using the x1 ... It fits inside the frame (just), simple as that. If the new stealth had fitted I would have got that instead, but the arms are shorter. 750/800w gets us up some stupidly steep technical climbs but 350w for everyday use.

Little battery update, 15.5 miles using mix of 350w and 550w on road and single-track used about 1/3 of the charge.

Display. It's quite fun as has human power in watts, and cadence measure which I've always been curious about. Looks like you can also hook it up to a heart rate monitor.
Downside is it seems only to have 3 power levels whereas previous display allowed for up to 9 levels. Not really that much of an inconvenience if I'm honest.

Motor is a pleasure. Still quiet and the torque sensing is really nice.
800w is actually still pretty quiet.

Oh nice that sounds a lot stronger than just using the bottle mounts, unless you are hitting some big jumps I bet it will be fine. And actually I would say it looks pretty good, different but clean though and doesn't look like the front wheel is going to smack into it like 99% of the other battery setups like it.

Oh didn't realize they had different mounts, inside the frame looks a lot cleaner and gives you room for the battery so I can see why you would go with it.

I do like that display though, as someone whos pushing his motor and rides in the summer when its over 100F outside a temp read out right there would be nice. And I agree I have 9 on my ebike but I only use 3, but I am running a throttle though for temporary extra high assist when needed without going through the hassle of upping it for just a few seconds.

I can say I don't think I could limit myself to just 800w if I had that much on tap, but I fully understand if you are trying to keep it like a ebike and not a light ev dirt bike why you would do that. I can get carried away on my ebike when on the road.

 

[Marjoriefinnegan]

Thanks buddy, I'm pretty happy with the set up, even though you feel the installation could always be cleaner. I'm also certain the front wheel won't hit the battery, lolz So far it's managed five/six foot drops quite happily. I know this isn't huge but I'm an old git!
Regards heat, you'd like the display as it looks like it keeps track of motor temperature.

With pedal assist the bike tops out at about 28mph on the fiat with current gearing. No idea what it would do on throttle (although you're right, the throttle is handy for momentary high power requirements), although think my brother has had about 55mph, on a private road of course.
I'm more concerned with the longevity of the drive train and don't feel the need to go any quicker on the trails, trees come up plenty fast enough now as it is... But I can understand wanting power on the road as that's the boring bit

 

[NapaTom]

Marjoriefinnegan - Have you used the app yet? I am running a CYC X1 Pro Gen 2 with the new X6 controller and a 750c display and I have noticed a few bugs in the app. The main one I am trying to work out is once I stop peddling the motor keeps running for about a second before it stops applying power. Very evident when you have max power set at 4000 Watts. CYC and GoldenMotor do not answer my technical support inquiries even though the whole setup is still under warranty and the manual does not help.

 

[NapaTom]

I have noticed that I can change the number of levels to 9 on the 750C display and the app will show each level every time I hit the + button on my 750c Display control button. However, in the app setup it only shows 3 levels.

 

[Marjoriefinnegan]

Hi Tom
Only had a cursory play with the app to change power levels so can't comment at the moment really, but have used the 750c display before and am considering going back to it as I have a spare. The 103 is a fun display with loads of information... That you probably don't really need.
Interesting about displays levels vs app levels. As I recall there were only 3 power levels displayed in the app, but I assumed that was linked to the 103 display.

Will try to have a play around with the app over the next few days.

Are you on the cyc owners Facebook group?

 

[NapaTom]

With the 750C set at 9 level the app starts out with the first bar on level 1, then 2 bars level 2, etc... the pics attached are level 1, 5,7 & 9.

 

[NapaTom]

Note: if you go with the 750C you will only have Race mode in the app

 

[Marjoriefinnegan]

Thanks Tom, that's really useful

 

[bitnaut]

I’m having problems getting the right pedal assist settings with the CYC Ride Control app. I can’t seem to get more than 100W of motor output when pedaling. Did you just stick with the default settings on yours?

 

[Marjoriefinnegan]

I’m having problems getting the right pedal assist settings with the CYC Ride Control app. I can’t seem to get more than 100W of motor output when pedaling. Did you just stick with the default settings on yours?

Sorry to hear that.
No, dropped my levels loads.
275w, 500w and 850w, didn't touch the torque.

Didn't touch throttle levels but never really use it.

Brothers levels are a bit weird though. We're not sure if it's an android(me) apple(him) issue or a display issue.

 

[bitnaut]

Did you touch any thing in the pedal assist section like the torque sensitivity?

 

[Marjoriefinnegan]

Did you touch any thing in the pedal assist section like the torque sensitivity?

No, don't think either of us did.

 

[Marjoriefinnegan]

I think the battery part is a little fragile

Well, I haven't gone full Josh Bender, but it hasn't moved so far