http://www.cytronex.com/kit
Groundbreaking Cytronex C1 Stealth lightweight electric bike kit sneak preview and mailing list signup form.
Wednesday 31 August 2011
Thursday 25 August 2011
Eurobike
Cytronex will be exhibiting at Eurobike for the first time from 31st August to September 3rd.
Come and see us in the Open Air Grounds East stand 314B
We will be demonstrating new Bad Boy models which contain some of the features of the forthcoming Cytronex C1 kit and talking to European dealers and customers about the new product.
For more details and to register your interest in Cytronex C1 please contact us.
Thursday 16 December 2010
Saturday 4 December 2010
CHRISTMAS SPECIAL OFFER – the World’s lightest electric bike at a big discount!
For our Christmas special offer we have the Cytronex Powered Cannondale Capo for £200 less – that’s just £1,450 for this stunning, ultra light weight electric bike!
At an incredible 13.6Kg including the bottle battery, the Cytronex Powered Cannondale Capo is the world's lightest electric bicycle, after only the Cytronex Powered Cannondale Super Six. The light weight allows an excellent power to weight ratio and makes it the ideal fast commuter bicycle for use in towns and cities. There is only one button to think about (and no gears so it senses your speed and provides power to match, resulting in both fast acceleration and excellent range. To see the review by Wired Magazine click here, full review also available from A to B – click here for details. Electric bicycles never looked so good!
The Capo is also availiable with Flat Handlebars, at the same amazing price!
Wednesday 20 October 2010
Latest Independant Review
Stuff Magazine - Cytronex Powered Cannondale Synapse
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Friday 19 February 2010
The World’s lightest electric bike!
At an incredible 13.6Kg including the bottle battery, the Cytronex Powered Cannondale Capo is the world's lightest electric bicycle, after only the Cytronex Powered Cannondale Super Six. The light weight allows an excellent power to weight ratio and makes it the ideal fast commuter bicycle for use in towns and cities. There is only one button to think about and no gears so you can concentrate on the road whilst Cytronex senses your speed and provides power to match for fast acceleration and excellent range. To see the review by Wired Magazine click here, full review also available from A to B – click here for details. Electric bicycles never looked so good.
Thursday 21 January 2010
Cytronex Powered Electric Bikes at The Gadget Show Live 2010
Come and see us from 8th to 11th April 2010 at The Gadget Show Live in the NEC, Birmingham.All the latest Cytronex electric bikes will be on display on stand M21B next to the test track in hall 11. We recommend booking a test ride with us in advance of the show. Last year Gadget Show Live was a sell out well before the show but you can buy a ticket from us at only £10 when you book a test ride (normally £16 on the door), and you will also get your £10 back if you buy a bike at the show.
Thursday 7 January 2010
EV World review of Cytronex Electric Bikes
Cytronex E-Bike: The Lightest Electric Bicycle
By Martin Schwoerer
A conversation with Cytronex's Mark Searles
A truly new technology feels like magic. (Anybody who uses an iPhone will know this effect). So picture this: you're cycling along in a lightweight single-speed bike. You're enjoying the way a one-speeder transfers your legs' power to the tarmac with minimal efficiency losses (a transmission, in contrast, costs you around 10% in efficiency).
But then you see a steep hill. Normally, you'd be forced to stand on the pedals, or to dismount. But on the Cytronex I was taking through hilly Winchester in countryside England, what I did was press a button on the right-hand side of the handlebar. And lo, what felt like the hand of God gave me a push, and I just went up that hill. Like magic, indeed!
The Cytronex concept is simple. Take a quality, low-weight bike, for example as made by Cannondale. (There is no substitute, as Cytronex' Mark Searles says, for lightness). Add an electric hub motor to the front wheel. The clincher is a battery that looks like a standard bicyclist's water-bottle, and is easy to insert or remove. The result: a normal, efficient bike you'll pedal without electric support on level ground and up light gradients, and that doesn't weigh you down with unnecessary ballast (the Cytronex package weighs 5 KGs). But when you hit a hill, or encounter a headwind, you can retrieve the motor's 180 Watts of electric assistence.
Other e-bikes are more complicated and heavier; in fact, Cytronex claims to make the lightest electrics in the world. Electric bikes can be of two kinds. Firstly, there are the quasi-mopeds, complete with twist-grip throttles. Millions of Chinese people use these, and they have their obvious purposes, but you won't find yourself pedaling much on these heavy machines, even if you can. Then, there are the so-called pedalecs that employ a sensor which knows how hard you are pedalling: push harder, and the electric motor provides more assistance. Pedalecs can be OK-looking, but at least in Europe, they are in danger of being stigmatised as senior-citizen transport.
No such danger in the case of Cytronex. The hub motor is inconspicuous, and the battery is ingeniously stealthy. You wouldn't look like you own one just because you're too lazy to pedal a normal bike or too poor to own a car. Cytronex' main raison d'etre is to increase your driving radius. As Searles says, "I wanted to enable more people to commute by bike".
Cytronex offers a range of bikes equipped with its electric system. In addition to the single-speed Genesis Day One,
I test-drove a gearshift-equipped Cannondale Synapse electric bike as well, and it worked beautifully, albeit without the simplicity of the single-speed one. For seriously hilly terrain though, a shifter is surely better.
Searles is also working on a package which will enable any well-trained bike mechanic to install electric components to a range of bikes -- even onto pre-owned ones. Initially planned for late 2009, this seems to be a bit more complicated than expected: some bikes are not well-suited to electrification. Expect Cytronex kits to reach the market in 2010.
In late November, I visited Cytronex in Winchester for some test rides and for a quick Q&A session with company owner Mark Searles.
Q: Tell me about the batteries you use, please. You mentioned they have an even better power-to-weight ratio than Li-Ion.
A: The battery cells themselves are supplied to us by a large manufacturer and we are the only electric bike system to use them. Obviously the lithium chemistries have great potential, but they are not quite there yet. Some have very good discharge characteristics but poor energy density, others have poor discharge rates but high energy density. We use a speciality NiMh cell which has an excellent combination of the two. It doesn't mean we aren't looking at lithium of course but we believe in following proper cycling principles of low weight and high efficiency so the battery has to pack a big punch in a small size.
Q: I noticed there is no regenerative braking.
A: When I first researched the electric bicycle industry I thought regenerative brakes were a great marketing idea. Sadly, unless the customer lives in the mountains, it is just marketing. Firstly, bicycles regenerate energy naturally by freewheeling - you cycle up a hill, then the bicycle freewheels down the other side reclaiming the energy. Secondly, bikes that regenerate have the motor intrinsically linked to the wheel instead of using a freewheel like our system. This has two problems: firstly they don't have gears and are therefore big and heavy and secondly on an average journey you lose far more energy turning the motor when you aren’t using power than you gain in the few percent of a journey spent braking.
Q: How much weight does the Cytronex system add to a bike?
A: Five Kilos, but you can remove the battery and switch the front wheel to the standard wheel (without a motor) in about one minute. The bike then weighs a few hundred grammes more than the original bike. The battery weighs 2.1KG and the hub motor 2.5 KG.
Q: What about cost?
A: The system adds around nine hundred Pounds to the price of a bike. An exchange or supplementary battery costs 195 Pounds.
Q: The battery is good for three hundred charging cycles and you mentioned that a customer should get used to the idea that it is a consumer durable, not a long-term investment. Is that difficult for your customers to accept?
A: Not at all, our bikes pay for themselves often within a year where customers use them instead of the car to work, so £195 replacement battery cost is not considered unreasonable. However we do recognise that it is part of the running cost of your bike so we keep the price as low as possible.
Q: Will you be exporting your bikes?
A: At the moment, our strategy will be to export conversion kits, and to train people to install and maintain them. The idea being that the customer can choose the bike they want in their local bicycle shop and then have Cytronex fitted by the shop. Right now, demand is a lot higher than our supply -- I myself test-ride every model we have, which is rather time-consuming. Our focus is on developing our technology, but at some point we may well expand our manufacturing capacities. In any case, we'll be sticking to a "made in the EU label": outsourcing to China is not an option.
By Martin Schwoerer, EV World
By Martin Schwoerer
A conversation with Cytronex's Mark Searles
A truly new technology feels like magic. (Anybody who uses an iPhone will know this effect). So picture this: you're cycling along in a lightweight single-speed bike. You're enjoying the way a one-speeder transfers your legs' power to the tarmac with minimal efficiency losses (a transmission, in contrast, costs you around 10% in efficiency).
But then you see a steep hill. Normally, you'd be forced to stand on the pedals, or to dismount. But on the Cytronex I was taking through hilly Winchester in countryside England, what I did was press a button on the right-hand side of the handlebar. And lo, what felt like the hand of God gave me a push, and I just went up that hill. Like magic, indeed!
The Cytronex concept is simple. Take a quality, low-weight bike, for example as made by Cannondale. (There is no substitute, as Cytronex' Mark Searles says, for lightness). Add an electric hub motor to the front wheel. The clincher is a battery that looks like a standard bicyclist's water-bottle, and is easy to insert or remove. The result: a normal, efficient bike you'll pedal without electric support on level ground and up light gradients, and that doesn't weigh you down with unnecessary ballast (the Cytronex package weighs 5 KGs). But when you hit a hill, or encounter a headwind, you can retrieve the motor's 180 Watts of electric assistence.
Other e-bikes are more complicated and heavier; in fact, Cytronex claims to make the lightest electrics in the world. Electric bikes can be of two kinds. Firstly, there are the quasi-mopeds, complete with twist-grip throttles. Millions of Chinese people use these, and they have their obvious purposes, but you won't find yourself pedaling much on these heavy machines, even if you can. Then, there are the so-called pedalecs that employ a sensor which knows how hard you are pedalling: push harder, and the electric motor provides more assistance. Pedalecs can be OK-looking, but at least in Europe, they are in danger of being stigmatised as senior-citizen transport.
No such danger in the case of Cytronex. The hub motor is inconspicuous, and the battery is ingeniously stealthy. You wouldn't look like you own one just because you're too lazy to pedal a normal bike or too poor to own a car. Cytronex' main raison d'etre is to increase your driving radius. As Searles says, "I wanted to enable more people to commute by bike".
Cytronex offers a range of bikes equipped with its electric system. In addition to the single-speed Genesis Day One,
I test-drove a gearshift-equipped Cannondale Synapse electric bike as well, and it worked beautifully, albeit without the simplicity of the single-speed one. For seriously hilly terrain though, a shifter is surely better.
Searles is also working on a package which will enable any well-trained bike mechanic to install electric components to a range of bikes -- even onto pre-owned ones. Initially planned for late 2009, this seems to be a bit more complicated than expected: some bikes are not well-suited to electrification. Expect Cytronex kits to reach the market in 2010.
In late November, I visited Cytronex in Winchester for some test rides and for a quick Q&A session with company owner Mark Searles.
Q: Tell me about the batteries you use, please. You mentioned they have an even better power-to-weight ratio than Li-Ion.
A: The battery cells themselves are supplied to us by a large manufacturer and we are the only electric bike system to use them. Obviously the lithium chemistries have great potential, but they are not quite there yet. Some have very good discharge characteristics but poor energy density, others have poor discharge rates but high energy density. We use a speciality NiMh cell which has an excellent combination of the two. It doesn't mean we aren't looking at lithium of course but we believe in following proper cycling principles of low weight and high efficiency so the battery has to pack a big punch in a small size.
Q: I noticed there is no regenerative braking.
A: When I first researched the electric bicycle industry I thought regenerative brakes were a great marketing idea. Sadly, unless the customer lives in the mountains, it is just marketing. Firstly, bicycles regenerate energy naturally by freewheeling - you cycle up a hill, then the bicycle freewheels down the other side reclaiming the energy. Secondly, bikes that regenerate have the motor intrinsically linked to the wheel instead of using a freewheel like our system. This has two problems: firstly they don't have gears and are therefore big and heavy and secondly on an average journey you lose far more energy turning the motor when you aren’t using power than you gain in the few percent of a journey spent braking.
Q: How much weight does the Cytronex system add to a bike?
A: Five Kilos, but you can remove the battery and switch the front wheel to the standard wheel (without a motor) in about one minute. The bike then weighs a few hundred grammes more than the original bike. The battery weighs 2.1KG and the hub motor 2.5 KG.
Q: What about cost?
A: The system adds around nine hundred Pounds to the price of a bike. An exchange or supplementary battery costs 195 Pounds.
Q: The battery is good for three hundred charging cycles and you mentioned that a customer should get used to the idea that it is a consumer durable, not a long-term investment. Is that difficult for your customers to accept?
A: Not at all, our bikes pay for themselves often within a year where customers use them instead of the car to work, so £195 replacement battery cost is not considered unreasonable. However we do recognise that it is part of the running cost of your bike so we keep the price as low as possible.
Q: Will you be exporting your bikes?
A: At the moment, our strategy will be to export conversion kits, and to train people to install and maintain them. The idea being that the customer can choose the bike they want in their local bicycle shop and then have Cytronex fitted by the shop. Right now, demand is a lot higher than our supply -- I myself test-ride every model we have, which is rather time-consuming. Our focus is on developing our technology, but at some point we may well expand our manufacturing capacities. In any case, we'll be sticking to a "made in the EU label": outsourcing to China is not an option.
By Martin Schwoerer, EV World
Cytronex Powered Cannondale Super Six Electric Bike featured on The Gadget Show
Cytronex Ortis Deley racing Russell Downing on The Gadget Show
"The world's lightest electric bicycle at 12.9Kg, Cytronex has electrified the Cannondale Super Six, a bike that is part of the same range as Cannondale's race team bike. For getting there fast, this is the ultimate electric bike. It includes Super Six carbon frame, the new Ultegra group set, superb Busch & Muller lights and top of the range backlit trip computer with altitude and cadence functions. Fitted with Cytronex Power assistance - when you want that extra help going uphill, just press the right hand boost button. You can either select full power on the left or low speed for steep hills, cycle paths or sightseeing. Whenever you press the rear brake lever or push the boost button again the power stops immediately. Range is approximately 20 miles on one battery charge. The Cytronex smart charger takes a maximum of 1.5 hours to fully charge the battery."
"The world's lightest electric bicycle at 12.9Kg, Cytronex has electrified the Cannondale Super Six, a bike that is part of the same range as Cannondale's race team bike. For getting there fast, this is the ultimate electric bike. It includes Super Six carbon frame, the new Ultegra group set, superb Busch & Muller lights and top of the range backlit trip computer with altitude and cadence functions. Fitted with Cytronex Power assistance - when you want that extra help going uphill, just press the right hand boost button. You can either select full power on the left or low speed for steep hills, cycle paths or sightseeing. Whenever you press the rear brake lever or push the boost button again the power stops immediately. Range is approximately 20 miles on one battery charge. The Cytronex smart charger takes a maximum of 1.5 hours to fully charge the battery."
Wednesday 23 December 2009
Tuesday 1 December 2009
Cytronex Powered Cannondale Capo highest rated E-Bike in Wired Magazine review
"Excellent" - 8/10
Top speed: 26.1mph
Time from 0-15mph: 5.42secs
The December '09 issue of Wired Magazine features a comparison of 4 electric bikes, with the Cytronex Powered Cannondale Capo pedelec being compared to the new Wisper 906, Urban Mover UM36X and Infineum Extreme. The Cytronex Capo was rated highest ("Excellent" - 8/10) and led the field in both acceleration and top speed even though it is a single speed bicycle!
You can see the full Wired review by clicking here (PDF 2.32Mb).
Click here to read more Reviews
Top speed: 26.1mph
Time from 0-15mph: 5.42secs
The December '09 issue of Wired Magazine features a comparison of 4 electric bikes, with the Cytronex Powered Cannondale Capo pedelec being compared to the new Wisper 906, Urban Mover UM36X and Infineum Extreme. The Cytronex Capo was rated highest ("Excellent" - 8/10) and led the field in both acceleration and top speed even though it is a single speed bicycle!
You can see the full Wired review by clicking here (PDF 2.32Mb).
Click here to read more Reviews
Monday 30 November 2009
Cytronex Electric Bikes on EV World
German journalist Martin Schwoerer from Germany visited us in late November 2009 to write about Cytronex elecric bikes for the sustainable transport website EV World. You can read the article about "The Lightest Electric Bicycle" here.
Saturday 21 November 2009
Road.cc, BikeBiz and BikeRadar
News of the lightest full size ebike in the world is spreading fast. The Cytronex Powered Cannondale Capo, weighing 13.6Kg, appeared on the front page of 3 UK cycle websites: Road.cc, BikeBiz and BikeRadar.
Monday 16 November 2009
Cytronex races top cyclist on The Gadget ShowA special episode of the Gadget Show was broadcast on 16/11/2009 with a "beat the pro" challenge where presenter Ortis Deley races professional cyclist Russell Downing (winner of the Tour of Ireland) on a Cytronex electric bike. A brand new model has been launched for the occasion, the world's lightest electric bike - the Cytronex Powered Cannondale Super Six Ultegra, a carbon framed bike using the legendary Cannondale Super Six frame. Click on the image below to see how he got on in the gruelling 2 mile uphill race on Holme Moss, one of the countries toughest hill climbs... |
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Wednesday 11 November 2009
Cytronex Powered Electric Bikes at The Cycle Show 2009
It was a busy Cycle Show 2009 for Cytronex with the Capo and Claud Butler electric bikes in constant use on the test track and a great many visitors to our stand wishing to see the world's most innovative electric bicycle concept. Cytronex is already booked in for Cycle Show 2010!
Thursday 24 September 2009
Cytronex Powered Electric Bikes Exhibited in London
On Thursday 24th Sept. we exhibited two Cytronex Electric Bikes at the Green Motor Expo at Triton Square in London.
The Cytronex Powered Cannondale Capo and Cytronex Powered Claud Butler Urban 500 electric bicycles got us quickly across London to the event after we abandoned the car due to the slow moving traffic!
Both electric bikes created plenty of interest, and celebrity Gail Porter posed for photographs with the world’s lightest electric bike (the Capo).
Mark Searles was interviewed about the Cytronex Powered Cannondale Capo by Positive TV.
Click here to see it.
Friday 28 August 2009
  Radio Solent | |
| BBC Radio Solent broadcast a feature on Cytronex on 28th August by Nadine Dukeson. She test rode the Cytronex Powered Ridgback Cyclone, commenting that she felt like she was flying! Click here to play the interview | |
Monday 24 August 2009
Cytronex on the Gadget Show on 24th August 2009
Jason and Suzie loved the Cytronex Powered Cannondale Capo featured on the show, designed for City and town riding. The Cytronex Powered Genesis Day One and Cannondale Capo electric bikes were in London for filming of The Gadget Show on UK TV Channel 5. See the final results on the FiveFWD site.These minimalist electric bicycles set new standards for ultra light weight fast and convenient city commuting, and they can climb hills too! See photos.
Friday 21 August 2009
Southern Daily Echo
In August Southern Daily Echo reporter Peter Law tested the Cytronex Powered Cannondale Synapse and the Cytronex Powered Genesis Day One electric bikes and wrote "Going up hills is absolute doddle, even on a single speed bike, and I barely broke out in a sweat as I tackled the hilly terrain of Winchester". You can read the full Daily Echo review and see a video of his test ride here.
Tuesday 5 August 2008
A to B Magazine finds Cytronex the Fastest and Lightest Electric Bike
presteigne cytronex electric bikeIn our first review by AtoB magazine in 2008 the Cytronex Powered Trek 7.3FX ebike beat the previous ebike record holder by a full 3.5 minutes in their 10 mile speed test course. Cytronex was found to be by far the fastest legal power bike so far. "for a fast, hill-busting ride to work, it's superb.", "it's also great value". The test in AtoB August 2009 found the lightweight single speed Cytronex Powered Cannondale Capo achieved the same speed as the Trek but with 30% higher range. For full Cytronex electric bicycle review see the AtoB magazine's Electric Bike Buyer's Guide.
Saturday 12 July 2008
Cycle to Work Scheme
Why not buy your Cytronex powered electric bike tax-free under the Cycle to Work Scheme? Your employer can use the documents on our Cycle to Work Scheme page and purchase directly from our site, saving you VAT, personal tax and National Insurance.
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