Significant news in the electric bike conversion kit space as one of the leading labels, Swytch, is again seeking major investment from its existing shareholders, this time to get back on track after adverse effects from the U.S. applying tariffs, among other headwinds.

Swytch, which raised just shy of £1 million a year ago on Crowdcube, is now facing a consumer backlash on Trustpilot as order schedules have been repeatedly pushed back.

https://www.cyclingelectric.com/news/swytch-e-bike-rescue-plan

#swytch #ebikes #electricbikes

Salut @loptimist !

Alors j'étais dans les mêmes dispositions que toi, et j'ai acquis l'année dernière un vélo conventionnel (un specialized d'occasion) que j'ai converti à l'électrique avec un kit #swytch .

Utilisation d'abord en Écosse, trop facile, pour amener 7 ans à l'école. Ça fonctionne même en vent de face, pluie et neige.
Puis utilisation en haute Provence, en #velotaf , 20 km aller. C'est très correct. La batterie (la plus petite) fonctionne a merveille même par temps très froid. Bon, on prévoit toujours le chargeur au cas ou on a une petite faiblesse et qu'on laisse la roue faire le job toute seule (mais c'est loin d'être l'objectif de swytch)

Fuh-inally finished installing my #Swytch e-bike converting kit. I received it just before leaving in September, almost finished installing it, and put it off because I needed to go to the store to get a new disc for my front disc brake. When I came back, the auDHD took over and I was stuck anxiously circling around the bike for a couple months. I ran out of excuses, so I spent a couple hours today finishing it off. It wasn't so bad!

I will say that it's not for the faint of heart. I had to permanently glue some parts and destroy some others for it to fit semi properly. I wasn't too worried because it's not a bike that I used very often anyway but it's still a little scary to actively destroy something you purchased with your adult money to somehow make it better.

I'll have to wait until spring before I can try it out for real but I'll see if I can give it a go tomorrow.

#DIY #Cycling #ebike

Me with my Swytch
(ELECTRIC CONVERSION BIKE)

#Swytch #ebikes #DonValleyWest #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis

First impressions are off to a strong start with the #Swytch Go kit I recently received. After being delayed for so long, I was starting to worry I wouldn't be able to use it before the season was over.

This thing is fast and quiet! And the motor hub is dragless, so it spins freely when not in use. We'll see how the range is, but for the first few rides, I feel like I'm flying!

I paid $480 as a pre-order, but even the $800 retail price is better than the $1000+ GeoOrbital that stranded me with a dead battery and locked wheel.

If keeping your existing bike in use is appealing, then this Swytch Bike Go kit may be just the ticket. Our Editor found it to be a good low-speed accelerator for getting off the lights and to speed. Mark's full review of the assembly, product quality and ride characteristics here:

https://www.cyclingelectric.com/reviews/swytch-go-electric-bike-conversion-kit-review

#swytch #ebikes #ebikeconversion #cycling #technology #transport #electricbikes #health #fitness

Review of Swytch Kit

I finally got the Swytch kit attached to my Scott SubCross 40, and I really like it. 

I've always liked my Scott bike:  the size, the fit, the weight, the 27 mechanical gears. But, I wanted a little extra power to get up the hills, or when pedalling on a hot day, or pedalling against the wind. The Swytch kit provides that.

The bike is still light and nimble with the kit attached. I can still carry it up and down stairs for parking indoors. I can make the most of the 27 mechanical gears in tandem with the electric gears. The 250W motor is what I had hoped ... enough power for my needs. The battery pops easily in and out of its holder and is the weight and size of a book. For long day trips, the battery charger is small enough to take with me so I can recharge the battery for the return journey. I got the 30 km battery.

What am I comparing all this to? .... my other bike, which is a purpose-built e-bike, Volt Elegant, which has always felt like driving a tank, compared to my Scott. It's an entry level e-bike. I don't have experience with a very expensive and better designed e-bike. Perhaps I'd find that closer to my experience with the electrified Scott. The Volt is still good for long journeys, gravel roads, heavy loads. I've ridden it about 1500 km so far. It has a 500W motor with a huge battery. It is very heavy, and I find its centre of gravity not well designed, as the bike is always ready to flip, even when walking beside it. It's a heavy and big bike, too much for me to handle well.

With the Swytch kit, I bought the additional throttle and the base display. I learned from the Volt that a throttle is very useful to have when pushing a bike uphill, when starting off on an uphill grade, or for a little extra, quickly-applied power for whatever reason. 

Notes on installation of the Swytch kit ...
- I needed to buy a set of both hex and torx wrenches to fit both the Scott and the kit components
- the forks of the Scott interfered with tightening the front motorized wheel with the axle nuts provided with the kit; I had to buy different axle nuts without the large diameter washer
- attaching the throttle used up a lot of space on the handle bar. I put the original grip back, but it should be shortened. 
- some cables were just long enough, fortunately, e.g. the throttle cable
- the pedal sensor and magnetic disc were very forgiving in their position and distance from each other. I didn't need to precisely adjust either and left them loose so that I can adjust them by hand.
- I installed a better kickstand to ensure the bike doesn't fall over when parked.
- Front Wheel Drive on gravel is what one expects from FWD.
- I have to get used to the extra weight and power at the front of the bike (motor) and at the top of the bike (battery), but not as bad as I thought it might be
- the LED base display is tricky to use; I can click through the pedal steps 1 to 5 quite easily when the bike is stopped; as I'm riding along though, its responsiveness disappears. I click and click and nothing happens a lot of the time.

#Swytch #biketooter #ebike

I have now diagnosed the problem with the front disc rotor rubbing against the pad. The 2 axle nut-washers and 2 washers that come with the motorized wheel are too large in external diameter. They come up against the forks and cannot be tightened in the correct position. The wheel and rotor sit correctly in the forks before the nut and washers are tightened. I didn't notice before when I put the wheel on the bike that the washers were obstructed buy the forks. (My eyes are getting old.)

The bike shop, understandably, doesn't want to assist me to fix this problem due to liability. I've written again to Swytch to find out the thread specifications and if they have nuts and washers with smaller external diameters. I think I can easily find a smaller second washer. The nut-washer combo might be difficult to find a replacement. Does anyone have any insight into this? e.g. The variety of axle nut-washers out there? How hard they are to source? in Canada.

A had a look at the old wheel I took off, but that hardware will not work at all for this kit/motorized wheel.

#Swytch
#ebike
#BikeTooter