SWYTCH e-assist conversion pack -any thoughts?

[Binka]

Hope your kit works better than mine. I’m on my second kit and both as bad as other. There’s a major design fault which means the battery doesn’t connect tightly enough to the bracket and on slightly rough ground it cuts out. Six months with it and nothing but problems. My commute is harder with it than before due to the weight. I’ve asked for a refund but they won’t refund. They admit it’s faulty but say I have a duff one and they’ll send me another. Which is pointless as it’s the same design.

 

[bonzobanana]

Hope your kit works better than mine. I’m on my second kit and both as bad as other. There’s a major design fault which means the battery doesn’t connect tightly enough to the bracket and on slightly rough ground it cuts out. Six months with it and nothing but problems. My commute is harder with it than before due to the weight. I’ve asked for a refund but they won’t refund. They admit it’s faulty but say I have a duff one and they’ll send me another. Which is pointless as it’s the same design.

I don't think that is a common complaint with the Swytch kits but the fact they do kits for just about every bike there has to be bikes perhaps that don't take the kit as well, maybe bikes where the front has a fairly rigid wheel, thin high pressure tyres and maybe aluminium forks. The fact the hub motor is at the front means shorter spokes less flex and slightly more harshness to the ride.

I've seen reviews of the kits and people were fairly happy with the level of assistance. The motors have 40Nm of torque which is not bad at all. I guess the average torque a rider has is probably around 50Nm but older less fit riders could be down to 30Nm average over an extended period. I would of thought that is ok assistance its like a second person riding the bike with you without the weight of that person.

 

[Binka]

Oh I’m happy with the assistance when it’s working but it’s cutting in and out like a flickering lightbulb. And I see a lot of “judder” complaints on the unofficial swytch fb group. The problem with the kit is the connection point between the battery and connector. Nothing to do with the individual bike.

 

[bonzobanana]

Oh I’m happy with the assistance when it’s working but it’s cutting in and out like a flickering lightbulb. And I see a lot of “judder” complaints on the unofficial swytch fb group. The problem with the kit is the connection point between the battery and connector. Nothing to do with the individual bike.

What I meant was some bikes might have a softer ride which would mean less movement/judder at the handlebars so less likely the battery would disconnect from the connector intermittently.

Shame no one has come up with a workaround yet like strapping the battery to the connector more securely.

Do you have the low capacity battery or the heavier high capacity battery?

 

[currystomper]

Are you sure it's not the pedal sensor, I'm pretty sure it could move and not always sense the pedals rotations....

.. Just a thought.

 

[currystomper]

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/revie.../swytch-universal-ebike-conversion-kit-review

I generally agree with this report

 

[Playpen]

Just fitted my Swytch kit to a Voodoo Marassa hybrid, went ok only issues were the supplied cable ties weren't long enough due to the oversize tubing on the bike, having to slightly file the drop outs (seems a common issue) and one of the pins on the main connector was slightly bent but was straightened with no issues.

Initial test ride was good and had me grinning when gliding up the hill at the end of my road - I'd normally be gritting my teeth on my regular road bike! Hopefully this kit will allow me and the wife to do some leisure rides together and I can even see me using it for short shopping trips.

My road and gravel bikes are tubeless and I'd rather avoid carrying a spanner if possible plus the tubeless setup allows lower tyre pressures.

Has anyone setup their Swytch wheel tubeless ?

 

[currystomper]

I would think you would need to replace the rims, but not sure.

 

[currystomper]

There’s a lady at the local allotment who has had similar for a few years. I’ve often wonder whether there is any drawback to having the power through the front wheel and not the rear?

My local bike shop said that with front wheel drive you need to watch out for possible wheel spin up really steep slopes

 

[ColinJ]

My local bike shop said that with front wheel drive you need to watch out for possible wheel spin up really steep slopes

Given that I have had my (non-motorised) front wheel actually lift off the road on some local 25% ramps, I would say that is definitely true.

On a conventional bike it is a balancing act between keeping the front end down, and keeping enough weight on the back to stop the rear wheel slipping. On the e-bike the rider would have to lean forward more.

 

[currystomper]

So just got another pedal sensor and moved the kit to another bike to use as a daily (dry days generally!!) commute and nip to the shops bike. Again the biggest problem was that the forks were 9.95mm, so some filing needed to get them to 10.0mm. (no sensor fitting issues on this bike)

The plan is/was no lycra on this bike just ride in what you are wearing, its great - can get up hills without getting at all sweaty I keep gently pedaling all the way probably at around 50 to 70 watts?

Generally assistance is set at level 2 out of 5, after half a turn of the crank the power comes on like some one gently pushing your back and you are soon up at 15mph. Coming up a hill, I wack it up to full assist and I'm getting up the steepest hill on my way to work no problem.

Here is the profile and speed of my commute

Its 4.8miles in 22 minutes with 300 feet of climb each way, using 2 bars of the five bars on the gauge for the return journey and taking ~ 2 hours to recharge the battery at stated wattage (on the charger) of 85 watts in the evening.

Again at the shops its great, attach a pannier and 4 pints of milk, a litre of coke and various other items are quickly and effortless delivered home, probably as quick as I could do this in the car.

 

[currystomper]

Here are my thoughts on the swytch kit that I've had for a few months https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/swytch-conversation-kit.283114/ great for a commuter convertion, but maybe not for longer rides, note the main problem seems to be a lot of drop outs are not metric 10.0mm but 9.95mm so need to be eased.

 

[wryneck]

Do not buy one of these kits, they are too unreliable.
I purchased one of these kits for my own bike and my wife’s and have nothing but trouble with them both.
Both kits have cut-out mid-ride but despite having had components changed under warranty the problems returned after its expiry date. The problem seems to be with the pedal sensors which are activated by magnets on a disc fitted to the pedal crank.

 

[bonzobanana]

I wouldn't buy a Swytch kit anyway as they are very poor value based on their low capacity battery. However normally pedal cadence sensor issues are poor installation however I've seen reports of Swytch kits having intermittant power due to the battery mounting losing contact at times. Really we shouldn't even be dealing with cadence sensor issues anyway . This was an EU initiative favoured by EU companies like Bosch who wanted bikes to be pedal assist but its much safer just to have a simple throttle you have full control of up to the maximum 15.5mph speed. Cadence sensors can kick in and out abruptly and its a poor option, torque sensors are better but can be problematic. The UK legislation that was in play up to 2016 should be reinstated and then you just apply the throttle when you need power and you can apply as much or little as you want but it only assists up to 15.5mph/25Km/h. This is safer and helps increase ebike range and improves reliability too.

 

[mjr]

I understand ( but don't agree with) the safety argument, but how would a throttle increase range?