geekybiker
10 W
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2010
- Messages
- 93
I installed my cyclone kit today.
Things I thought would be hard like removing the bottom bracket, especially the fixed cup, actually came off pretty easy. It came with a cartridge bearing that I can't make completely flush with the BB, there are still a few threads showing. The threads are right, it just doesn't want to slide home.
The motor mount bracket was really confusing. You can't line up the sprocket without the motor bolted down, but its more or less impossible to bolt everything down well while the motor is mounted. I had to hack up the bracket a fair amount to make it fit. I sawed a cresent shaped bit out of the front of it so I could put it further forward, and ending up drilling a hole so I could put a bolt through where the kickstand used to be. Not exactly idea, but this wasnt made for small folders like mine I think. In the future I think I'll have to see if I can't fabricate something better on my own.
They sent my a CW motor instead of the CCW I expected. This means the resulting chain line is a bit different, and worse I think on a bike like this. It might not matter much on a full size frame, but the extra angle required might cause some shifting problems. Speaking of which, I mangled my shift cable during the install and need to get a new one. I'm stuck in first gear for the moment. Looking at the angle from 1st gear to 7th gear I'm thinking. I really might have to go IGH to make this work well. It looks like the chain line would be straight in 2nd or 3rd gear. If I wheel the bike backwards, the chain will fall off the idler for the motor. This is partly the alignment not being very good right now, and partly the angle. I don't think I'll use 1st in practice if I can help it.
I went out for a ride with wires still dangling everywhere. It was pretty cool, even in first. The noise is quieter than I expected with all the complaints people have here about chain drive noise. Best of all, I can still easily pick the bike up.
Things I thought would be hard like removing the bottom bracket, especially the fixed cup, actually came off pretty easy. It came with a cartridge bearing that I can't make completely flush with the BB, there are still a few threads showing. The threads are right, it just doesn't want to slide home.
The motor mount bracket was really confusing. You can't line up the sprocket without the motor bolted down, but its more or less impossible to bolt everything down well while the motor is mounted. I had to hack up the bracket a fair amount to make it fit. I sawed a cresent shaped bit out of the front of it so I could put it further forward, and ending up drilling a hole so I could put a bolt through where the kickstand used to be. Not exactly idea, but this wasnt made for small folders like mine I think. In the future I think I'll have to see if I can't fabricate something better on my own.
They sent my a CW motor instead of the CCW I expected. This means the resulting chain line is a bit different, and worse I think on a bike like this. It might not matter much on a full size frame, but the extra angle required might cause some shifting problems. Speaking of which, I mangled my shift cable during the install and need to get a new one. I'm stuck in first gear for the moment. Looking at the angle from 1st gear to 7th gear I'm thinking. I really might have to go IGH to make this work well. It looks like the chain line would be straight in 2nd or 3rd gear. If I wheel the bike backwards, the chain will fall off the idler for the motor. This is partly the alignment not being very good right now, and partly the angle. I don't think I'll use 1st in practice if I can help it.
I went out for a ride with wires still dangling everywhere. It was pretty cool, even in first. The noise is quieter than I expected with all the complaints people have here about chain drive noise. Best of all, I can still easily pick the bike up.
