But Swytch says it aims to turn a standard bike into a “top quality eBike,” and the long-story-short is that it can’t. Now, the Swytch Kit isn’t aiming to be the most monstrous, powerful ebike on the block. And that riding was with the pack set to its maximum assist level. Perhaps it's a result of the conservative power delivery I experienced, but I rode the Swytch Kit Pro for a full 31 miles before the battery petered out, still showing one bar remaining but offering a negligible assist. Where Swytch succeeds is in its promised range. So the bike the Swytch Kit gets paired with is a huge factor in its ultimate value. It’s admittedly a bit downtrodden, but it’s light and agile enough on its own to comfortably allow some high-teens riding. This leaves a small window of speeds that it actually feels like the Swytch Kit is supporting my riding. Swytch suggests an upper limit of 20mph for the motor, and I’m a heavier rider at over 220 pounds, so it stands to reason that I’ll get less from the motor, but other 250W systems I’ve tested haven’t fallen so far short of the manufacturer’s listed speeds.Ībove 14mph, I can hardly feel the assist coming from the motor. ![]() Once it’s going, the motor does smooth out my acceleration but only up to about 12-14mph. When I get moving from a standstill, I’ve already done the hard part before I feel the assist. I never feel the motor kick in until I’ve made about a rotation and a half with my cranks. The first fault is in the cadence sensor. As much as I welcome it in those moments, I find it lagging leagues behind the other bikes I’ve tested. Here it gives me a little extra power to fight through the added resistance. The best scenario for it has been when I hit a slight hill or some headwind. Sure enough, I feel the Swytch Kit kicking in as I ride, helping out a bit as I accelerate towards my faster cruising speeds. What the kit is there to do is offer a bit of assistance to a rider, taking a bit of the edge off of a ride. Its 250W motor isn’t meant to fly at 28mph, and its battery isn’t meant for cross-country tours. This also shifts weight toward the front, which makes the bike a little more finicky about standing upright in my case. I swapped out a cheap wheel for the Swytch Kit, and all told the change saw my bike gain 4.2kg (9.2 pounds). The bracket and cabling also add some weight. The motor and battery weight aren’t variable, but you may be replacing a lightweight rim with a heavier one. Just how much weight the system adds to your bike will depend. Unfortunately, support for those extras means built-in cabling for them whether you want them or not, so that’s even more cables on your bike to tuck away. The system supports other options, such as throttles and brake sensors, things that are standard on plenty of e-bikes, but these cost extra. Having everything tied down with zip ties also leaves the finished build feeling a little more cobbled together than I’d expect from something priced this high. This bit of the assembly is a bit trickier and the plastic piece that connects to the crank arm is a little less elegant than the rest of the system. The cable from the wheel needs to connect with a wire coming from the battery bracket, and then it should be zip-tied along the fork to keep it from getting into the spokes.Ī cadence has to go onto the bottom bracket, with a disc of magnets attaching to one crank arm and spindle and a sensor mounting onto the frame next to it. With the bracket attached and wheel on, there's a touch of wiring up and cable management to do. Note that this doesn’t include a tire or tube. By default, it’s an all-silver affair for the hub, spokes, and rim, but it can come in matte black for an additional fee. The hub motor gets built to the specifications of customers' wheels, a 700x28C wheel with rim brakes in my case, and can therefore come in a few different shapes. At its heart are two things: a 250W hub motor and a unique battery pack that houses the battery cells and motor controller. ![]() The Swytch Kit is a bit hard to define design-wise. Range: 31 miles (31.3 tested) (21.7 miles with Eco Power Pack) SWYTCH KIT PRO REVIEW: DESIGN AND FEATURES Weight: 7.72 pounds (wheel + battery), 9.2 pounds (fully assembled on bike will vary) Wheel size: 700Cx28 (as tested), all sizes available Power: 36V 7.0Ah (250Wh) Pro Power Pack (36V 5.0Ah Eco Power Pack)Ĭontrol: Cadence-sensor pedal assist (throttle optional)
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