CYC Photon 2

Slick and polished; significant upgrade vs TSDZ2; works well with a 3-speed

"I had a TSDZ2 (w/OSF) that was ok, but not robust at all. This is an upgrade in every respect except weight and noise, and noise is much less bad than I'd feared (would be very interested in a nylon gear, even if it was torque-limited). With the small 52V/10Ah battery the kit adds 14lb total to my bike. Behavior and responsiveness is slick and high quality (almost) out of the box (and a large step up from the TSDZ2/OSF). I simply had to move the Power Ramp-up Time slider to near zero that also stops power over-run into gear changes. And the other sliders offer genuinely useful behavior tweaks. Pairs very well then with my Sturmey Archer 3-speed. I'd love to try it out on a mountain bike as the responsiveness seems quite suitable - I did a little underbiking singletrack on my 3-speed and it seemed very promising. Overall it's more power than I need, but the headroom is nice to have and should mean it's very robust. I'm an active rider wanting assist for a lot of urban riding, not looking for an e-moped and have little need for the throttle, and this has way more power available than I need or will typically use, but it's nice that it's there."

— James F. (5/5)

"No itemized receipt, no confirmation of warranty or supporting paperwork of any kind"

— Kevin (1/5)

New build on Catrike Dumont

"I just installed a Photon Gen2 on my Catrike Dumont recumbent. I had installed a Tongsheng TSDZ2B on it a couple years ago and to be honest the Tongsheng was great and is still running after 6K+ miles. But I wanted something a little more upscale and decided to switch it out for the Gen2. After only 150 miles I have the following observations: I was very impressed with the packaging of the Gen2. It was like opening an Apple product. The look, fit and feel of the CYC is amazing. It just seems like a quality product right out of the box. The Photon is smooth and powerful but a lot louder than the Tongsheng. Maybe that's because of the quiet but vulnerable nylon-like gear in the Tongsheng. For a recumbent I needed an additional battery extension cable. I also needed a seven pin extension cable for the speed sensor. There is no way to secure the motor sufficiently under the "boom" to keep it from rotating even with moderate pedal pressure. The Tongsheng had a convenient bracket that allowed an me to securely attach it to the boom. After some serious thought it dawned on me that I could simply place the Gen2 upside down on the boom where it naturally braced itself. Easy. No bracket needed and it looks good. It would be good if the Electrify sales folks could advise the recumbent owners about the cables and mounting issue before purchase. I really like the little CYC display and the phone app is a great bonus. So after only 150 miles I can't give any recommendation in terms of longevity but my initial impressions are that this is a great upgrade. Although I realize that recumbents are a small part of the CYC market, the Photon could be a great middle alternative to a market dominated by Tongsheng and Bosch for torque sensing motors. BTW: I've modified my Catrike with Shimano XT 12 speed rear cassette and a 650B rear wheel. I run a 52v 25ah battery but can add a second when I'm doing centuries or more. I mostly run it on Indiana flats and hills but frequently in the Appalachians of NE Georgia."

— Robert R. (5/5)

It's Fun!

"Electrify Bike's provided great consulting via phone to understand the product priori to my purchase. The kit arrived quickly and in good shape. The YouTube video was very helpful. There were three minor challenges that's would be easier if the instructions were more explicit, I finished the kit installation is about four hours. The bike rides great!!!"

— Donald S. (5/5)

Convert a EMTB

"I have 2016 Bulls EMTB that does not work. So I purchased a photon kit. After stripping wiring,battery,and motor I had to make a bottom bracket fixture to install the middrive motor. The photon fits where the old motor was. I bought the mini max batteries to fit where the old battery was. After a 30 mile ride I definitely can say it is worth the effort to convert of a old emtb"

— Daniel D. (5/5)

Solid Kit!

"Just finished my first ride on my Banshee Phantom with the Photon Gen2 conversion. WOW! This exceeded my expectations and I believe this rivals most high end EMTBs on the market. The banshee bikes are so well built they make a perfect platform for this kit. Plus I was able to run the electronics through the frame for that oh so clean look🤩. With 120nm torque and weighing only 45 lbs this thing was an absolute rocket! Thanks to Electrify Bikes for excellent customer service and support staff. Keep up the amazing job!"

— patrick D. (5/5)

Yes its the real deal

"I love this kit. Very high quality engineering. I had my doubts it would live up to the hype. I have owned the Bafang BBS02, TSDZ2, and other ebike kits. The CYC Photon is by far the best feeling experience, hands down. Ive spent so much time tinkering on other kits just to be let down by somethibg breaking. The photon just works and its easy and fast and exciting! If you are on the fence, don't waste your time with any other kits. Buy this one. You wont regret it."

— Bryan D. (5/5)

Great eMTB Conversion

"My Photon 2 motor and Mini Shark battery arrived in perfect condition and the conversion operation of my wife's size Medium Canondale habit 27. 5 mountain bike was a complete success! Despite having a flattish downtube section foreward of the BB, the Photon 2 motor rotated upwards a bit and the ground clearance is totally fine for the type of riding my wife is doing on this bike (Green / Light Blue trails). The 36T chainring is a perfect fit and the chainline is excellent. Shifting is smoth and the drivetrain (XT 1x11, 11-40 tooth) runs quietly. I put a 5mm spacer on each side of the motor for this 73mm BB. The battery fit great in the triangle underneath the shock. The bottle bosses were too far back, but I had a 1/4 inch x 1-1/4inch aluminum bar which I cut down and drilled out to make an adaptor. If I'd thought ahead, I probably could have ordered the adaptor piece from you guys but didn't realize until I was installing that I needed to float the mounts an inch forward to clear the seat tube. I had enough spare M4 bolts and nuts in my garage to secure everything and was excited to be able to complete the build without waiting for more parts. The wiring couldn't have been easier, and the controller cable fit in the down tube cable clamps which I'd freed up by removing the front derailleur and housing. Even with the fabrication detour, the whole build got done in one evening in the garage and we were on the trails the next day! Most importantly, the motor assist works *very well* off road. The power comes on within a fraction of a second of stepping on the pedals and is very intuitive to use. I didn't install the throttle since those are not legal for use in our local trail systems, so I was really pleased with how quickly the motor engaged; it's no problem to start with pedal assist only, even uphill. My wife and I did a ride of 20 miles / 2,700 vertical feet and still had almost 50% battery left at the end, so it seems to run very efficiently given that we only have the 500wh mini shark. Assist level 2 is very strong and allows her to comfortably keep up with me on singletrack climbs. Assist level 3 turns the bike into an absolute rocket. I was chasing her on my XC bike up some 10%+ dirt road grades and if she set it to level 3 she could blast out of sight within seconds. Even with all that power, the whole thing is still surprisingly light and what weight has been added sits nice and low in the center of the bike. I think it's about a 45 pound bike now; it was about 30 pounds stock before and I believe the kit added about 15. As another bonus, this thing runs very quietly. You need to be riding right behind it to hear anything at all. My wife had pretty much given up on trying to ride mountainous terrain with me because it just wasn't fun for her to grind up hills for the majority of the ride, or have people wait for her since she wasn't as fast. Now she's having a blast and wants to go out any time :). I also added the MagicShine light kit to use for night riding. It's super easy to install and use, and I love having a light that's tied to the main battery."

— David S. (5/5)

Mountain Tandem Conversion

"Just completed the e-tandem conversion with the CYC Photon Gen 2. The installation was pleasantly easy. Used PAS only. Looking forward to really testing it out in Colorado next spring."

— Maurice M. (5/5)

Photon gen2

"The best conversion system on the market!!!"

— Mark A. (5/5)