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We've been hard at work in the past year to improve the X1 PRO thanks to the support from our customers and the CYC Owners Group. We take pride in continuous development as we get closer to our goal of bringing you the most powerful mid-drive motor with the smallest form factor available in the market.
We understand it's hard to keep track, so we decided to simplify things with this blog post of all things new and all things fixed since the very release of the X1 PRO mid-drive motor in 2019.
Let's take it from the start. What's different in the 2nd generation of X1 PRO?
A New Motor Core & Rotor
From 6.5k RPM and 3k Watts, the Gen 2 motor core and rotor were redesigned to give you even more BANG for your buck and is now capable of reaching up to 5.4k Watts at peak power with 12k motor RPM. This means that you can harness the power output much quicker.
Not only is the Gen 2 more powerful, but it upgraded to waterproof Julet connectors and waterproof cable shielding. At last, you can take the X1 PRO out for a muddy spin without the worry of water damage. That said, it's still important to note that the motor is not made to be submerged but can handle a good, rainy-day mission.
Without adding extra weight to the kit, we kept it at 5kg. This means the Gen 2 is still as lightweight but it's not just the small form factor that makes this motor stand out. The maximum power capabilities of the X1 PRO are measured at 5.4kW and 264N.m. of maximum rated torque with a 72V battery! To make this even more exciting, the motor system is highly efficient. With an efficiency rate of up to 93%, you can get much more range and carry smaller batteries.
At 5kW and throttle mode, you can ride your ebike like a strong electric dirt bike. The lightweight system still enables extreme power and torque output. The Gen 1 had a rated torque of up to 4 N.m. and the Gen 2, up to 5 N.m.
If you use a strong downhill bike with the X1 PRO, it will be very capable of handling off-road trips.
All this with the added benefit of your ebike still looking like a typical eMTB after conversion, allowing you to enter most of the trails without hassle.
Upgraded Components
Aside from the motor core and rotor, the gearbox, electronics, sensors, freewheel, and sprocket all got an upgrade. Let's start with the gearbox. With a more refined machining profile, the gearbox noise was reduced by 50%. Even though the new noise level is highly acceptable, we are still doing tests to improve this as much as possible.
On the Gen 1, some electronics and sensors were located externally on the builds which led to easy damage. This concern was completely cancelled out with Gen 2 where all the parts are built in and internalized for a more reliable parts system. But the upgrades don't end here...
The freewheel and sprocket were redesigned too. The freewheel's revamp included an increase in the number of teeth ensuring that the pedaling engagement is more direct and much faster. The sprocket got more reliable as well, changing from hardened steel to stainless steel which was more capable of handling extreme power and increased reliability.
A 12T sprocket option was also added in the 72T chainring option whereas previously, all chainring options only had 11T at the sprocket.
When it comes to looks, the Gen 2 comes with a stylish steel bash guard for the BAC855 controller as well as an Aluminium chainguard as opposed to the older carbon cover. The crank arms were upgraded with lightweight CNC Aluminium, not only making it look better but also sending some weight. The new bash guard, chain guard and crank arms give the rider an even sleeker ebike look with a motor that will catch the eye of any enthusiast.
Torque Sensing
The X1 PRO Gen 2 is now standardized with torque-sensing all bottom bracket options. This means that the Gen 2 kit can determine just how much power to feed the motor based on how hard you are peddling.
Another addition to the bottom bracket options has also been released. You can now fit the X1 PRO directly on any BSA threaded 68-83mm, 100mm, and 120mm bottom bracket as well as BB92, BB107, and BB109 Pressfit frames.
The torque sensor was quite the challenge but now runs with both the torque and cadence signal collected and processed by the controller to provide you with a more natural feeling of pedal assist. The torque sensor and controller firmware are continuously tested in the field and we are proud to have achieved a smooth response and natural feeling in the low-power, legal mode.
An Updated Stock Controller
The X1 Pro Gen 2 was first released with either the CYC Motor Stock Controller, BAC800 or BAC2000 option. The Stock Controller came paired with the CYC Stock display whereas the ASI controllers had the 500c or 750c display options.
CYC Motor has most recently been known for being paired with ASI Technologies to supply reliable controllers but the initial recommendation for controller and display options is that the CYC Stock series is capable of handling anything from 46v to 72v. The struggle was real getting the controller to handle up to 5k Watts, especially if we wanted to keep the small form factor.
Despite all the improvements made, the stock controller wasn't refined enough just yet so, in July 2020, we decided to discontinue the stock controller and switch to the ASI BAC855 and BAC2000.
ASI Technologies BAC Controller Options
Relying on 3rd parties is a challenge on its own, but over time we've sorted out almost all the bugs through constant collaboration. ASI's controllers aren't new to the scene as they've been compatible since the Gen 1 and presented a great alternative to the original Stock Controllers.
The BAC800 and the BAC2000 were the original options although the BAC800 was replaced with the BAC855. There's no major difference between the two as the BAC855 is simply a newer model of the BAC800 released by ASI. As for the difference between the BAC855 and BAC2000, there's quite a big difference.
The BAC855 has a rated power of 3kW, a phase current of 80A and a battery current of 60A at its peak. Whereas the BAC2000 has a rated power of 5000kW, a phase current of 200A and a battery current of 100A at its peak. This means that if you want to unleash the full potential of the X1 PRO Gen 2, the BAC2000 will get you there.
Bottom Brackets
Bottom Brackets
There are several aspects to the unique design of the X1 PRO that is worth mentioning. Firstly, you should know that another goal for CYC is to have a mounting position that sacrifices as little ground clearance as possible. So, we've designed the motor to have a flexible mounting position where on some builds, no ground clearance is lost at all!
The X1 PRO fits on more than 95% of existing bike frames with BB options for normal BSA threaded BBs or press fits. Not only don't you need to worry about the press-fit bottom brackets, but you can also now fit the Gen 2 to a Floating Bottom Bracket, a design which is becoming more popular, especially in DIY projects. The flexible mounting options and BBs available make the X1 PRO the best machine for eMTB conversion. Not to mention the easy installation which can take less than 60 minutes to assemble and disable, even for a first-time ebiker.
But isn't it extremely hard to convert a press-fit frame into an ebike? We've got that covered! A press-fit frame is, of course, quite common in modern mountain biking and is typically very difficult to convert into an electric bike due to the offset chain line. The X1 PRO BB92 and BB109 version is designed to be a direct fit with an ideal chain line of 51mm and 59.5mm respectively. Spot on for all press-fit frames.
There's more to ground clearance than just the motor position. We have 3 chainring options so you can achieve the same ground clearance as you get from your mountain bike before conversion. When designing the X1 PRO, we considered the modern frame and geometry which makes this one of the only motor systems that keeps up with the modern bike frame standard and geometry which makes this one of the only motor systems that keeps up with the modern bike frame standard and geometry allowing easy conversion with the 12/72T, 11/63T, 11/53T chainring options.
We promise to keep innovating our designs and so, we look forward to the next set of upgrades and will bring the X1 PRO Gen 3 to the table in the foreseeable future.
Once again, thank you for your continuous support as we build for the future.
