Hello, just bought my first electric bike, a 2017 Catalyst and would love to hear more peoples experiences, likes/dislikes regarding this model or Smartmotion in general.
I was initially hesitant about a 2017 model Catalyst as it sounds like next year they are switching to a mid drive, which seems to be a trend currently for a lot of manufacturers. I wondered if rear hubs were fading out but see that there are still a lot of them out there and that they do have some advantages, price being one. Sounds like next years will be jumping up in cost and the 2017 did seem like a pretty competent bike for the money.
I really like the way this bike rides, great for cruising or occasional light trail duty while not worrying about hopping curbs here and there when riding pavement. I dont do any serious mountain biking, so dont think I'll miss having a mid drive, and this thing seems to do just fine climbing hills anyway while also being quick and efficient on moderate terrain.
I was also looking for excellent range so I got the 17.5 amp battery and couldn't be happier. Rode 22 miles in torque sensing mode on level 1 and used only two out of ten bars. Another day rode 47 miles hard on level 3
pretty much the whole way, maintaining speed mostly in the low to mid 20's and still had 3 tenths battery left at the end. I think you could get a legitimate 100 miles out of this battery at low assist. Yet another day while riding with my wife rode 24 miles with no assist except for a couple of boosts up some steep hills, using no battery to speak of. It was a good workout but didnt feel terribly different than riding a normal trail bike. I love the versatility of this bike including the ability to choose between torque and cadence sensing , how cool is that? I have left it in torque so far because I like the control it affords but wouldn't rule out using cadence occasionally for just cruising, and it's great to know it's there if I want it.
The bike has an overall solid quality feel to it. Components all seem decent mid level grade and are working well so far. I put a Selle Royal Respiro seat on it, as I felt the stock seat was to harsh for any sort of distance riding, as well as a Suntour SP12 suspension seatpost to help with the comfort factor, and now feel like I could ride all day.
It will be interesting to see what happens with the company in the next few years. Really hoping that the brand grows and is successful going forward.
Anyway, please share your thoughts on this model or brand, it would great to see more posts on the Smartmotion forum.
I was initially hesitant about a 2017 model Catalyst as it sounds like next year they are switching to a mid drive, which seems to be a trend currently for a lot of manufacturers. I wondered if rear hubs were fading out but see that there are still a lot of them out there and that they do have some advantages, price being one. Sounds like next years will be jumping up in cost and the 2017 did seem like a pretty competent bike for the money.
I really like the way this bike rides, great for cruising or occasional light trail duty while not worrying about hopping curbs here and there when riding pavement. I dont do any serious mountain biking, so dont think I'll miss having a mid drive, and this thing seems to do just fine climbing hills anyway while also being quick and efficient on moderate terrain.
I was also looking for excellent range so I got the 17.5 amp battery and couldn't be happier. Rode 22 miles in torque sensing mode on level 1 and used only two out of ten bars. Another day rode 47 miles hard on level 3
pretty much the whole way, maintaining speed mostly in the low to mid 20's and still had 3 tenths battery left at the end. I think you could get a legitimate 100 miles out of this battery at low assist. Yet another day while riding with my wife rode 24 miles with no assist except for a couple of boosts up some steep hills, using no battery to speak of. It was a good workout but didnt feel terribly different than riding a normal trail bike. I love the versatility of this bike including the ability to choose between torque and cadence sensing , how cool is that? I have left it in torque so far because I like the control it affords but wouldn't rule out using cadence occasionally for just cruising, and it's great to know it's there if I want it.
The bike has an overall solid quality feel to it. Components all seem decent mid level grade and are working well so far. I put a Selle Royal Respiro seat on it, as I felt the stock seat was to harsh for any sort of distance riding, as well as a Suntour SP12 suspension seatpost to help with the comfort factor, and now feel like I could ride all day.
It will be interesting to see what happens with the company in the next few years. Really hoping that the brand grows and is successful going forward.
Anyway, please share your thoughts on this model or brand, it would great to see more posts on the Smartmotion forum.
