This was a bike I was building up for myself - so the brief was to make it fun, utilitarian, and make use of the bling bits in the 'spares bin'.

By opting for a smaller capacity battery, the bike rides fantastically under your own steam, with enough power on demand for trips of 30km+ depending on the PAS (Pedal Assist Setting) and terrain.

For me, there is only one choice when it comes to mid-drive conversions. CYC is the clear winner. The Photon Gen 2 is small, neat, beautifully machined and finished, delivering incredible power, has amazing tuning capabilities, and great ride feel thanks to it's torque sensor.

Yes - it's more costly and worth it in performance and post-sales support.

The complete CYC Photon Gen 2 kit arrives in ONE box that is wonderfully organised into seperate smaller boxes,

• Motor
• Chainring
• Crankset 160mm ( 170mm option )
• Bottom Bracket 68-83mm ( BB92 / 100 / 120mm options )
• Wiring harness
• Intuition Display with Apple FindMy and Smart Assist (NEW)

There is also a one pager with a QR code to scan for the detailed installation / user manual.

I chose the shorter cranks to avoid pedal strikes off-road or through corners.

Surly makes super burly racks that are easy to install and can carry some of the highest rated payloads.

The front 24-Pack rack is a rectangle basket, ready for a basket, slab or the Apidura Expedition front bag (30L pictured). Rated to 13kg. I've ridden with a case of wine up front comfortably.

The Surly rear rack is the W I D E version and with minor persuasion fits perfectly. Rated to almost 3x the front at 36kg!

CYC offers a plug and play solution for lights the plugs inline with the battery connection, includes a bar mounted switch that toggles between OFF / Low Beam / High Beam.

I upgraded it to a under-rack mounted LED light bar, using Julet plugs at the connection points.

Knog at the back!

I contemplated wiring a light to the rear rack, or under the saddle (impossible with the dropper post) so found a simple and cooler solution.

The Knog Blinder Link rear light puts out 100 lumens of vibrant red light, has a bunch of highly visible modes, USB rechargeable and fastens securely to a magnetic clip making it just as easy to remove.

Attaches easily and securely to the saddle rails for a sleek finish.

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I own a car - but I relish the opportunity to do errands on the ebike. It's light weight exercise, less stressful, easy to find a park, and the slower pace is almost as quick a car as you're rarely STUCK in traffic.

The Photon Gen 2 is 3.5kg without cranks and noticeably neater / sleeker than its predecessor.

3 cables come out of the motor

• Power (XT90 plug)
• Wiring harness ( to display / throttle )
• Speed / bluetooth sensor (to connect app for fine tuning motor settings)

The Grappler can be setup is various combinations 1X and 2X.

36t is the stock chainring, so I kept it simple with the same for the drive unit.

Photon nailed the chainline without compromise.

The Photon is available with 36T / 38T / 40T / 42T and 50T for an additional AUD$70.

There's ample clearance to run a third bidon cage on the underside mount - I chose to mount the Knog Scout Bike Alarm there as a security backup. It uses the same Find My technology as the Intuition display, but also offers an audible alarm, triggered by movement.

The speed sensor is also the Bluetooth connection to pair with your phone and operate the CYC Ride Control App.

There is so much fine tuning of the ride experience available - Cathy from CYC breaks it all down in this video.

The Photon is capable of handling 36-72V batteries.

The 36V 7AH battery shown is equivalent to a 252W battery ( Volts x Amps = Watts ) and while I couldn't notice much difference between 48 and 52V systems, the 36V battery limits the motor output to 500W - which is plenty of assistance.

The motor is rated from 250-750W and rolls out the door with a Pedal Assist limit of 25kph.

It worth noting at this point in time the Australian legal standards vary by state, and in Victoria limited the continuous power to 250W / 25kph and no throttle.

Peak Torque is 135NM which is wild and enough to get up ridiculously steep grades, heavily loaded.

• Surly Grappler 'Dust Bunny' - LARGE
• CYC Photon Gen 2 ( BSA / 165mm / Intuition Display / 36t )
• CYC light harness with FYXO upgrade
• 36V 7ah battery
• SKS Bluemel 75s fenders
• Shimano CUES 11s, 11-48t
• Shimano CUES 4-piston brakes
• Surly 24-pack Front Rack
• Surly Rear WIDE Rack
• Apidura Expedition front pack - 30L
• Loopy Gravel Bars
• Wolf Tooth grips
• Wolf Tooth 360 Remote
• Stock Dropper post
• SimWorks Taco platform pedals
• Teravail Ehline 27.5 x 2.5
• Brooks 'Levi' Saddle
• Ti cages
• Knog Blinder Rear Light
• Knog Scout Bike Finder & Alarm
• Knog Oi! Bell
• Quad Lock Stem Mount