Q: Does CadenceX require maintenance?

We recommend the replacement of the O-Ring (sold in store) every 2,000 miles. Riders should pay attention to CadenceX's contact on the bicycle rim before and after every ride to ensure that the device is properly aligned. We recommend re-tightening/adjusting the front fork clamp at least once a month (or more if ridden heavily) to maintain ideal performance.

Q: What is CadenceX's warranty?

Every CadenceX comes with lifetime email support in addition to a limited 2-year warranty. PedalCell's warranty covers defects and product failure within intended use. Customers can contact us at info@pedalcell.com at all times both in and outside the warranty time with any questions. Read more in our Terms of Use. Customers can also buy extended warranty offers through Extend. Extend's protection plan can be added during checkout in one, two, and three year increments to protect CadenceX from mechanical and electrical failure, power surges, accidental damage, and more after PedalCell's included warranty expires. Learn more here.

Q: Does CadenceX work with panniers?

Yes! See below for CadenceX mounting on a Trek 520 with attached panniers.

Q: Does Cadencex only work with those green "hipster"wheels?

No! CadenceX works with most rim types besides carbon.

Q: I know you said that you don't support XX (carbon rim, suspension etc.) mounting on my bike but it looks like CadenceX can fit. Can I still try to mount CadenceX there?

We designed CadenceX to work reliably in its original mounting location on the front fork of most bike designs and select the rear chainstays (see above questions for official support criteria). Mounting on any non-supported locations/bikes/trikes can cause unintended performance, durability, and other issues with your product (and will void your warranty). We can’t stop you from using CadenceX how you see fit, but understand that we only support CadenceX’s intended mounting locations!

Question 1

What types of cables should I use?

Accepted Answer

Use the USB cable provided with your device for best performance. CadenceX includes a USB A-C adapter in the box for devices that do not have a Type-C cable. We also sell low-profile USB cables with UV/splash resistance on our store for a more tangle-free experience.

Question 2

How does it work?

Accepted Answer

CadenceX consists of two pieces. The Generator attaches to the fork of your current bike and touches the rim. When your wheel spins, the side of the rim spins the Generator to create electricity. This electricity is sent up a cable to the second part of the device: the Smart Power Hub with two USB-C charging ports. The Smart Power Hub also uses our patented supercapacitor technology to stabilize and temporarily store the power coming from the Generator. If you speed up, slow down, or even stop for as long as 30 seconds the power hub will use its smart energy cache to provide power to your devices.

TLDR: Unlimited Power!

Question 3

Is my bicycle (or trike) compatible with CadenceX?

Accepted Answer

CadenceX is compatible with the majority of bicycles and delta trikes with front forks equal to or smaller than a 1″ X 2″ oval.As a rule of thumb, we do not recommend CadenceX be mounted on extreme road/aero/competition bikes or heavy suspension mountain bikes due to their unusual/large fork geometries. In addition, we do not recommend mounting with carbon rims due to their limited heat dissipation and willingness to handle force on the rim face.

CadenceX also supports mounting on the chainstays of some Tadpole Trikes and bicycles.  Those directions can be seen here.

Question 4

Can CadenceX be used in the rain and slippery conditions?

Accepted Answer

CadenceX was tested in wet conditions to survive the outdoors as "weather-resistant". Weather resistance means that our product can handle rain, sleet, snow, etc. without getting damaged. We've tested our device under heavy water to verify this claim (our electronics are completely potted to protect against water ingress). However, there are a few notes that we ask customers to keep in mind:

Riders must prevent liquid from being in the Smart Power Hub's ports while powered-on. While water will not enter the device, the liquid can corrode the port's pins while the device is powered on. Our rubber USB-C plugs prevent usually prevent this from happening, however, a simple shake of the Power Hub can get water to leave. As a general rule of thumb, do not allow water to enter the USB port.

We encourage riders to stay mindful while using their electronics (such as your smartphone or lights) during inclimiate conditions.

It is worth noting that while CadenceX's electronics are able to smooth out most generator fluctations experienced from slippery rims, use in extremely wet/slippery conditions can impact performance.

Question 5

How much space does my rim need?

Accepted Answer

CadenceX can work on most non-carbon rims, including those that do not have braking surfaces. CadenceX’s O-Ring needs approximately 4.7mm of contact area on a rim. This is about <1/2 the surface area needed by most rim brake pads.

Question 6

Does CadenceX require maintenance?

Accepted Answer

We recommend the replacement of the O-Ring (sold in store) every 2,000 miles. Riders should pay attention to CadenceX's contact on the bicycle rim before and after every ride to ensure that the device is properly aligned. We recommend re-tightening/adjusting the front fork clamp at least once a month (or more if ridden heavily) to maintain ideal performance.

Question 7

What is CadenceX's warranty?

Accepted Answer

Every CadenceX comes with lifetime email support in addition to a limited 2-year warranty. PedalCell's warranty covers defects and product failure within intended use. Customers can contact us at info@pedalcell.com at all times both in and outside the warranty time with any questions. Read more in our Terms of Use.

Customers can also buy extended warranty offers through Extend. Extend's protection plan can be added during checkout in one, two, and three year increments to protect CadenceX from mechanical and electrical failure, power surges, accidental damage, and more after PedalCell's included warranty expires. Learn more here.

Question 8

Does CadenceX work with panniers?

Accepted Answer

Yes! See below for CadenceX mounting on a Trek 520 with attached panniers.

Question 9

Does Cadencex only work with those green "hipster"wheels?

Accepted Answer

No! CadenceX works with most rim types besides carbon.

Question 10

I know you said that you don't support XX (carbon rim, suspension etc.) mounting on my bike but it looks like CadenceX can fit. Can I still try to mount CadenceX there?

Accepted Answer

We designed CadenceX to work reliably in its original mounting location on the front fork of most bike designs and select the rear chainstays (see above questions for official support criteria). Mounting on any non-supported locations/bikes/trikes can cause unintended performance, durability, and other issues with your product (and will void your warranty). We can’t stop you from using CadenceX how you see fit, but understand that we only support CadenceX’s intended mounting locations!

Question 11

Why is CadenceX mounted on the rim instead of the hub?

Accepted Answer

We chose the rim for three primary reasons over a bicycle hub:

Power Output: The outside of a bicycle rim spins monumentally faster than the inside hub. Thus, our generator spins at higher RPMs, making it more efficient and creating more power in a compact package. While some dynamos have attempted to generate more power on the hub, the trade-offs in complexitiy, cost, and weight are extremally high. Thus, we chose the rim as the least path of resistance (no pun intended )

Installation: CadenceX can be installed or uninstalled in minutes on most bicycle designs. Dynamo hubs, on the other had, require time intensive wheel builds that are difficult to construct. Moreover, hubs are only compatible with certain wheel setups, making their cross-compatibility limited if you decide to switch between bicycles or rim types.

Decoupling: We believe that you should have the option to completely deactivite our product if you prefer. Mounting on the rim allows users to quickly decouple our generator from the rim, thus eliminating all drag. Hub-mounted dynamos require intensive disassemly procedures to remove, making their drag a permanement burden for most riders.

Question 12

Is CadenceX theft-resistant?

Accepted Answer

The included hex bolts should deter most theives from stealing your CadenceX (no more difficult to steal than your caliper brakes or handlebars). However, we do sell a security bolt and screwdriver kit in our store for riders that want an extra piece of mind when parking their bicycle outdoors for extended periods. This kit is pre-installed on our Ultimate Bundles.

Question 13

Does my wheel need to spin exactly true?

Accepted Answer

No, CadenceX’s torsion spring adjusts the generator’s position to maintain optimal contact on rims that do not spin exactly true.

Question 14

What can I power with CadenceX?

Accepted Answer

CadenceX uses USB-C ports which is backwards compatible with most USB devices and supports the plethora of current and future USB-C devices. Examples include bike lights, smartphones, GPS navigators, electronic shifters, cameras, and more.

Question 15

How much does CadenceX weigh?

Accepted Answer

CadenceX weighs approximately 1 lb.

Question 16

Can CadenceX power devices while stopped?

Accepted Answer

CadenceX low-power port (3W output) is prioritized over the high-power port. Thus, lights and other USB devices plugged into the low power port stay powered for up to 30 seconds when stopped depending on their power draw and riding behavior. It is worth noting that most USB devices have built-in rechargeable batteries, allowing them to stay powered for many hours when stopped. We recommend riders who need long-term charging when stopped/off their bike use CadenceX to charge a small external battery (~5000 mAh).

Question 17

Is CadenceX a battery?

Accepted Answer

CadenceX is not a battery. Batteries are great for storing power long-term but are not the best solution for real-time power generation on bicycles. We chose to incorporate supercapacitors over batteries in our product due to their advantages of.1) Higher charge/discharge efficiency2) 10X longer lifespan3) Wider outdoor temperature ranges4) Safety for volaitle powerRiders who require long-term storage can charge USB battery packs with CadenceX.

Question 18

What is the difference between CadenceX and a dynamo?

Accepted Answer

While CadenceX shares some concepts with dynamos, our product is an all-in-one solution including the generator and electronics. This advnatage enables us to expand on traditional bicycle dynamos in the following areas:1) Power Ouput: CadenceX outputs upwards of 6X more power than most dynamos (15-20W vs 3-6W), allowing our product to power more energy demanding devices at once.2) Power Consistency: Modern electronics demand power that is consistent and stable. We developed CadenceX to deliver an experience similiar to a wall-outlet; power that is always available. Most other dynamos emit power that is volatile and is quite dangerous when used to power lithium-ion batteries.3) Drag: CadenceX optimizes drag based off of rider speed, a device's power needs, making our added resistance unnoticable to riders. Most other dynamos do not adjust their resistance and keep a constant drag on riders.

Question 19

Does CadenceX add drag?

Accepted Answer

As with any bicycle generator, CadenceX does add drag. While there is no such thing as free power, we try our best to make sure that you don't notice CadenceX while riding through the following ways:1. Our onboard drag modulation software utilizes data such as rider speed, device power needs, to minimize drag2.CadenceX's all-in-one design is more efficient end-to-end than most other dynamo systems. CadenceX's generator has ~74% peak generator efficiency.3. There is mechanical advantage being on the rim vs the middle hub of a bike wheel (think of the effort associated from opening a door on hinge vs handle)4. We use an optimized o-ring, spring combination that balances friction with drag (tested over dozens of iterations)

Question 20

Does CadenceX store power?

Accepted Answer

CadenceX utilizes our patented supercapacitor technology as energy storage to maintain power output during speed modulations, unideal conditions (such as heavy downpour or in dirt), and to devices plugged into the low power port while stopped for up to 30 seconds at a time.

Question 21

I did the math, you can only output a 15W max from your USBs. Where does the other power go?

Accepted Answer

Good question! In addition to the USBs themselves, CadenceX uses the additional generator power headroom to intelligently power its patented supercapacitor technology. Also, as a rule of thumb, we always leave more power on the table to account for efficiency losses and for use in less-than-ideal conditions.

Question 22

Can CadenceX be used on an electric bicycle (eBike)? How about charging my eBike battery?

Accepted Answer

Yes, CadenceX can be used to charge USB devices on any eBike that is compatible with CadenceX's install criteria. However, CadenceX cannot be used to charge an eBike's battery at this time.

Question 23

Where can I buy CadenceX?

Accepted Answer

If you are a consumer, visit our store. If you represent a company or distributor, please fill out the form above.

Question 24

How much does CadenceX cost?

Accepted Answer

CadenceX costs $299.99 but can be pre-ordered for $50 off here. We also offer the Ultimate CadenceX bundle which includes our whole accessories catalog for $399.99 MSRP but can be pre-ordered $100 off here. To inquire on our distributor pricing catalogue, please reach out to us on this form.

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