You are correct that "detectable" ammonia is enough for bacteria to be handling the load. However, if you keep removing/lowering that detectable ammonia by doing water changes there will never be enough of a bacterial population required to reduce those levels to zero, which would make your cycle last longer IMO. Same goes for the bacterial populations that reduce nitrite and nitrate. So while it seems that your tank is cycling, really to me it isn't cycling properly.
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