2008 wisper 905 se for £600? worth it?

[Stu33]

Hi,

So i`m looking for an electric bike, i`ve found a 2008 wisper for £600, this seems old to me, would the battery be bad? the owner says it has`nt been used much..... i may ask for a reduction in the price, as theres no way I can tell the health of the battery...

regards,

Stuart

 

[martin@onbike]

Assume you will need a new(Wisper) battery at around £500...is the bike worth £1100?
Probably not, so a big reduction in price is needed.
A 6 year old battery is highly unlikely to be any good, regardless of how much use it's had.

 

[Stu33]

thanks martin

 

[Kudoscycles]

Stu,does the Wisper have a LifePo4 battery (Lithium Iron Phosphate),also what is the capacity (Ah) of the battery. LifePo4 was developed for use in weather stations,these batteries may last 10 years plus. We used LifePo4 in all our urban series bikes(Kudos City,Eco,Liberty,Tourer,Safari etc) but it has low energy density,so it is heavy relative to its capacity,but it does appear to have very long life.
Whatever the battery situation £600 appears high cost for such as aged bike.
KudosDave

 

[Stu33]

Hey KudosDave,

Thanks for your reply,I don`t know what battery it has, I`m waiting for a reply off the seller at the moment, I offered £480 for it, which I thought was reasonable !

Regards,

Stuart

 

[Cyclezee]

I was contacted on Friday by someone wanting a new eZee battery, their original Lithium Polymer is 7 years old, so I think that is pretty good for what is now old battery technology.
eZee now use the latest Sony V3 18650 Lithium Ion cells which are much lighter than LifeP04 and have a 2 year warranty.

 

[trex]

Stuart, looking at this bike objectively for what it's worth in components: bike? £100, motor? £60 controller and wiring? £30 battery? this is a big issue. The battery is probably due for replacement. I think £480 is too much. £250-£300 is a fair price for a working bike of this age.

 

[Kudoscycles]

Stu,you should ask Wisper how much is a replacement battery for that bike and just as important are replacement batteries available....Wisper have changed suppliers,supply countries,battery types over the last 6 years.
Wisper is now part of the WisperFreego group,you should find out the battery size and check price and whether a replacement battery is available,an old e-bike without a source of replacement batteries has very low value.
This is why it's important to look at the battery price before you buy an e-bike. A high battery price may make it uneconomic to keep an aged bike on the road and the realistic option is to scrap it and buy a new one,a cheaper replacement battery price or a long lived battery makes the economics of e-bike ownership more cost effective in the long term.
It may be of interest that the reason why so many new e-bikes are purchased in Germany is that the whole ownership system is completely different to the UK....in Germany they lease their bikes,including service contract and guaranteed buy back,every 3 years you swop your bike in for a new one,pay the leasing monthly fee,battery cost is not relevant because nobody keeps their bikes that long,wonder what happens to all the old bikes?
Close to your intended purchase price you are not a long way away from new product and you get a guarantee,worth considering....
KudosDave

 

[Stu33]

thanks again KudosDave,i`ll make some phonecalls in the morning and find out about the battery,

Stuart

 

[Cyclezee]

Sorry if I am repeating myself, but this bike would be an excellent buy for £500
http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/ezee-for-sale.19208/#post-239308

Please note that I have no connection with the buyer and the bike was not sold by Cyclezee.

 

[the_killjoy]

Now you are all just trying to depress me with the value of my wisper as well !

I am going to need to need a new battery soon and I think I will take the cheaper route of fitting a 'flat' battery on the carrier rather than a proper wisper one.

 

[Cyclezee]

Now you are all just trying to depress me with the value of my wisper as well !

I am going to need to need a new battery soon and I think I will take the cheaper route of fitting a 'flat' battery on the carrier rather than a proper wisper one.

Sorry if I did that, to deflect some of the blame Flecc created the formula, but to be fair I think it is reasonably accurate

One thing I would say though is that battery technology has improved since the formula was created, but much depends on how the battery and for that matter the rest of a used bike has been treated.

Ultimately, any bike is only worth what some one is willing to pay for it.

 

[Stu33]

Now you are all just trying to depress me with the value of my wisper as well !

I am going to need to need a new battery soon and I think I will take the cheaper route of fitting a 'flat' battery on the carrier rather than a proper wisper one.

how much do the flats cost ?

 

[EddiePJ]

Being blunt, I'd say that the seller almost needs to give you the bike.

It could be hanging on it's backside after six years of use.

Worn bearings, cassette, derailleur, chain, forks, brakes, tyres etc, could soon add up to far more than what the bike will ever be worth, and that's without taking the battery into consideration.

If you haven't already done so, take a look at the Woosh website and their prices. http://www.wooshbikes.co.uk/?gclid=CM38t4KMr8ECFcKD2wodD5QAXw It's worth it just to get a glimpse of the legs of the girl riding one of the bikes.

Pus take a look at the two companies that have already offered unbiased advice.

Kudos Cycles as well. https://www.kudoscycles.com/

Cyclezee http://cyclezee.com/

You might be pleasantly surprised by in respect of what you had set out to pay used, and what is close to that price new with warranty. Something to think about.


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