Are Wisper bikes that good on hills

[ghostrain]

Am interested in buying a cycle for a leaving present for an employee who has cycled all his life but his knees no longer allow him to pedal a bike up steep hills. I have tried many bikes from my local bike shop including I-zip and Claude Butler but these seem poor at hill climbing ,also looked at the good value Alien Typhoon,but that is in Scotland. All my local bike shops recommend the Wisper but don't have a bike to try. All the bikes seem to have same spec 36v x 10Ah battery and Suzhou Bafang motor. I have to travel to Bodiam to try the Wisper,about 100 miles distant. I am reluctant to do so because the spec is the same as the other bikes I have tried and I just cannot see how this will be any better-is there a good reason I am missing why the Wisper is so much better-in all honesty my employee would not have the strength in his legs to return to his home on a steep hill using the bikes I have already tried. Some retailers talk about a boost button that can be fitted to the Wisper but this seems to give higher speed but no increase in hillclimbing power. Maybe just expecting too much from the pedal assist to help this guy.

 

[banbury frank]

Hill Climbers

Hi

The wisper has a Geared motor and a 14 AH Battery that helps on hills you need to post for a member local to you who will let you try his bike

the wispers are good hill climbers



We Build 48 volt high power bikes using Raleigh bikes made to pull on hills big hill 20 stone riders no problems

Give me a call

Frank

 

[tillson]

have you tried a bike with the Panasonic crank drive? These are very good hill climbers.

 

[flecc]

Each maker chooses the voltage of operation and the power factor that he wants for the SB motor he uses and fits the controller with amperage capability to suit.

The second thing they choose is the integral gearing ratio of the motor, choosing from just able to reach the legal speed and having better hill climbing, to the other end that the original Torq 1 had, 22 mph and poor hill climbing.

The Wisper choice is for 37 volts and power at the higher end of the legal range combined with middling speed capability unrestricted of about 18 mph. The outcome for hill climbing is that it's above average but not the maximum that would be possible if it were only capable of 15 mph. The latest modification has increased the controller from 14.5 Ah to 16.5 Ah capability, increasing power by some 14% and the hill climbing accordingly.

There's only so much possible within legal limits and these are electric assist bikes, not electric bikes, so we can't expect too much.

The Claud Butler is not very high powered so I'm not surprised you are disappointed with that. I don't know which Izip you tried, they vary greatly, but if it's the one with a hub motor built into the rear wheel, that's not very high powered either.

The other factors that affect climbing are bike weight and wheel size, smaller wheels having a mechanical advantage.
.

 

[fishingpaul]

A panasonic powered bike might be best for steeper hills,all electric bikes still need some input from the rider on hills,i do not think wisper bikes are at all superior for hill climbing, when comparing bikes with hub motors ezee bikes probably have extra oomph on hills,but less range due to the controller allowing more power from the battery.

 

[flecc]

I agree that the drive through the gears systems like the Panasonic one are best on the steepest hills, but they do demand that a high proportion of the effort comes from the rider, 50% in normal power mode and 40% in high power mode. Since you have doubts about your employee's pedalling ability it would be essential to try this system first as well to see if it suited.
.

 

[Mussels]

I found the 905 heavy on the legs on steep hills but lowering the gearing helped a lot with that, how steep are the hills?

 

[ghostrain]

Thanks everyone,especially Flecc....I noticed in your reply that you mentioned the Wisper controller has been upgraded from 14,5 Ah to 16,5 Ah,what is the effect of this?....can it only be useful if you use a big battery?...I have noticed that some of the Wispers use 18 Ah batteries,at some great expense.

 

[stevebills]

I dont think any legally assited bike with 200w or 250w could pull the skin off a rice pudding let along get up hills!

 

[flecc]

I dont think any legally assited bike with 200w or 250w could pull the skin off a rice pudding let along get up hills!

There aren't any though Steve, the 200 and 250 watts figures are notional for legal purposes. Most e-bikes have around 400 or more watts capability, some 600 or more watts.

My legal eZee Quando will not only climb 1 in 7 (14%) without me pedalling my 68 kilos, it will even take off up that hill without me assisting.
.

 

[stevebills]

There's the answer get a Ezee Quando if there are that good at hills and they fold up aswel

 

[flecc]

But it has no gears and the person it's intended for isn't strong on pedalling. That could be a problem if the hills are steeper than 14%, and they might not want to commute on a small wheel bike.
.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Hi Ghostrain,

A standard (legal) electric bike may not be powerful enough for your colleague if he is absolutely dependent on a throttle to pull him up hills. If the gift is not a surprise it would certainly be worth getting him to have a test ride to make sure an electric bike actually can do what he needs. If it can, it is best he tries various models to find the one that suits best. There are so many factors to consider including his weight.

Where are you based? I would be happy to see if we can get a Wisper closer to you than 100 miles.

Best regards

David

 

[allen-uk]

Hello ghost.

I've got a Wisper 905.

The 'boost' button isn't a boost button. It's probably a reference to the 'off-road' switch, which allows you electric power past the pre-set 15.5 mph all the way up to (wait for it) 18mph. Wow. Anyway, while it isn't SUPPOSED to make much difference for hills, I find that it does.

In fact if I'm pootling along and think the power seems a bit down (even at 10 or 12 mph), one of the first things I check is the off-road button!

Hill-climbing ability is much more about you - how heavy you are, how fit you are, how used your leg muscles are to pushing you+bike up an incline. And of course how big the hills are.

There are some round north London which I can only JUST manage, and I get to the summits, almost fall off, collapse onto a handily-placed seat, and recover for 5 minutes.

BUT (and this is important) I am old, unfit, fat (115kg on a good day), and only have one leg below the knee.

Without the Wisper's assistance, MOST hills around here would defeat me.

WITH the Wisper's assistance, I can climb MOST hills.

As has been said above, you really must get on the bike and try it out - where do you live?

Allen.

 

[ghostrain]

Thank you everybody,especially the offer from David at Wisper Bikes. I am thankfull that everybody has been refreshingly honest,there is a London dealer who has both an Oxygen and Wisper plus others in stock and it is on a steep hill so that would be a sensible journey,I think I will take my guy with me to try the bikes,the present is now an open secret anyway so it seems best he tries the bikes himself. thanks again for everyone's help.

 

[allen-uk]

Ghost: I'm in NW London. If you're anywhere near that, drop me a PM, and we'll see if we can arrange a demo/trial ride; it might show more than a dealer visit.

Allen.