It's about the same specs as the £699 Woosh Sirocco 2:
http://www.wooshbikes.co.uk/electric-bikes/sirocco2x/
Best warranty
- Thread starter Leccy
- Start date
http://www.wooshbikes.co.uk/electric-bikes/sirocco2x/
D
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The Woosh Sirocco 2 has a similar specification and it's £500 cheaper.The replacement battery on the Smarta is £350 compared with £205 for the Woosh, so you could buy the Woosh and two spare batteries for less than the Smarta if batteries are your concern.
BTW. I doubt that it's a Panasonic battery on the Smarta. I think they mean that it's a standard (Chinese?) battery with Panasonic 18650 cells inside just like many other batteries. It's nothing like the batteries on the Panasonic crank-drive bikes, so don't try and draw any comparisons.
BTW. I doubt that it's a Panasonic battery on the Smarta. I think they mean that it's a standard (Chinese?) battery with Panasonic 18650 cells inside just like many other batteries. It's nothing like the batteries on the Panasonic crank-drive bikes, so don't try and draw any comparisons.
I agree the Smarta - and its battery - look well over-priced compared to the Woosh Sirocco2.
Another point in the Woosh's favour is the 15ah battery, compared to 9ah on the Smarta.
Whichever way you cut it, 9ah is tight for 20+ mile commute.
The Scirocco2 was the one I tested and I reckon it is still a good, sturdy bike, even if Woosh now offer several newer models.
And at £700 the phrase 'cheap as chips' springs to mind.
Another point in the Woosh's favour is the 15ah battery, compared to 9ah on the Smarta.
Whichever way you cut it, 9ah is tight for 20+ mile commute.
The Scirocco2 was the one I tested and I reckon it is still a good, sturdy bike, even if Woosh now offer several newer models.
And at £700 the phrase 'cheap as chips' springs to mind.
It's the Panasonic batteries supplied with their crank units that originated this sleep mode on e-bike batteries in 2007. The only imitator since is BMZ with their Kalkhoff-BMZ batteries for Panasonic and Kalkhoff crank units. I don't know of BMZ making batteries like this for any other e-bike maker. Both these also have a capacity measurement facility as well as a content meter. They are quite expensive batteries though, the larger capacity ones costing as much as some budget e-bikes.
So neither Woosh nor any other budget e-bike supplier have these features.
So neither Woosh nor any other budget e-bike supplier have these features.
I have ridden the Smarta and it is a pretty good bike amongst the far east import offering. The Electric Transport Shop I have found to be very good to deal with. The battery on this bike is only 9Ah which is quite a limited capacity - I wouldn't bank on it covering 40 miles. The 4 year battery warranty has some caveats to bear in mind.
All Kalkhoff bikes come with a 2 year warranty. Kalkhoff bikes (being German made) are very different in component quality terms to bikes like the Smarta. This is why they cost considerably more. Whether you consider this money worth spending will depend on many things but is essentially a matter of personal choice. Most Kalkhoff bikes have much higher capacity batteries.
All Kalkhoff bikes come with a 2 year warranty. Kalkhoff bikes (being German made) are very different in component quality terms to bikes like the Smarta. This is why they cost considerably more. Whether you consider this money worth spending will depend on many things but is essentially a matter of personal choice. Most Kalkhoff bikes have much higher capacity batteries.
Leccy,these batteries only lose about 2 per cent per month when left unused, we advise our customers the 80/20 rule...that batteries should not be stored left full or empty. In practice,we recommend that if you are intending to leave the bike unused for several months,then fully charge the bike,ride it for 30 mins under power to take the top off the charge,you would be ok to then leave the battery up to 6 months without any further charging.
I leave 2 bikes on a boat,all winter,they are usually at about 60 per cent charge in the spring.
KudosDave
I leave 2 bikes on a boat,all winter,they are usually at about 60 per cent charge in the spring.
KudosDave
The exclusive agent for Kalkhoff in the UK is 50cycles, with showrooms at Loughborough, Kingston upon Thames and Shoreham by Sea.
Here's their contact page with full details of those locations. Do try to have a test ride first to help you choose the right one, even within one brand they vary considerably in sizing and personal suitability.
Having purchased the latest addition to my stable from 50 Cycles very recently, I endorse Flecc's recommendation that you test-ride any/all the models which hold appeal for you. Indeed, if you visit the London branch, Tim will probably insist you try a few models.
The British ebike market is suffering some ridiculous marketing hype currently, KTM dealers being particularly shameless in that regard. Some of the prices are simply crazy and without justification when real scrutiny is applied but let each potential buyer judge for himself.
There are some 'budget' bikes and middle-range machines that are pretty well the equal of some of these over-hyped bikes being heavily exposed before us right now. However, in an effort to ensure their dominant position as a major player in the bike market in the UK, 50 Cycles' pricing seems particularly keen at the present time.
In the 6 years I have been looking at these pages, I really can't remember anyone having a bad word to say about Kalkhoff bikes so I don't think you'd go far wrong if you paid 50 Cycles a visit to see for yourself.
Tom
The British ebike market is suffering some ridiculous marketing hype currently, KTM dealers being particularly shameless in that regard. Some of the prices are simply crazy and without justification when real scrutiny is applied but let each potential buyer judge for himself.
There are some 'budget' bikes and middle-range machines that are pretty well the equal of some of these over-hyped bikes being heavily exposed before us right now. However, in an effort to ensure their dominant position as a major player in the bike market in the UK, 50 Cycles' pricing seems particularly keen at the present time.
In the 6 years I have been looking at these pages, I really can't remember anyone having a bad word to say about Kalkhoff bikes so I don't think you'd go far wrong if you paid 50 Cycles a visit to see for yourself.
Tom
Tim,oh sorry I meant Tom....50 cycles London showroom is in Hampton Wick near Kingston....this area of London is becoming an electric bike oasis...just down the road you have the London Electric Bike Company....whilst you are testing the Kalkhoff range at 50 cycles you can trip down the road to try the stylish KTM range,the exciting off road Haibike range and our own Kudos range.
What do you mean by ' the ridiculous marketing hype of some KTM dealers',I personally think at its price level the KTM range is amazing value,they are beautifully built,have an amazing range of models and are available from a number of local dealers across the UK.
I really can't remember anyone having a bad word to say about the KTM bikes ,so I don't think you would go far wrong if you paid London Electric Bike Company a visit to see for yourself.....hehe
KudosDave
What do you mean by ' the ridiculous marketing hype of some KTM dealers',I personally think at its price level the KTM range is amazing value,they are beautifully built,have an amazing range of models and are available from a number of local dealers across the UK.
I really can't remember anyone having a bad word to say about the KTM bikes ,so I don't think you would go far wrong if you paid London Electric Bike Company a visit to see for yourself.....hehe
KudosDave
Value... We have a Bosch-powered Pro Connect in Hampton Wick now, with 2014 Performance Motor & 400Wh battery. It's priced at £1895 while the equivalent KTM appears to be at least a couple of hundred pounds more and arguably not as well-equipped. The Pro Connect i8 with Impulse 2.0 and 612Wh battery is still less expensive than most of the KTM bikes as far as I can see and offer greater range, power, lighting, etc.
Warranties - it's 2 years on all the Kalkhoff bikes. However, the batteries have an expected lifetime of 1100 charge cycles rather than the usual 500. Also, we've recently been informed that the battery ageing rate in the largest packs is around half that of usual i.e. 1-2% (about 0.2Ah) per year rather than 2-5% (up to 0.55Ah/year) for other chemistries.
Showrooms We have another showroom opening in Bristol later this Spring too and we're looking for another showroom in somewhere like Cambridge or Norwich. You can try Bosch, Impulse 1.0, Impulse 2.0, Xion and whatever else we have at each showroom.
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Tim,50 cycles....really good news all your expansion plans...this e-bike business has come alive of late...Kudos is happy to be a modest part of the market....will drop in and say hello,next time I am visiting Hampton Wick,such a nice village in greater London.
KudosDave
www.kudoscycles.com
KudosDave
www.kudoscycles.com
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