BMW Cruise e Bike - any good?

[Smart eBiker]

The frame is designed by Designworks in USA, and it's a BMW company that is doing designwork both for BMW and others. The same frame are also used on modeles without motor. BMW is not the biggest bike selling company, but the have quite a few in the range. Bike catalog.
I have been using the cruise-e since may to and from work, and it's been very good.

How are you getting on with the BMW bike, I'm looking for another for my wife and am quite interested, it looks very smart and well thought out, just had a hell of a laugh reading some of the so called experts comments on this thread, you couldn't make the nonsense up that is spouted, especially as a few have cocked up with their first bike and had to get another, says something doesn't it?

What appeals to me is the network for warranty rather than Joe blogs round the corner flogging Chinese imports to make a quick buck, seems electric bikes attract the likes of the solar panel and home insulation salesmen brigade, jumping on band wagons to fleece people of their hard earned with a warranty that lasts until they are off the property

From what I have read there are some decent people on here, but its easy to see those that are from the last century and can't embrace change and new design or get envious because they can't afford something, to those that really know what they are doing, but as I said there is something out there for everyone, but tapping away on a keyboard with such tripe just wasted some of my life reading it!

And by the way I am new to all of this eBike business so don't ask me questions other than about the Mercedes Smart eBike I have, but I am not new to working out why some people have so many posts to their name, its not rocket science

 

[pron]

How are you getting on with the BMW bike, I'm looking for another for my wife and am quite interested, it looks very smart and well thought out, just had a hell of a laugh reading some of the so called experts comments on this thread, you couldn't make the nonsense up that is spouted, especially as a few have cocked up with their first bike and had to get another, says something doesn't it?

What appeals to me is the network for warranty rather than Joe blogs round the corner flogging Chinese imports to make a quick buck, seems electric bikes attract the likes of the solar panel and home insulation salesmen brigade, jumping on band wagons to fleece people of their hard earned with a warranty that lasts until they are off the property

From what I have read there are some decent people on here, but its easy to see those that are from the last century and can't embrace change and new design or get envious because they can't afford something, to those that really know what they are doing, but as I said there is something out there for everyone, but tapping away on a keyboard with such tripe just wasted some of my life reading it!

And by the way I am new to all of this eBike business so don't ask me questions other than about the Mercedes Smart eBike I have, but I am not new to working out why some people have so many posts to their name, its not rocket science

Hi, I'm happy with the bike, and have not had any problems at all with it. Now I have put it away for winter, but I look forward to use it again in the spring.

 

[Paperclip]

Hi
I have joined the forum purely to give my feedback on the bmw ebike. I read the reviews and criticism on here before i bought one, and now i am better placed to add to the discussion.
Firstly - why did i choose it?
I hired a giant ebike on a couple of occasions and tested it on some severe hills around Carsington in Derbyshire. I was very impressed with the bikes performance altho the battery only lasted about an hour leaving me with a concern about the range. After these trials i was convinced that i wanted a bike witth gears and a battery with adequate capacity. That ruled out the gtech. I wondered whether 250w would cope with hills around the Peak District and toyed with the option of a 500w non-road-legal bike but decided to put faith in the performance of the giant 250w bike and stay legal. I read that the crank motor offered better performance than front or rear wheel hubs and so this brought the bmw ebike to my attention as well as the retro-fit kits. The cost of a retro fit kit with a decent battery was around £700. The videos on Youtube convinced me that fitting it was quite complicated and that i would prefer to have it professionally fitted. Furthermore the brakes on my bike would need upgrading and its an old bone shaker mountain bike with no suspension. I reckoned it was going to cost £1k plus to upgrade my bike and this ruled out the retrofit kits as many decent new bikes were available at this sort of cost with better brakes and better suspension.
I like the fact that the cables on the bmw were integrated into the frame and not strapped to the bike with cable ties as it the case with all retro-fits. Finally it had a bosch drive, integrated lighting, a good computer display, good torque stats, and the price crashed. It cost me £1650 from the main dealer - nothing like the £2500 figures often quoted, and cheaper even than many of these bikes on ebay. The frame design and the spoke design which seem to offend many, don't bother me. All frames have an element of styling.I would rather it didn't have the bmw branding but on the other hand this gave me some comfort regarding build quality. The frame is huge, and my bike is supposedly the medium, which i can scarcely believe. I would seriously advise anyone who thinks that they might want the large to think twice. My only other comments on the design are that i would prefer that the welds had been ground smooth and they are not, but i really like the matt white paint job.
So to performance......
It is absolutely fantastic. It has 5 levels of assistance from zero, to 225%. I have tested it on many big hills in Derbyshire and it copes with everything. For example: the legendary Bank Road, Matlock, Chesterfield Road Matlock, Cromford hill to wirksworth, starkholmes, cumber hills from duffield to kedleston, shaw lane holbrook, red lane and portway holbrook, eaton bank. I actually enjoy going up hills now. Without the bike i wouldn't get up any of the above hills, although i might have a heart attack trying.
The battery range is excellent. After a 37 miles, 3 hour ride, tackling many big hills, i still had 2 out of 5 bars left. The battery will last longer than my backside can stand the pretty hard saddle.
Having not really ever cycled up hills - not for 40 years anyway - i can now cycle for as long as i want, wherever i want, with whatever level of assistance i choose.
One final point. I never realised how fast and dangerous coming down hills can be. I clocked 36.5 mph without even trying. I have come off once when a combination of gradient, potholes, bends, narrow carriageway, fear of meeting an on-coming 4x4 - and the fact that breaking tends to throw the rider forward - all contrived to overwhelm me. Make sure you have got good brakes and watch out for the potholes.

 

[flecc]

It cost me £1650 from the main dealer -

That's a great price and combined with the advantages of the Bosch unit I'm not surprised you're pleased.

As I remarked early in the thread, car makers bikes have never sold well, probably accounting for the low price. The main reason they persist in making bikes is their promotional value, both in their car showrooms and in the publicity car branded bikes excite.

I hope you get years of pleasure from it, at that price you start from a winning position.
.

 

[lozw]

Thanks for the great review.

I fancied one myself - especially as it would have been a perfect cosmetic match for my white BMW X series with fitted bike rack

However, the local dealers knew little about it, and I doubted their ability to service it.
Spending this much money on an eBike if I have a problem I wanted to be able to walk into my bike shop who supplied it just down the road from me and say "fix it", knowing that they would. e.g. they give it a free service after 6-8 weeks, and if you need such a thing their annual services are cheap. (as would be many bike shops).

Whereas knowing their cars I expect BMW to hand me a bill for £300 just to adjust the brakes (do they do a 5 year service plan with the bike )

But I would be tempted at that price.

 

[lozw]

I had a good look at the BMW eBike yesterday as they had one in a local dealer (Cooper Reading)

One thing that surprised me was there were no mounting points for accessories like bottle cages, paniers, etc.

Nice looking bike though. But the retail prices are steep for what it is.

You need to buy a new car and get them to throw one in to sweeten the deal

 

[The Cornishman]

It's not built by BMW. They make cars!

And a lot of motorcycles.

 

[lozw]

I felt rather sorry for the folks staffing the BMW stand at the cycle show.
They had a very large stand (but with very few bikes) right in front of you in a prominent position as you walked in the entrance - and everyone walked straight past. The staff looked very forelorn, and twiddled their thumbs all day. I don't think any cyclist visiting a show like that had BMW on their list of things to do.

 

[K22MDL]

I did have a chuckle on here reading posters perceptions of BMW as a bike manufacturer inferring they are "Old School". They are total innovators in Motorbike design and were the first to bring ABS, anti-slide, anti-wheelie and goodness knows what else.

Their in-line 4-cylinder engines are one of the finest (and most powerful) designs in any bike and the S1000R rewrote the rulebook when it was introduced some 5 years ago. It decimated every other manufacturer in racing too. Yes, I was in the trade for years but not lucky enough to own a BMW franchise.


Anyway, to the Cruise. Bought one at a silly discounted price of just £1650 from a BMW dealer. Sold my old Wisper 905e Sport for £1000 so it was a no brainer to upgrade.

It is well built, looks in my opinion very modern and puts many others bikes in the shadows. I doubt they sell many at the moment. If they were serious about the bicycle market you would see them in adverts on TV, in the cycle magazines etc. As cycling gains more momentum, (no pun intended), I bet BMW will start to promote their range and grab a large slice of the market. After all, they have been around more than most and I guarantee they will be around longer than 90% of the "brand of the week" in the cycling world.

And another thing, yes, it's great to ride, the brakes are exceptional for the bikes weight, the power assistance is linear and efficient and nothing has fallen off. I also get repeated comments on what a lovely looking bike it is. I agree.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

I Sold my old Wisper 905e Sport for £1000

That's a great price. I hope you don't mind me commenting, but the second hand price of Wispers has always been high. This greatly reduces the price to own a Wisper. Using decent components and holding enough stock of spare parts to enables us to look after even the oldest Wisper bikes is expensive. Thanks for the confirmation that this policy pays off for us and more importantly our customers.

I hope you enjoy your new BMW!

All the best, David

 

[K22MDL]

Hi David, you are welcome. I had great fun on the 905e Sport and out of the other bikes I looked at the time of purchase I thought they offered good value and were certainly better built than others viewed. The dealer network also was an advantage for servicing and spares that I may have needed. Pity my supplying dealer, Greased Lightning Bikes closed down though.

I've spoken to its new owner of the Wisper and he is delighted and is now selling his current eBike.

I will also say that the battery used in the 905e seems to have excellent longevity. It had no degradation in in capacity to hold charge over the years of use and never ran out of charge during riding.

May I ask do you do a Wisper rack for the 905e Sport? The new owner needs one and it may be better than all the aftermarket variants offered.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

What appeals to me is the network for warranty rather than Joe blogs round the corner flogging Chinese imports to make a quick buck, seems electric bikes attract the likes of the solar panel and home insulation salesmen brigade, jumping on band wagons to fleece people of their hard earned with a warranty that lasts until they are off the property

We certainly don't all fall into this category, Wisper has been around for more than 12 years. Our bikes are made in Kunshan, we look after our customers for as long as they have the Wisper bike. Please read above, an old Wisper is worth more than 60% of the price of a new BMW.

All the best, David

 

[Wisper Bikes]

May I ask do you do a Wisper rack for the 905e Sport? The new owner needs one and it may be better than all the aftermarket variants offered.

No problem, ask him to give us a call.

I am delighted he is enjoying the bike!

All the best, David

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I did have a chuckle on here reading posters perceptions of BMW as a bike manufacturer i

Hmmm! I think you're missing the gist of what was meant. BMW now make some very nice motorbikes, but they were very conservative prior to the mid 90's. It took a long time for them to realise that innovation was the way forward. Their first attempts at inline 3 and 4 cylinder bikes was a bit of a disaster, but since then, they've been pretty good. Anyway, whatever they did or didn't do with motorcycles is completely irrelevant because I don't believe for one moment that they make any bicycles in their own factories. There's no BMW motor in your bicycle, neither does it have innovative BMW forks, nor a proprietary BMW slick-shift gearbox, nor any other component made by BMW other than maybe the badge.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

You truly are the font of all knowledge Dave!

All the best, David

 

[fatwomble]

I did have a chuckle on here reading posters perceptions of BMW as a bike manufacturer inferring they are "Old School". They are total innovators in Motorbike design and were the first to bring ABS, anti-slide, anti-wheelie and goodness knows what else.

Their in-line 4-cylinder engines are one of the finest (and most powerful) designs in any bike and the S1000R rewrote the rulebook when it was introduced some 5 years ago. It decimated every other manufacturer in racing too. Yes, I was in the trade for years but not lucky enough to own a BMW franchise.

View attachment 18885
Anyway, to the Cruise. Bought one at a silly discounted price of just £1650 from a BMW dealer. Sold my old Wisper 905e Sport for £1000 so it was a no brainer to upgrade.

It is well built, looks in my opinion very modern and puts many others bikes in the shadows. I doubt they sell many at the moment. If they were serious about the bicycle market you would see them in adverts on TV, in the cycle magazines etc. As cycling gains more momentum, (no pun intended), I bet BMW will start to promote their range and grab a large slice of the market. After all, they have been around more than most and I guarantee they will be around longer than 90% of the "brand of the week" in the cycling world.

And another thing, yes, it's great to ride, the brakes are exceptional for the bikes weight, the power assistance is linear and efficient and nothing has fallen off. I also get repeated comments on what a lovely looking bike it is. I agree.

Did they throw the i8 in as a sweetener?

 

[K22MDL]

There's no BMW motor in your bicycle, neither does it have innovative BMW forks, nor a proprietary BMW slick-shift gearbox, nor any other component made by BMW other than maybe the badge.

Agreed with the comment, but I'd rather have a big player in automotive transport like BMW behind the brand I use, rather than the (relative) unknown. The quality of components they have chosen are good, with arguably the best 'motor' in the right place to power it. Nowt wrong with that. When I look at other eBikes, I generally see indifferent quality of chosen fittings and brands I've never heard of, usually imported by a small company in the U.K., (if you're lucky). Great whilst they are here, but not so clever when they are not.

I still maintain that £1650 for a bike assembled and manufactured to the Cruise eBike standard of parts, 2-year warranty and sporting a BMW badge, will always have a wider appeal and therefore attract a better resale value at a future date. It rides and stops beautifully too.

Like Sony with their first digital cameras in the nineties, look where they are now. Hitting Canon, Nikon and others right where it hurts. If BMW really wanted to, they would and could be a major player in bicycle manufacture. Maybe the margin and volume just aren't compelling enough investment for them.

BMW have been making very decent in-line fours since 1996 with the brilliantly put together K1200RS. Before then, you're right, they were an oddity at best.

 

[K22MDL]

Did they throw the i8 in as a sweetener?

You guessed! The i3 I use I had to pay for too.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I had one of these . It was totally useless. Every time I started it after using the side-stand, the whole neighbourhood disappeared under a cloud of smoke. The bike hadn't even done 1000 miles. It has some fancy adjustable slatted screen, but no matter what position I put it in, the noise and turbulence above 50 mph was unbearable. A couple of your later, I bought an old R75, which was OK, but a bit like a tractor, then I bought a R100RT, but the crankshaft oil seal started leaking, which made the clutch slip at full throttle. That's a very difficult repair - total engine strip. I'm not a fan of BMWs. I've had my Honda NTV650 for 13 years now. It's the most reliable bike in the world. I've done nothing more than change the oil, filter tyres and brake pads in that time.

Don't count on your resale value being any higher. All the bikes I've seen with car badges on them have been very cheap. They don't sell, which is probably why you got your cheap.

 

[K22MDL]

I had one of these . It was totally useless. Every time I started it after using the side-stand, the whole neighbourhood disappeared under a cloud of smoke. The bike hadn't even done 1000 miles. It has some fancy adjustable slatted screen, but no matter what position I put it in, the noise and turbulence above 50 mph was unbearable.

Don't count on your resale value being any higher. All the bikes I've seen with car badges on them have been very cheap. They don't sell, which is probably why you got your cheap.

Useless? You must have bought a lemon. I bought one new one and another after I sold it purchasing a new 1150RT. The screen wasn't high enough I agree but easily sorted with an add on that mounted on top. An oversight for BMW, but hardly categorising it useless.

I too have had many Honda's, the last, a new VFR1200. Beautifully made and reliable. Like the BMW's I've owned. Didn't hold its value like the BMW's though. Only one Honda in my collection I should have kept, an RC30. Would be worth triple the money today.

I will count 100% on getting more for the bike when it comes to resale time than an 'unknown'. I know how to sell. Witness the Wisper.....