CrossFire E or Whoosh Gran Camino

[KILLERDOG]

Hi Everyone, hope you are all keeping well during these crazy times we are all facing. I have been reading this forum for a while now and i have really enjoyed what i have read. I think the time has come for me to buy and e-bike and its come down to a few things. One being price and two my fitness level. I am 50 years old and have a few ailments, including angina. I was going to buy a really powerful 2000w bike but thanks to your forums and the great members offering advice its soon become apparent that from a legal side of things i can only have a 250watt 15.5mph pedal assist. |Bit slow, i was hoping for about 20 to 25 mph but i guess thats the law, my driving licence is very very important to me. So i have saved up about £1400 and im looking at the Halfords Crossfire E or the Whoosh Gran Camino. Swaying towards the Whoosh bike as it has a thumb throttle wich might prove really useful if im out and about and suffer an angina attack. If anyone can give me advice on what bike to buy for my budget then i would be very grateful. Thanks for reading this, take care, and i look forward to reading any replys i might get... Doggy

 

[sjpt]

There have been lots of reliability issues with the Crossfire. Even though they may not be local, you'll get much better customer service from Woosh.

 

[KILLERDOG]

Ok, great. Yes, i have read that the Halfords bikes are letting people down alot. Just hoping all the parts on a Whoosh are decent quality. At least with Halfords i can just walk in the local store, but alot of people seem to be saying good things about Whoosh. Thank you very much for your input. Just a shame my budget is low otherwise i would get a bike with a mid range bosch....

 

[GSV3MiaC]

Halford customer service is very variable, depending where you are. Even at best it probably won't reach the dizzy heights of a local bike shop, or Woosh. I should sort out a bike shop, unless you plan to do everything yourself, and see what they have to say and can offer.

 

[GSV3MiaC]

P. S. For £1400 you might find a mid engine second hand, but buy it from someplace you can rely on. 'New' loses you 25% as you leave the showroom in most cases (maybe slightly better last year, due to serious shortages).

 

[KILLERDOG]

Hmmm, the only problem i see with second hand is that most of the bikes have been hammered. I have gone to look at a few and they are all battered lile a flat fish. Thinking new just because i have a little more come-back if things go wrong. I can prob stretch to 2k if i see something i really like though.

 

[Andy-Mat]

Hmmm, the only problem i see with second hand is that most of the bikes have been hammered. I have gone to look at a few and they are all battered lile a flat fish. Thinking new just because i have a little more come-back if things go wrong. I can prob stretch to 2k if i see something i really like though.

If you read around here on Pedelec, seemingly many (even one is too much!) secondhand e-bikes (sadly) are sold with defective batteries. So your plan to buy new looks really good IMHO!
Getting a new battery is difficult for some older models, if not completely impossible, and even "Re-celling" can still bring problems too.
regards to you for a great decision!
Andy
PS. Do make sure that you understand just how to retain the best battery capacity, as not knowing, could give you expensive problems in a years time....

 

[Nealh]

Used mid drive bikes like Bosh, Yamaha etc, are just a way of getting rid of the bike before warranty runs out or an older bike with no warranty. In both cases the answer is not cheap should it need a replacement motor or battery.

 

[Andy-Mat]

Used mid drive bikes like Bosh, Yamaha etc, are just a way of getting rid of the bike before warranty runs out or an older bike with no warranty. In both cases the answer is not cheap should it need a replacement motor or battery.

I like your style!
That is a very valid reason that some use to their "financial" advantage, sadly! many are caught out!
Andy

 

[vfr400]

It's impossible to give you sensible advice on which bike you should buy without telling us about yourself and what you expect to do with the bike.

 

[KILLERDOG]

Thanks for your input guys. Basically im a 50 year old guy ( 5ft 7 ), just wanting to get a little fitter. I have a mountain bike which has not been used due to health conditoins. I just want to pedal aound on the flat bit and have some assistance when needed. I do not want a second hand bike because of battery problems. Im hoping i can buy a charger/conditioner once i get my bike. I konw nothing about ebikes, charging, looking after batts and motors, thats why im here, to learn and hopefully make some new friends

 

[GSV3MiaC]

I'd worry about buying a s/h ebike from some unknown source, not worry about buying one, with suitable warranty, from my local friendly bike shop. Ymmv. Not, perhaps, a 15 year old one, but even then..

 

[KILLERDOG]

Thats a great point. Alot of people are pointing me towards the SWoosh brand. I think so far i really like the Gran Camino. Its plain black, 250watts, has a thumb throttle and a large battery. Unless someone points me in another direction, i think this could be the one...

 

[Nealh]

Thanks for your input guys. Basically im a 50 year old guy ( 5ft 7 ), just wanting to get a little fitter. I have a mountain bike which has not been used due to health conditoins. I just want to pedal aound on the flat bit and have some assistance when needed. I do not want a second hand bike because of battery problems. Im hoping i can buy a charger/conditioner once i get my bike. I konw nothing about ebikes, charging, looking after batts and motors, thats why im here, to learn and hopefully make some new friends

You don't need to buy a charger and don't no what you mean by a conditioner, unless you are also telling us you want a recommend for a hair product brand.

Out of the two Woosh are great value and they have good CS, Halfrauds have been discussed so you makes your choice. Any new bike will come with a charger, you don't need anything else except maybe a cheap multimeter which can be useful.

 

[KILLERDOG]

I have some radio controlled cars and they use lipo batteries, the charger for them also conditions the battery, to keep it in good health. Ok, so far, everyone is saying Whoosh, so it looks like i will give them a call tomorrow and see what they say. Thx for the help and info by the way, much appreciated

 

[vfr400]

Thanks for your input guys. Basically im a 50 year old guy ( 5ft 7 ), just wanting to get a little fitter. I have a mountain bike which has not been used due to health conditoins. I just want to pedal aound on the flat bit and have some assistance when needed. I do not want a second hand bike because of battery problems. Im hoping i can buy a charger/conditioner once i get my bike. I konw nothing about ebikes, charging, looking after batts and motors, thats why im here, to learn and hopefully make some new friends

Any cheap Chinese bike can do that. The cheaper ones all have similar parts that are quite robust and durable. Look for one with a rear hub-motor and 5 levels of assist via an LCD control panel.

There are some good bikes from Woosh, and Juicy have some quite nice ones for a little more. If you stick with standard electrics they're easy to fix ad parts are readily available. Avoid any with bespoke electrics, otherwise you have a nice garden trellis in three or four years time.

You didn't say your weight nor your DIY competence, both of which are key factors when making an ebike decision. If you can't fix simple electric things then you have to buy your bike from a local dealer unless you buy a Wisper, a Woosh or anything from E-bikes direct. Some other brands have good after-care services too, but check that out carefully if its important for you.

 

[KILLERDOG]

Im 80kg, which is 13 stone in weight. I ride a Honda Hornet 600, which i maintain myself so im ok wth the diy stuff, but im useless with electrics. I can fix some things and replace others. I have not really bothered messing around or fixing push bikes, though im happy to learn. I just want something reliable, thats the main thing here for me. Defo looking at the Whoosh bikes, love the Gran Camino. If i get one i will take loads of pics and do a review on it.. My friend bought a cheap chinese one off fleabay for 500 quid and he had to replace tubes, tyres and battery in no time at all. Too many to choose from, thats another problem.

 

[Nealh]

I assume you mean balance not conditioning, I have lipo balance chargers and psu's for lipo's. None of the parameters condition the packs.

All li-on ebike batteries have an integral BMS so there is nothing else to do except plug in and charge, if you wish charge to storage level if not using for a while then simply full charge before use.

 

[vfr400]

Im 80kg, which is 13 stone in weight. I ride a Honda Hornet 600, which i maintain myself so im ok wth the diy stuff, but im useless with electrics. I can fix some things and replace others. I have not really bothered messing around or fixing push bikes, though im happy to learn. I just want something reliable, thats the main thing here for me. Defo looking at the Whoosh bikes, love the Gran Camino. If i get one i will take loads of pics and do a review on it.. My friend bought a cheap chinese one off fleabay for 500 quid and he had to replace tubes, tyres and battery in no time at all. Too many to choose from, thats another problem.

Bicycles are easy to fix, though, like anything, you need a couple of special tools. All bicycles require maintenance, generally, the higher the price, the more maintenance they need and the more expensive are the parts.. The middle-priced bikes tend to be the most durable.

You'll want to change the tyres to puncture-proof ones on just about any ebike that you buy, so a cheap one with crappy tyres is no disadvantage. I've bought several cheap Chinese bikes with cheap batteries fitted. They all lasted very well. If you abuse batteries by not charging correctly or leaving them discharged, you'll get problems, though cheap ones do suffer from that more than expensive ones. I'd be interested to know exactly which bike your friend bought so that we can put their problems into perspective instead of making it sound like all cheap bikes are going to be the same.

 

[oggie]

Hi KD, I am in the same boat as you, having sold my carrera crossfire mk1 after 4 years.
I have coronary problems and am looking for a good replacement.
I narrowed it down to either a bike with the Bosch gen 4 performance line CX from the likes of Cube or Haibike with torque sensor system or the Woosh Gran Camino, which is in a completely different price league and cadence sensor, from the website is very good quality and like you mentioned has that thumb boost to get you over that hill!
Having had the mk 1 crossfire for so long, I'm used to the torque sensor, which works very well, but finding my heart meds kicking in on big hills to keep the heart rate down.
So having never rode a cadence bike, which I believe allows some ghost peddling, I have taken the plunge and ordered the Woosh Gran Camino, only problem now, is the waiting time! Won't be built and delivered to estimated end of October!
That's a long time to wait, just hope the wait is worth it and I don't get to itchy to just go and buy something else
I did not consider the carrera crossfire ebike mk2, I read a few reviews where the motor is not as good as the mk1 and it still has a lot of cut out problems