First ever bike!

[Seanwhat]

Hey guys,

I'm looking to buy an electric bike. I'm mainly going to use it for my commute to work, but I'd also use it for trips to the shop etc. I'm looking at the carrera crossfire e but I'm not sure if the battery will be big enough, and I've read about the issues regarding battery cutting out. The style is pretty much what I'm looking for, although I'm wondering about bikes with the battery built into the frame?

I'll be looking to charge it no more than once a week. It's a 9 mile round trip to work with a few hills (living in Sheffield). I'm fairly fit and weigh about 75 kg, height 5'11. Is this a reasonable expectation?

Budget... I don't mind paying extra for something that'll be perfect, but ideally around the £1k range, maybe a bit more.

Thanks!

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Go to South Yorkshire Electric Bike Centre in Goldthorpe. They'll sort you out with just what you need. They have a range of bikes in your price range.

You should charge your bike every day, not once a week. Why did you say once a week?

 

[trex]

£879 woosh Bermuda would suit your requirements.
The Bermuda is fitted with 13AH battery, proven Bafang SWX02 motor, 17A Lishui controller, rack, mudguards, lights, bell for all weather riding.

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?bermuda

 

[JuicyBike]

Hey guys,

I'm looking to buy an electric bike. I'm mainly going to use it for my commute to work, but I'd also use it for trips to the shop etc. I'm looking at the carrera crossfire e but I'm not sure if the battery will be big enough, and I've read about the issues regarding battery cutting out. The style is pretty much what I'm looking for, although I'm wondering about bikes with the battery built into the frame?

I'll be looking to charge it no more than once a week. It's a 9 mile round trip to work with a few hills (living in Sheffield). I'm fairly fit and weigh about 75 kg, height 5'11. Is this a reasonable expectation?

Budget... I don't mind paying extra for something that'll be perfect, but ideally around the £1k range, maybe a bit more.

Thanks!

I couldn't possibly tell you which bike will suit you.
But I know from experience you should try riding a few (because they vary a great deal, just like their riders). We've supplied all kinds to many different riders around Sheffield. You'd be very welcome to come over to New Mills and try from the range of Juicys, Raleighs and Wispers currently available at our workshop.

 

[row]

That Woosh looks like excellent value another option would be wait for cyber deals in November for reduced 2016 models -

Something like this is lowered in price atmo but limited sizes and a bit over that budget.

http://www.freeborn.co.uk/cube-reaction-hybrid-hpa-pro-400

 

[Deleted member 4366]

bell for all weather riding.

I prefer an umbrella, there's more room under it.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

After an absence of about a month the Wisper 705se is back in stock next week. We are getting rave reviews! NYEBC will have them available to test ride.

All the best, David

 

[Deleted member 4366]

NYEBC will have them available to test ride.

All the best, David

Why NYEBC?

SYEBC is one of your dealers and they're much closer!

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Sorry, typo, I meant John Camm from SYEBC!

 

[Seanwhat]

Thanks for the input guys, I'll have a closer look at the bikes you mentioned and see if I can get down to test them out.

One thing I'm trying to get my head around: say I was to increase my budget to £1.5k or so (which I can do), what more would I actually get? I'm struggling to see the differences between a lot of the bikes even at different price ranges, and I'm sure that's due to my lack of knowledge.

 

[trex]

you'll get a better frame, better brakes, better fork, better crankset, pedals, saddle, grips, lights, rims, tyres etc. Still, £1,500 may not be enough to get you a German motor and battery. You should try the bikes before you buy but it's not wrong to compare specs of the bikes.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

.. plus stainless nuts, bolts and other fixings.

It's difficult to generalise, but you normally also get better control systems as the price goes up.

The honest truth, though, is that they all work and they all go 15.5 mph. Some go up hills better than others. Some go further. Some can be derestricted. Some have throttles. If speed is important, find out about the derestriction before you buy the bike.

 

[Trevormonty]

Thanks for the input guys, I'll have a closer look at the bikes you mentioned and see if I can get down to test them out.

One thing I'm trying to get my head around: say I was to increase my budget to £1.5k or so (which I can do), what more would I actually get? I'm struggling to see the differences between a lot of the bikes even at different price ranges, and I'm sure that's due to my lack of knowledge.

The two big differences to try are cadence sensing and torque sensing, power delivery/feel is very different.

 

[row]

With 1500 pounds you can just about (in sales probably) get a Bosch CX motor and a 500 Battery. This is the top bracket in terms of available tech on ebikes, amongst other high quality choices. So if you are also looking online as part of your search look out for bikes with 'bosch performance line cx 500 watt'

It's also worth noting that with Bosch or Yamaha you can also derestrict the speed limit easily via a dongle.

The Cube above has the CX and 400 Battery

 

[Kuorider]

£879 woosh Bermuda would suit your requirements.
The Bermuda is fitted with 13AH battery, proven Bafang SWX02 motor, 17A Lishui controller, rack, mudguards, lights, bell for all weather riding.

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?bermuda

Any plans for a disc braked Petite?

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Hi Sean,

You may like to consider the Wisper Torque series bikes. They start at £1,599. They are considered to be amongst the best hub drive bikes available.

They work with a torque sensor so the ride is very natural and you get instant power as soon as you push down on the pedals. You also benefit from a more efficient system that will give much more range than a cadence sensor bike. We have developed our own software that delivers seamless and almost silent power which peaks at over 600W for effortless hill climbing.

The bikes have excellent rigid frames with 10 year warranties, they are our own design and are very important as they give the bikes thier unique solid and safe ride.

We use oversize 180mm discs on the front wheel normally found on mountain bikes and 160mm discs on the back. The system is hyraulic and together they will stop the bike quickly, quietly and efficiently.

We use oversized remote controller buttons, easy to use with gloved hands and a nice big central LCD display with back lighting for thos dark nights. The lights are run from the bike battery and are good quality and very bright.

You won't find one in a sale though, they tend to sell out very quickly!

If you would like further details of the bikes or details of our dealers please drop me a line or visit our web pages. See my signature below.

All the best and good luck with your hunting!

All the best, David

 

[Seanwhat]

The wisper 905 torque seems like a really good shout. The ability to use its torque setting or switch to the regular setting makes it the best of both worlds. How did it stand up to the cube? From what I can see it's pretty much a solid all rounder with all the bells and whistles but without the bosch motor. The cube doesn't have as much going for it; pardon my ignorance but what's so special about the bosch motor that would make me consider the cube over the whisper from David?

 

[trex]

it's down to engineering. Chinese motors have simple designs, easy to service. German motors are sophisticated and expensive to service. Whichever you buy, motors need to be kept out of water and greased. The Wisper uses geared motor from aikema whereas Chinese bikes from Woosh and Kudos use Bafangs. The main difference is the reduction ratio. The Aikema has reduction ratio about 11-13 (typically 12.6), Bafang motors about 4-5. A higher reduction ratio gives higher torque at low speed but the rotor spins much faster.

 

[Angelnorth]

The wisper 905 torque seems like a really good shout. The ability to use its torque setting or switch to the regular setting makes it the best of both worlds. How did it stand up to the cube? From what I can see it's pretty much a solid all rounder with all the bells and whistles but without the bosch motor. The cube doesn't have as much going for it; pardon my ignorance but what's so special about the bosch motor that would make me consider the cube over the whisper from David?

I can't compare it with the Cube but I can tell you I'm very happy with my 705 Torque (which is the same as the 905 apart from the frame type). I agree with trevormonty that torque vs cadence is a key comparison to make and test riding will tell you which will suit you best. I tried both versions of the 705 (SE is cadence sensor, Torque is....erm, torque) and they do feel very different - my budget allowed for the torque and the ride suited me better so I went that way. I know others have gone the other way so it really is down to what suits you personally.

 

[JuicyBike]

Sean, you could try Bafangs and Aikemas, Bosch in Raleighs and Torque in Wisper and Juicy at our workshop in New Mills (SK12 2PY Tuesdays to Saturdays 0845 0042 330).
We can also try to make the whole process as easy as we can for you and show you all the differences and also let you try them all on local hills.
You'd be very welcome to come and try.