Hello

[Toecutter]

Hello.

I have motorbikes large & small which i ride so a Pedelec was the next thing to own & i've finally got one & a good-un at that. I like the freedom of two wheels & the fact i can cut through traffic & queues, easy parking etc - our roads are heavily congested especially where i live near the Medway tunnel in Kent.

I have been thinking about buying an electric bike for a couple of years & did take two out for test rides but didn't buy at the time then ten days ago i bid on a Wisper SE90 with the Samsung 16ah battery & won!

I'm into camping & either go solo or with the bike gang or the family & grandchildren & we often hire or take bikes & go cycling - I can't wait for next season when i roll out the electric bike. For camping i have got a Bison leisure battery box with a 12v 110 ah battery inserted, couple this to a pure sine wave inverter & you can plug the Wisper charger into the inverter & charge the bike up, i'm testing it now & it looks like i'll get 3-4 bike charges out of the 110 amp master battery, more in a warmer temps, i can charge the leisure battery with a solar panel or small wind turbine. So if there's no electric hook-up available i shall be self sufficient on the energy front & can ride for miles for nothing.

I'm so chuffed with it & couldn't wait to try her out & see what these electric bikes are all about, it looks almost mint, the bobbles were still on the tyres & packing plastic still on the lights & i paid £455 for it, i'm guessing its around 2012 model but hardly used. I charged it up & went for a test ride all on throttle only & it did 12 miles effortlessly & only dropped one spot on the LED controller, it didn't miss a beat or any electrical part get warm, it never struggled or slowed down as the battery drained - I'm very impressed indeed! So impressed i went out & bought a speedometer & centre stand & a soft bag for the rear carrier. I might need a super comfy seat & lose the mudguards & replace them with something in plastic. I'm 5ft 9 & weigh 11.5 stone, bike is a little too tall for me having a 29 inch inside leg & i'd prefer a smaller frame but whose complaining? - I got a bargain. The bike has a higher seat than my motorcycles & i can put both feet on the ground when riding them.

I'm worried about it getting nicked so i've got a heavy duty Oxford lock that's nice 'n heavy & i've fitted a tracking device of sorts, i might fit a high decibel movement alarm & get it insured.

I'm going to need another electric bike for Tracey, she rode mine & is hooked so i'm on the look-out for an ebike for her but will probably wait until Spring unless i spot a bargain.

I'm also interested in the super fast electric bikes, some nice ones on the internet that seem quite cheap for what your getting, i shall listen & watch & take advice before i purchase but i'm surely tempted by a faster bike with a decent range. I've swatted up on the various methods of propulsion IE front hub, rear hub & crank drive & that seems the way to go albeit more expensive.

I've got a fully equipped man cave for projects & i can see myself tinkering with these electric bikes like i do with the motorbikes, my weak spot is electrics & electronics & using a multimeter so its time to learn how it all works.

I was wondering if anybody has ever built a bike with both front/rear hub drives? Not that i'd attempt such a job, i'm just curious.

My dream bike: 18-19 inch eye catching frame, powerful crank drive motor with off-road use & 2 long-range batteries, quality fitments across the board & the whole package totally reliable.

I'd like to visit an bike show to see the latest bikes, i struggle with the price of some of these ebikes - you can get a decent m/cycle for less money so why the seriously high cost of them.

Toecutter.

 

[Alan Quay]

Glad you are enjoying the new bike.

Sadly, your plan for mobile charging has a couple of draw backs.

Your bike battery is around 575wh (36v x 16ah) and your leisure battery is about 1300wh. With lead acid batteries you don't want to use much more than about 50% or they will suffer, so you have a real world capacity of about 650wh. That's probably not enough for one full charge, since you will loose power in the conversion from 12v to 220v, then more when you come back to 36v.

Charging off grid will also be a problem. If you have (say) 40w of solar cell, and perfect conditions, you will need 15 hours for one charge. In reality I expect you could double that. I'd guess 5 very sunny days might get you there, but only if you constantly adjust the cell. Wind will give a similar set of problems.

All the kit you will need to achieve this will weigh in at around 40-50 kilos, or about half a fat bloke. This would really impact your range and probably cycling enjoyment.

Roughly speaking, you would be in a position that you could travel 20 miles every 5 days. If you were lucky.

A better alternative is a second bike battery to extend range to roughly 60-80 miles, then charge from mains every few days.

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

 

[Andy88]

Lovely story enhanced by your enthusiasm, I share some of your thoughts on cost but you certainly got a bargain with the wisper, she looks mint and its a testament to wisper bikes.

Fitting front and back hubs to a bike is doable if you seats the net you will see a few examples.

However in all practicality depending on your objective there are probably better ways to make full use of battery and motor.

Some excellent normal bike bargains on ebay ripe for conversion, many bikes less than two years old with very little use for a third or less than their original cost.

If you pencil in £200 for a good used bike then £400 to £600 for an electric kit, £75 for incidentals u can get a top notch end product for £700 to £900 or less.

 

[Andy88]

Twin MXUS Hub Fat Bike, Enjoy

 

[D8ve]

The power limit is a joke. Legally it's one motor although a 250watt rating.
The rating system was designed to make sure manufacturers weren't over rating the motors so most will easily do 500watts plus. Gearing helps but isn't needed for 15 mph. The cheap illegals can be lower power than some legal ones.
SW would advise on dongles to beat the speed limiter. I also know how to do it, technical interest. But the risk is insurance and claims if you are using and uninsured motorbike, as that's what a 20mph electric bike would be classed as.
So I remain legal and enjoy the freedom.
A small generator and a pint of petrol would recharge your battery for least weight and power.
Oh twin motors, well it's just not worth it. Putting 1hp through the rear tire and leaving the front to steer and stop is adiquate.
A front hub and some sweat gives you two wheel drive for nowt. But know one has made outstanding performance claims for that, the opposite in fact of losing grip on gravel uphill.
Enjoy your new bike and welcome.

 

[Woosh]

Toecutter's bike is a Woosh Sirocco2.

 

[Andy88]

Ahh so its not a Wisper after all?

 

[Wisper Bikes]

It's those frames again!

 

[Andy88]

What a wonderful world, merry xmas and bike frames were made for sharing

 

[Wisper Bikes]

The biggest give away is the forks. We would not use basic Top Gun suspension forks on our bikes. It's a very good buy though!

All the best, David

 

[Andy88]

Funnily enough there is a 2016 lightly used BigBear on ebay starting bid £500 be interesting to see how much it makes?

The seat looks so comfy anybody know what model it is along with the seat post?

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/WOOSH-BIG-BEAR-ELECTRIC-BIKE-/201751933040?nav=SEARCH

Albeit the sellers feedback not so hot -1

 

[RobF]

Toecutter's bike is a Woosh Sirocco2.

Looks like it to me.

At £455 at four or so years old it's held its price pretty well.

I hope the seller didn't misrepresent it as a 'Wisper SE90' to achieve a higher price, but I fear he might have done otherwise where would the OP have got the name and model number from?

 

[Woosh]

The biggest give away is the forks. We would not use basic Top Gun suspension forks on our bikes. It's a very good buy though!

All the best, David

There lies possibly the biggest difference in design philosophy between our two companies. I would expect that David would rather put in a rigid fork if budget is tight. The Topgun forks are low cost and unsophisticated but it does give to the rider comfort and the benefit of suspension.

 

[Andy88]

Well be interesting to hear what he has to say

 

[Andy88]

While we are talking about forks, do they have to he steel to take a BPM? or will aluminium with a torque support arm do it?

Horizontal or Vertical dropouts?

 

[Woosh]

Steel is best for BPM motors.

 

[Andy88]

Steel is best for BPM motors.

So next question if the donor bike is all aluminium can third party steel forks easily replace the aluminum ones?

Is there a rear wheel BPM version that can accommodate the donor bikes original brakes and gears?

 

[Wisper Bikes]

I agree with Woosh, this is where we differ. I would rather use top end lightweight forks than basic TG or Zoom sus forks. The solid forks we have designed are more expensive but I think it's worth the extra for the excellent ride and weight saving. For those that want suspension forks on our SE models our retailers will install decent Suntour forks to match the frame colour of our bikes, with lock out and pre load for a supliment.

All the best, David

 

[Woosh]

Horizontal or Vertical dropouts?

vertical dropout.
Horizontal dropout is only needed for rear BPM with IGH.

So next question if the donor bike is all aluminium can third party steel forks easily replace the aluminum ones?

that depends on the donor bike.

Is there a rear wheel BPM version that can accommodate the donor bikes original brakes and gears?

Yes. Although I would recommend the rear SWX02 instead of the rear BPM.
You get 90% of the push and save nearly 1.5kg in weight.

 

[Andy88]

I agree with Woosh, this is where we differ. I would rather use top end lightweight forks than basic TG or Zoom sus forks. The solid forks we have designed are more expensive but I think it's worth the extra for the excellent ride and weight saving. For those that want suspension forks our SE models our retailers will install decent Suntour forks to match the frame colour of our bikes, with lock out and pre load for a supliment.

All the best, David

Apart from front wheel slip is that another reason you shifted the hub motors from the front to the back David?