Just became a member of this fantastic knowledgeable forum, i would like to introduce myself, i`m young keith from Chester age 64 and a bit of a lump at nearly 17 stone and 5 ft 10 inches tall. Have been a business owner since 1987 supplying building aggregates up and down the country, this i suppose has taken its toll on my body sitting behind the wheel of a tipper lorry for over 30 years, since June last year i had to give up the driving due to health reason, but still work behind a computer and two telephones supply aggregate work to our local subcontractors. My wife tells me i should get out a lot more and decides to get an electric bike, i have been looking at the woosh santana 3 15ah battery, wisper 705se and pulse ZL2 and another bike from Plugins site vintage style cherry red bike with 10ah battery. All of these bikes i feel are up my street, although i don't know anything about ebikes and not been a bike on since my late teens, it can be difficult to find the best one that is suitable, my price range is between £700 and £1000 i could go a little more but not much. I am open to many suggestions thank you for listen to my plea Young Keith
Hi Everybody
- Thread starter Young Keith
- Start date
Hi Keith and welcome.
I too am a relative newcomer to ebikes ,and I sympathize with your dilemma.
I'm constructed a bit like you too ! I looked at the woosh bikes and just about every ebike out there but eventually decided on a WISPER 905 TORQUE.they where we'll out of my price range,but I found a used one on eBay.and with a lot help and advice from David of WISPER it's now up and running and I'm so glad I bought it.
They are super bikes, quality parts.ie Samsung batteries.s/s nuts and bolts, Suntour suspension forks, etc etc, and great backup from Whisper ebikes.
Whatever you choose all the best in your quest...it works for me !..Ken
Hi Ken
Thank you for your reply, i admit that the Wisper is an excellent bike, but a little out of the price range, i have looked on ebay there are a couple on there but suspicious of buying from ebay specially bikes, although again there is wisper Torgue 2 years old it says only ridden one one hour and in immaculate condition for £1350 big discount from todays price of £1750 but again a little concerned how anyone can buy a £1750 bike ride it for one hour, leave it in the garage for two years and sell it on at the price it is on for, remember it is two years old that is why i am suspicious, for the same money i can get a whoosh with a 15am battery brand new although again i`m little concerned about then as they only give 12 months warranty and with wisper you get two years on battery and motor, i looked at Plugins vintage style ebike they are similar to wisper two years on motor and battery and three years on frame, at the end of the day you can have all the warranties and concerns it depends on the bike themselves, i thought that whoose was my special bike, and wisper second i find that i to are leaning towards wisper although i still find the Plugins bike very attractive for the money. I hope you like your wisper go on to having many happy rides thanks again best of luck keith
Quick question, ebike suspension front with or not at all which is best on rear motor ebike and carrying 17 stone male plus weight of bike, some say that with from suspension not as good a ride as full blade forks, when young all my pedal bikes had front straight blade forks had not a problem with them but what about the new technology these days of front telescopic forks
Hi Keith,
Before you buy the second hand Wisper, I advise you to check out the battery, make sure it’s holding a full charge and at that price check it’s a 575Wh.
Also check it’s a Mk2.
All the best, David
Before you buy the second hand Wisper, I advise you to check out the battery, make sure it’s holding a full charge and at that price check it’s a 575Wh.
Also check it’s a Mk2.
All the best, David
Hi Keith
I’ve had 3 ordinary bikes with front suspension and not a problem,especially off road ie mountain bikes.If your intentions are purely for road commuting then suspension really not necessary,and it keeps the cost down if buying new as well. Although watch out for potholes..lol
Ken
I’ve had 3 ordinary bikes with front suspension and not a problem,especially off road ie mountain bikes.If your intentions are purely for road commuting then suspension really not necessary,and it keeps the cost down if buying new as well. Although watch out for potholes..lol
Ken
Problem with a two year old bike is that you don't know how the battery has been cared for, if at all. Batteries decline with age, so if it's not been charged regularly, it could be low in range. I would offer the asking price, less the price of a new battery. This would be more realistic I think.
Personally, I wouldn't be without suspension forks. I found my 65 year old wrists and neck taking a hammering on our beautifully maintained rural roads
, when I had blades.
Both Woosh and Wisper have a very good rep on this site. Never heard of plugins. My wife has a Woosh Big Bear LS. Solid frame, New ones have better brakes, and pulls like a tractor. Takes her all over the hills of West Wales despite being a front hub. Some say front hubs can't climb hills, but they're OK on all but the steepest, loosest/slimey surfaces, which is when things can get 'interesting'.
Personally, I wouldn't be without suspension forks. I found my 65 year old wrists and neck taking a hammering on our beautifully maintained rural roads
, when I had blades.Both Woosh and Wisper have a very good rep on this site. Never heard of plugins. My wife has a Woosh Big Bear LS. Solid frame, New ones have better brakes, and pulls like a tractor. Takes her all over the hills of West Wales despite being a front hub. Some say front hubs can't climb hills, but they're OK on all but the steepest, loosest/slimey surfaces, which is when things can get 'interesting'.
You should try and do a few test rides of different frame styles eg dutch style step through, MTB, trekking. Also try different drive systems, eg factory middrives like Bosch Shimano and hub drives.
Renting for half a day is good way to discover what a ebike is capable of.
Renting for half a day is good way to discover what a ebike is capable of.
Hi David and thank you for caution reply, this particular bike is on eBay, it say that the bike was bought in 2016 so two years old, with a 575wh 16am battery, the battery has had a trickle of power running through it to keep it in good condition, the person who is selling it has only ridden it for one hour then stored in the garage, so like new, my argument is why didn`t he after one hour send it back to the shop to either exchange the bike or claim his money back, seems strange to spend £1750 on a bike ride for one hour then leave in garage for 2 years and then sell it on, if had got 500 miles on it it would be so bad, a little like buying a car if one car had 5000 miles and another had 50000 and excellent maintenance i would buy the latter because i would know that the 50000 mile car had been well maintained. Back to the bike so you see how dubious i feel about buying something that is a bit to true
Hi Ken
Thanks for the reply, these days it's not trying to avoid potholes, it trying to find a good piece of tarmac, but i know what you mean, the bike would used for road riding only so you think straight blades would be best and as you say keeps the cost down, the wisper torque is a little out of my new price range so have looked at the 705se with 575wh battery the price around the 1200 mark although have seen a ex demo with 575wh battery at £999 in the light blue, ebike direct have one in the blue and ex demo a little more money and straight blades, that has some cosmetic paint damage, but for the price as much as 300.400 pounds off would be a good alround bike, at the moment still looking
Thanks for the reply, my initial thoughts of an ebike was the woosh santana 3 and looked at a big bear difference not much in the price bear has front hub, by heck it does look the business and compared to the wisper torque price would be better in my pocket, but a friend of mine has a woosh santana 2 i have had a go on that had a very good look round it , after talking on here to several members they seem to all like the wisper 705 torque or se model, i'm still looking at the woosh santana 3 and the big bear but a little dubious at the front hub although as some have said for road riding this doesn't seem a problem.Problem with a two year old bike is that you don't know how the battery has been cared for, if at all. Batteries decline with age, so if it's not been charged regularly, it could be low in range. I would offer the asking price, less the price of a new battery. This would be more realistic I think.
Personally, I wouldn't be without suspension forks. I found my 65 year old wrists and neck taking a hammering on our beautifully maintained rural roads
Both Woosh and Wisper have a very good rep on this site. Never heard of plugins. My wife has a Woosh Big Bear LS. Solid frame, New ones have better brakes, and pulls like a tractor. Takes her all over the hills of West Wales despite being a front hub. Some say front hubs can't climb hills, but they're OK on all but the steepest, loosest/slimey surfaces, which is when things can get 'interesting'.
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Hi Keith, I bought a Wisper 905se just over a year ago and it has been great, If you look in the review section I have written a small piece about it, one thing i would recommend is to have suspension front forks I started off with blade forks but bought suspension due to the state of the roads. Steve..
Thanks Steve for your reply, i'm not sure just yet which is best but will think along the lines, i didn't find your review but read your complaints about the controller that had been broken and the other replies that you received, some from wisper and other members.
Just read your review on "Nearly a year" I amazed that you have pedal up over the cat and fiddle on an ebike although i could realise to be true. The only time i ever went over the cat and fiddle was driving a 32 tonne stone lorry from Buxton quarries back in to Cheshire and surrounding areas, mostly from 4.00 am and later into the night coming back home to Chester, it was always quicker that way than going the long way round through Stockport, in winter it was i call bloody cold so cold that even with a full hot heater you would still feel the cold, getting halfway up and stopping for the usual pee was anybody's business you would die of exposure or get blown away either way you would think to yourself never again, but the next morning you were always there, i did this run from 1987 through to 2008 then changed my whole route more in to North Wales areas, in my opinion Buxton area is not the place to be in winter unless you have dying wish.
Good review of the wisper, still got to ebike on my mind woosh and wisper still not decided but one or two others are coming in the mix, will when i have decided and the damm bike let everyone what it was i bought thanks keith
Totally agree about Buxton, a few weeks ago I cycled up to Flash and even on a sunny afternoon it was bleak. The roads around Macclesfield are my playground on the bike and I have got to say my fitness has certainly improved over the last year.
Going up from Buxton to Leek down what some folk call "Little Austria" om snow covered roads is like taking your own life in your hands, i remember coming from Buxton down there fully loaded on snow touching the breaks was not a job i care to remember, only used the jake break and most of the 16 gears i had but not the breaks, by the time i had got to the Bollington cross roads i could have changed my underpants, it was the most scary run i had ever taken, that made my mind up that bring stone out of Buxton was the last time i would do it, from then on i got all stone from out North Wales although that can be a nuisance when it was snowing.
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