Lifecycle City Sport

eddieo · Mar 9, 2010

Try E Bike direct they have a banner link on this forum, and get yourself a proper Wisper

look at the resale value of a wisper, that in itself is good enough reason IMO to buy one. In the last two weeks on ebay one earlier model with kettle plug went for £997 and one ex demo, 6 month old a more recent model for £1170. I sold my used one late last year ...14 months riding cost me £120 in deprecation.

alex_h · Mar 9, 2010

none of the above

I wouldn't go for any of these above. I'm in the same process of looking for a bike ( but still saving

for one and so far I can't see anything better than Ezee Forza which seems to be the best value for money. Both Wisper and LifeCycle use a cheap low grade components that are totally not adequate to the price. To me it looks like putting loads of your hard earned cash into pockets of the dealers or the manufacturer.

I just don't get why these bikes are so overpriced even though they both have a large batteries. Don't listen to Eddieo cos he hasn't got a bloody clue about the bikes.

Just print out the specs for both of them and take them to impartial bike shop and ask how much would normally these bikes cost if they were without motors and battery.

I tell you the Wisper would cost £300 and LifeCycle £250, value for Ezee would be around £450. This means that LifeCycle wants approx £1000 for the electrics + battery and Wisper if you are after 905se city s approx £1300 for the kit.

Sorry guys but to me it sounds like a total rip off. Believe me what I'm saying, if not just take these specs printed out and ask in your local bike shop. Any specialists will ya

Choice is yours. I'm not saying buy Ezee cos you may not like it but I would say try first and then decide. If you are to spent £1400 then I would say you are not far from £1800 and then you could get Kalkhoff from 50cycles which is at least decent bike with good parts.

and BTW remember that Ezee is the winner of the Gadget Show so that at least confirms how good is it

Stumpi · Mar 9, 2010

According to 50cycles website the Ezee Forza is

No longer available due to reliability and supplier issues

eddieo · Mar 9, 2010

I haven't a clue and the gadget show has?Lol

what exactly have I done to cause you to be so rude and obnoxious I wonder....

alex_h · Mar 9, 2010

Rude???, it's my opinion mate, sorry if I offended you Eddie

50 Cycles maybe doesn't stock them any more but the On Bike does, they gotta banner as well here

and Gadget Show knows not much but it proves it has to handle great.

fishingpaul · Mar 9, 2010

Stumpi said:
According to 50cycles website the Ezee Forza is

This was 50 cycles quote after falling out with ezee, previously when selling them they said they were the best bikes available,i would try as many bikes as possible including ezee,they have lost popularity following a spate of battery problems but they are now available with a new 14ah battery which should be more suitable to the high powered motors.

Bob_about · Mar 9, 2010

Try before you buy

Hurricane said:
Hi Guys. I am looking to change my bike. I have kind of narrowed the search to two makes/models.

Anything else I should be looking at with similar spec?

Hi Hurricane

I`m not sure if you have ridden either bike on your shortlist, so forgive me if I am being impertinent, but my recent experience in choosing a new bike surprised me. Like you I had almost decided to buy a Wisper City S based on internet research, but changed my mind after some further real life testing.

I am also not sure what use you will be looking to put the bike to, so again apologies if the things I was looking for are not applicable to your situation.

I posted a write up of what I tried and the conclusions I came to in this thread and the document it links to, which may be of interest or assistance in your choices. If you are looking for less range then a single battery would bring the bike I chose in close to your budget.

Whatever you do I would strongly suggest try before you buy and have a good think about how the bike will work for the uses you intend to put it to..

All the best in reaching a decision - I know how daunting it is!

Bob_about

eddieo · Mar 9, 2010

I think Hurricane is either a caravanner or motorhome owner like us......so weight is probably an issue. So what is wrong with your present e bikes?

as for being intrigued with the lifecycle I have never seen or heard of anyone with one, whereas the other choices have lots of supporters....By all means if you find the advertising rhetoric so persuasive go for it, but I would never buy a bike that had little or no feed back or reviews.

eddieo · Mar 10, 2010

I would take ALL range claims with a VERY big pinch of salt.

If I was you and just for holiday use stick with what you have. But I appreciate the battery issue as there has been talk on here re difficulty sourcing synergie batteries. If possible, a couple of spare batteries to extend your range makes more sense dont you think?

Bob_about · Mar 10, 2010

60 mile range ??????

Hurricane said:
I would obviously like to extend the range rather than walk up the hills. I have contacted Synergie for a second battery and they are not interested. Said they will get in touch when they are in stock. I am still waiting.
This is why I thought an upgrade to a Lifecycle or WisperSE City S with 60 mile range was the way to go although for leisure use the cost is excessive.

Hi again,

Just to echo what Eddio says about taking published ranges with a pinch of salt - make it a 2kg bag!

With a 14 Ah battery running at 80% efficeinecy (you never get 100% out of a battery and should not try) you would need to average a demand level of 7.2 Watt Hours per mile to be able to cover 60 miles.

In my humble opinion that is extremely optimistic

I am reasonably fit and not too heavy and from my testing and experience believe I average around 12 Watt Hours per mile - bringing that down to nearer 10 needs a flatter terrain, light assistance demands and significant rider input. Your description of wanting to use it to carry on riding up steeper hills wouldnt fit that criteria!

It would be helpful if there were a more consistant and realistic way for suppliers to publish expected ranges. Stating 60 miles for a 14Ah is bodering on irresponsible in my opinion.

All the best with your battery conundrums

Bob_about

Gepida uk · Mar 10, 2010

Hurricane said:
Hi Guys. I am looking to change my bike. I have kind of narrowed the search to two makes/models. One is the Wisper 905SE City S with suspension disk brakes and full mudguards.

I have also been looking at a Lifecycle City Sport which is very similar with 37v 14ah battery, suspension and disk brakes etc. Slightly cheaper than the Wisper but I am concerned about customer support etc with the Lifecycle.

Has anyone any experience with this bike?

I have about £1400 to spend. Anything else I should be looking at with similar spec?

Hi Hurricane,
You have a very healthy budget to get yourself on to a decent E-Bike, It is always best to try before you buy and seek out as many reviews as you possibly can to help give you a good shortlist of bikes to try out.

Speaking from experience one of the key things to look out for is a glowing reputation for the chosen manufacture which has been built on success and getting it right first time for you the customer, What I mean by this is if you ever had a problem with your bike and wanted to get the issues sorted out quickly and efficiently then you need to know the manufacture can support its dealers in the right way, It’s like Wisper yes some people may say they are expensive and like a comment before saying they use cheap parts but if you ever did have a problem with the bike I know you could phone them and they will get it sorted out very quickly for you, because they have invested time in finding the right people to sell service and maintain the bikes through their service centres across the county.

I work for Gepida UK which is another brand of electric bike but uses a Yamaha crank drive motor and battery rather than the hub motor; we also have dealers across the country retailing our bikes. They are renowned for their quality and comfort and are available in ladies and gents frames. We are also introducing 3 new models next week too.
I hope you find the right bike for you.

Regards
Aidan

alex_h · Mar 10, 2010

Bob_about said:
Hi again,

Just to echo what Eddio says about taking published ranges with a pinch of salt - make it a 2kg bag!

With a 14 Ah battery running at 80% efficeinecy (you never get 100% out of a battery and should not try) you would need to average a demand level of 7.2 Watt Hours per mile to be able to cover 60 miles.

In my humble opinion that is extremely optimistic

I am reasonably fit and not too heavy and from my testing and experience believe I average around 12 Watt Hours per mile - bringing that down to nearer 10 needs a flatter terrain, light assistance demands and significant rider input. Your description of wanting to use it to carry on riding up steeper hills wouldnt fit that criteria!

It would be helpful if there were a more consistant and realistic way for suppliers to publish expected ranges. Stating 60 miles for a 14Ah is bodering on irresponsible in my opinion.

All the best with your battery conundrums

Bob_about

Bob, that is so useful. To me manufacturers should clearly explain what the customer can get from its battery, not just throw the rubbish statements of 60 miles which will never be achievable unless you put a little girl on it and let her ride on the flat.

Wisper Bikes · Mar 10, 2010

Range

Hi Alex

I am with you 100% on this.

The truth is that using level one assist on one of our bikes over 70 miles is achievable and has been achieved with a 13 stone rider. The problem is that very few people ride an electric bike on assist level one and are not normally as fit as our rider (Anthony in New Zealand).

The problem all manufacturers have (including us), is that we need to sell our bikes to stay in business and therefore market them in the most favourable light possible.

We have been running trials recently in more realistic circumstances, i.e. stopping and starting the bike every 2km and using maximum power. we are getting 1 mile at the top end from 10Wh and from 15Wh at the lower end giving us a range of between 33 and 50 miles from a 500Wh battery.

Speaking yesterday to Andrew at On Bike he is getting similar results from the Ezee and E Motion saying a realistic figure is 15miles\Wh. I think anyone needing a more realistic estimate of the performance of a bike in the real world should simply work to this rule.

Andrew, who is one of the founding BEBA members has suggested that BEBA devise a set of tests and offer all bike manufacturers the opportunity to submit their bikes for testing. It would be possible hold a day at a hired track or circuit (Brands Hatch or similar). Manufacturers or representatives would be invited to be present to make sure there is no foul play, but all would be controlled by BEBA officials, who would not be allowed to test their own bikes. Figures from the test would be available on the BEBA web site.

Maybe our resident Guru would come along to ensure impartiality?

Any comments?

All the best

David

Wisper Bikes · Mar 10, 2010

alex_h said:
I wouldn't go for any of these above. I'm in the same process of looking for a bike ( but still saving for one and so far I can't see anything better than Ezee Forza which seems to be the best value for money. Both Wisper and LifeCycle use a cheap low grade components that are totally not adequate to the price. To me it looks like putting loads of your hard earned cash into pockets of the dealers or the manufacturer.

I just don't get why these bikes are so overpriced even though they both have a large batteries. Don't listen to Eddieo cos he hasn't got a bloody clue about the bikes.

Just print out the specs for both of them and take them to impartial bike shop and ask how much would normally these bikes cost if they were without motors and battery.

I tell you the Wisper would cost £300 and LifeCycle £250, value for Ezee would be around £450. This means that LifeCycle wants approx £1000 for the electrics + battery and Wisper if you are after 905se city s approx £1300 for the kit.

Sorry guys but to me it sounds like a total rip off. Believe me what I'm saying, if not just take these specs printed out and ask in your local bike shop. Any specialists will ya

Choice is yours. I'm not saying buy Ezee cos you may not like it but I would say try first and then decide. If you are to spent £1400 then I would say you are not far from £1800 and then you could get Kalkhoff from 50cycles which is at least decent bike with good parts.

and BTW remember that Ezee is the winner of the Gadget Show so that at least confirms how good is it

A little harsh Alex!

It so much depends which Wisper you priced, the 905eco could well be in the region of £400 as a non electric bike, where as you would need to pay more than that for just the 906xc carbon matrix frame!

I am not sure you know why the Ezee was chosen at the Gadget show? I was at the event and was told by one of the presenters (the bald one) that it was chosen over the Wisper because it was going to be ridden by the pregnant lady presenter (the pretty one) in the London trial a she could get her leg over the cross bar more easily!

Even Andy from One Bike said he was surprised! IMO the Ezee Forza and Wisper 905se City (tested) are both excellent bikes. As a matter of interest the bald presenter said that the Cytronex was his personal favourite, no one was really very sure why the Ultra Motor was chosen over all the other superb electric bikes there (including Kalkhoff) suffice to say there were a lot of apologies given by the presenters at the event. And no one in the trade took the results very seriously, hence there was no real discussion after the event.

To show Eddie so much disrespect is offensive, Eddie uses his bikes all the time and simply because he is vocal on this site about the quality of both the Wisper bikes he owns surly is not a reason for you to have a go. Considering the 1000's of Wispers that are on the road in the UK and the very few complaints we see either on this site or anywhere else for that matter, could it be you are wrong?

Regarding the "cheap parts on our bikes, I have asked this question of another poster and did not get a reply, which parts are you referring to? It may have been true a few years ago before we we fully understood the market and our bikes sold at around the £800 mark, but this certainly is not the case now.

Finally, I can assure you that no one in this industry is pocketing massive profits, we sell a LOT of bikes in now 15 countries, when we take R and D into account we barely turn a profit.

All the best

David

Tim · Mar 10, 2010

alex_h said:
Choice is yours. I'm not saying buy Ezee cos you may not like it but I would say try first and then decide. If you are to spent £1400 then I would say you are not far from £1800 and then you could get Kalkhoff from 50cycles which is at least decent bike with good parts.

Thanks Alex.

We have a really good deal on the Gents Tasman 49cm 2009 bike at the moment - try putting one in your cart and using the demonstrator code tasmania and see what happens.

Re: the Forza, I always preferred the hub-geared Forte, a much better bike, especially when eZee moved away from Shimano components on the Forza.

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