Lifecycle City Sport

[Wisper Bikes]

This is the problem, where do we draw the line?

As already mentioned Anthony in NZ achieved 72miles on his Wisper recently (6.9Wh/mile) and I am sure could do a lot better as this was on a normal ride not an eco run. I achieve about 30 on mine (16.6Wh/mile). Anthony is fit and lives in a country with little traffic or need for stopping and starting, I am fat and live in a very busy town with lots of traffic, traffic lights and hills.

This is the reason we need to test the bikes with as little discrepancy in rider weight, and performance as possible over the same course.

Unfortunately I don't think the tests would be taken up by manufacturers worried about their claims for obvious reasons, although lack of a willingness to participate would of course speak volumes.

All the best

David

 

[Wisper Bikes]

I would have thought that a machine that could test ebikes in a controlled environment would be the only way a comparative measure between systems could be achieved. I doubt that the results would be 'real world' but they could be normalised for the real world and would provide a better guide for consumers.

Tim this would be perfect, where can we get such a machine? I would have thought it would be quite simple to make.

All the best

David

 

[themutiny]

I have done the same (or similar) ride with Fecn, and achieved 65m on 288wh, giving 4.4 per mile.

If anything were organised, I would be happy to offer my services as a test pilot

 

[Wisper Bikes]

I have done the same (or similar) ride with Fecn, and achieved 65m on 288wh, giving 4.4 per mile.

If anything were organised, I would be happy to offer my services as a test pilot

Can I bag you to ride one of my bikes!

All the best

David

 

[Stumpi]

Can I bag you to ride one of my bikes!

All the best

David

One of the advantages of a Wisper is due to the wide dealer network its possible to try before you buy and get a real idea of how it would behave with "you" riding

 

[themutiny]

Can I bag you to ride one of my bikes!

All the best

David

I have every intention of trying your bikes David. Hopefully at Presteigne ( it'll be my first year). My only problem will be where to put one when I fall in love with it. No doubt the ensuing divorce will make some room.

 

[Old Timer]

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?

I was heading towards owning a Wisper one day because all the users can`t be wrong so they must be high on anyones list. However I`ll be very interested to see and maybe try the forth coming Oxygen range. The owner does seem to know a lot about bike design and (if rumours are to be believed) the running gear will be a step up from the norm.

Dave

 

[jasono]

Battery range

Hi, very interesting thread this. I have a Wisper 905 Sport and regularly acheive 50-60+ miles on a single charge. I never use the throttle, prefering to benefit from the pedal assist and I do vary the assistance level depending on the terrain

Just a quick comment re: the quality of components. I've had lots of non electric bikes over the years and did ride a few e-bikes before settling on the Wisper and have to say I have no complaints. The build quality seems excellent, if anything a little over-engineered compared to other bikes I've had or ridden

Jason

 

[eTim]

Tim this would be perfect, where can we get such a machine? I would have thought it would be quite simple to make.

All the best

David

As a simple test, a bike could be elevated so that the wheels are off the floor using a stand arrangement, a motorised rotating arm could be attached to one pedal and set to pedal forward at an average cadence that would be expected from a rider of the particular ebike system being tested. I would expect to see the following kind of results from this:

Average run time of motor
Speed of motor
Distance covered by unloaded wheel
Giving actual watt/h

From this, it should be possible to take the weight of the bike and average rider and make some calculations to work out distance possible in flat, moderate and moderate/severe terrain providing benchmark/baselines to work from. Maybe even combine with some real testing. Maybe the calculations could be backed up with applying a load to the motor wheel by placing the bike on a trainer that could provide some resistance. I should think a set of standards could be devised for measuring ebike performance in this way.

If a pedalling machine cannot be invented, why not have a rider on a trainer and keep to a specific cadence and gear. In fact the rider version might be better as the rider could change gears and resistance for set periods of time to simulate real world riding, each test would need to be repeated at least 3 times to average the results. Of course give the rider a TV to watch so he doesn't get bored, any volunteers?

 

[fishingpaul]

How about the unfair advantage bikes that only offer power after commencing pedalling would have,the ability to start from stopped uses a lot of power and would possibly make bikes with this very usefull option look bad in test conditions.

 

[onmebike]

Tim this would be perfect, where can we get such a machine? I would have thought it would be quite simple to make.

All the best

David

What about adapting a non powered running machine[bike drives track] with variable resistance.
It could be set to simulate say, flat terrain and an average weight rider using throttle power only to drive the rolling road at a set resistance, it would provide some measure of achievable range.
Using throttle power only, eliminates the complications of rider weight/input, gearing, terrain and wheel size, so could be applied to all type's of ebike's as an average measurement of ability.
In fact a small unit with two rollers at a set resistance under the driven wheel would suffice, you only need measure in time or distance. It may at least set a standard.

 

[Fecn]

The biketek video which was posted recently showed just such a machine in their factory. They had an old car wheel acting as the rolling road... Presumably they'd hooked a generator/dynamo into the wheel so they could vary the load. They then had a second motor driving the crank.

It's in the background when the guy's talking about the torque sensor... from 2 mins 40 onwards... YouTube - FLYER Extremer Bergtest - Königsetappe der Tor des Suisse

I reckon that sort of rig would be pretty easy to put together. I'm almost tempted to dust off my welder and give it a try.

 

[Fecn]

What about adapting a non powered running machine[bike drives track] with variable resistance.

Sometimes google tries so hard.. but misses the point entirely... I felt I had to post the picture though.

 

[onmebike]

The biketek video which was posted recently showed just such a machine in their factory. They had an old car wheel acting as the rolling road... Presumably they'd hooked a generator/dynamo into the wheel so they could vary the load. They then had a second motor driving the crank.

It's in the background when the guy's talking about the torque sensor... from 2 mins 40 onwards... YouTube - FLYER Extremer Bergtest - Königsetappe der Tor des Suisse

I reckon that sort of rig would be pretty easy to put together. I'm almost tempted to dust off my welder and give it a try.

All thats needed is some form of rolling resistance to simulate rider and terrain, a mean's of measuring distance at a set speed and you have a standard to measure all ebike by? Well, that my way of thinking.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Hi, very interesting thread this. I have a Wisper 905 Sport and regularly acheive 50-60+ miles on a single charge. I never use the throttle, prefering to benefit from the pedal assist and I do vary the assistance level depending on the terrain

Just a quick comment re: the quality of components. I've had lots of non electric bikes over the years and did ride a few e-bikes before settling on the Wisper and have to say I have no complaints. The build quality seems excellent, if anything a little over-engineered compared to other bikes I've had or ridden

Jason

Thanks Jason, much appreciated.

It is strange how those with a Wisper love the quality of the components and build, where as those who don't own a Wisper find fault!

All the best

David

 

[onmebike]

Sometimes google tries so hard.. but misses the point entirely... I felt I had to post the picture though.

Hope that tracks driving the wheel otherwise he's getting nowhere?

 

[Hurricane]

All this is great stuff but I think we are heading way off on a tangent here. Can we google map back on track! What about a Lifecycle City Sport. Anybody got one? Does anyone know where I can source a battery for my Synergie Cruiser 36v 10ah kettle type plug fitting?

 

[Fecn]

All thats needed is some form of rolling resistance to simulate rider and terrain, a mean's of measuring distance at a set speed and you have a standard to measure all ebike by? Well, that my way of thinking.

The rolling resistance on the car wheel could be pretty easily done with a dynamo/generator and a dummy load. By varying the resistance of the dummy load, you can simulate different gradients etc..

Dummy loads are a doddle to make. I have a 4 ohm, 250W dummy load I use for testing batteries which is made from an old toaster element wrapped around some left-over bits of ceramic bathroom tiles.

 

[Old Timer]

All this is great stuff but I think we are heading way off on a tangent here. Can we google map back on track! What about a Lifecycle City Sport. Anybody got one? Does anyone know where I can source a battery for my Synergie Cruiser 36v 10ah kettle type plug fitting?

If you are prepared to do a bit of soldering (like onmebike did for me) you can add a kettle type female socket and cable to a metal pronged battery
IMG_0462.jpg photo - david chilvers photos at pbase.com which will broaden your horizons. Send a PM with your phone number to Tony(onmebike) and he will maybe talk to you on landline about it.

 

[Old Timer]

Thanks Jason, much appreciated.

It is strange how those with a Wisper love the quality of the components and build, where as those who don't own a Wisper find fault!

All the best

David

Not True David! not everyone that doesn`t own a Wisper knocks them. I`ve always said that obviously the Wisper brand must have something going for it because of the great reports they get.

Onward from that! why is it that a lot of people that own Wispers knock the cheaper no named bikes a lot( it cuts both ways) when they have never tried them?

Dave