Newbie..First Post..Questions Questions

[SEATALTEA]

Hi all, don't want to labour my post so I'll try and keep it short.

Very fit up to a year ago, swam 5 miles a week then two discs went in the back, narrowly avoided surgery, permanent loss of feeling in legs above the knee but full use.

Put a stone on and now at 15st, ready to get back into exercise but needs to be gentle.

Methinks cycling but need to watch how my spine curves, too much strain on my lower spine from pushing up hill or leant over double will be bad.

I have a round trip of about 16 miles, often outside office hours, I can use a canal towpath (often a bit muddy) for half of the journey but there will be a hill to climb at the start and end of the journey on tarmac.

I can shower, change and charge at work.

From 1st July my employer is doing cycle2work vouchers with Halfords up to £1000 value.

That amount doesn't seem to buy much and Halfords say that they would buy through Electric Bike Sales - Home although that may not be quite correct.

My heart says something like a 905se Sport or City but they are over budget. The Synergie Mistral seems a good buy as an alternative at £600.

My head says that the 705se would be a reasonable buy but would it be happy with bumpy and muddy canal towpaths ? It's within budget and it will probably be easier on the back with it being 'sit up and beg' in design.

I'm open to the huge knowledge that obviously exists on this forum and have been reading through old posts but any advice and opinion is welcome.

 

[flecc]

Both bikes you've identified will do the job. The Wisper is a strong design with a supportive company, but I am slightly concerned at your mention of the spine problem and whether vertical vibration could cause trouble.

The Mistral has the benefit of sprung forks for those rough tracks, the Wisper has rigid forks but a sprung seatpost, so not much in it as standard. However you could add a sprung seatpost to the Mistral to give shock absorption front and rear if you found you wanted more comfort.
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[SEATALTEA]

Thanks flecc, I do have the option of using the roads solely, the canal would be my preferred route for scenery and safety.

Would you rate the Mistral over the 705se.

 

[flecc]

Difficult one this, I haven't ridden either.

Going back over a year there were some very unfavourable comments on the Synergie, but since then nothing negative. We have two more recent reviews on this site, both owners very pleased with the bike, so it could obviously do your job on either road or track:

Synergie review page

I would be confident of the Wisper product knowing the work that's gone into these to make them sound and reliable, so it would be my personal choice, but that is not to say there's anything wrong with the Mistral. In part it's because I prefer rigid forks for their positive handling. The Wisper would obviously be fine for the road use, and could handle the tracks if you were comfortable with it.

Since both are sound products and will do your job, it probably comes down to your personal preferences on style etc., but if you can get test rides at dealers, so much the better.
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[bamo]

Choices

The Wisper 905 SE has suspension forks at the front which can be locked on rigid if required

 

[SEATALTEA]

Right there are now two of us at work who are going to go ebike from July.

I think I've got it shortlisted to the..

Urbanmover UM36 at around £800 + £90 Lithium Polymer (maybe)
PowaCycle Salisbury LPX £600 Lithium Polymer
Synergie Mistral £600 Li-ion

Shame they are spread all over the country, I'll probably have to buy without a test ride.

It does seem as though purchasing via Halfords does not just tie you to The Electric Transport Shop after all.

 

[flecc]

Regarding the two you've added, Urban Mover have come in for some well deserved very harsh criticism for very bad customer service, being terribly slow to respond and put things right on several occasions when problems occur.

Powacycle have not been faultless in this respect, sometimes being on the slow side, but they usually get there in the end.

Several members have praised Synergie's responses when problems have cropped up on new bikes, but I know nothing of their ongoing support which I think often depends on their dealers.

All three will do your job of course, but the Powacycle has the least powerful motor. It handles up to 10% hills ok, but it's not such a good choice for steep hills.
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[frank9755]

Powacycle has a network of dealers so there should be one near you. They don't list them on their site (last I looked) but a call should identify one. One or two members have had faults but they are one of the top sellers and most people seem to have had a good experience. My wife has a Windsor (step through version) which has done getting on for 2,500 miles with nothing more needed than a change of brake blocks.

One question - how tall are you? I don't know about the Salisbury but the seat on the Windsor doesn't go terribly high. I'm about 30" inside leg but could do with a bit more height.

Like Flecc, I've heard little good said about UrbanMover products or service, but there are some very positive reviews of the Mistral on this site. I've not ridden one but I did short list it a while ago when I was considering what to get. I don't know how they size but it would be worth finding out before buying.