PowaCycle Windsor Owner Reviews

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Reviewer: Frank Proud

Purchased From: The Electric Transport Shop

Purchase Price: £490

Time Owned: 2 Months

Local Terrain: Some Minor Hills

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Strengths:
Looks like a normal bike
Feels like a normal bike to ride. Comfortable riding position. Rear hub motor means it has good steering and is not affected by handlebar hammering which can be a problem on front hub motors
Sounds almost as quiet as a normal bike
Light weight
Very pleasant and effective pedelec action. Cuts in almost immediately giving smooth assistance with ability to boost with throttle. No need to keep throttle turned all the time, so easy on the wrist.
Very competitive price
Support available from a network of dealers, not an internet sales only model
Availability of NiMH batteries currently the most sensible type for electric bikes, and priced at a level (£99) that makes getting a spare battery an easy decision to make
Battery level indicators which give all the information that any LEDs based on voltage ever could, but not lots of superfluous detail. There are three lights which show (1 light) battery nearly empty, (3 lights) fully charged and (2 lights) anything between. Also they are located in a sensible place under the seat where they are not an unnecessary distraction.
Appears well made and reliable. Nothing has gone wrong in my first 400 miles.
Well equipped with full mudguards and very sturdy rack (but no lights)
Range I get 18-20 miles per battery on hilly terrain and 35-40 on flat. With affordable spare batteries, range is not really a limiting factor
Gears 6-speed derailleur gives smooth change and a reasonably broad range. An extra gear on either side would add a little bit (but this can be done by fitting a Megarange freewheel)
Brakes normal v-brakes do what is required
Good service from Powacycle - I ve not needed much but the telephone has been picked up quickly by someone who has answered my question!


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Weaknesses:
Suspension forks these are not necessary on a bike for on-road necessary and completely superfluous where there is a rear hub motor. They are also a cheap type that can t be locked. Its not a bike where you spend a lot of time out of the saddle pumping away, so you can live with them, but such a shame they didn t just put solid forks on the bike.
As with most ebikes (and bikes), the supplied saddle is not great
Gear range could be broader (like many e-bikes)
Err the stick-on transfers aren t great looking (but could easily be peeled off!)


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Summary:
A very good all round bike which by and large delivers everything that I expected from it. Not the fastest or most powerful bike available, but it would be very hard to pay less for anything remotely as good and very easy to pay more for something far inferior.
Gets 9 out of 10; with solid forks it would be 9.5, and if they did a 36v version with a bit more power it would be hard to fault it.

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Overall Rating (out of 10) : 9

 

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Reviewer: Kathryn White

Retailer: electricbikesales.co.uk

Purchase Price: £499

Time Owned: 8 Months

Terrain: Very Hilly

Strengths:
Comfy and sturdy. This bike has got me commuting to work everyday and it is uphill all the way home. I don't have much experience of other electric bikes, but it is smooth and quiet. It will pull a tag along bike / carry a child on the back too. I live in Bristol, which has very hilly bits that the throttle alone cannot manage. But the pedelec has been a serious leg/lung saver.

Weaknesses:
My throttle broke pretty quickly, but it didn't matter to me as I only used the pedelec anyway. I was expecting more from the range, but I guess it must be the amount of hills I have to cover. I am sure it never managed more than about 15 miles. It is really HEAVY. Getting it in and out of a shed / van / door etc is really hard work. I have to admit that I have given it quite a thrashing, and the chain guard has broken off and the cranks make a serious creaky noise. Also, I am on my third set of brake pads - maybe due to its heaviness coupled with my downhill commute to work.

Summary:
Despite being heavy and obviously having pretty basic components, I have really enjoyed this bike. After 8 months my battery is getting to the end of its life and I am considering whether to buy a new one, or now I have my new found cycling legs, just to go back to fully human powered model! I would recommend this to anyone on a budget who wants to get out there and beat the traffic.

Overall Rating: 9

 

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Reviewer: Zanx

Retailer: PowaCycle

Purchase Price: £599

Time Owned: 3 weeks

Terrain: Some minor hills

Strengths:
Sturdy, quiet, good range, comfortable ergonomics, sprightly off the line, massive rear rack capacity.

Weaknesses:
Wheels slightly out of true, lots of cast alloy components add needless weight, mediaevel bearings, naff stickers, pointless suspension seat post, primitive forks.

Summary:
Generally speaking I am extremely pleased with this bike, it's comfortable, very sturdy (read heavy) and does the job of getting me to work and back (17 miles) admirably. It's really an "improvement" bike, you buy the base model, then gradually add quality components as you go, so far I have added Armadillo tyres, lights, panniers (cool bags from Woollies actually) GPS, lighter pedals, a higher quality seat and a fixed seat post. The suspension seat post was a pointless waste of time and just added weight for no reason, it was replaced with a Raleigh post that was half the weight and longer. The pedals were ok in the dry but a bit slippy in the wet, so I replaced them with some lightweight spike style pedals that were 300g lighter, each. A longer seat post would be an essential upgrade for anyone over 5'11", the stock post needs putting over the MAX level to achieve the right height for the taller rider, the Raleigh post (£12) sorted the problem very nicely indeed. Next on the list is to replace the bottom bracket bearings for some sealed units (current setup is cup and lock ring), after that I'll be looking for some half decent suspension forks to replace the heavy and frankly pointless stock items.
The pulling power is impressive, I loaded up the rack with 20kg of shopping in an ex army saddlebag and barely noticed it was there, the rack is actually rated to 25kg!
All in all, I would recommend this bike to anyone, but be aware, the components are not tip top quality but the bones of the bike are solid and well worth adding quality components to.

Overall Rating: 8

 

[RichardB]

Submitted by maggie bevis

Model: Powacycle Windsor

Retailer: e bikes direct

Time Owned: 9 months

Terrain: Moderate Hills

Strengths: very quiet motor
looks like an ordinary bike
step through design
light weight in comparison to others, lithium battery, quick release saddle

Weaknesses: battery tricky to get out without removing the saddle. A bit of rust forming after 6 months

Summary: This bike changed my life! I hated cycling.....Having already had a powabike shopper which was great but very heavy, this neat lighter weight bike takes me up and down hills with ease. I use it often and though pedalec power was different at first having used a twist throttle, I like it a lot now. It enables me to go cycling whereas before I didn't have the strength in my knees ( knee problems) to go up hills cycling with my husband- now it's no problem...well except going slowly enough for him to stay with me. I don't use the twist grip throttle as it doesn't seem to be particularly effective. I would have rated it higher except for a bit of rust that's starting and a problem with the pins connecting the battery though that should be sorted soon.

Overall Rating: 9

 

[Nickytam]

The Windsor electric bike.

Electric Bike World (New Milton)
and Powarider (Windsor)

Having read the 'Windsor' reviews I agree with most of the reviewers, that the Windsor is generally a good bike to own and ride.

Reading those reviews, what surprised me was the fact that nobody mentioned the inherent and spontaneous power cut-out problem with the Windsor bike. According to the retailer, it is an 'over-voltage protection' built into the controller. I have mildly disputed that with the retailer and I reckon it is a built-in *fault* not a protection.

I have owned a Windsor bike for the past year and my Wife bought a new 'Windsor' some two months ago. Both bikes (purchased from two different retailers) have the same power sudden 'cut-out' problem.

Both retailers Electric Bike World (New Milton, Hants) and Powarider (Windsor, Berkshire) have kindly been trying to solve the problem for my Wife and I. Both bikes have recently had new controllers fitted but power 'cut-out' problem remains.

The power cut-out happens regularly every day and can (on occasions) be dangerous to the rider, particulary when in traffic or perhaps on a roundabout where that little bit of added power is required. I have been in quite dangerous situations in traffic, with the power cutting out when least expected and it has happened on more than one occasion.

I'd be interested to know anyone else experienced the same problem with the Windsor?

Finally, is there a known cure?

Cheers.
Nick.

Ps: my Wife has also owned the 'Synergie Vivace' folding electric bike and it did not have the built-in power 'cut-out' over-voltage protection.

 

[bevisonwheels]

update

Model: Powacycle Windsor

Retailer: e bikes direct

Time Owned: 9 months

Terrain: Moderate Hills

Strengths: very quiet motor
looks like an ordinary bike
step through design
light weight in comparison to others, lithium battery, quick release saddle

Weaknesses: battery tricky to get out without removing the saddle. A bit of rust forming after 6 months

Summary: This bike changed my life! I hated cycling.....Having already had a powabike shopper which was great but very heavy, this neat lighter weight bike takes me up and down hills with ease. I use it often and though pedalec power was different at first having used a twist throttle, I like it a lot now. It enables me to go cycling whereas before I didn't have the strength in my knees ( knee problems) to go up hills cycling with my husband- now it's no problem...well except going slowly enough for him to stay with me. I don't use the twist grip throttle as it doesn't seem to be particularly effective. I would have rated it higher except for a bit of rust that's starting and a problem with the pins connecting the battery though that should be sorted soon.

Overall Rating: 9

My friend now has my bike. She tried it and loved it- it gave her confidence to use a bike more often. Forget what I said about the battery being tricky to remove- all it took was the knack. I have to say that ebikes direct were so helpful with any problems: the first one was that the battery box wasn't on correctly and was soon sorted . I also shorted my battery and again, a quick email with a swift reply sorted that too. It's a super bike and good value for money. I'm getting another one having flirted with two Giant bikes that didn't suit me so I didn't keep either of them very long. The very low step over on the Windsor is the lowest I have yet come across and is easy for people with knee and hip problems to ride.