Sevenoaks Electric Bikes

[Wisper Bikes]

Hi Pedelecers,

I am happy to announce that Sevenoaks Bikes is our new retail operation, we launched in December.

We operate on an appointment only basis and currently have Orbea, Scott, Go Cycle and of course Wisper bikes available for test rides. We will be concentrating on Kent and SE London but of course are open to everyone.

We are currently talking to R+M, Moustache, Haibike, Mondraker and Tern.

We will have two sales departments... 1. Sports eBikes, eMTB, Road and Gravel, and 2. Hybrid eBikes for day to day commuting and town and country riding.

Our new Tech department headed up by Mike Crossman, (Ex Raleigh and Haibike) will be a big focus.

We have qualified as one of only two full service Shimano Centres in Kent and are both a Bosch and TQ Service Centre. We are also working towards the Go Cycle three spanner qualification, becoming a Steps Premier Centre and are talking to Bafang regarding representing them in the UK for servicing and warranty work.

Wisper is of course still our main business.

Any queries or enquiries please email me david@SevenoaksBikes.com

All the best, David

 

[Az.]

Cycling industry is crumbling down and you expand?
Nice.

Congrats and good luck.

 

[flecc]

Hi Pedelecers,

I am happy to announce that Sevenoaks Bikes is our new retail operation, we launched in December.

We operate on an appointment only basis and currently have Orbea, Scott, Go Cycle and of course Wisper bikes available for test rides. We will be concentrating on Kent and SE London but of course are open to everyone.

We are currently talking to R+M, Moustache, Haibike, Mondraker and Tern.

We will have two sales departments... 1. Sports eBikes, eMTB, Road and Gravel, and 2. Hybrid eBikes for day to day commuting and town and country riding.

Our new Tech department headed up by Mike Crossman, (Ex Raleigh and Haibike) will be a big focus.

We have qualified as one of only two full service Shimano Centres in Kent and are both a Bosch and TQ Service Centre. We are also working towards the Go Cycle three spanner qualification, becoming a Steps Premier Centre and talking to Bafang regarding representing them in the UK for servicing and warranty work.

Wisper is of course still our main business.

Any queries or enquiries please email me david@SevenoaksBikes.com

All the best, David

Congratulations David, I wish you every success with this imaginative new venture, a big step forward from the traditional LBS or impersonal cycle chain store.
.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Thanks Az and Tony,

We are aiming to be a little different, with our main focus on servicing and technical. Our sales side will consult with customers to advise on the best possible bike to fit their needs rather than sell what's "available now". Due to this slightly different approach we will not be holding bikes in stock, apart of course from demo models.

With so many permutations now available on sizing, colours, motor choices etc. our ethos is to only sell bikes that are a perfect physical fit and are right for the needs of the customer. A little like selling new cars. With prices in our shop up to £13,700 for a 13.5 kg all carbon full suspension eMTB, we are talking car money and believe eBike customers should be treated accordingly.

Thanks again for your kind wishes.

All the best, David

 

[Nealh]

Congratulations David , a move that I wish you well with.
You will be one of avery niche few who not only will offer the best type of bike but also a choice of drive between mid motor and hub motor to use, a very big difference to most of the niche LBS who think only mid motor works .

 

[Peter.Bridge]

Congratulations David , a move that I wish you well with.
You will be one of avery niche few who not only will offer the best type of bike but also a choice of drive between mid motor and hub motor to use, a very big difference to most of the niche LBS who think only mid motor works .

I'd be quite interested in the impressions of customers that try both crank and hub drive

 

[Nealh]

I believe David has said before a greater % opt for the hub drive having tried both.

 

[guerney]

@Wisper Bikes - Wow, I might drop in to finally try a hub motored bike! I saw my first conversion on the road last week, hub drive going very slowly uphill - the cyclist was struggling up the hill I live on, and whizz up riding my mid-drive. Are test rides restricted to on-site? If so, have you constructed an artificial hill in the car park? Or is testing allowed on hills nearby?

We are thinking about arranging a free eBike festival in Sevenoaks just off the M25 in the Spring under our Retail Business name Sevenoaks Electric Bikes. We already represent Scott, Orbea and GoCycle in the area and are in talks with Riese and Muller and Moustache. SEB have just become a full Shimano Service Centre one of only two in Kent and are already a Bosch service centre. https://sevenoakselectricbikes.com/

Other brands would be welcome to join us for a small fee, but it will be a free event to the public.

I will start another thread nearer to the date, but what is the apatite amongst you pedelecers?

All the best, David

If the seven oaks you refer to are on a plateau like this, I'll certainly be attending.

 

[Peter.Bridge]

@Wisper Bikes - Wow, I might drop in to finally try a hub motored bike! I saw my first conversion on the road last week, hub drive going very slowly uphill - the cyclist was struggling up the hill I live on, and whizz up riding my mid-drive. Are test rides restricted to on-site? If so, have you constructed an artificial hill in the car park? Or is testing allowed on hills nearby?




If the seven oaks you refer to are on a plateau like this, I'll certainly be attending.

I'd be interested in your impressions. It's hard to standardize the comparison, weight / fitness of cyclist, max power from controller, motor torque etc. My BBS02 (48v 25a) is very impressive up hills, the only downside is changing gears under high power. Given my hub bikes (48v 15a) and (36v 18a) are under their optimum rpm speed going up very steep hills, I'm always surprised how well they do (albeit not as quick as the BBS02 !)

 

[guerney]

My BBS02 (48v 25a) is very impressive up hills, the only downside is changing gears under high power.

It's unfortunate that a gear sensor can't be installed on your bike.

 

[Peter.Bridge]

It's unfortunate that a gear sensor can't be installed on your bike.

It can , I sort of get round it by touching the brake enough to cut the motor, but not enough to actually engage the brake. I've seen mixed reports on the gear sensors, maybe I should try fitting one.

 

[guerney]

I'd be interested in your impressions.

I can do a really good Darth Vader impression. I'll certainly do it while visiting @Wisper Bikes, and I'd only visit if there are hills to try hub motored bikes on... of course while wearing a mask of my profile pic, as usual. @Woosh should expect a visit from me looking exactly like this and sounding like Darth Vader too, to try his TSDZ2 and TSDZ8 conversions on hills nearby.

It can , I sort of get round it by touching the brake enough to cut the motor, but not enough to actually engage the brake. I've seen mixed reports on the gear sensors, maybe I should try fitting one.

Well, the gear sensor works wonderfully on my particular bike. The only time it isn't perfect, is when going up steep hills in heavy rain, when it takes every so slightly longer to change to the lowest gear, and motor cutoff time interval isn't quite long enough - unfortunately this time interval can't be altered in firmware, and the gear sensor wouldn't work as well in other circumstances if it was. The same hills when it's not raining heavily, perfect.

I reckon they work better when there's a straight cable run through the gear sensor, rather than bobbing about on a bent cable under the handlebars or something. Mine's on a chainstay.

 

[Peter.Bridge]

I can do a really good Darth Vader impression. I'll certainly do it while visiting @Wisper Bikes, and I'd only visit if there are hills to try hub motored bikes on.




Well, the gear sensor works wonderfully on my particular bike. The only time it isn't perfect, is when going up steep hills in heavy rain, when it takes every so slightly longer to change to the lowest gear, and motor cutoff time interval isn't quite long enough - unfortunately this time interval can't be altered in firmware, and the gear sensor wouldn't work as well in other circumstances if it was. The same hills when it's not raining heavily, perfect.

I reckon they work better when there's a straight cable run through the gear sensor, rather than bobbing about on a bent cable under the handlebars or something. Mine's on a chainstay.

I only notice it when using high power or changing to my lowest gear. Ideally, the gear sensor would just reduce the output rather than cut the motor completely , I think that would lead to the smoothest gear changes

 

[guerney]

I only notice it when using high power or changing to my lowest gear. Ideally, the gear sensor would just reduce the output rather than cut the motor completely , I think that would lead to the smoothest gear changes

It nowhere near a big enough niggle for me to iron out, but a gear sensor with an inclinometer and heavy rain detector, with programmable timings for those occasions when I'm ascending steep hills in heavy rain, might solve my problem - I doubt that would work with the existing controller.

 

[AndyBike]

heavy rain detector,

I've got one of them, indicates light smattering rain too.
Its the bald bit of my head. Incredibly sensitive as a rain detector

I learned the importance of detecting rain while in India, especially around September time. You feel even a single drop hit you, you run as fast as you can to the nearest bit of shelter. It goes from a couple of drops to full on monsoon in seconds.

I believe David has said before a greater % opt for the hub drive having tried both.

Probably more down to cost with mid drive being considerably more expensive than hub.

 

[guerney]

I've got one of them, indicates light smattering rain too.
Its the bald bit of my head. Incredibly sensitive as a rain detector

I noticed that when I shaved my head a few months ago - I had let it grow to shoulder length hippie during the pandemic. I don't know how you can bear it. Perhaps I should do it again and extend electrodes from my shaved head to the gear sensor.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Of course anyone from Pedelecs would be more than welcome to pop in for a coffee and test ride.

Our Wisper Wayfarer range is quite unique in that we have two almost identical models. One with mid drive and the other with a hub motor. The hub is 50Nm and the mid is 100Nm so very similar in terms of torque at the rear wheel.

In very hilly areas and certainly for serious mountain biking I would always recommend a mid drive model. Driving the power through the drive train gives a far better hill climbing experience. The down side include higher initial cost, higher maintenance costs, in most cases bikes fitted with a mid are more obviously an ebike and they tend to be noisier. For normal day to day riding or on canal path, woodland trail type off road a rear hub drive suites most people better. The upside are conversely, lower initial outlay, less expensive and less frequent maintenance, usually more discrete and quieter and in flat and moderately hilly areas no real difference in riding experience, having a cadence sensor option is important to a lot of riders.

Neither one is better than the other, it all depends on personal preferences and how much help a customer needs when climbing steep hills. In our experience with the Wayfarer, more people opt for the hub drive version than do for the mid drive by about 2 to 1.

We offer accompanied test rides on the North Downs to people we consider are seriously interested in buying one of our ebikes. Anyone registered on the Pedelecs Forum will be offered a good discount!

Don’t forget that we are strictly appointment only. We feel anyone considering purchasing an ebike deserves be given 100% of our attention and not be bothered by another customer coming in to buy a puncture repair kit.

All the best, David

 

[portals]

I think it would be interesting to test ride two bikes that are basically same but one with mid drive and the other with rear hub to see the differences in performance, fun etc. The difference between 50Nm and 100Nm confuses me a little, you lose all that through drive train?

However I love my rear hub as I can focus on the road and no messing with gears, you can also feel the power from the rear kicking in (I can do wheel spins on gravel but probably I'm getting too old for that stuff), the mid drive would have to lots of torque and sail up hills for me to consider it.

If I'm ever in Southend I'll buy you a coffee and you can educate me!

 

[guerney]

We offer accompanied test rides on the North Downs to people we consider are seriously interested in buying one of our ebikes. Anyone registered on the Pedelecs Forum will be offered a good discount!

What advice can you give us about how best to pretend being seriously interested in buying one of your ebikes, so we can go for a test ride? To then go away and make one ourselves. I'm quite good at sounding enthusiastic, I expect that would help? A steady unblinking stare? Firm handshake and a fixed smile? How are your staff trained to spot freeloading timewasters like me? What would give the game away?

 

[AndyBike]

The difference between 50Nm and 100Nm confuses me a little,

This is the difference between the Bosch which is 85nm and the CYC X1 Stealth Motor(which is a conversion kit. aat 150nm
Take the vid from 2:30 to about 6:30 to see a direct comparison twice the nm makes.

the mid drive would have to lots of torque and sail up hills for me to consider it.

It is the preferred system for eMTB's, and you would think they would be the people best capable of judging such things.