Should I Buy Woosh Bikes.....

[stever1957]

.....for my wife and I?

We live on the Isle of Wight (hilly), on the East coast, and would like to be able to get to anywhere on the island and back without needing spare batteries (max probably 60 miles).

We already cycle such distances on ordinary bikes, but the hills are starting to be too much of a challenge. With electric bikes, we would not use the motor on the flat and would most likely not use it on gentle climbs either.

What makes us lean towards the Woosh bikes is the option available to have a battery of up to 17AH for greater range.

The Woosh choice for my wife seems an easy one: she wants a step-through and needs a saddle height of no more than 80cm, so the Petite (with 17AH battery) seems the only option.

As for me, I'm six feet and around twenty stones (ex shot-putter), so the motor needs to be able to get me up hills and the battery needs to last the distance.

The Big Bear seems like the choice for my size, but has a front hub motor (undesirable?) and no option to have a battery of greater than 15AH.

The Rio has the 17AH option, but is more of a mountain bike and looks less comfortable for me - non-adjustable handlebars and so on.

We do some off-road cycling on farm tracks and on the island's cycleways, which can be a bit rough.

Should any of the site's members have any opinions on our options, based on our stated criteria, we would be grateful to receive them.

 

[Nealh]

To express gettable range there are to many variables to throw in the pot.
Rider fitness, terrain, weather conditions (esp wind), cadence/ leg strength also lower assist levels usage 1 or 2 will use far less capacity then 3 - 5.

Dependant on leg strength and cadence, 60 miles might be a big ask on an ebike, for a lightweight rider it is possible but at 20 stone I would say not even with 17ah/612wh in hilly terrain.
A 75kg something fit rider will use 12- 15 wh per mile so more like 40 - 50 miles on level terrain. A fit strong rider with a high cadence and strong legs will use about 5 - 8 wh per mile, they then would get better range 70 miles or so with 17ah/612wh.
The ideal figure is 10w/h per mile or less for ultimate range though if power can be restricted to assist level 1 and 2 then I would say yes.
Also in most cases riding unpowered will generally take more effort then a normal bike due to the extra (approx) 8kg of bike weight to lug around esp the dead weight of a 4 - 4.4kg rotating hub motor.
Having two batteries interchangeable is an option as then if your wife uses far less capacity ( which I would expect so) you can always swap batteries if need be during the ride (esp on longer rides).

 

[stever1957]

Thank you very much.

To expand upon what I wrote earlier, I would expect that at least twenty miles of that would be without use of the motor.

 

[GLJoe]

Should any of the site's members have any opinions on our options, based on our stated criteria, we would be grateful to receive them.

Until you actually get to use the bikes in anger, its going to be very difficult to predict the final range.
With that in mind, I'd be tempted to go for a system that gives you some easy upgrade options. So buying two bikes that share the same battery type is a good idea and obviously getting the biggest capacity batteries in the first place is a given. Then I'd buy the two bikes as standard, and try them out over a number of different routes, gradually building up the distance and hilliness of the terrain, that will be the most accurate way of getting a feel of how far you can go on your preferred riding style (and you'll be surprised how much of a difference this will make to how far you can go!).
If you find you are on the edge of range, then just buy a single spare. If you find you want to go even further, then buy two! I know you said you don't want to have spare batteries, but sometimes that's the only option (and the woosh batteries aren't crazy money like bosch/yamaha).
You could of course take a couple of (fast) chargers with you, and top up over a long lunch if you're good at planning. The wife and I actually were over in the Isle of Wight last year with our e-bikes, and we did this, however a few pubs (that ironically were on the 'e-bike friendly' list that's available on line) wouldn't let us recharge. Others did of course. We might go again this year, but this time, we're taking spare batteries for an easier time Range anxiety is a terrible thing!!

 

[Woosh]

o buying two bikes that share the same battery type is a good idea and obviously getting the biggest capacity batteries in the first place is a given.

both bikes (and also the Santana2) use the same rack battery, you can swap anytime you want.

This is the old 2015 Petite and the Big Bear, side by side. The new 2018 models are better equipped but the frames remain unchanged.

The rack battery is available in silver or matt black.

battery is available also in black:

 

[Woosh]

Petite:

Big Bear:

 

[stever1957]

Thank you very much indeed for the replies.

 

[stever1957]

both bikes (and also the Santana2) use the same rack battery, you can swap anytime you want.

Many thanks.

Am I to understand therefore that it is possible for the Big Bear to be supplied with a 17AH battery, rather than the standard 15?

EDIT - Ah, I see that I've made a mistake - the Petite has options only up to 15AH, so 15AH it is.

 

[Woosh]

Am I to understand therefore that it is possible for the Big Bear to be supplied with a 17AH battery, rather than the standard 15?

we can't. We ordered the 17AH rack batteries recently but the anti dumping issue forced us to get the bikes into the UK before the 17AH rack battery is ready. So no 17AH in racks. The Rio MTB, the Rio LS fat bike, the Krieger CD and the lightweight Karoo can be fitted with 17AH HL downtube batteries.
Most people can get 45-50 miles out of a 15AH battery with a bit pedaling.

 

[stever1957]

we can't. We ordered the 17AH rack batteries recently but the anti dumping issue forced us to get the bikes into the UK before the 17AH rack battery is ready. So no 17AH in racks. The Rio MTB, the Rio LS fat bike, the Krieger CD and the lightweight Karoo can be fitted with 17AH HL downtube batteries.
Most people can get 45-50 miles out of a 15AH battery with a bit pedaling.

Yes, I had already edited my post (see above), but thanks all the same for the additional info.

Is there any particular reason that the Big Bear has its motor on the front wheel, rather than the rear?

 

[Woosh]

Is there any particular reason that the Big Bear has its motor on the front wheel, rather than the rear?

the curvy frame of the Big Bear stops me from installing the battery (3.5kg) on the downtube and the BPM motor is also heavy (4.5kgs) - so splitting the weight between front and rear helps the ride.

 

[stever1957]

the curvy frame of the Big Bear stops me from installing the battery (3.5kg) on the downtube and the BPM motor is also heavy (4.5kgs) - so splitting the weight between front and rear helps the ride.

Ah, I see.

Thanks very much.

 

[stever1957]

........
You could of course take a couple of (fast) chargers with you, and top up over a long lunch if you're good at planning. The wife and I actually were over in the Isle of Wight last year with our e-bikes, and we did this, however a few pubs (that ironically were on the 'e-bike friendly' list that's available on line) wouldn't let us recharge. Others did of course. We might go again this year, but this time, we're taking spare batteries for an easier time Range anxiety is a terrible thing!!

'Range anxiety' - splendid term

Is it possible that you could point me in the right direction for such a list please?

I assume that one has to buy a drink/meal or do they simply charge a fee for this service?

 

[Woosh]

the LCD has a battery voltage indicator with 5 bars. Each bar corresponds to roughly 20% of the charge or about 10 miles. You also have a trip milometer. The bikes are easy to ride without power, there is no drag.
Most people find that 50 mile range is plenty for a day.

 

[stever1957]

......Most people find that 50 mile range is plenty for a day.

As I said in the original post, we already cycle distances of fifty miles, and more, on ordinary bikes (but taking rather more time than would likely be the case with electric bikes!), so we are familiar with such distances.

 

[Woosh]

the 50 mile range is assisted ride, if you can manage some without power or use lesser assist (1,2 instead of 3,4,5), you can extend the range quite a lot. The bikes do not have drag, are easy to pedal without power. I reckon if you can do 50 without a motor, you should do 80 miles with.

 

[stever1957]

......... I reckon if you can do 50 without a motor, you should do 80 miles with.

That's exactly what I wanted to know.

Many thanks.

 

[GLJoe]

Is it possible that you could point me in the right direction for such a list please?

I assume that one has to buy a drink/meal or do they simply charge a fee for this service?

Well ... this is the list:
https://www.cyclewight.org.uk/battery-charging.html
But to be honest, take the first one for example, the Pilot Boat inn in Bembridge. Called in there and asked. Got a very rude reply that they don't allow ebike charging any more. Ok. F you too! That's probably £30 in sales lost and I'll never call in there ever again. But popped down the street to the toll gate cafe, and no problems! ordered a delicious meal and desert, took our time, and the batteries were nearly fully recharged. Cost the cafe less than 10p in electricity, and they made a nice profit from us in meals.

We had a packable rucksack with us and a small extension lead as well as the chargers. take the batteries off the bikes, and plug in, in a quiet corner - often pubs, cafes etc don't have a lot of convenient sockets, and one discrete lead going into a rucksack doesn't cause a disruption or too many questions. But you should of course just ask casually if you can charge some batteries while you have your meal.

 

[stever1957]

Thanks very much indeed.

 

[Nealh]

the 50 mile range is assisted ride, if you can manage some without power or use lesser assist (1,2 instead of 3,4,5), you can extend the range quite a lot. The bikes do not have drag, are easy to pedal without power. I reckon if you can do 50 without a motor, you should do 80 miles with.

Woosh have backed up what I said in #2.
Sticking with assist level 1 & 2 will eke out the range and still tonk along at 18/19 mph with good peddling, on hills you may need to up the assist before returning to a lower level.