Silent Force SFG 0103 (£500)

[Marcin]

It's £500 28" 25kg 36V 10Ah, 3 gears bicycle. I couldn't find any reviews before buying it, so I'd like to write a few words for those who consider buying it. It's too early for a review, I got it this week, so it's just first impression.

Silent Force 0103 is sold in the UK by The Range, but only online. Seller's description and pictures (http://www.therange.co.uk/blog/power-your-ride-with-the-silent-force-electric-bike/) show how it looks like, but I'll add a few details.



I've ordered it on Thursday, it was shipped on Friday and delivered Monday morning.
Almost completely assembled.

There is no assembling instruction, but you can see what needs to be done. Also front brake and shifter needed adjustment.


Now the most crazy part: flashing pedals. I don't mind the flashing (it's yellowish), but I don't think it's worth the extra weight and friction. Three dynamos in one bike is too much, I'm going to replace them with normal pedals.

On the handlebar, from the left: shifter, battery indicator with red LEDs, normal cyclocomputer, red switch for PAS and throttle in the right grip.

The front light is rather poor, extra flashlight (for a few quids on ebay) should make riding after dark more comfortable. I'm also considering puncture-resistant tires and different saddle. I'm happy with everything else.



The motor in the front wheel can be heard, but I suppose it's not different than in other e-bikes.
The speed is limited to 25km/h. The steepest slope on my way to work is about 8%. The bike easily goes up, 18km/h with no pedaling (only moving crank to keep PAS on).


The chain is completely covered.


And a solid kickstand. A bit too high, it keeps one wheel a few inches above the ground.


After going 4 times to work and back (86km total) I'm very happy with this bike. It changed my daily commute.

 

[mountainsport]

It's £500 28" 25kg 36V 10Ah, 3 gears bicycle. I couldn't find any reviews before buying it, so I'd like to write a few words for those who consider buying it. It's too early for a review, I got it this week, so it's just first impression.

Silent Force 0103 is sold in the UK by The Range, but only online. Seller's description and pictures (http://www.therange.co.uk/blog/power-your-ride-with-the-silent-force-electric-bike/) show how it looks like, but I'll add a few details.

View attachment 8121

Hello Marcin,

With a little bit of upgrading here and there you should be soon on your way, at least that you are happy so far.

I wonder why it's called the silent force with that noisy front motor?

MS.

I've ordered it on Thursday, it was shipped on Friday and delivered Monday morning.
Almost completely assembled.
View attachment 8122
There is no assembling instruction, but you can see what needs to be done. Also front brake and shifter needed adjustment.

View attachment 8123
Now the most crazy part: flashing pedals. I don't mind the flashing (it's yellowish), but I don't think it's worth the extra weight and friction. Three dynamos in one bike is too much, I'm going to replace them with normal pedals.

On the handlebar, from the left: shifter, battery indicator with red LEDs, normal cyclocomputer, red switch for PAS and throttle in the right grip.
View attachment 8124
The front light is rather poor, extra flashlight (for a few quids on ebay) should make riding after dark more comfortable. I'm also considering puncture-resistant tires and different saddle. I'm happy with everything else.

View attachment 8126 View attachment 8130

The motor in the front wheel can be heard, but I suppose it's not different than in other e-bikes.
The speed is limited to 25km/h. The steepest slope on my way to work is about 8%. The bike easily goes up, 18km/h with no pedaling (only moving crank to keep PAS on).
View attachment 8128 View attachment 8129

The chain is completely covered.
View attachment 8127

And a solid kickstand. A bit too high, it keeps one wheel a few inches above the ground.
View attachment 8131

After going 4 times to work and back (86km total) I'm very happy with this bike. It changed my daily commute.

 

[peerjay56]

A good descriptive review Marcin. Don't forget to tell us how you're doing once you've got some more miles and time logged

 

[trex]

well done, marcin. It looks quite good. What is the range like?

 

[D C]

Good review, thanks for sharing

 

[patpatbut]

Very heavy but looks solid overall.

let us know the update after weeks of commute

Pat

 

[Chainring]

Good to see a practical bike on the market in the UK. It must have a European influence somewhere, with fork gaiters, a dynamo, centre stand and enclosed chain. All at a good price. Try finding a practical motorcycle in the UK. Fashion seems to rule over usefulness here. I look forward to a long-term review from you. Don't be afraid to tell the truth, 'cos I won't take the p**s! You seem to be putting some mileage in. (Kilometres).

 

[john h]

Marcin i have a set of those pedals they get you seen in the dark , with the up and down movement you can also tell it a cyclist.

 

[Marcin]

Follow-up.

After less then 2 months and about 500km the electric system started to malfunction. First the display diodes started randomly switching between "full battery" and "empty battery" (not powering bike when the battery was shown to be empty). Before I got back home the red diodes were blinking and the engine was not working. What can it be? Short circuit or loose cable connection somewhere?

I wrote email to the seller regarding warranty and got automatic reply that they will reply in 14 days. Quite long waiting. I'll see how they handle this issue.

Anyway, e-bike is a fantastic way of commuting to work. And apart from the current problem I'm happy with this bike. It could do about 50km on one charging, more than enough for my needs.

A few weeks ago I wrote a review on The Range website, giving this bike 5/5 stars. A day later I got message that my review was rejected, with no explanation. Maybe the reason was that I linked this thread from that review. Not having a copy of what I wrote I haven't tried to submit it again. So they still don't have any reviews for this product. It's not good for making sales but aparently they don't care.

 

[Chainring]

Follow-up.

So they still don't have any reviews for this product. It's not good for making sales but aparently they don't care.

This could happen to any machine, but the lack of after-sales help is a bit of a curse. It seems they are a Dutch-based firm, which is why the bike looks so practical, rather than a £2000 mountain bike. Anything I needed help with on my Woosh bike, I have always had an instant response. Lets hope they realise they need to work at it, if they wish to sell via the internet.

 

[scoobie]

Chainring - I also had the problem of the lights flashing between full and zero and zero power - fortunately I was only a couple of miles from home so was able to pedal the beast back.
I was hoping that it was because it was not fully charged (I had done a short 4 miler then not used it for a week) and the problem hasn't occurred since.
Did you find out what it was?
Scoobie

 

[OldFart]

Any updates on these? Did they turn out to be OK or not?

Not sure if they still have stock but seem to be cheaper now. £450?

Can they be used under power alone and no pedalling?

 

[Marcin]

OldFart - I got replacement for my bike and after 600km it still works. The quality of the bike is low - it seems that there is no QA. The front wheel in the second bike is less true than in the first one. Recently a little metal thing that supports front lamp just broke during ride, but the front lamp was quite useless anyway and I'm using battery-powered lamps. The front brake was completely mis-adjusted in both bikes. I've adjusted it to some degree, but it's still not well-adjusted. The brake just doesn't fit well to this fork. The same with dynamo. Battery indicator is of limited use, it goes from full to empty very quickly. So I reset trip distance after loading battery - the range is more than 40km. These are all minor things and don't matter much. The bike made my commuting more enjoyable and it costs not much more than a conversion kit alone. OTOH getting a replacement bike when the first one stopped working took 2 months.

I completely agree with the review by EbikeMan on TheRange website. He has the same problems, and the front light bracket also broke for him. I also hear noise (squeak actually) from the bottom bracket, but so far I've just ignored it.

Pedaling alone - it's possible like in any e-bike, but not much fun. It's harder than in regular bike.

 

[neptune]

From what has been said, in spite of some problems, the bike overall seems to be good value for money. There are obviously some design problems that need to be addressed, not least of which is the intermittent operation of the leds. On any bike there will be problems that need adjustment, like brake and gear adjustments, loose bolts etc. Some riders can fix these easily, but there are some people who can`t which is understandable.

The thing that really lets the job down is lack of after sales service. The Range would save money, and increase sales if these bikes were checked over before dispatch, by someone who knew what they were doing. This is a lost opportunity, not only for the Range, but for e bikes in general, as the opportunity is there to bring e bikes to a wider audience at an affordable price.

 

[OldFart]

Thanks, I picked up an ebay bargain on Monday. Sold as spares/untested/incomplete.

No keys or charger but the batteries charged enough in a few hours for a spin around the block by my daughter. I said just go to the corner and back and whoosh she was gone...

I managed a quick go before the batteries started to die. Having to charge them one at a time though because i dont have a 36v charger.

But hopefully my CTEK can revive them.

Pictures in which bike should i buy section. scooter/moped style was my thread.

Thanks for replying anyway.