Step-thru, good torque hub motor, £1200 limit option

[PaulM]

For my 20 mile commute with a long steepish hill. Considering Woosh Santana 3, Wisper 705se, Westhill Classic. I like the integrated battery of the Westihill but other two have larger battery capacity options which I would go for. Will be my first eBike purchase. Tried out the 705se and Freego Wren some time ago. The Wisper seemed to have better control, might be its sophisticated cadence sensor. Woosh a bit less expensive, Westhill has 700c wheels. Any thoughts, comments or alternative suggestions? I want to avoid hyrdraulic brakes (home maintenance difficult) although I have had cable brakes freeze in the winter come to think of it. Thanks.

 

[sjpt]

Also consider Kudos Sonata
https://www.kudoscycles.com/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=347
You could even buy two at a significantly reduced price and sell on the second. It and the Santana were high on my think list, I ended up with a second-hand Raleigh Motus.

I didn't look into what Kudos is like as a firm; I can recommend Woosh (we bought a hub kit from them).

 

[Eagle]

PaulM,

Personally I would go for the Wisper 705SE.

I used to have cable discs on my old FreeGo Eagle (hydraulic discs are standard now). They were okay, but the hydraulic discs on my Oxygen S-Cross MTB are far superior.

Note that the S-Cross ST & CB have cable discs as standard.

These articles on disc brakes might be useful:
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/product-news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-disc-brakes-202130

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/product-news/disc-brake-maintenance-311205

I find hydraulic disc brakes are far more efficient than the cable disc ones and I have much greater confidence in their braking performance.
This is even more noticeable going downhill at speed!

The hydraulic brakes generally need little or no maintenance.
You will find that the cables stretch over time and need adjustment.

I would never go back to cable disc brakes.

Have a test ride on a bike with hydraulic brakes and you will see what I mean.

 

[John_S]

Would you consider a conversion kit?
The 48v SWX02 legal conversion kit from Woosh is well worth considering. My dad is strongly considering it as an option for himself, as he now wants to have an electric setup. A bike fitted with this kit will be more powerful and better at climbing hills than virtually all (if not all) ready-made legal hub-drive bikes.
Otherwise, within your budget range, the Woosh Big Bear is worth considering in terms of its power, range, and climbing ability.

 

[PaulM]

Would you consider a conversion kit?
The 48v SWX02 legal conversion kit from Woosh is well worth considering. My dad is strongly considering it as an option for himself, as he now wants to have an electric setup. A bike fitted with this kit will be more powerful and better at climbing hills than virtually all (if not all) ready-made legal hub-drive bikes.
Otherwise, within your budget range, the Woosh Big Bear is worth considering in terms of its power, range, and climbing ability.

Yes thanks looked at the Woosh kit. Have considered using that for my recumbent bike. It's a possibility though I'd probably need to fit longer leads.

 

[PaulM]

I read all the stuff about hydraulic disc brakes and I'm not sold on the idea. Would probably replace them when they needed bleeding. I think last year's Wisper 705se used cable brakes.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Hi Paul, We have been using hydraulics on our bikes for a few years now, they are so much more reliable than the old cable brakes and never need adjusting. They are also so much more effective.

Worth a try.

All the best, David

 

[Eagle]

We have been using hydraulics on our bikes for a few years now, they are so much more reliable than the old cable brakes and never need adjusting. They are also so much more effective.

I completely agree.

 

[John_S]

Yes thanks looked at the Woosh kit. Have considered using that for my recumbent bike. It's a possibility though I'd probably need to fit longer leads.

Woosh might be able to provide you with longer leads if need be.
There are kits available on BMSBattery that are even more powerful and torquey than the Woosh one, such as the 48v 500w rear BPM kit that can include a controller up to 35a. If you want to stay legal though, the Woosh kit is probably the best option available if power and torque is what you're after.

When I mentioned the Big Bear, I'd forgotten you wanted a step-through. There is a step-through version of the Big Bear that might be worth considering. It has a 15ah battery that will provide a lot of range.

 

[Woosh]

The step through Big Bear has tektro sensored hydraulic brakes.

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?bigbear-ls

 

[gray198]

I don't personally think that hydraulic brakes are a necessity. They are undoubtedly easier to maintain and have more stopping power, but if you are only tootling along at a steady 12 to 15 mph and not riding steep descents cable ones are adequate

 

[John_S]

My bike is powerful and speedy, but I just use ordinary rim brakes on my bike and they serve me fine. My previous bike had mechanical disk brakes which required much more maintenance that the rim brakes on my current bike. I was constantly having to adjust the tightness and positioning of the disk brakes, and the rotor kept on scraping against the disk pads. I found that it was very, very difficult to make the brakes nice and tight while at the same time stopping the rotor from scraping.
I agree that hydraulic brakes are not necessary, and neither are mechanical disk brakes. Rim brakes are totally fine for most e-bikes.