Been meaning to post this for a while but never got time to do it.
We've bought in the last 3 years 4 bikes from Wisper from different retailers, a 905 Torque, a 705 Torque and two 806 torques. We bought the latter two 18 months or so ago so we could take our bikes on holiday in the car with us - I didn't want to use external racks for various reasons. Due to the onset of disability we've had to recently let go of the 705 and one 806 as my wife can no longer ride.
I'm no expert on eBikes like some people on these forums and these are the thoughts of a casual leisure rider, so bear with me.
1) Choice of retailer. I think this is crucial with such an expense. You need local backup for initial service without which the warranty is void and some retailers aren't keen on dealing with bikes bought over the internet at a discount. Local retailers also provide test rides and advice and I think it's worth paying a bit more for what they provide. In any case one of our retailers (for the 705) - Tweeks at Wrexham - were pretty much as cheap as the internet retailers and they provide great service and advice. The 905 came from a small local dealer who ceased trading after a couple of months - nightmare for backup. If I'd done a bit more research first I'd have found they were shaky and wouldn't have used them.
2) Choice of maker. I can't speak for others but Wisper have been fantastic. Sods law meant I had a significant issue with the 905 in late 2017 after the seller ceased trading. After a chat with David Maill at Wisper he arranged for the bike to be couriered back to the factory at their expense (they weren't obliged to do this). They would have couriered it back to me too, but I decided to collect it and met the team who were a thoroughly nice bunch and really helpful. Subsequently I had a bit of a problem with the hub motor, but they couriered a replacement wheel to me next day. Things can and do go wrong, and for me it's how a company puts things right that really matters and their response to these problems was significant in why we went back and bought Wisper 806s, although they are great bikes too anyway. I only wish car manufacturers were as good as Wisper (I should add that the 705 and 806s have been faultless)
3 Choice of bike. We tried lots of different makes and configurations before choosing the 705/905 initially. Ergonomics seems not to mentioned much in reviews, but we found that there was significant variation in comfort from different brands. For my wife only the 705 felt truly comfortable out of all of them. For me the 905 felt very natural and well balanced, and I've never experienced any discomfort even after prolonged rides. I used to get quite a lot of backache on my previous manual bike as I could never quite get my posture right. There's loads of adjustability in the Wispers (all 3) so it's very easy to find a comfortable position. For other people it may be different, but I would definitely advise whatever you buy find a retailer who will let you have a good test ride before you commit - they're an expensive investment. The brakes on all ours are disc brakes and very efficient, even though the 806s have cable rather than the hydraulic operation of the 705/905.
4) Choice of drive. Firstly we opted for the more expensive torque sensing systems. Although a fair bit pricier, besides offering extended range, they just feel a lot more natural than cadence sensing systems. The differences are well explained on Wisper's website, but I got significantly longer ranges than the manufacturer's spec as my fitness improved and the system decided I needed less assistance - I easily exceeded over 120 miles per charge on the 575 battery on the 905 in the rolling Shropshire countryside and well over 70 miles per charge on the 375 battery on the 806. Secondly I would personally avoid front hub drives at all costs - when testing one brand with these we found they were much harder to control and in my view a bit dangerous. I think the rear hub drive system feels best and it has the benefit of putting no strain through the chain or rear cassette. I've heard a few tales of chain breakage and excess wear on mid drive systems.
5) Miscellaneous . There's the odd thing Wisper could improve - the manual for the control panel was one of the worst cases of Chinglish I've encountered and unintelligible - thankfully there's a now a good video tutorial on the website. Generally I think the manuals could be a bit clearer, and it would be good if they could post more video tutorials on routine maintenance and use. For us the gearing on the 705/905 could have probably been a bit lower (although Claude did give me a smaller chainring to do just that). However they more than make up for all this by their helpfulness and I found they were always prepared to spend time on the phone providing advice. Overall I found them a breath of fresh air when you encounter all too often these days manufacturers and retailers trying to dodge their responsibilities and fob you off (don't get me started on cars and domestic appliances ...). So a big thank you and congratulations to Wisper from me
We've bought in the last 3 years 4 bikes from Wisper from different retailers, a 905 Torque, a 705 Torque and two 806 torques. We bought the latter two 18 months or so ago so we could take our bikes on holiday in the car with us - I didn't want to use external racks for various reasons. Due to the onset of disability we've had to recently let go of the 705 and one 806 as my wife can no longer ride.
I'm no expert on eBikes like some people on these forums and these are the thoughts of a casual leisure rider, so bear with me.
1) Choice of retailer. I think this is crucial with such an expense. You need local backup for initial service without which the warranty is void and some retailers aren't keen on dealing with bikes bought over the internet at a discount. Local retailers also provide test rides and advice and I think it's worth paying a bit more for what they provide. In any case one of our retailers (for the 705) - Tweeks at Wrexham - were pretty much as cheap as the internet retailers and they provide great service and advice. The 905 came from a small local dealer who ceased trading after a couple of months - nightmare for backup. If I'd done a bit more research first I'd have found they were shaky and wouldn't have used them.
2) Choice of maker. I can't speak for others but Wisper have been fantastic. Sods law meant I had a significant issue with the 905 in late 2017 after the seller ceased trading. After a chat with David Maill at Wisper he arranged for the bike to be couriered back to the factory at their expense (they weren't obliged to do this). They would have couriered it back to me too, but I decided to collect it and met the team who were a thoroughly nice bunch and really helpful. Subsequently I had a bit of a problem with the hub motor, but they couriered a replacement wheel to me next day. Things can and do go wrong, and for me it's how a company puts things right that really matters and their response to these problems was significant in why we went back and bought Wisper 806s, although they are great bikes too anyway. I only wish car manufacturers were as good as Wisper (I should add that the 705 and 806s have been faultless)
3 Choice of bike. We tried lots of different makes and configurations before choosing the 705/905 initially. Ergonomics seems not to mentioned much in reviews, but we found that there was significant variation in comfort from different brands. For my wife only the 705 felt truly comfortable out of all of them. For me the 905 felt very natural and well balanced, and I've never experienced any discomfort even after prolonged rides. I used to get quite a lot of backache on my previous manual bike as I could never quite get my posture right. There's loads of adjustability in the Wispers (all 3) so it's very easy to find a comfortable position. For other people it may be different, but I would definitely advise whatever you buy find a retailer who will let you have a good test ride before you commit - they're an expensive investment. The brakes on all ours are disc brakes and very efficient, even though the 806s have cable rather than the hydraulic operation of the 705/905.
4) Choice of drive. Firstly we opted for the more expensive torque sensing systems. Although a fair bit pricier, besides offering extended range, they just feel a lot more natural than cadence sensing systems. The differences are well explained on Wisper's website, but I got significantly longer ranges than the manufacturer's spec as my fitness improved and the system decided I needed less assistance - I easily exceeded over 120 miles per charge on the 575 battery on the 905 in the rolling Shropshire countryside and well over 70 miles per charge on the 375 battery on the 806. Secondly I would personally avoid front hub drives at all costs - when testing one brand with these we found they were much harder to control and in my view a bit dangerous. I think the rear hub drive system feels best and it has the benefit of putting no strain through the chain or rear cassette. I've heard a few tales of chain breakage and excess wear on mid drive systems.
5) Miscellaneous . There's the odd thing Wisper could improve - the manual for the control panel was one of the worst cases of Chinglish I've encountered and unintelligible - thankfully there's a now a good video tutorial on the website. Generally I think the manuals could be a bit clearer, and it would be good if they could post more video tutorials on routine maintenance and use. For us the gearing on the 705/905 could have probably been a bit lower (although Claude did give me a smaller chainring to do just that). However they more than make up for all this by their helpfulness and I found they were always prepared to spend time on the phone providing advice. Overall I found them a breath of fresh air when you encounter all too often these days manufacturers and retailers trying to dodge their responsibilities and fob you off (don't get me started on cars and domestic appliances ...). So a big thank you and congratulations to Wisper from me
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