which kit

[fildok]

good to hear I am not alone[Fildoc]. It is a nightmare and I`m 2 years into it now. I am 64 so very similar. I want best looking [ in my opinion]. a2b or secret [style] , biggest battery I can get in one. [gale] I believe. Folding as its best option for me. A bag like the secret would be good as I can then store it/them for transit on back of camper van. And of course not over 1k, but cheaper the better as no income for another 12 months until I get my wonderful state pension [£550.00 pm].
A tall order. it seems, and as you say like you I live in the sticks as far as electric bike dealers go.
So its down to thoughts from these guys who will eventually, hopefully steer me in a sort of right direction.
The new secret with bigger battery, mudguards, lights and bag keeps coming to the front.
Dave, whats your best price for 1 maybe 2 of these? I was given a price by your company for ex demo units today. But no guarantee and smaller battery.
Frustrated man with "some" limited cash ready to spend....Pete.

One also has to consider aftercare when purchasing...someone offering an all singing/dancing bike for little money isn't going to provide much of it. That's what the better known manufacturers Woosh, Wisper, Kudos etc are known for...then again a supplier has to start somewhere I suppose.

 

[fishingpaul]

. How easy to fit this [ for a novice?] Di I need anything else?
thanks.
Untill I saw this it was down to a secret or kuo+ £765.00 or £995.00.
so 3 options, as Hatti said big bear may be too powerful for my 75k and 5ft5" height.
3 options...which is best? if fitting kit is easy would go for that otherwise 1 of the others.
Pete.

You will probably need anti rotation washers,less than £15 from ebay or from cyclezee,you may need to file out the wheel dropouts,otherwise pretty straightforward connectors and maybe a few cable ties,its best to google search a fitting review to see whats involved,im sure you will find somebody fitting one on youtube,it probably has similar power to the big bear,but as with the big bear i would have thought if you find it too powerfull, you could reduce the assist level to suit,there are several levels of assist available to be selected,better to have power in reserve than a feeling of it being underpowered,although that extra power comes with a heavier motor,i would have thought the big bear would be too big for you rather than too powerfull,and if it came with a smaller frame probably a good buy for you,although some people seem happy with lesser powered motors,they do require a fair bit of effort on steep hills.finally i would like to see what d8veh reccomends for you,as a kit and as a folding bike as he probably has more real world experience than anybody,personally i would pm him and ask his unbiased advice.

 

[fishingpaul]

Don't put them in your Woosh bikes then. The rest of us will enjoy them for what they are.

d8veh i would love to see what you think would best suit the original poster,you seem to have been dragged away from the original post,leave the fighting to the people trying to sell their wares.

 

[poptop]

interesting comments, thanks guys, d8veh, what are your suggestions?
to recap save reading it all again. I am looking for electric bike.
Presently have a careera [halford job] 1/ fit motor, but not a techie, basic skills.
2/. a2b kuo+ 3/. woosh gale with 13ah battery. 4/. kudos secret.
initially considering 1 bike, with option of 2 for partner. Folding would be of benefit for going on back of vw camper.
cheers.
Pete

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Hi Pete, if you are looking for a more affordable option with a Bafang rear motor, the FreeGo Folder may well be worth putting on your list. It's a good reliable bike for under £1,000 with the benefit of local servicing and first class support. This month FreeGo are offering a £100.00 cash back deal bringing the price down to £899.00

All the best, David

 

[Andy88]

Hi Pete, if you are looking for a more affordable option with a Bafang rear motor, the FreeGo Folder may well be worth putting on your list. It's a good reliable bike for under £1,000 with the benefit of local servicing and first class support. This month FreeGo are offering a £100.00 cash back deal bringing the price down to £899.00

All the best, David

David, why did you decide to move batteries from behind the seat to the pannier?

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[poptop]

thanks Dave, more food for the pot, My personal preference is for the kudos secret. it lightweight, has a storage bag for back of camper, looks good with built in battery.[had my shed broken into and 4k of gear nicked] so cautious of theft. On the downside is battery, only 8ah. the freego looks good with 17ah battery, gale 13ah battery, both not as nice to look at.
so its down to the battery? and I don't have experience of 8ah over 13/17ah?
from my understanding its bigger ah[ same 36v] gives longer journey time, better for hills [where I live] Guarantees seem to be 12 months on battery. Freego could have been 2 yrs.
I think I am getting there then again I think maybe not just yet......lol...what a life .....but its a good one. I`m not 6ft under.

 

[poptop]

looked at freego and images I looked at showed it behind seat? did I miss something?

 

[Wisper Bikes]

I would always ago for the bigger battery if you can afford it, especially in the hills. It will give you far more range but more importantly for you the peak hill climbing power will be available for longer. The other important point to remember when choosing battery size is that most batteries come with a 2 year warranty, they will be guaranteed only to lose up to 20% or 30% of their capacity over the two year period. A 36V 16Ah battery has a capacity of 576Wh less 20% is 460Wh, a 36V 13Ah battery has a capacity of 468Wh so after 2 years if your 16Ah battery has lost 20% of it's capacity it will be practically the same as a brand new 13Ah battery and will therefore keep it's performance for far longer and will last longer too. Buying smaller batteries is often a false economy.

If a battery only has a one year warranty I wouldn't touch it. The cells will almost certainly be very low end (hence the low overall price of the bike) and the manufacturer/importer does not have the confidence in the battery.

I hope this helps.

Regards

David

 

[poptop]

had another look at your wisper classic folding bike, looks nice, how does 806e differ? is battery size bigger?
cheers

 

[Andy88]

I would always ago for the bigger battery if you can afford it, especially in the hills. It will give you far more range but more importantly for you the peak hill climbing power will be available for longer. The other important point to remember when choosing battery size is that most batteries come with a 2 year warranty, they will be guaranteed only to loose up to 20% or 30% of their capacity over the two year period. A 36V 16Ah battery has a capacity of 576Wh less 20% is 460Wh, a 36V 13Ah battery has a capacity of 468Wh so after 2 years if your 16Ah battery has lost 20% of it's capacity it will be practically the same as a brand new 13Ah battery and will therefore keep it's performance for far longer and will last longer too. Buying smaller batteries is often a false economy.

If a battery only has a one year warranty I wouldn't touch it. The cells will almost certainly be very low end (hence the low overall price of the bike) and the manufacturer/importer does not have the confidence in the battery.

I hope this helps.

Regards

David

Good point on the battery %

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[poptop]

375 0r 575w, can you explain these please Dave.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

David, why did you decide to move batteries from behind the seat to the pannier?

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As the energy density of battery cells has become better and better the need for the huge volume of a behind the seat post battery has diminished.

Battery weight has also come down quite dramatically too so having a battery under the riders back side is not as important as it used to be. A behind the seat post battery (BSP) also extends the wheel base of the bike making it less nimble to ride and more difficult to stow away.

There are some good ultra thin BSP coming onto the market that are with looking at for next year, IMO they are better placed than the down tube battery as far as nimbleness of ride is concerned.

It's a big subject!

All the best, David

 

[Andy88]

As the energy density of battery cells has become better and better the need for the huge volume of a behind the seat post battery has diminished.

Battery weight has also come down quite dramatically too so having a battery under the riders back side is not as important as it used to be. A behind the seat post battery (BSP) also extends the wheel base of the bike making it less nimble to ride and more difficult to stow away.

There are some good ultra thin BSP coming onto the market that are with looking at for next year, IMO they are better placed than the down tube battery as far as nimbleness of ride is concerned.

It's a big subject!

All the best, David

Well explained and useful, thanks.

One more question. Are you considering introducing any new wisper models in 2017 with sram or shimano hub gears ?

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[poptop]

Dave the wisper 806e has 2 battery options, 1 is375 the other is 575, can you explain these as rated as w, and I'm only used to say13v.8ah or 13ah?
Why would it be better to go for bugger one. Also the wisper is a german frame? correct? could I say better engineered? thanks.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

375 0r 575w, can you explain these please Dave.

Multiply the Voltage (V) of the battery by the Amp Hours (Ah) of the battery to give you Wh

36V x 16Ah = 576Wh

24V x 8Ah = 192Wh

It's an easy reference a single number giving you the "capacity" of a battery. Most of the big manufacturers use Wh when discussing battery capacity, it makes sense. We simply followed suit.

All the best, David

 

[poptop]

thanks, sorry to go on and on, just trying to get things straight in my head.....and for the german engineering as apposed to chineeeese?
any comments, though I appreciate its a volatile topic.
The wisper 806e is German, am I correct?

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Dave the wisper 806e has 2 battery options, 1 is375 the other is 575, can you explain these as rated as w, and I'm only used to say13v.8ah or 13ah?
Why would it be better to go for bugger one. Also the wisper is a german frame? correct? could I say better engineered? thanks.

Both batteries are 36V one is 10.4 Ah and the other is 16Ah.

The Wisper frame has never been made in Germany. However it is made by one of the biggest and best Asian frame makers in the world, a frame maker where many top German frames are made, hence our ability to offer a 10 year warranty on our frames.

I explained the reasons that I would alswys go for the bigger battery in a few posts above this one.

"I would always ago for the bigger battery if you can afford it, especially in the hills. It will give you far more range but more importantly for you the peak hill climbing power will be available for longer. The other important point to remember when choosing battery size is that most batteries come with a 2 year warranty, they will be guaranteed only to lose up to 20% or 30% of their capacity over the two year period. A 36V 16Ah battery has a capacity of 576Wh less 20% is 460Wh, a 36V 13Ah battery has a capacity of 468Wh so after 2 years if your 16Ah battery has lost 20% of it's capacity it will be practically the same as a brand new 13Ah battery and will therefore keep it's performance for far longer and will last longer too. Buying smaller batteries is often a false economy."

All the best, David

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Well explained and useful, thanks.

One more question. Are you considering introducing any new wisper models in 2017 with sram or shimano hub gears ?

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Hi Andy, we have just taken the Nexus 7 speed hub off our folder and moved the front drive to the rear. The motor we use has a very high torque rating, we were having a problem with the front wheel spinning in gravel so we have moved it to the back.
We have discovered time and again over the last 12 years that the hub motor is certainly better placed in the rear under the rider and battery giving more powerful motor wheels more traction, especially in slippery conditions.

All the best, David

 

[Andy88]

Hi Andy, we have just taken the Nexus 7 speed hub off our folder and moved the front drive to the rear. The motor we use has a very high torque rating, we were having a problem with the front wheel spinning in gravel so we have moved it to the back.
We have discovered time and again over the last 12 years that the hub motor is certainly better placed in the rear under the rider and battery giving more powerful motor wheels more traction, especially in slippery conditions.

All the best, David

Aha, will you be having a larger bike with hub gears like the 705?

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