Which should I buy? Revised question!

[jeffkwells]

Thanks, everyone for all the useful information. It stopped me rushing into buying 2 Beat Bikes - though the price at £3400 for 2 was excellent. The advice which lots of people give is to test ride a number of bikes. - not very practical for us as we live miles from any dealer and no dealer has all the models we want to try. We have already ridden our friends' Raleigh Captus step-throughs and if they had a bigger batteries we'd have considered those. So we know what an e-bike of the kind we're looking for feels like. It's therefore all down to the precise spec we want which is quite simple:

Step-through
Battery at least 500ah
Under £2k

There are not many of these about. I like the Raleigh Motus and someone mentioned a battery upgrade for that but I haven't seen it offered anywhere. The argument about living in a relatively flat area is fine. Yes we do (though 'relatively' is a personal judgement!). Yes we never plan to go on long rides (30 mile limit probably) but we will make heavy use of the motor and we plan to take the bikes to hillier parts of the UK and do more demanding 30 mile rides there. Hence a big battery is very desirable.

Any more thoughts?!!

 

[jeffkwells]

Thanks, everyone for all the useful information. It stopped me rushing into buying 2 Beat Bikes - though the price at £3400 for 2 was excellent. The advice which lots of people give is to test ride a number of bikes. - not very practical for us as we live miles from any dealer and no dealer has all the models we want to try. We have already ridden our friends' Raleigh Captus step-throughs and if they had a bigger batteries we'd have considered those. So we know what an e-bike of the kind we're looking for feels like. It's therefore all down to the precise spec we want which is quite simple:

Step-through
Battery at least 500ah
Under £2k

There are not many of these about. I like the Raleigh Motus and someone mentioned a battery upgrade for that but I haven't seen it offered anywhere. The argument about living in a relatively flat area is fine. Yes we do (though 'relatively' is a personal judgement!). Yes we never plan to go on long rides (30 mile limit probably) but we will make heavy use of the motor and we plan to take the bikes to hillier parts of the UK and do more demanding 30 mile rides there. Hence a big battery is very desirable.

Any more thoughts?!!

Sorry! I meant 500wh not ah

 

[Electric Transport Shop]

Hi Jeff, We've just launched these offers and can offer a battery upgrade to 500Wh for a reasonable price: http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/great-bosch-offers.25917/

 

[Electrifying Cycles]

You could try the Wisper 705 Torque. Comes with larger battery (575wh) for £1799. It has the torque sensor system like the Motus but also one cadence mode. Best advice is to try some different bikes out.

If you want a bike with the Torque system it does limit your options. Another model is Ebco UCL60 but you would have to ask for an upgrade on the standard 400wh battery. We have done this in the past for a customer.

Other than this just check the bike you choose is well established and that there are not lots of reported issues. Bosch are pretty good and we have found the motors on the Wispers to be very reliable.

Finally would suggest only choosing a brand with 2 years warranty on electrics including motor and battery as this shows confidence in the product.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Thanks Dave W!

Do try the Motus and the Wisper at the same dealer if possible.

Most people who do go for the Wisper, it's more powerful, quieter, more sensitive, has a cadence sensor mode, a full throttle when pedaling, a ten year warranty on the very high end and rigid frame, hydraulic brakes, 180mm rotor on the front wheel, a 575Wh Samsung battery etc. etc.

We have been making electric bikes for far longer than Raleigh or Bosch and thoroughly understand the market. Our support is at least compatible.

Some do like the Bosch/Raleigh branding though, and I can't compete with that!

All the best, David

 

[Crockers]

Very often, when buying a bike, the heart rules head.

For me service and back up are crucial. No good having the state of the art bike off the road waiting for parts etc.

Wisper service is second to none. And if the bike is off the road for a period they will sort out a loaner.

Not the cheapest, nor the most expensive but a fair priced quality product which many owners love. Not saying owners of other brands don't love theirs

As David says. Ride one back to back with your other choices. Only you can tell which you prefer.

 

[Angelnorth]

I'm one of those who test rode both the Raleigh Motus and the Wisper 705 Torque - not at the same dealer as I'm really out in the sticks and had nowhere local to try out. Still, "local" is a relative concept, I guess!

In terms of the way the ride felt, for me power delivery felt very similar. At the end of the day I preferred the Wisper although if you pressed me I'm not sure I could put my finger on why. Test riding really is the only reliable way to figure out what suits you best, I think.

 

[JuicyBike]

Where do you live Jeff?

 

[RobF]

The Captus offer could be made to work with a spare battery.

About £500 for 400wh, a bit less if you go for a late used one from ebay.

That would give you a nice Bosch bike with 700wh of Bosch power for under £2k.

As a new ebiker, you might think two batteries is a bit of a mess around, and it is to a degree but lots of us on here use extra batteries.

 

[Rosie]

My Captus came with a 400wh battery-might have just been lucky as the Raleigh website still shows 300wh. Early days yet, but 30mls will be well within it's reach. I don't do any massive hills though. Others will be more knowledgeable on the Bosch battery mileage, although wind, surface, your weight and the speed you wish to ride at all play a part. So far I love the bike, it rides just like a regular bike, but with a push. Good luck.

R

 

[Danidl]

I Was the person who suggested that a Raleigh could be purchased with a bigger battery up to 500whr. Of course this would mean a discussion with the shopkeeper before purchase. As the cost of the Bosch battery is very expensive, the idea of carrying two seems to me over the top. It would make more sense to just get the slightly larger unit initially. It is interesting that Bosch are now making a linking system to have two batteries mounted and presumably charged simultaneously. .
The difference between the captus and the Motus is that the latter is more upmarket. ... fancier gears and hydraulic rim brakes. According to the list price it also has the bigger 400 whr battery compared to the 300whr in the captus. The larger battery was my reason for selecting the Motus. So Rosie got a bargain with her 400whr unit. . The basic frame in both captus and Motus is identical.

None of this is intended to suggest that other bikes like the whisper might not even be a better buy. I do not know never having seen or ridden one.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Thanks Danidl, the smaller British based independents are often worth looking at.

All the best, David

 

[Ted B.]

Thanks, everyone for all the useful information. It stopped me rushing into buying 2 Beat Bikes - though the price at £3400 for 2 was excellent.

The price might have been good, but those Beat Tonga electric bikes are just rebranded versions of Kalkhoff bikes, and running the same infamous Impulse 2 motors, subject to many breakdowns and defects.

The Beat Tonga brand was created specifically by 50 Cycles, probably just as a simple marketing ploy to avoid using the Kalkhoff brand when possible, given its bad reputation (the internet is full of bad stories about Impulse 2 and Impulse Evo motor issues).