Wisper 905 Torque or Alternative?

[KevinMull]

I'm looking at buying my first e-bike and after following them for years Wisper has always stood out from the crowd for me. I'm looking at getting at the 905 Torque although not sure which battery size to go for.

About me...

It's for leisure cycling and could easily cover 30+ miles in a day in varied terrain.

My brother has a Scott sub tour with 400w 11ah Bosch battery so ideally we would want similar capacities(?)

I drive a small Vauxhall Corsar and mount my normal bike on a Thule roof rack. Would this be an issue?

I'm concerned that the 905 Torque's LCD controller/display is not detachable. Would this be an issue?

Would I be able to clip Altura dryline 32 panniers on the back rack ?
http://cdn.mos.bikeradar.imdserve.com/images/bikes-and-gear/accessories/panniers/CYP198.panniers.altura-700-80.jpg

It seems to be £200 cheaper than anywhere else from cyclingmadeeasy. What's the catch?

Is there anything to compete with the Wisper 905 Torque for quality, spec and price?

Many thanks

 

[chr4]

Regarding the price at cyclingmadeeasy you can always ask them but I doubt there is a catch. I bought my bike from them - on sale - paying £200 less than at other shops. It's an established high street retailer with quite a big choice of bikes. I suggest you try a few before you buy.

 

[RobF]

The Wisper - or any similar ebike - is too heavy to go on your roof rack.

The battery on the rear rack of the bike means panniers might not fit, there's often insufficient clearance around the bars of the rack.

A 'throw over' pair of panniers would fit.

Wispers have quite a good name - David who owns the company posts on here and is a decent guy.

But I think they are dear for a Chinese hub bike.

You are close to mainstream brand/Bosch money for the price of the Wisper.

The retailer in your link has a couple of KTMs which are worth a look - no carrier, but that's easily sorted on an ally bike.

This year's Cubes look good value, so worth a google around those.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

I'm looking at buying my first e-bike and after following them for years Wisper has always stood out from the crowd for me. I'm looking at getting at the 905 Torque although not sure which battery size to go for.

About me...

It's for leisure cycling and could easily cover 30+ miles in a day in varied terrain.

My brother has a Scott sub tour with 400w 11ah Bosch battery so ideally we would want similar capacities(?)

I drive a small Vauxhall Corsar and mount my normal bike on a Thule roof rack. Would this be an issue?

I'm concerned that the 905 Torque's LCD controller/display is not detachable. Would this be an issue?

Would I be able to clip Altura dryline 32 panniers on the back rack ?
http://cdn.mos.bikeradar.imdserve.com/images/bikes-and-gear/accessories/panniers/CYP198.panniers.altura-700-80.jpg

It seems to be £200 cheaper than anywhere else from cyclingmadeeasy. What's the catch?

Is there anything to compete with the Wisper 905 Torque for quality, spec and price?

Many thanks

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for your interest in our bikes!

Cycling Made Easy are a great stockist and would certainly look after you. They currently have a 2015 Mk 1 905Torque on special offer. I doubt they would be able to sell a 2016 Mk 2 at that price.

As Chr4 says, you should try before you buy, the Wisper Torque system is superb.

Please try one of the cheaper Bosch drive bikes and then the Wisper. The power and pedal sensitivity is in my (ok very biased!!) opinion in a different league to the lower power Bosch motors particularly the Active line. The Bosch CX of course is superb but you are not likely to find one on a bike much under £2,600. For £1,499 you can buy a suburb bike with a ten year frame warranty, excellent 180mm hydraulic disc brakes and a superb, almost silent, high torque motor that neatly hides behind the Shimano cassette.

If I can be if any assistance please call me 07733226906.

All the best David.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

It's not only me!

Amanda from Top Gear, one of the best EBike centres in the UK recently wrote...

"I have been riding electric bikes for many years but can honestly say the Wisper 705Torque is the most impressive bike I have ever ridden. The way it sailed up the steep Cornish hills on our scenic north Cornwall coast road recently was amazing.
I am used to electric bike motors being quite noisy, but the 705Torque is almost silent.
Its performance was also truly superb, not only did I pass many non electric bikes in the hills, but also easily overtook a couple of electric bikes!
At the end of our hilly bike ride from Portreath to Hayle and back, a total of just under 20 miles, I had only used a quarter of my battery, which was amazing".

Amanda Rolleston

Penryn
Cornwall

 

[KevinMull]

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for your interest in our bikes!

Cycling Made Easy are a great stockist and would certainly look after you. They currently have a 2015 Mk 1 905Torque on special offer. I doubt they would be able to sell a 2016 Mk 2 at that price.

As Chr4 says, you should try before you buy, the Wisper Torque system is superb.

Please try one of the cheaper Bosch drive bikes and then the Wisper. The power and pedal sensitivity is in my (ok very biased!!) opinion in a different league to the lower power Bosch motors particularly the Active line. The Bosch CX of course is superb but you are not likely to find one on a bike much under £2,600. For £1,499 you can buy a suburb bike with a ten year frame warranty, excellent 180mm hydraulic disc brakes and a superb, almost silent, high torque motor that neatly hides behind the Shimano cassette.

If I can be if any assistance please call me 07733226906.

All the best David.

Hi David

Thanks for the info. I'll probably be test riding the 905 Torque fairly soon, albeit the stepthrough version (just so glad you label them with the correct, continental terminology and not the cringey old fashioned way of 'mens' and 'womens' like a lot of of places still do!).

What are the main differences between the 2015 and 2016 905 Torque versions and are they available yet?

I can't see any differences to the 905 in this review from October 2015 and the one on the Amps web site.

Cheers

Kevin

 

[KevinMull]

The Wisper - or any similar ebike - is too heavy to go on your roof rack.

Really? To lift or for the rack to take weight?

We regularly put two manual hybrid bikes on at about 18kg each with no problems.
Although I may need assistance with lifting a 20kg e-bike, minus the battery on as i'm not the tallest or strongest of 50 year olds!

 

[RobF]

Really? To lift or for the rack to take weight?

We regularly put two manual hybrid bikes on at about 18kg each with no problems.
Although I may need assistance with lifting a 20kg e-bike, minus the battery on as i'm not the tallest or strongest of 50 year olds!

I would struggle to lift an ebike onto a roof rack with any confidence - one slip and it could be thousands of damage to car and/or bike.

If the roof rack is rated to take the weight that shouldn't be a problem, but I wouldn't fancy an upright ebike on top of my car.

Up to you, of course.

 

[Yamdude]

I would struggle to lift an ebike onto a roof rack with any confidence - one slip and it could be thousands of damage to car and/or bike.

If the roof rack is rated to take the weight that shouldn't be a problem, but I wouldn't fancy an upright ebike on top of my car.

Up to you, of course.

Yep, i agree.

 

[Yamdude]

Really? To lift or for the rack to take weight?

We regularly put two manual hybrid bikes on at about 18kg each with no problems.
Although I may need assistance with lifting a 20kg e-bike, minus the battery on as i'm not the tallest or strongest of 50 year olds!

18 kilos is well heavy for an ordinary, unassisted hybrid bike..... i bet you've overestimated those weights. What make and model of bikes are they ?

 

[KevinMull]

I would struggle to lift an ebike onto a roof rack with any confidence - one slip and it could be thousands of damage to car and/or bike.

If the roof rack is rated to take the weight that shouldn't be a problem, but I wouldn't fancy an upright ebike on top of my car.

Up to you, of course.

Thanks for the advice.
I have every confidence in the car and the Thule roof rack taking the weight of an upright 20kg bike which have served me well with two standard adult crossbar bikes up and down the NW motorways and all over the Peak District in Derbyshire over the past 5 years or so. I think the car roof can take a max load of 50kg (including roof rack), so I would probably only ever put one e-bike on.

I trust it more than a rear mount rack over the hatchback which I've used before.

However, it's my strength and height that is the weakest link in the chain (no pun!) and would not try and lift it on or off on my own!