Hi folks, Thought i would do a short(ish) review on my last 11 months riding the Wisper 905se around the Peak District. The bike was purchased from Swinnerton Cycles last September, very helpful and no problems, I found the build quality very good and ancillaries up to the job ( worth noting brakes have been upgraded to hydraulic from cable on this model since I bought the bike). The bike also looks great in satin black. During the first 6 months of ownership I only covered about 150 miles due to lousy winter weather and other distractions, but since April i have been out on the bike 3 or 4 times a week cycling around Cheshire and the Peak District and clocked up a further 850 miles in the last 5 months. The only modifications I have made to the bike are the fitting of a different handlebar stem and a set of wider handlebars, this was only done due to personal preference otherwise apart from routine maintenance nothing else has been changed. The frame of the bike is still in good condition apart from the odd scratch and a bit of cable rub from being used. The brakes are still on their original pads although need changing now which is remarkable they have lasted so long as at times they have had to pull me up from 40 odd mph as i have come down the Cat and Fiddle and other steep descents. With regards to the wheels and tyres the wheels roll very well as indicated by the downhill freewheeling speeds and I have not had any punctures so far (tempting fate here) The battery has been great I have the 375wh version and despite doing nearly 30 miles and climbing a combined elevation of about 2500 ft some days I have never got back home with less than 2 bars indicated on the display. The motor has pulled me up some long and steep hills of up to 6 miles long and gradients in places of 12% and while at times the bike has been on highest assist and easiest gear i have always made it ( admittedly close to passing out sometimes but then i am 60 plus). The chain and gears have only needed oiling and the odd adjustment and I have never experienced any slipping or jumping of the gears. In conclusion the bike has certainly been very reliable and enjoyable, Would I buy a Wisper again? Yes definitely but possibly a torque model and a version with front suspension due to the state of the roads around here. The 929 torque would have been ideal but no longer available. Cheers Steve W.
Wisper 905se Nearly a Year and a 1000miles Review.
- Thread starter Amoto65
- Start date
Thanks Amoto!
Great feedback, I am delighted that you are enjoying your bike.
All the best, David
Great feedback, I am delighted that you are enjoying your bike.
All the best, David
Nice review, Steve. Any routes you'd recommend on the Eastern side of Peaks?
Hi there, I am on the West side really, so my playground is The Cat and Fiddle, Wincle, Wildboarclough, Rainow, Bollington and Macclesfield Forest. However there is a great program on TV with George and Larry Lamb cycling around Britain Larry on a Ebike and George on a road bike and in the next episode on Friday 31st of August they are cycling around the Peak District so that should show some great routes. Cheers Steve W...
Ah excellent - I am recording the series but haven't watched one yet, but I will now! I hadn't realised that one of them was on an E-Bike - is it sponsored by one of the manufacturers?
Yep, I just watched the Isles of Scilly episode and it states "Product Placement Partners - Giant" in the credits
Hi folks, This weekend I decided it was time to change the forks on my Wisper 905se as I was fed up with white finger caused by the dreadful roads around here. The process was fairly straight forward changing from the Wisper blade forks to a set of Suntour suspension forks which I had purchased from a local bike shop, The only problem I encountered was with the brake caliper which was a different fitting, Partly my fault for buying the forks while nursing a hangover! Anyway bought an adapter and job sorted. So today I decided to do a long(ish) road test, first impressions were the forks certainly soaked up the bumps, however the weight difference was notable and the handling not quite as precise but that could just be myself needing time to get used to the weight. I road tested the bike over a distance of 28 miles climbing from Macclesfield 168 metres through Sutton, Wincle and Algreave up to Flash 470 metres which is the highest village in Britain (hell it was cold, wet and windy up there) and back down again through Gradbach, Wildboarclough, Macclesfield Forest and Langley with elevations and descents of up to 17% in parts and all in all the forks gave a much smoother ride and amazingly I never had to get off and push although a couple of racing snails overtook me on the steepest parts. My wife has a Juicy Click which I have ridden and is very comparable to the Wisper in its climbing abilities so I am intrigued how much better if any a crank driven Ebike would compare and do I need one? Cheers Steve W..
On the road Bosch CX drive will climb most hills with ease at 15-25kmh. Its a very steep hill that has me working at 15kmh or falling below this speed. Off road on seriously steep firebreaks climbing ability is more case of keeping front wheel on ground that lack of power, in these cases speed is 10kmh or less.
Drives like Shimano STEPs or Bosch Active Plus, expect to climb comfortably at 12-25kmh on road. Any hill that has you falling below 12kmh is likely to be very short. Most factory gearing of bikes with these drives tends to be bit high, so 12kmh is lowest comfortable climbing speed, under that motor and rider are struggling.
With MTB gearing they could tackle any hill.
Drives like Shimano STEPs or Bosch Active Plus, expect to climb comfortably at 12-25kmh on road. Any hill that has you falling below 12kmh is likely to be very short. Most factory gearing of bikes with these drives tends to be bit high, so 12kmh is lowest comfortable climbing speed, under that motor and rider are struggling.
With MTB gearing they could tackle any hill.
Doesn't sound much different to my Yose hub in pas 5 the front can be very light so power needs to applied carefully (not surprising with 650+w at the wheel).
Just as a matter of information the battery took just over 4hrs to charge up after the ride which i thought was quite reasonable considering the mileage and climbing. Steve W.....
[QUOTE="Amoto65, post: 454936, member: 20541"the Wisper in its climbing abilities so I am intrigued how much better if any a crank driven Ebike would compare and do I need one? Cheers Steve W..[/QUOTE]
Most legal ebikes, crank or hub, have roughly the same amount of poke.
A crank bike gives a more ordinary bike feel, not least because you use the gears in the same way.
That's a benefit to me, irrelevant or even a negative to some, so it depends on your preferences.
Most legal ebikes, crank or hub, have roughly the same amount of poke.
A crank bike gives a more ordinary bike feel, not least because you use the gears in the same way.
That's a benefit to me, irrelevant or even a negative to some, so it depends on your preferences.
Cheers for that, I reckoned if I was managing to get up the hills around here I should probably stick with what i have and if a hub drive is not quite as powerful at least it will build my stamina up. Although getting caught in a thunderstorm on the bike today I thought I might get incinerated riding an Ebike so sheltered under a tree which I was always led to believe was a no no, damned if you do and damned if you don't . Steve W....
Related Articles
-
Wisper 806T folding bike wins Which? ‘Best Buy’- Started by: Pedelecs
-
Smartebike crowdfunds street food e-cargo concept- Started by: Pedelecs
-
Amazon launch their first UK e-cargo micromobility hub- Started by: Pedelecs
-
National Trust & Raleigh announce e-bike trial- Started by: Pedelecs
-
Cube launch Compact Hybrid- Started by: Pedelecs