Woosh Bali – A Review. 17.11.2016
Im a regular cyclist, and having recently tried and then bought old Lafree I’ve become convinced of the effectiveness of e-bikes for everyday utility use. After a brief encounter with a new Kalkhoff, and then being unable to get hold of a Cube Touring, I decided to buy a Woosh Bali in Aug 2016, and have now completed 300+ urban/utility miles on it.
Overall I’m finding the bike very much in line with the honest way Woosh describe it, and as such is great value for money. Whilst not as wieldy and eager feeling as bikes costing twice as much, it performs urban duties well, coping with Sheffield’s steepest hills particularly strongly when in low gear, and having the mass and oomph to carry heavy payloads in a stable and safe manner. (I use a front rack too, so that’s 4 panniers, which, at rated rack capacity, can mean up to 35kg of payload.)
Components wise, the (27.5”) wheels have stayed true with just one small adjustment early on, similarly the 8spd Shimano Acera gears needed an initial tweak to index sweetly but have since been fine and the drive train/transmission generally feels strong. The brakes are good, better still with a replacement front set of genuine Avid disc pads in, which I suspect will last much longer than the original set, and the very soft feeling ‘Top Gun’ forks actually perform surprisingly well, although no doubt soaking up quite a bit of energy! The battery lights are good, and, as someone who likes an upright Dutch riding style around town I appreciate the wide range of adjustment offered by the height adjustable quill stem and easily adjustable handlebar stem. Having said that, whilst not a severe problem, I have found it nigh on impossible to tighten the natty adjustable stem enough to stop the occasional little slip in the angle of the bars under hard acceleration or braking.
I found it necessary to fit a 450mm seat post to the usefully compact frame to accommodate my 33” legs (trouser leg length), which Woosh say they can specify at the point of sale if requested (the seat post, not the trouser legs..) and I chose to swap the light and generally functional Kenda tyres for some sweeter rolling Schwalbe Big Bens. I also swapped the rear pannier rack for one of my own, as the design of the original and siting of the structural bars was problematic for the spacing on my pannier catches. Fitting an inexpensive aftermarket disc and suspension fork compliant front pannier rack was made easier by utilising the redundant V brake bosses on the forks. The Bali, being Chinese in origin, has a throttle, which the usefully comprehensive delivery literature tells you have the option to connect yourself, it being left unconnected at the point of delivery, and this can be very handy to briefly boost performance on hills and junctions, and especially on hilly junctions! It means I can leave the assistance level midway and just use the throttle to boost as needed, which is good as changing the assistance level on the move is awkward. There appears to be a general if slightly hazy/wishful consensus in the e-bike world that, provided you are actually pedalling, this type of throttle, which exceeds the ‘EU’ walk assist throttle limit, is nonetheless legal, although as far as I know this has not been put to the test….
Although not significantly heavier than most e-bikes of a similar ilk, the Bali does feel pretty ‘hefty’. This is not a problem for me as a six footer, but my 5’ 4” wife found it daunting after her Lafree. I guess the very similar, smaller framed, 26” wheel ‘Kreiger’ model may suit smaller/lighter folk.
One of the appealing aspects of the Woosh bikes, which I hope not to have to put to the test too soon, is the potential user-serviceability of the simple e-bike build and availability of parts such as the motor/battery at very reasonable prices compared to the premium makes.
So overall, and with just a little work to bed it in, I find the Bali is growing on me and performing well despite its ‘budget’ orientation, and Woosh themselves, despite the odd minor inconsistency between staff/info at the (holiday) time of purchase, have been responsive and helpful.
Recommended.
Im a regular cyclist, and having recently tried and then bought old Lafree I’ve become convinced of the effectiveness of e-bikes for everyday utility use. After a brief encounter with a new Kalkhoff, and then being unable to get hold of a Cube Touring, I decided to buy a Woosh Bali in Aug 2016, and have now completed 300+ urban/utility miles on it.
Overall I’m finding the bike very much in line with the honest way Woosh describe it, and as such is great value for money. Whilst not as wieldy and eager feeling as bikes costing twice as much, it performs urban duties well, coping with Sheffield’s steepest hills particularly strongly when in low gear, and having the mass and oomph to carry heavy payloads in a stable and safe manner. (I use a front rack too, so that’s 4 panniers, which, at rated rack capacity, can mean up to 35kg of payload.)
Components wise, the (27.5”) wheels have stayed true with just one small adjustment early on, similarly the 8spd Shimano Acera gears needed an initial tweak to index sweetly but have since been fine and the drive train/transmission generally feels strong. The brakes are good, better still with a replacement front set of genuine Avid disc pads in, which I suspect will last much longer than the original set, and the very soft feeling ‘Top Gun’ forks actually perform surprisingly well, although no doubt soaking up quite a bit of energy! The battery lights are good, and, as someone who likes an upright Dutch riding style around town I appreciate the wide range of adjustment offered by the height adjustable quill stem and easily adjustable handlebar stem. Having said that, whilst not a severe problem, I have found it nigh on impossible to tighten the natty adjustable stem enough to stop the occasional little slip in the angle of the bars under hard acceleration or braking.
I found it necessary to fit a 450mm seat post to the usefully compact frame to accommodate my 33” legs (trouser leg length), which Woosh say they can specify at the point of sale if requested (the seat post, not the trouser legs..) and I chose to swap the light and generally functional Kenda tyres for some sweeter rolling Schwalbe Big Bens. I also swapped the rear pannier rack for one of my own, as the design of the original and siting of the structural bars was problematic for the spacing on my pannier catches. Fitting an inexpensive aftermarket disc and suspension fork compliant front pannier rack was made easier by utilising the redundant V brake bosses on the forks. The Bali, being Chinese in origin, has a throttle, which the usefully comprehensive delivery literature tells you have the option to connect yourself, it being left unconnected at the point of delivery, and this can be very handy to briefly boost performance on hills and junctions, and especially on hilly junctions! It means I can leave the assistance level midway and just use the throttle to boost as needed, which is good as changing the assistance level on the move is awkward. There appears to be a general if slightly hazy/wishful consensus in the e-bike world that, provided you are actually pedalling, this type of throttle, which exceeds the ‘EU’ walk assist throttle limit, is nonetheless legal, although as far as I know this has not been put to the test….
Although not significantly heavier than most e-bikes of a similar ilk, the Bali does feel pretty ‘hefty’. This is not a problem for me as a six footer, but my 5’ 4” wife found it daunting after her Lafree. I guess the very similar, smaller framed, 26” wheel ‘Kreiger’ model may suit smaller/lighter folk.
One of the appealing aspects of the Woosh bikes, which I hope not to have to put to the test too soon, is the potential user-serviceability of the simple e-bike build and availability of parts such as the motor/battery at very reasonable prices compared to the premium makes.
So overall, and with just a little work to bed it in, I find the Bali is growing on me and performing well despite its ‘budget’ orientation, and Woosh themselves, despite the odd minor inconsistency between staff/info at the (holiday) time of purchase, have been responsive and helpful.
Recommended.
