Woosh Crank Bike review

[D8ve]

Hatti can i start bidding for an exdemo sirroco CD or do i have to wait and see if Dave blows it first?

 

[muckymits]

Hatti can i start bidding for an exdemo sirroco CD or do i have to wait and see if Dave blows it first?

depends if Dave can remember which way around everything went

 

[GaRRy]

Best thing about this is that if the bike is as good as it appears to be then either higher end bikes are going to have to lower their prices or else up their game.

 

[Old_Dave]

Best thing about this is that if the bike is as good as it appears to be then either higher end bikes are going to have to lower their prices or else up their game.

Hi Garry

I don't think that will be the case, just as when eventually the 'peoples car' brought affordability / accessibility it didn't affect the major players in the upper price market..

There will always be a market for a range of products that carries a perceived value with a premium price... more perceived = higher price, even though the perceived may be solely related to the advertising, lol

However.. today a new word is born, 'VolksWoosh' which by a strange coincidence can be shortened to VW

 

[D8ve]

Perhaps now is the time for Whoosh to push a top performing Ebike at a price the others won't match. the Hyundi of the cycle world?
Me i would like to use the CD components to produce a recumbant to max out on efficency and get most watt/miles/Speed/£ combo. but will I ever have the time?

 

[Geebee]

I have been thinking of buying a secondhand Aseako/Tonaro to strip and fit the crank drive to one of my recumbent trikes, but the drive is heavy and very visible, where as the Woosh one is smaller lighter and hardly visible, so if the crank drive becomes available as a spare I may well buy one.

 

[Woosh]

Hatti can i start bidding for an exdemo sirroco CD or do i have to wait and see if Dave blows it first?

Dave H is probably going to do a few little experiments......if he blows it up then the bits will be for auction. ...but I'm sure he won't!

Hatti

 

[GaRRy]

Hi Garry

I don't think that will be the case, just as when eventually the 'peoples car' brought affordability / accessibility it didn't affect the major players in the upper price market..

There will always be a market for a range of products that carries a perceived value with a premium price... more perceived = higher price, even though the perceived may be solely related to the advertising, lol

However.. today a new word is born, 'VolksWoosh' which by a strange coincidence can be shortened to VW

Yes your right they did not lower their prices but they did up their game with innovation (and quality) to justify the higher prices and eventually a lot of those ideas filtered down into cheaper vehicles and in some cases have pretty much become the norm (eg anti-lock brakes).

crank drive = high price/high end bike is now no longer true which means one of the high end markets potential unique selling points is no longer true so they will need to invent another one.

I guess time will tell.

 

[flecc]

crank drive = high price/high end bike is now no longer true which means one of the high end markets potential unique selling points is no longer true so they will need to invent another one.

I think they'll just stick with the one they've always used, quality, regardless of whether they are better or not. After all, cheap crank drives have been available for years from the likes of Cyclone etc.

Much also depends on whether the low priced ones stay low priced. I remember the excitement only a short while ago at the Tonaro crank drive bikes at under £1000 from Powerpedals, but they soon shot up and even after some recent drops are all well over that mark. Meanwhile some Bosch unit bikes have appeared at almost down to those prices, so the low price advantage has largely been lost in that case.

 

[Old_Dave]

unique selling points is no longer true so they will need to invent another one.

Lol... like optical sensors and wot not

 

[dmcgoldrick]

thanks for the review. perhaps you could give a little information on the fit of the bike i.e. the height of rider its suitable for (are there a range of frame sizes), and some information on the quality of the components. running the battery flat and showing a route plan with elevation data and speed would also be useful. one mans hill is another mans gentle slope.......and riding above assist level as some people can do for long periods gives no indication of assisted range.......
sounds to be a good addition into the sub grand market for leisure use on well made tracks and tarmac, but not to be confused with an assist high quality mountain bike or road bike.
regards

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The frame size is 18"; however, there's substantial adjustment on the handlebars because it has one of those quick-release adjustable stems and a quill-type fixing so that the stem can be raised and lowered by at least 4" and then the handlebars can be raised/lowered and rotated nearer/further away . The seat also can go very low. I'm 5'10" and find it a good fit. I let a friend have a go on it and he's about 5'4". I lowered the seat and rotated the stem back, and he found it OK. Normally I'd have lowered the quill to lower the handlebars, but you need a hex key for that, which I didn't have with me, but is provided in the reasonably comprehensive toolkit. I'd be surprised if anyone between the heights of about 5'3" and 6'6" couldn't make this bike fit you.

The components are normal Chinese ones that you find on sub £1000 bikes. You can see them in the photos on the Woosh website.

With the speed-limit off, it's hardly possible to cycle above the motor because power goes on to 24mph. The range must be compromised like that, although the PAS level control cuts the power down a lot.

I got this plot of the route. It's not exact because on the last bit, it wouldn't let me plot on the cycle-path, but chose the nearest road instead.

Unfortunately snow has supped me from running the battery flat and switching the limit to 15mph, so I can't find the full normal range, but I'm sure it'll be enough for what most people want.

 

[jazper53]

Best thing about this is that if the bike is as good as it appears to be then either higher end bikes are going to have to lower their prices or else up their game.

Can only be a good for the consumer, and counter some of the excuses and myths some dealers like to use to explain their over inflated prices I salute any business that can buck the trend. Well done Woosh

 

[john h]

well got the wife to reserve one but it is sunday and shop is closed will have to wait till tomorrow to get an email from hatti .

 

[dmcgoldrick]

The frame size is 18"; however, there's substantial adjustment on the handlebars because it has one of those quick-release adjustable stems and a quill-type fixing so that the stem can be raised and lowered by at least 4" and then the handlebars can be raised/lowered and rotated nearer/further away . The seat also can go very low. I'm 5'10" and find it a good fit. I let a friend have a go on it and he's about 5'4". I lowered the seat and rotated the stem back, and he found it OK. Normally I'd have lowered the quill to lower the handlebars, but you need a hex key for that, which I didn't have with me, but is provided in the reasonably comprehensive toolkit. I'd be surprised if anyone between the heights of about 5'3" and 6'6" couldn't make this bike fit you.

The components are normal Chinese ones that you find on sub £1000 bikes. You can see them in the photos on the Woosh website.

With the speed-limit off, it's hardly possible to cycle above the motor because power goes on to 24mph. The range must be compromised like that, although the PAS level control cuts the power down a lot.

I got this plot of the route. It's not exact because on the last bit, it wouldn't let me plot on the cycle-path, but chose the nearest road instead.

Unfortunately snow has supped me from running the battery flat and switching the limit to 15mph, so I can't find the full normal range, but I'm sure it'll be enough for what most people want.

thanks for that useful info.......
regards

 

[tumok]

Hi this may help

http://www.voltonbicycles.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/LCD_5_Speed_Controller_Manual.pdf
regards Jim

 

[D8ve]

Thanks

still waiting full review but this looks like the poor(fat) mans hill bike and with a bit of fiddling a real turn of speed as well.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Hi this may help

http://www.voltonbicycles.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/LCD_5_Speed_Controller_Manual.pdf
regards Jim

That's a useful instruction. It's not exactly the same as the Woosh one because mine goes up to 40kph., but I think everything else is the same.

With the wheel off the ground, I can see the motor cut out at 40kph, so it's capable of running a bit faster. I guess you could raise the cut-out by selecting a smaller wheel size too. The Oxydrive King Meter doesn't allow removal of the magnet. If you take it off, it defaults to 15mph. I guess this is the same. If only the weather would let me try a bit more. I think the snow will last a while. This is what I've got:

 

[Geebee]

You could swap the sensor and magnet to the cranks so that it still sees the rotation just not fast enough to turn of the assist.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Still got lots of snow, but the roads are clear now, so I had a chance to do some more tests. I'll post the results in the Woosh Crank-drive kit thread.

I had a peak inside the controller compartment to see what's there: A 14A max sensorless controller. it has connections for the panel, brakes, throttle, pedal sensor, 36v lights (not used) and one spare, which I couldn't fathom out (grey and red).

Inside the controller, the shunt lays under the main capacitor (same as a Cyclamatic one) ready for adding a bit of solder. This one already had solder up one leg, which looked like done by the factory. As this is not my bike, I left it as it was, but see here:
http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/14276-your-views-possible-woosh-crank-drive-kit.html