Woosh, Oxygen Wisper - advice sought on what to buy

HelenH

Finding my (electric) wheels
May 5, 2022
6
0
Hi, hubby and I have electric folding bikes which we love but want to do more off road rides, bridleways, rough tow paths, gravel trails etc so are now looking at getting electric mountain bikes. Have been looking at Woosh, oxygen and wisper. Problem with Woosh for me is I am 5ft 6 and all their options are for riders over 5ft 8 which seems a shame. Oxygen don’t seem to have stock of any with the bigger batteries, wisper wayfarer h9 is pushing the budget but would do it if it was worth it. looking for opinions on any of these are any alternatives I have missed. I am 55, 5ft 6 tall, 67kg , average fitness and would like a range of 40 miles. Hubby is 54, 5ft 11, 16.5stone. He can do the bike maintenance and used to be an electrician by trade so thinks he will be able to maintain the electrical side of it. Thanks in advance.
 

matthewslack

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 26, 2021
1,852
1,338
Hi, hubby and I have electric folding bikes which we love but want to do more off road rides, bridleways, rough tow paths, gravel trails etc so are now looking at getting electric mountain bikes. Have been looking at Woosh, oxygen and wisper. Problem with Woosh for me is I am 5ft 6 and all their options are for riders over 5ft 8 which seems a shame. Oxygen don’t seem to have stock of any with the bigger batteries, wisper wayfarer h9 is pushing the budget but would do it if it was worth it. looking for opinions on any of these are any alternatives I have missed. I am 55, 5ft 6 tall, 67kg , average fitness and would like a range of 40 miles. Hubby is 54, 5ft 11, 16.5stone. He can do the bike maintenance and used to be an electrician by trade so thinks he will be able to maintain the electrical side of it. Thanks in advance.
Give careful thought to where you may end up riding. All the bikes you mention are hub drives, and there comes a time - or more accurately, a gradient - when mid-drive starts to become rather useful.

A day's hire in a hilly area might answer a lot of questions.

Edit: (lunchtime forgetfulness)

Many hire shops renew their fleets every season. Right place, right time can be a route to a six month old very reasonable e-MTB at maybe 40% discount.
 
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HelenH

Finding my (electric) wheels
May 5, 2022
6
0
The Woosh Rambletta would be perfect for your height. As you are 5ft5-5ft6 tall, both the Rambletta with suspension fork and Rambletta with fixed fork will suit.
The Rambletta with suspension fork has the handlebars about 7cm higher than the Rambletta with fixed fork.
Your riding position on the Rambletta with suspension fork is thus a little more upright compared to sitting on the Rambletta with fixed fork which suits 5ft2-5ft5 better.
For riders under 5ft2, we can replace the seat post with one that has no suspension
The Rambletta comes normally with suspension seat post. The range of height is thus from 5ft2 to 6ft+
For shorter riders, under 5ft2, we can replace the suspension seat post with a non-suspension seat post that will suit riders between 4ft10 to 5ft2.

To recap:
Riders between 4ft10 and 5ft2fixed fork, non suspension seat post
Riders between 5ft2 and 5ft6fixed fork, suspension seat post (as on picture)
Riders over 5ft6suspension fork, suspension post (as on picture)


This is the Rambletta with fixed fork:



Rambletta with suspension fork, note the suspension coil behind the front light:



Thanks for the reply. This isn’t really what I am looking for as I already have a folding bike although I realise this has front suspension.
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
20,323
16,849
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
Hi Helen
The Santana 3 would suit your height but is a step through bike - maybe of interest still?
Sorry for Tony's misunderstanding - I think he needs to go to Specsavers! Hatti
 

HelenH

Finding my (electric) wheels
May 5, 2022
6
0
Give careful thought to where you may end up riding. All the bikes you mention are hub drives, and there comes a time - or more accurately, a gradient - when mid-drive starts to become rather useful.

A day's hire in a hilly area might answer a lot of questions.

Edit: (lunchtime forgetfulness)

Many hire shops renew their fleets every season. Right place, right time can be a route to a six month old very reasonable e-MTB at maybe 40% discount.
appreciate what you are saying. the folding bikes we have are rear hub motors and seem fine on the hills where we generally ride. We don’t intend to do actual mountain bike trails, so thought the rear hub motor would suffice. Also don’t think the budget would stretch to mid drive.
 

Wisper Bikes

Trade Member
Apr 11, 2007
6,282
2,252
69
Sevenoaks Kent
appreciate what you are saying. the folding bikes we have are rear hub motors and seem fine on the hills where we generally ride. We don’t intend to do actual mountain bike trails, so thought the rear hub motor would suffice. Also don’t think the budget would stretch to mid drive.
Hi Helen, great question and a very good point raised by @matthewslack, there are certainly occasions when a mid drive is preferable to a hub drive especially if you are going off-road in mountainous areas although maintaining a bike with a mid drive is substantially more involved as the chain and gears will wear quite quickly.

If you are interested in the Wayfarer (we have just sold 10 hub drive versions to a hire company in Snowdonia!) We have both hub and mid drive versions. Give them both a go and you will feel the difference on the same bike.

All the best, David
 

matthewslack

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 26, 2021
1,852
1,338
appreciate what you are saying. the folding bikes we have are rear hub motors and seem fine on the hills where we generally ride. We don’t intend to do actual mountain bike trails, so thought the rear hub motor would suffice. Also don’t think the budget would stretch to mid drive.
Sounds like you'll be fine. If you haven't tried mid-drive, and you get the chance to compare, worth doing just for the experience. Perhaps for your third bike!
 

HelenH

Finding my (electric) wheels
May 5, 2022
6
0
Hi Helen
The Santana 3 would suit your height but is a step through bike - maybe of interest still?
Sorry for Tony's misunderstanding - I think he needs to go to Specsavers! Hatti
would the Santana 3 be ok on rough terrain?
 

HelenH

Finding my (electric) wheels
May 5, 2022
6
0
Hi Helen, great question and a very good point raised by @matthewslack, there are certainly occasions when a mid drive is preferable to a hub drive especially if you are going off-road in mountainous areas although maintaining a bike with a mid drive is substantially more involved as the chain and gears will wear quite quickly.

If you are interested in the Wayfarer (we have just sold 10 hub drive versions to a hire company in Snowdonia!) We have both hub and mid drive versions. Give them both a go and you will feel the difference on the same bike.

All the best, David
Thanks David, defo interested in one of the Wayfarers but unfortunately not near Snowdonia - I am in Leicestershire. Would love to be able to test ride one or even just be able to sit on one in a shop. Do you know anywhere I could do this local to me or even in the Gloucester area as have a caravan there so spend a lot of weekends there.
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
20,323
16,849
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
would the Santana 3 be ok on rough terrain?
yes, it is. It's not an offroader but it has Suntour NEX25 65mm front suspension and comfortable 2" wide tyres.

There is a member's review here:

 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
20,323
16,849
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
The Woosh Rambletta would be perfect for your height. As you are 5ft5-5ft6 tall, both the Rambletta with suspension fork and Rambletta with fixed fork will suit.
The Rambletta with suspension fork has the handlebars about 7cm higher than the Rambletta with fixed fork.
Your riding position on the Rambletta with suspension fork is thus a little more upright compared to sitting on the Rambletta with fixed fork which suits 5ft2-5ft5 better.
For riders under 5ft2, we can replace the seat post with one that has no suspension
The Rambletta comes normally with suspension seat post. The range of height is thus from 5ft2 to 6ft+
For shorter riders, under 5ft2, we can replace the suspension seat post with a non-suspension seat post that will suit riders between 4ft10 to 5ft2.

To recap:
Riders between 4ft10 and 5ft2fixed fork, non suspension seat post
Riders between 5ft2 and 5ft6fixed fork, suspension seat post (as on picture)
Riders over 5ft6suspension fork, suspension post (as on picture)


This is the Rambletta with fixed fork:



Rambletta with suspension fork, note the suspension coil behind the front light: