Woosh Santana.. A rose or a thorn?

[Woosh]

Sorry could not post earlier - Mondays always busy.
Firstly, a thank you to Old Dave for what seems to be a very fair review. In our view the bike is sensible, comfortable and sturdy - not a highly exciting ride by any means- but ticks all the boxes for a pretty wide range of riders. The front spokes are carbon steel BTW, and the rear are stainless. Comes with a comfort seat rather than a man's, but we can of course offer different options. We are also going to offer the Santana with Samsung battery cells in the near future, making for a slightly more gutsy ride plus the bonus in that case of a 2 year warranty. It also comes in black in case male customers are worried about a white step through that looks a tad too girly...
Secondly, Eddieo, I'd be happy to resuscitate you but my OH might have other ideas. We'll have to see (nudge nudge)....
Hatti

 

[Old_Dave]

Several weeks have now past since I got my grubby hands on the Santana and I've been mulling carefully over my experience

I've built 2 bikes and got them just about how I wanted them to be, on the way I've learnt a lot of things and wasted a lot of money

The very bottom line is this..

If I was ever to need another bike, I'd save myself a lot of time, trouble and expense and just buy one from Woosh. Would it be exactly as I built mine, NO but it would be close enough as a factory built thing that ticks the boxes could be.

Buy it, ride it

 

[Woosh]

Thanks Dave

I'm sure your DIY bikes are great, and as you say, just the way you want them.
There's always a lot to be said for that.
But glad ours might be the answer for some when it all seems a bit too much hard work!

Have a good one.
Hatti

 

[Chainring]

If it's not a rude question, how tall are you, Old Dave, as this is the one model I like the look of. In your picture, the saddle seems set very low. I am 5' 7", and we made the mistake of buying a cheap bike from Amazon for my wife. It was horrible to ride, so we got rid of it. (Not cheap at all, as we lost money!) I am now at the creaky hips stage, and thought of a conversion for my perfectly good Barracuda bike, but the kits seem overpriced, as they are almost the same as a complete bike. In the case of the ERoller bikes, they are dearer, but I am a bit wary of them, as the info is a bit thin on their site. The Woosh Aspen looks like my other choice.

 

[RoadieRoger]

Chainring my Brother bought the Woosh Sant Ana several months ago and he is 5ft 7in and it`s fine . The Aspen has a 28 in wheel and a sprung saddle post which would add to the seat height and you might have trouble touching the floor . The Sant Ana has 26 in wheels and compared with my Batribike Quartz Folder with 20 in wheels is considerably faster for the same effort . Using Medium assist and riding side by side with the same effort over the same route , the Woosh is cruising at 15 mph and the Folder at 10mph . To keep up it is necessary to put the Batribike into Maximum assist every few minutes to catch up .
The machine is an excellent buy at just over £600 .

 

[Chainring]

Thanks for that, RoadieRoger. That 'Thing' we bought from Amazon was like riding through treacle, so I am wary of a bike with 26 inch wheels, although your brother seems to be happy. It was a 17 inch frame, and nearly crippled me when riding it, which is why I have considered the Aspen. My first thought was a conversion kit for my present bike, (19 inch frame step-through) but the kit prices are equal to a new bike, so there seems little point. At least with a new bike, purpose-built pedelec, I can pass my bike on to family. I would be grateful if you had time to let me know what the maximum height of the saddle is on your brother's Santa Ana. (Is it Santa Ana, or is that a typo on the Woosh website)? I saw someone mention somewhere, that very few electric bikes quote the frame size, whereas most normal bikes always have this info available.It's not much use having a pedelec capable of 80 mph and 200 mile range, if you can't get on the thing!!! (Slight exaggeration there, but you know what I mean).

 

[RoadieRoger]

I have just looked at Woosh`s site for Sant Ana information .They quote frame size as 44cm which in old money is 17.3 in .The saddle height is quoted as 84cm or 33.07in . The machine is said to be suitable for persons of 5ft 5in --6ft . I know that the saddle came out of the box at it`s lowest setting and he left it there . He is 5ft 7in and he is on the ball of his foot , so a 5ft 5in person would be really stretching . I will try and see what the saddle might go to , but from the heights I would think it would have 6 inches of adjustment . Perhaps an Email to Hatti at Woosh would be informative ?

 

[Oldie]

My wife is about 5'4 and finds the Santana just fine. I think that it's a great bike and prefer certain aspects of it to my Sirocco, but I do a lot more hills and need the CD. Otherwise, great value and a good looking bike.

 

[Chainring]

Thank-you for your help everyone. I am trying to clarify something about the description on the Aspen page, but I like the look of the Santana, and I'm at an age when I think I can be forgiven for being impetuous! I might not be here tomorrow! Cheers.

 

[Chainring]

Well, I emailed Hatti, and received a very helpful reply. I then looked at the Woosh site again, and realised that the dimensions of the Aspen are at the bottom of the page, as clear as you could wish! While the seat height is important, so is the distance from the handlebar stem to the seat stem. This is where you could end up riding with your arms out comfortably, or hunched-up. Pictures like that of the Aspen, with all the dimensions clearly visible, are crucial for anyone buying via the internet. There are lots of cheaper bikes out there, but the lack of information is worrying.

 

[jackhandy]

My personal preference is for a mountain bike style & many have quite an aggressive riding body position, with the arms well out & head quite low, which gives me a pain-in-the-neck

So - 1st thing I do is pop on a "headsup" to raise the bars: Sometimes I try a variable angle stem as well.

Faffing about like this costs £20-30.00 & gives me a customised bike, but still an mtb.

Same as changing a b@//-breaker saddle or fitting a sprung seatpost....

Simples.

 

[Chainring]

Well, I ordered my Santa Ana on Monday, and it arrived yesterday. Very helpful service from Hatti at Woosh bikes, just as all the paperwork with the bike looks very thorough. Easy to set up, and good finish. I went for a pedal while the battery was on charge. All very smooth, very comfortable handlebars and no resistance from the motor. It was lighter to move about than I expected - probably about the same weight as my wife's steel machine. The seating position I worried about is fine, but I will have to change the saddle. More suited to ladies, I think. I will try and give a better report in the future, but I may be off the road for a few weeks. Cheers folks.

 

[hopper_rider]

I'll give another thumbs up to the Santana. Out of the bikes I tried out at Redbridge it was the one I found most comfortable. I'm 5'6".

I was impressed by others as well. But I think this was the one I preferred out of those I tried.

 

[Chainring]

I don't know if I should have waited longer, before submitting a review, as I have only done 70 miles so far. The longest trip before charging was 25 miles,(pedal-assist) and the light was still on max on the indicator. The angle/position of the handlebars has suited me perfectly, out of the box. The saddle and suspension post was swapped from my original bike, and the machine is now really comfortable to ride. There are not really any hills where I live, just the occasional railway bridge, so a hub motor is quite adequate for my needs. The throttle function has come in handy in my case, as it has enabled me to use the bike when I've not been in a fit state to pedal much. While I was underneath getting the frame number, I noticed the entry and exit points for the wires to the controller were open to the elements, so I have sealed them with clear silicone. Likewise, the cables into the downtube, as I could see where the water would get in, but I could see no way for it to escape. I also made a silicone gasket for the controller inspection plate. I have sprayed all the places with silicone spray, where it looks like water might cause a problem. ie: cable connections for the motor. I need my bike to get to work – it is not a luxury. Were I to use buses, it would probably cost me £1000 per year, so £625 is a bargain,were it only to last a year! I have put OKO sealant into the tubes, as an added precaution. I adjusted the front brake at about 60 miles, following the instructions from the Woosh site. I could see the disc flexing when I applied the brake, which did not seem right. It is now just about central between the pads. A click developed in the right-hand pedal, so I took them both off and got some oil through them. The click has gone and they are now smooth. The gear operation is very smooth, and does not need a lot of effort. All much appreciated as one's hands get older and with less grip. On the subject of grip, that is my only moan. The handlebar grips are very plasticy. Apart from riding in Marigolds, I have yet to come up with a neat solution. Perhaps a lot of rubber bands might help. I checked the fuse in the battery, so I could obtain a spare, but there was no fuse in the holder. I was told by Woosh that a fuse is no longer used, as the BMS has been modified. The charger works okay, but for someone like me, who is colour blind, I have no idea if the light on the charger is red or green. Two separate lights would have been helpful. I just ask a passing member of the family for confirmation! The service from Woosh Bikes has been very good. I could have bought a similar machine for about £200 less, but my emails were returned when I tried to find out more. Not very reassuring in the case of a warranty claim or requiring spares. I work for a firm that sells/repairs garden machinery. We are constantly approached by customers who have bought from one of the big sheds locally, but who are unable to get spares or help when things go wrong. I did not want to go down the same route. I could not find anyone locally who stocked the type of bike I needed at a price I could afford. I hope this review is a help to someone.

 

[shemozzle999]

Hi Chainring,

Good to hear someone prepared to emphasize the importance of basic maintenance and you raised a good point about the colour blindness problem - I hope all dealers read your review and take note.

 

[wd0021089]

Hi Chainring,

Try putting a piece of red electricity tape over the light when the green changes to red you will not be able to see any light.

regards

Bill

 

[Chainring]

Hi Chainring,

Try putting a piece of red electricity tape over the light when the green changes to red you will not be able to see any light.

regards

Bill

Thanks for that, Bill. Just for the purpose, I have just charged it after my morning shopping trip, so will try after the next ride. If it works, it will be very helpful. Cheers.

 

[RoadieRoger]

Glad you are getting on with your Santana . I have just come back from a 12 mile ride on my Batribike Folder , riding in formation with a Santana . When I cruise along on Medium assist , the Santana is keeping up on Low Assist and in a lower gear to keep the speed down . With the same effort the Folder is cruising at just under 10 mph and the Santana at 15 mph . My Brother is very pleased with his . I do wonder about blocking up holes on the underside, as if water does get in how is it to get out ? Regarding the gromit on the down tube , the cables do force it out because of the angle that they come out of the tube . It would have been better to fit an oval plug type gromit there with a slit for the cables . All in all , excellent value for the money .

 

[Chainring]

Glad you are getting on with your Santana . I have just come back from a 12 mile ride on my Batribike Folder , riding in formation with a Santana . When I cruise along on Medium assist , the Santana is keeping up on Low Assist and in a lower gear to keep the speed down . With the same effort the Folder is cruising at just under 10 mph and the Santana at 15 mph . My Brother is very pleased with his . I do wonder about blocking up holes on the underside, as if water does get in how is it to get out ? Regarding the gromit on the down tube , the cables do force it out because of the angle that they come out of the tube . It would have been better to fit an oval plug type gromit there with a slit for the cables . All in all , excellent value for the money .

The grommet on the down tube is originally oval, but because the cables had been clipped together so tightly, it was pulled out of alignment every time the handlebars moved. I snipped off a few of the cable ties, which let the cables find their own position, then sealed round them. Time will tell with that one. The storage for the controller is a welded/extruded metal box, and the hole at the front is directly in line with spray coming off the front tyre, which is why I sealed it. Water will run down cables (experience of 250 MZ gearbox with water in it) so I sealed the hole at the back. The inspection cover is a pretty close fit, but I thought it would do no harm to seal that as well. Someone else on this forum said that all these bikes are Chinese clones. That does seem to be true, and it's a case of finding the best spec on the bike you like at the best price. I think Woosh have managed this. I have found quite a few almost identical to the Santana, but at twice the price, sometimes more. Hopefully, I will try a ride today, then test out Bill's red tape theory on the charger.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Don't seal the bottom edge of the controller compartment, otherwise there's a danger of it filling up with water and drowning the connectors/controllers.