Woosh Sirocco CD vs Cyclotricity Stealth

[bikesbikesbikes]

Hi, im in abit of a dilemma. These two bikes i like, stealth looks better, but the sirocco has a bigger battery, which would be much more useful to me.

I have heard very good things about cyclotricity but not much about woosh? anyone care to help me out please. Im looking for an everyday commuter and leisure bike, what is the difference between these two?

what does crank drive have over hub motor apart from hills? does the crank drive slow down if you dont pedal vs the hub motor? whats the difference? if there is none, is the crank drive better than the hub motor in every way? if so, whats the point in having a hub motor?

also, the price is another important factor, im swaying more into the woosh as it is cheaper (vs cyclotricity smaller battery), but I havent heard alot about them in these forums, as in reviews etc.

please help lol i have had enough of public transport and to be honest, i dont want to put any more money in my oyster. trains and buses are horrible, id rather be overground and getting fresh air and exercise than being underground sweating doing nothing.

 

[trex]

the Sirocco CD is the bike that most people associate Woosh with.
what does crank drive have over hub motor apart from hills? crank drive is optimized delivery of power, that's all. Like many things, crank drive comes with a cost, that it puts constant load on your chain, making gear change more difficult and often noisy. The other advantages that crank drive has over hub drive is access to wheels and gears. You can have anything you fancy. Their rims can be very light because they don't have to support the motor. With hub drives, you have to have two heavy duty wheels and heavy duty spokes. Spoke breaking is practically unheard of with crank drive because the power is transmitted over the chain, taking out all the jolts that break spokes on rear motor wheels.
Crank drive lets you use gear to optimize your speed. For example, the Sirocco CD has an 8-speed 11T-34T cassette. Assisted pedalling at 15mph on the CD is easy: 48.5 RPM on gear 8. That means you can ride easily at high speed, derestricted, it's easy to cycle up to 21-22mph. The Stealth has 7-speed 14T-32T freewheel, - at 15mph, the cadence on the Stealth is about 61 RPM.

 

[JohnCade]

There's quite a lot here about Woosh. If you do a search a fair bit will turn up.

The Sirocco CD is sold out at the moment with new stocks in a few weeks, but they have the bigger wheeled CDL in stock.

 

[bikesbikesbikes]

by cadance you mean? sorry i am a noob to cycling terms but i know how to maintain and repair lol, you reckon the sirocco cd is the better option? it also has the extras such as mudguards and the carrier at the back. these which the cyclotricity lack in and would cost extra to buy for e.g. I have done a search on the forums, i have come up with quite a few sources of information thanks john for your input, there are many pages but no specific references to the sirocco CD, only woosh references. I will have another look. noisy gear changes arent a problem, they arent going to sound like bombs are they? and being a big load on the chain, would that cause any problems in the long run as in Id have to buy a new chain? should be ok right?

 

[bikesbikesbikes]

the way you explained it, the crank drive system wins over the hub in every way tbh.

 

[trex]

by cadance you mean? sorry i am a noob to cycling terms but i know how to maintain and repair lol, you reckon the sirocco cd is the better option? it also has the extras such as mudguards and the carrier at the back. these which the cyclotricity lack in and would cost extra to buy for e.g. I have done a search on the forums, i have come up with quite a few sources of information thanks john for your input, there are many pages but no specific references to the sirocco CD, only woosh references. I will have another look. noisy gear changes arent a problem, they arent going to sound like bombs are they? and being a big load on the chain, would that cause any problems in the long run as in Id have to buy a new chain? should be ok right?

Cadence is the number of revolutions of the cranks per minute. The faster you pedal, the higher your heart rate. The maximum attainable speed depends on this, that's where e-bikes excel.
Don't worry much about gear change, it's quite easy to get used to changing gears on a crank drive. You only have to slow down a second or so to kill the load on the chain before changing gear, something you would do on any bike anyway, then use the throttle to crank up the speed afterwards. Changing to a higher gears don't make much noise, changing from 3 to 2 or 2 to 1 is noisier because the chain has to step up to a much bigger cog.
Crank drives do wear out chain and the cassette more quickly - replacement chain is £5 and replacement cassette is £12 from CRC.
The CD is better if you are overweighed or you live in a hilly area.

the way you explained it, the crank drive system wins over the hub in every way tbh.

it doesn't if you hate the derailleur! the Big Bear is the best hub drive bike from Woosh and there are more recommendations for the Big Bear than for the CD.

Most people prefer light weight - most Bosch bikes weigh about 20-21kgs, the Cyclotricity weighs 19kg, the CD weighs about 24kg. Some of it are from mudguards, rack, propstand, lights, bell, but the battery is 1.5kg heavier than the battery on the Stealth because of its larger capacity, the motor on the CD weighs 4kgs, the motor on the Stealth 3kgs.

 

[bikesbikesbikes]

im 5ft 8 and weigh 75kg, with a bag etc, would probably be around 80kg in the bike, which bike would you recommend? the big bear hub drive or the sirocco CD? you reckon the hub is better for city use and commuting?

 

[trex]

if you live in relatively flat area (up to 10% gradient), you weight is perfect for the cheaper Woosh Sirocco 2. Loads of members bought this bike two years ago, some still do. If you live in a hilly area or want to cycle very fast, then the Sirocco CD/CDL is better. The CD has 26" wheels, CDL has 700C wheels.
For commuting, the priority is having mudguards, puncture proof tyres and a rear rack battery because it's less noticeable by thieves and you can hide it easily with a set of paniers. The choice of drive system is entirely down to personal preferences.

 

[bikesbikesbikes]

the sirocco 2 doesnt allow derestricting via LCD lol thats one of the reasons why I didnt put that in my list and chose the CD or BigBear since the stealth isnt as value for money and doesnt include mudguards etc. and it is relatively flat in my area also so now the argument has gone to : "to hub, or to crank" that is the question lol, which one requires more maintenance? the hub or the crank? and for a much smoother ride i.e. riding through the city on THROTTLE ONLY, which one would be best?

 

[trex]

the Big Bear is strongest but it's rather overkill for your weight - so I think the Stealth may be the best choice after all.

 

[bikesbikesbikes]

the range on the stealth is bleak though, maybe 20-30 miles, whereas the others manage 50miles i live about 13 miles out from work, a round trip would be about 26 miles + any leisure riding i would do around the city after work, would probably end up around 40 miles overall, and tbh I wouldnt want to charge my battery every day, rather every other day, by saying overkill, what do you mean by overkill?

 

[trex]

the Big Bear is most suitable for long distance commuting because it needs very little maintenance and can cover easily 50 miles on a full charge but it's built for heavy people. It can pull a tank, you won't enjoy riding it as much as a sport bike. Most people want to keep the option to keep fit when commuting with an e-bike, the Big Bear reduces the rider's input so much that it takes the pleasure of cycling away unless you need its pulling power. I've tried it, I am about a stone heavier than you, even on assist level 1, I only put in something like 25% of the energy required to reach 15mph, on level 2, it's probably below 15% for 15mph and you need level 5 for highest speed if you ride derestricted. If you weigh 15 stone or more, then it's a perfect fit but you are not. By the way, I ride a Specialized that I converted with a BBS01 CD kit.

 

[bikesbikesbikes]

thanks for all the help. well there is my dilemma...loll is it possible to switch the engine off, how pleasant is the big bear pedaling only? have you tried pedaling the big bear?

 

[trex]

if you ride without power, ride a crank drive. There is absolutely no drag whatsoever. The best is the Woosh Sport CD. All the hub motors have a little drag, the weight of the bike counts as well. So, power off, any CD is best, then the Stealth, Sirocco 2, Big Bear last.

 

[bikesbikesbikes]

im looking for big battery for long range, i think the sirocco CD may just be the one i was after all along...its a pain now i have to wait till june 22nd to order it, how is the maintenance on the cd? has there been an incidence when the chain broke and fell off or anything? being that there is a lot of load on it?

 

[trex]

any bike with derailleur needs same care with regard to keeping and adjusting the shifter and shifter cable to running perfectly. The rest is the same: tighten the bolts on cranks, pedals, handlebars, rear rack because of the heavy battery. Check the brakes now and then. That's it. You don't have to worry about breaking spokes, ever.

 

[bikesbikesbikes]

i just reserved a sirocco cd, but i keep seem to be thinking that the overkill wouldnt harm me and actually would keep me sweating less on my morning commute to work (i dont have a shower at work) lol. i like power, but maybe the frame may be abit too big for me at 5 ft 8 it wouldnt fit me would it

 

[trex]

your height is perfectly fine for the CD. The CD can climb 15% hills on throttle alone so don't worry about getting sweaty unless you want to.

 

[bikesbikesbikes]

thanks, does the crank drive system have any maximum speeds? even when derestricted?

 

[trex]

are you talking about riding on flat roads? when derestricted and on pedal assist, the power goes off quite gently when you get over 20mph but you are limited by your own cadence, so 23-24mph is about the limit.
On hills, you are limited by the pulling power of the motor. The Big Bear is particularly good in going uphill, faster than the CD.