I recently completed my second Woosh kit conversion, on my wife's elderly but well-maintained Claud Butler Valetta. I went with the front wheel conversion and rear rack on her bike for simplicity, weight balance and to allow a larger battery pack than would have likely fitted within the triangle of her smaller bike frame.
This was a really easy installation, I was fortunate to be able to use the integrated left side pedal sensor from Woosh, which makes for a fabulously neat installation, whilst the rear rack can accommodate a rear bag we acquired with a recent second hand folding bike acquisition, which is where this whole idea started.
She had really got back into cycling using the folding bikes and the ability to travel somewhere for a ride via car or train, but then wanted the ability to ride in the hillier areas near to where we live. With the great success of my own XF08 conversion, another Woosh kit was a no-brainer.
The bike has in her words been a revelation, the hills and climbs no longer pose a threat and we've been gradually increasing our ride distances together, culminating in her first 100km ride last weekend. Like me, she is mostly riding with minimal assistance, which means we get insane mileage from the large battery packs we have (20Ah on hers). I've done two weekends now with >100miles of riding from a single charge and still a full charge indicator (dropping one bar on a heavy climb). It's reassuring to know there's reserve when required but that in all likelihood the battery pack will last longer owing to the fewer charge cycles we'll need.
I did have reservations about the lack of disk brakes and another reason for a front wheel conversion was to re-use my bike's rear disk wheel and upgrade to disks, but with a decent set of fresh pads we've had no issues at all, so haven't bothered to look at that yet.
I've done some other comfort upgrades for her, similar to my bike, so handlebars with some rise and sweep, new grips and a new saddle. The only issue I'd overlooked prior to this build was her saddle height, relative the the rear rack position and height, but an appropriate riding position has been achieved, with just a slight downward tilt on the rear rack.
We even cycled from our home in Kent into London recently and home, something I'd never have considered doing previously. Our rides are always accompanied by a flask of tea and a picnic and it's been such a wonderful experience to be able to cycle together with neither holding the other back. The weight loss I've achieved is an equally strong motivator too, currently I've lost around 27kg, even with the occasional cake on route
This was a really easy installation, I was fortunate to be able to use the integrated left side pedal sensor from Woosh, which makes for a fabulously neat installation, whilst the rear rack can accommodate a rear bag we acquired with a recent second hand folding bike acquisition, which is where this whole idea started.
She had really got back into cycling using the folding bikes and the ability to travel somewhere for a ride via car or train, but then wanted the ability to ride in the hillier areas near to where we live. With the great success of my own XF08 conversion, another Woosh kit was a no-brainer.
The bike has in her words been a revelation, the hills and climbs no longer pose a threat and we've been gradually increasing our ride distances together, culminating in her first 100km ride last weekend. Like me, she is mostly riding with minimal assistance, which means we get insane mileage from the large battery packs we have (20Ah on hers). I've done two weekends now with >100miles of riding from a single charge and still a full charge indicator (dropping one bar on a heavy climb). It's reassuring to know there's reserve when required but that in all likelihood the battery pack will last longer owing to the fewer charge cycles we'll need.
I did have reservations about the lack of disk brakes and another reason for a front wheel conversion was to re-use my bike's rear disk wheel and upgrade to disks, but with a decent set of fresh pads we've had no issues at all, so haven't bothered to look at that yet.
I've done some other comfort upgrades for her, similar to my bike, so handlebars with some rise and sweep, new grips and a new saddle. The only issue I'd overlooked prior to this build was her saddle height, relative the the rear rack position and height, but an appropriate riding position has been achieved, with just a slight downward tilt on the rear rack.
We even cycled from our home in Kent into London recently and home, something I'd never have considered doing previously. Our rides are always accompanied by a flask of tea and a picnic and it's been such a wonderful experience to be able to cycle together with neither holding the other back. The weight loss I've achieved is an equally strong motivator too, currently I've lost around 27kg, even with the occasional cake on route
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