Ok guys, as promised here is my review of the Xipi Silent Wing kit as fitted to my Dahon Cadenza P18 folding bike. I have had the kit about a month and have so far covered 364 miles.
The silent wing is the fastest of the kits Xipi do with a claimed top speed of 28mph+ and the description is accurate, however I will say that speed isn't everything. I will also state now that I know the kit is not road legal so before anyone mentions it, please don't bother with the legal blah.
OK, first my daily commute from SE London to central London of 11 miles driving my car takes 1 hour 5 mins (on a good day) to 1 hour 30+ on a bad day. This has now been cut to just 35 mins on the bike. I cycled the journey without the kit before I had it fitted and it took 1 hour dead, so that is a significant time saving over standard cycling. The bike will cruise at 27/28mph without pedaling on a flat, however I always pedal to assist the motor (and to burn those calories). With pedaling depending on how frenetic I pedal I can ride at up to 33mph, faster downhill but quite frankly I wouldn't want to go faster than that on a pedal bike. On my return journey there is quite a long steep hill in Greenwich Park, the bike will do 22mph up hill, 24mph with pedaling to assist the motor. It has plenty on grunt and going up hills does not pose a problem for this kit.
30mph on a bike is fast so i have upgraded the brakes to Shimano Deore Hydraulic and they do a good job of stopping it. The throttle also has a 'Regen' button which when pressed acts as another brake, if you're not travelling too fast you can use this to slow the bike. What I like about this kit is that I can comfortably keep up with morning rush hour traffic (when there is a clear stretch of road). In my opinion there is nothing worse than an HGV or bus driver that is impatient sitting behind a slow cyclist who then overtakes leaving little gap, I feel vulnerable and it's dangerous. With this kit I can comfortably keep up with traffic meaning that I can hold a dominant position in the road in front of the buses/HGVs. Pretty much all are happy to sit behind a cyclist doing nearly 30mph without feeling the need to overtake. I have kept up with several motorbikes from Blackheath to the Oval much to their disgust, they might be quicker on the straights but I always catch up with them at the next set of traffic lights.
Due to storage reasons I decided to have the battery in a Topeak MTX Bag on a rear saddle rack. Frank at Xipi made a box for the battery so that it doesnt move around inside the bag. The ideal solution would have been to have the battery on the downtube but as I said this wasn't good for me. The downside to having the battery in the rear bag is the balance is a little off and it takes a little while to get used to having a heavy weight at the back but you just learn to take it a little easier on bends and slow for corners. The controller is located under the rack under the bag.
The battery is big and is heavy but it also has the range. I have done 16 miles on a full charge and yet there was still more than 25% left. I have not run it flat yet whilst out but suffice to say it is easily capable of completing my 11 mile commute. Charging takes about 2/3 hours (for me) which is not bad at all.
Because the kit is so powerful my bike is constantly kept in a high gear. This is great for when moving as I can pedal to keep up with the motor however not so great for low speed maneuvering. However that said its far easier just to leave the gears alone, the kit has more than enough power to move you from stationary even on an incline (I am 12 stone).
Overall so far I am happy with the kit, it has been reliable (well its only been a month) and has worked admirably in wind and torrential rain. Its not the most stylish of kits (there are wires everywhere), its not the lightest of kits (but it doesn't need to be) but it simply works and it has turned a commute from hell into something quite exhilarating and enjoyable.
Just incase anyone is wondering what all the stuff on my bike is, I have an air horn (£16 amazon, which is absolutely brilliant and i recommend anyone who commutes to get one), a C2B Seen rechargable 1200 lumen light and a case for my Samsung smart phone. I have also had the bike fitted with Dutch Perfect puncture resistant tyres
The silent wing is the fastest of the kits Xipi do with a claimed top speed of 28mph+ and the description is accurate, however I will say that speed isn't everything. I will also state now that I know the kit is not road legal so before anyone mentions it, please don't bother with the legal blah.
OK, first my daily commute from SE London to central London of 11 miles driving my car takes 1 hour 5 mins (on a good day) to 1 hour 30+ on a bad day. This has now been cut to just 35 mins on the bike. I cycled the journey without the kit before I had it fitted and it took 1 hour dead, so that is a significant time saving over standard cycling. The bike will cruise at 27/28mph without pedaling on a flat, however I always pedal to assist the motor (and to burn those calories). With pedaling depending on how frenetic I pedal I can ride at up to 33mph, faster downhill but quite frankly I wouldn't want to go faster than that on a pedal bike. On my return journey there is quite a long steep hill in Greenwich Park, the bike will do 22mph up hill, 24mph with pedaling to assist the motor. It has plenty on grunt and going up hills does not pose a problem for this kit.
30mph on a bike is fast so i have upgraded the brakes to Shimano Deore Hydraulic and they do a good job of stopping it. The throttle also has a 'Regen' button which when pressed acts as another brake, if you're not travelling too fast you can use this to slow the bike. What I like about this kit is that I can comfortably keep up with morning rush hour traffic (when there is a clear stretch of road). In my opinion there is nothing worse than an HGV or bus driver that is impatient sitting behind a slow cyclist who then overtakes leaving little gap, I feel vulnerable and it's dangerous. With this kit I can comfortably keep up with traffic meaning that I can hold a dominant position in the road in front of the buses/HGVs. Pretty much all are happy to sit behind a cyclist doing nearly 30mph without feeling the need to overtake. I have kept up with several motorbikes from Blackheath to the Oval much to their disgust, they might be quicker on the straights but I always catch up with them at the next set of traffic lights.
Due to storage reasons I decided to have the battery in a Topeak MTX Bag on a rear saddle rack. Frank at Xipi made a box for the battery so that it doesnt move around inside the bag. The ideal solution would have been to have the battery on the downtube but as I said this wasn't good for me. The downside to having the battery in the rear bag is the balance is a little off and it takes a little while to get used to having a heavy weight at the back but you just learn to take it a little easier on bends and slow for corners. The controller is located under the rack under the bag.
The battery is big and is heavy but it also has the range. I have done 16 miles on a full charge and yet there was still more than 25% left. I have not run it flat yet whilst out but suffice to say it is easily capable of completing my 11 mile commute. Charging takes about 2/3 hours (for me) which is not bad at all.
Because the kit is so powerful my bike is constantly kept in a high gear. This is great for when moving as I can pedal to keep up with the motor however not so great for low speed maneuvering. However that said its far easier just to leave the gears alone, the kit has more than enough power to move you from stationary even on an incline (I am 12 stone).
Overall so far I am happy with the kit, it has been reliable (well its only been a month) and has worked admirably in wind and torrential rain. Its not the most stylish of kits (there are wires everywhere), its not the lightest of kits (but it doesn't need to be) but it simply works and it has turned a commute from hell into something quite exhilarating and enjoyable.
Just incase anyone is wondering what all the stuff on my bike is, I have an air horn (£16 amazon, which is absolutely brilliant and i recommend anyone who commutes to get one), a C2B Seen rechargable 1200 lumen light and a case for my Samsung smart phone. I have also had the bike fitted with Dutch Perfect puncture resistant tyres
