E-bike

[Gaz]

I've been 'umming and arr'ing for far too long and have finally gone for it.  Wasn't prepared to spend any money on my Claude Butler hybrid, so I'm retiring it.  I've tried several different types of e-bike, and until today the first in the running was a Wisper 905 Torque.  Until today.

 

I'm now the chuffed and very happy owner of a Whyte Coniston e-bike, with the Shimano STEPS drive system:

 

 

Looking forward to when it stops tipping down so I can go out for a decent ride on it.

 

Gaz

[JohnMcL7]

My Mum was hiring an e-bike through a local council sponsored scheme last year, something like £10 for 24 hours so perfect for us to go out a ride then she could go get some shopping or see a friend.  This year though they didn't renew the scheme and spent many months without luck trying to find an alternative, eventually she got signed up to a scheme where she got an ebike free for a month as long as she logged all the miles she took on the bike that she would have done by car.  That went really well so after a good spot of bargain hunting I managed to find the same bike in 2016 spec for £500 off which is similar to the one you've got there, slightly more hybrid orientated but crank power drive and a little bit of suspension at the front.  I'd seen a second hand Wisper but I wasn't sure about her with the front hub drive particularly when she'd cycled and liked the crank drive which makes sense to me as you ride it like a normal bike but you get a little help along the way.

 

I'm really pleased she got the bike as I enjoyed the one she had for hire, she always refused to come out cycling with me even though I told her I'd go at whatever speed she was comfortable with but with the ebike she still gets a good bit of exercise but we can go further and faster plus I don't need to worry about choosing routes with hills because the ebike handles them with ease.  Me not so much but on the plus side I beat most of my PR's trying to keep up with the ebike on the hills.

 

I hope you have a lot of fun with that bike

 

John

[Gaz]

I hope you have a lot of fun with that bike

 

Cheers John.

 

I know it's cheating, but I can honestly say that I am - very much indeed.  I actually wish I'd bought one years ago.  Really comes into its own when cycling into a headwind - you know the grotty ones  that suck all your morale and energy.  It's almost like the wind isn't there as I can still cycle into it at 15+mph.

 

Thinking of by-passing the speed sensor already, as it's a bit odd when it cuts out at 15.5mph and I'd rather get more of a hoof on.

 

Gaz

[JohnMcL7]

I don't see it as cheating as you're still out pedalling the bike it's just you can go further, faster and higher for the same effort and in turn means you're more likely to go out riding again.  I think you will improve your fitness and the ebike has the advantage you can adjust the power so if you're feeling fitter you can drop the power assist to work you a bit harder.  

 

John

[DanHarper]

I don't see it as cheating as you're still out pedalling the bike it's just you can go further, faster and higher for the same effort and in turn means you're more likely to go out riding again.  I think you will improve your fitness and the ebike has the advantage you can adjust the power so if you're feeling fitter you can drop the power assist to work you a bit harder.  

 

John

 

I've been using my eBike for commutes for 6months, managed 1300miles which is around 2/3 my commute mileage for the period. I often need to go to site so on those days I need the car. My ride profile means I'm climbing 2000ft a day on the round trip. I still arrive with a sweat on but my legs don't give way from under me when I finish the ride and I'm averaging a very sensible 16-18mph. I complete the journey slightly quicker then I would in the car due to traffic.

 

Very much recommend an eBike especially for someone who isn't very fit but wants to get in to bike commuting (I went straight from 0 bike miles to 60-80 a week commute miles), for that type of essential journey you don't mind 'cheating'. I wouldn't go out on it for a pleasure ride though, I'll be getting a full on roadie next year for some longer pleasure rides

 

I went down the DIY route as I already had a good ridged MTB, and bolted a bafang motor kit and 36v battery to it. As I started off with a light frame, decent wheels etc the whole setup comes in quite a bit lighter than a budget off the shelf eBike which can be very heavy indeed.

[Gaz]

It's very true that it gets me out on the bike more.  Lots more.  I've cycled every day bar one since I got it and my four mile commute to work is much quicker by bike, even considering the two roads it's difficult to cross which add minutes to each journey.

 

I've now got over the novelty of having it set on high all the time.  Have it on high when setting off, drop it to low, and then eco.  I've tried turning it off completely, but then it feels like you're dragging something, so eco's as low as is sensible to go.

 

It's great fun bombing up hills without running out of steam 

 

Gaz

[pikpilot]

Just found this topic so thought I would give my experience.

I sold my high performance bike nearly five years ago and bought a pedelec. It is a Raleigh Velo Cite with a hub gear, front wheel motor, suspension on front and seat. The torque in the chain is sensed and a multiplier of this is provided by the front wheel running in torque mode rather than speed mode. There are three choices of torque multiplier.

 It is brilliant. You just ride it like any other bike and the power is applied in less than half a turn of the crank when starting off. Range is 30-40 miles, including the long steep hill on which I live.

 

I have done over 4300 miles and recently had my first failure. I thought it was the battery but in fact it was a failed MOSFET on the BMS in the battery pack. While it was apart I had the cells replaced with the latest type so now I have 70% more capacity!

 

In the last six years the biggest change I have seen is that electrically assisted bikes have gone from rare to almost acceptance. The public still don't understand the difference between pedelecs and mopeds so think you can't get exercise on an electric bike.

Edited 25 January, 2017 by pikpilot
Typo

[GeoffH]

I hadn't ridden a bike for about 45 years until a friend talked about his e-bike.

I have no kneecap on one side and the other knee is very rough due to over-compensating for the one without kneecap.

I thought long and hard about an e-bike and decided it was worth trying out as I was recovering form surgery and was feeling very unfit..... I had a demo (you can tell I am ex motor trade!) on a KTM e-bike with a Bosch Performance motor, which can triple the effort put in, and ten gears..... I couldn't believe it. My wife saw the look on my face when I returned to the showroom and without me saying anything, turned to the salesman and said "he wants it if you can do a decent deal!"

The weather hasn't been kind since I got it, with snow and ice as well as tons of rock salt, so I've only ridden about 50 miles but loved every minute of it.

My mistake was buying a bike in the winter but I save the £500 increase and got a great discount! One or two have suggested a e-bike is cheating but perhaps don't realise you can drop the power down to zero as you get fit.

Edited 15 February, 2017 by GeoffH

[pikpilot]

Great that you have found the benefits of e-biking. I assume yours is a pedelec and not a throttle type. I turn my assist off  when I need to extend the range but my normal cycling is at the minimum assist level anyway unless I encounter a hill. I do always need to leave something in the battery as I live on the top of a hill and would otherwise have to push the bike up the hill from every direction otherwise.

I still get a bit of stick about cheating so I tell them to go try a pedelec and see for themselves how much exercise you can get.

[GeoffH]

On 15/02/2017 at 17:08, pikpilot said:

Great that you have found the benefits of e-biking. I assume yours is a pedelec and not a throttle type. I turn my assist off  when I need to extend the range but my normal cycling is at the minimum assist level anyway unless I encounter a hill. I do always need to leave something in the battery as I live on the top of a hill and would otherwise have to push the bike up the hill from every direction otherwise.

I still get a bit of stick about cheating so I tell them to go try a pedelec and see for themselves how much exercise you can get.

 

Yes, mine is a Pedelec and I try to keep the assistance as low as possible. Mine has what is referred to as a "comfort crossbar" which is definitely more comfortable when I stop and put both feet on the ground! It also means if my knees are playing up, I don't have to mount and dismount by having to swing my leg over the saddle. 

I so wish I had found a bike like this about 10 years ago.

The shock was the insurance..... approx £175..... however I'm covered if I hit a car or pedestrian..... I even get "recovery" if I get a puncture!!

[Rooted]

Nice bike. I see you have a Dropper post.

I ride with an above knee artificial leg and need a high seat which makes getting on and off interesting, but i now have a bike with a 'Dropper Seat Post',

it really is good i just drop the post before coming to a stop, dismount, then get on set off and stand on the pedal and let the seat up.

Best thing i have had on a bike ever really.

Edited 16 February, 2017 by Offski

[pikpilot]

50 minutes ago, GeoffH said:

 

The shock was the insurance..... approx £175..... however I'm covered if I hit a car or pedestrian..... I even get "recovery" if I get a puncture!!

 

I went a different route on insurance. I joined Cycling UK (until recently called the CTC) which for £28.50 gets me a number of benefits including insurance discounts. I added my bike to my home contents insurance for hardly anything extra. 

 

Cycling UK also have legal help and especially for personal injury claims in conjunction with a well known law firm.

 

I had need of this service in 2014 when I was struck by a car in a residential area. The process was simple and I got all my claim settled promptly and in full, including the claim for injury. [I was riding round a sharp LEFT hand corner when a car cut the corner and went straight into me, breaking bones in my hand where tha A pillar hit it, before sending me flying. The right hand pedal crank of my bike was bent back by the car's wheel arch, plus other damage. It is believed the woman driver had turned around to talk to her adult disabled son in the back and swung the steering wheel as she suddenly realised she may not make the bend.] Well worth the membership fee, just in case. I never expected to make a claim. Incidentally, I always wear a helmet and if I had not my injuries would have been much worse. The back of my head hit the edge of the kerb when I landed. Don't let this tale put you off - this was a rare accident.

 

I have had a few punctures in the past but I now use puncture resistant tyres and so far the only puncture was a thorn in the sidewall. My wife collected me in the Octavia Estate together with the spanner for taking out the front wheel so the bike would fit (I think my bike is longer than yours).

[Dr Zoidberg]

If I get a new job with a cyclable commute I'd love an ebike so I'm motivated to do more than a couple of days a week. 

[GeoffH]

9 hours ago, Offski said:

Nice bike. I see you have a Dropper post.

 

In fact it's a suspension type seatpost. I think your post about the benefits of a dropper seatpost explain things very well and I'll think about getting one.

i got the suspension type seatpost as I have tailbone damage due to an accident and hoped it would help... it does a bit but probably a better saddle would help. 

[GeoffH]

8 hours ago, pikpilot said:

 

I went a different route on insurance. I joined Cycling UK (until recently called the CTC) which for £28.50 gets me a number of benefits including insurance discounts. I added my bike to my home contents insurance for hardly anything extra. 

 

Cycling UK also have legal help and especially for personal injury claims in conjunction with a well known law firm.

 

Thanks for the above information. I will look into it when my insurance is coming up. To be honest I'd never use my company's recovery as SWMBO can come to my rescue in my Yeti with the towbar mounted rack.

[malcster]

On 19/11/2016 at 14:33, V6TDI said:

I've been 'umming and arr'ing for far too long and have finally gone for it.  Wasn't prepared to spend any money on my Claude Butler hybrid, so I'm retiring it.  I've tried several different types of e-bike, and until today the first in the running was a Wisper 905 Torque.  Until today.

 

 

So didn't you like the wisper 905 torque been looking at one and hopefully test riding one on Thursday 

 

Sorry for reviving an old thread 

Edited 17 April, 2017 by malcster

[Gaz]

On 4/17/2017 at 16:55, malcster said:

So didn't you like the wisper 905 torque been looking at one and hopefully test riding one on Thursday 

 

No, to the contrary Malc, I really liked the 905 Torque, which is a very well put together package.  It would have been the bike I'd bought, had I not happened across the Whyte Coniston on eBay.

 

The 905 was a surprise for me as I didn't expect to like it.  I thought I'd like the rather more expensive Haibike's that I tried, but I didn't like them to ride at all.  Probably down to the fact I wasn't looking for MTB as my riding's now on road, cycle path and prepared surfaces.

 

It just goes to show how important it is to try as many bikes as you can. And to not get caught out by thinking one might not be for you - until you've ridden it.

 

I'm hooked, and am thinking about upgrading already.  I really like the R&M Nuvinci Charger HS and they're on offer at the mo'.  Haven't tried one yet, so I might hate it, but I sense a trip up to Amps in Sevenoaks looming 

 

Gaz

[malcster]

That's good to know i was on pedelec forum and David the owner of wisper was on there seemed like a nice guy not pushing me towards his bike but said to test a few 

 

Woosh bikes owner was on there and he was pretty much slagging the other brands off (which I thought was a bit unprofessional) 

 

Like i say I'll be test riding one Thursday 

[Gaz]

Aha, just realised who you are over there (Pedelecs)!!

 

They're all vying for your custom, so you can't really blame them for shameless self promotion.  Both David and Woosh seem to have good reputations for after sales support.

 

Have a good test ride.  Take a payment card with you, resistance is futile   Get ready with practising the e-bike cheesy grin!

 

Gaz 

 

PS: You've seen David's got an unused 2016 905 on his clearance list?:

https://wisperbikes.com/e-bikes/clearance-bikes/

Edited 18 April, 2017 by V6TDI

[malcster]

1 hour ago, V6TDI said:

 

 

PS: You've seen David's got an unused 2016 905 on his clearance list?:

https://wisperbikes.com/e-bikes/clearance-bikes/

Hmm that's interesting 

According to the question i asked David the rear rack is different and a few other bits 

Could be quite a saving if Thursday pans out 

[malcster]

So I pulled the trigger on the 905 a few weeks ago 

Must say I'm loving it so far doing my best to to keep it above 15.5 mph to save the battery 

 

Fitted the panniers today and trailer hitch 

 

[JohnMcL7]

On 2017-4-18 at 19:20, malcster said:

That's good to know i was on pedelec forum and David the owner of wisper was on there seemed like a nice guy not pushing me towards his bike but said to test a few 

 

Woosh bikes owner was on there and he was pretty much slagging the other brands off (which I thought was a bit unprofessional) 

 

Like i say I'll be test riding one Thursday 

 

I was disappointed with the forum for that reason, I don't mind company representatives on forums as often they can offer useful information without being pushy.  However after asking a question on that forum I got pretty much no useful replies and instead received replies (and PM's) trying to persuade me to go with their preferred bike which I'd made clear I was not interested in.

 

On 2017-5-20 at 19:50, malcster said:

So I pulled the trigger on the 905 a few weeks ago 

Must say I'm loving it so far doing my best to to keep it above 15.5 mph to save the battery 

 

Fitted the panniers today and trailer hitch 

 

 

Do you find that works better rather than just dialling down the power?  I'm thinking it'll be quite hard work pedalling without any motor assist particularly given you're lugging the weight of the battery and motor as well.  

 

John

[malcster]

Well that's pretty much about it 

 

It has 5 levels of assist 

 

Currently crusing round on level 2 and you do feel the drop off at 15mph it feels like riding with flat tyres sometimes after a hard day at work 

 

Damn thing weighs 24kg 

 

 

 

[pikpilot]

On 20 May 2017 at 19:50, malcster said:

 

Must say I'm loving it so far doing my best to to keep it above 15.5 mph to save the battery 

 

 

 

To extend range when on a long trip I am trying a different method. I increase the cadence and reduce the force on the pedal.

Since power is torque times speed, for a given power you can either use a higher gear and turn the pedals slowly with high pedal force or use high cadence and lower pedal force. BUT, on an ebike, the assistance by the motor is a multiplier of pedal torque, more pedal force equal more battery use. 

Only been doing this for a few weeks and it seems to add range but you tend to ride slower due to less assistance so there is some offset as you will be using the battery for longer. The trick is to try to maintain normal road speed but as all know, on an ebike we tend to use the motor to ride faster because we can!

 

[malcster]

But with mine being a torque it registers the force on the pedals as well as the pedal actually moving and puts the corresponding assistance in 

 

Apart from the occasional incline I am finding it good going keeping above assistance speed 

Max range I have dared achieve is 50 miles