A new Electric Bike - but which one???

[dirk007]

Hello everyone,

Firstly what a great forum this. I have spent a good few hours trawling through the many threads.

I would class myself as a ‘newbie’ in respect of pedelec/e-bikes. I am close to making my first purchase but thought it would be useful to draw upon everyone’s experiences first.

The makes / models I am considering are:

1). Wisper 905e (£849)
2). Ezee Forza (£1395)
3). Ezee Forte (£1345)

I have studied the various specs of each model and to me (someone with limited engineering knowledge) they seem quite similar. From reading previous threads I understand that actually the parts are reasonably different between Wisper and Ezee bikes in terms of quality, thus this is reflected in the prices.

What perplexes me is that when you compare the bikes from a ‘usage’ perspective they appear to be similar, and in some cases the Wisper outperforms the Ezee bikes in some respects….. by this I mean they are lighter, have slightly better range and battery life is very good (I couldn’t actually find battery life stats on 50cycles website).

My instincts tell me from a performance point of view any of the models would suffice, but from an expense viewpoint the 905e makes more sense… I also gather that both companies are equally pleasant to deal with (in terms of customer service/servicing/fixing problems) so that isn't an issue to me.

Can anyone help me make my mind up??

Many thanks in advance

[JohnInStockie]

Hi Dirk

Welcome to the forum.

Those bikes you are looking at are very new to the market, not sure that anyone has ordered one yet. Aside from this forum, the only other place I used to get some insights was the A to B magazine here which I ended up subscribing to, and have personally read every issue cover to cover.

What is your intended usage?

John

[dirk007]

Hello John,

I have also looked at the A to B website... there is plenty of info regarding the Ezee range but virtually nothing concerning the Wisper. Out of interest how long have Ezee/50cycles been in the electric bike market?

With regard to the Wisper bike, is the fact they are a new company something I should factor into my buying decision? If anything I quite like the idea of going against the grain....

My usage will be fairly varied... some commuting (15 miles round trip), weekend rides (average 30 miles at a time)... fairly easy riding dotted with the odd big hill.

Dirk

[electric.mike]

hi dirk
and welcome to the site, when i first joined i had no faith in ezee bikes, but over the last few months that has changed, if the forza is still available next year it stands a very good chance of being chosen as my next bike, subject to extended range possibilities,
(as flecc might say, the powabyke is destined for a project next year)
i am at the same stage at the moment with wisper as i was with ezee to start with,they have done nothing yet to persuade me to deal with them(that may change).if i was to make a internet purchase i would need the sort of confirmation of a companies good intent that i have seen repeated over and over again by 50cycles on this forum,.
that's not to say wisper will not look after you they probably will, but good reputations take time to build and no time to lose.

this is just my perspective on distance purchases of any item, and probably not the same as any other member of this forum.

mike

[dirk007]

Hello mike,

Aside from both companies ‘reputations’ does anyone know how they really compare performance wise. After looking at both websites I have gathered the following stats which are the most important to me.

Wisper: 905e
Weight: 22.6kg
Battery Life: 600-800 charges
Range (assisted): up to 35miles

Ezee Forza/ Forte:
Weight: 26.3kg
Battery Life: 500 charges
Range (assisted): up to 30miles

Once again I have no engineering knowledge, but the 905e does appear to be a better performer. Am I missing something (apart from the £496 if I was to go with the Ezee option)??

Regards

[Ian]

Dirk, range figures are subject to a number of variables and figures quoted by suppliers tend to be optimistic and should not be taken too seriously. Some suppliers quote average figures but most will quote the best case scenario. In reality any bike doing 30 miles on a charge is doing so with a lot of help from the rider (Or gravity!).

Likewise many claims of battery life are optimistic and figures can easily be manipulated be measuring under different conditions. There is no reason why batteries of the same type from different manufacturers should have different lifespans if all other things remain equal. The reality with Lithium batteries is that they require care to stand any chance of approaching the typical quoted 500 cycles life.

[flecc]

It's the technology rather than the supplier which determines battery performance Dirk.

Both eZee and Wisper use the same Lithium-ion manganese type of battery, and the performance will probably be similar.

It's important to compare like with like when assessing bike weight.

The Wisper is without mudguards lights etc, and has less gears, so weight is saved on all of those. It's well suited to shorter riders as it has a compact frame, so may well use less metal in that.

So those things should be born in mind, do you need mudguards and lights, which cost extra on the Wisper, how well does each bike fit you? Do you need a higher quality 8 speed gear system to cope with hills, or the basic quality six speed?

Basically we have two marketing models here, eZee using the one they've used for several years, a complete package, and Wisper, a quite new company using a minimum package model with some of the differences available as extras.
.

[Baboonking]

Hi Dirk

A couple of you might want to think about are.

The ezee has a 22 mph boost button. nominally for off road purposes, as far as i can tell the whispter does not.

Whatthe battery warranty is on either bike. Both claim various cycle lifes. The cycle life claim is pretty meaningless if the warranty period is so short that it would be next to impossible use the bike enough to get that number of cycles. The chemistry both battery's use (lithium manganese)is very new and I have seen not any information on how long it lasts. The best guesses seem to come from comparing it to the much older lithium cobalt chemistry. which is about 3 years calender life and 500 cycles.

[JohnInStockie]

Hi Dirk

Personally I am suspicious of any spplier that makes claims that as yet seem unfounded. Both the Wisper and the Ezee bikes are new to the market, and that means to me that I'll believe what the users of these bikes say over the suppliers any day.

There are a couple of things I am suspicous of:-

Wisper: 905e - The weight - seems soo light, how much will it weigh when you put all the stuff you need to comute on it? Battery Life: 600-800 charges - Hmmm, the technology is yet to be tested that far. Range (assisted): up to 35miles - I bet I could'nt get 35 miles on it!

Ezee Forza/ Forte: Range (assisted): up to 30miles - again not with me on it!

When I see review after review saying Im wrong, then I will believe it. So all I would be left with is reputations from user experience. As yet, Wisper havent really got one because they are so new to the scene, and 50 cycles have a good one. So I would have more faith in the 50 cycles as they dont want to lose the credibility that they have built up.

At the end of the day, they both seem to be good bikes, but personally I would go for the Forza.

By the way, I have a Giant Twist, so I am not biased at all.

Hope this helps

John

[nigel]

Hi dirk
at the moment its a more powerfull bike 36 volt bike which is normally a bit more heavy or a 24 volt leccy bike less power but lighter at the moment thats how things stand in the world of electric bikes as the saying goes caught between the devil and the deep blue sea i THINK NIGEL