Rush Trek

[Wooky]

This is my third e-bike in as many months, I should not be so impatient!

I first had a Salisbury which my other half now rides, she's fitter than me, being in Devon and overweight I need more help, so I bought an Alien kit and fitted it to a Landrover Kartago. This is fine and powerful but i bought too big a frame really and it has no suspension and the Bafang is too noisy for me.

Reading through the site more I came across 'Blew-it's thread on what he called the Voyager, you can read more here: http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/3299-voyager.html?highlight=Voyager

I fell in love with the look of the bike and figured it was exactly what I wanted so I rang 720 Cycles and spoke to Simon who was enthusiastic and very helpful and i ordered one, which arrived undamaged and pre-checked within two days.

After my other 2 bikes what a difference this is! I love the Trek, even more so after spending two days modifying it. It climbs the hills with relish, freewheels down my test hill at 40mph (similar to the Salisbury but the Alien struggles to 30 with the gears in the motor screaming). I've lost 2 mph off the top speed compared to the alien on the flat but it's more than compensated by hill climbing giving me overall a complete package. My only wish is that top gear was a bit longer because the granny gear at the other end is perfect. Oh and the ability to regulate speed with the torque sensor rather than a plain pedelec unit is great.

I bought mudguards, a fixed rear light, the same rack as Blew-it used because it is modifiable, I made up brackets for the mudguards, different to Blew-it in that I didn't make each side of the Bike symmetrical. I then cut the rack down so that it was near to the mudguards as the fixing points seem too high to me.The finishing touch for me was to paint the mudguard stays and brackets black to blend them in with the spokes. it took some thought, bending, swearing and luck getting them all to fit but I think it is worth it. Oh and I changed the saddle to one of my own, but I might go back to the supplied one as it's not bad at all.

They do a high speed version now but I needed the hill climbing ability.

At £649 it's a bargain I think, here's some pictures of the bike, the last being as it's delivered (not my photo)

MobileMe Gallery

Lastly big thanks to everyone involved with this forum both administrators and contributors, it really has been and is an invaluable asset.

Terry

 

[flecc]

Glad the bike is so suitable Terry, the modifications have improved it's looks in my opinion. Those "sport" flying mudguards are ugly things, and often not effective either.
.

 

[eddieo]

I liked the look of the 720 bikes but went for Wisper because of the Brilliant back up service. But they do seem very good value...let us know how you get on.

Where is Bob "Blew it" these days! A great contributor and has been very quiet recently.........Probably not awoken from hibernation yet

 

[Wooky]

I liked the look of the 720 bikes but went for Wisper because of the Brilliant back up service. But they do seem very good value...let us know how you get on.

Where is Bob "Blew it" these days! A great contributor and has been very quiet recently.........Probably not awoken from hibernation yet

I had the pleasure of riding a Wisper at my local LBS, very light and responsive after my Alien, I was suitably impressed as I am with their support. I figured there was no way I was paying that much for a bike when my car cost £250!, but looking back, with the money I spent on three bikes I could have bought a Kalkoff or e-motion!

Terry

 

[Wooky]

Glad the bike is so suitable Terry, the modifications have improved it's looks in my opinion. Those "sport" flying mudguards are ugly things, and often not effective either.
.

thanks flecc, I found with the Alien that a high rack with a lot of weight, full panniers (plus in the case of the Alien) a 5Kg battery, the thing was like an upside down pendulum, I did drop it in the Iceland car park!

Terry

 

[Cyclezee]

Terry,

It looks like an excellent bike and good value for money. Some very neat touches for a bike in this price range, cabels through the frame etc.
I see they also do an 'S' version which is also very reasonably priced. I understand they are going to start using LiFePO4 batteries which should increase the sales.

The potential is clearly there to give some of the big names some serious competition.

The same people are also selling the Finnish made Helkama Panasonic powered bikes.

J hn

 

[Cyclezee]

Where Are You Bob?

Where is Bob "Blew it" these days! A great contributor and has been very quiet recently.........Probably not awoken from hibernation yet

I have also been wondering what happened to Bob, he did an excellent write up on the one he bought and has not posted for quite a while now.

J hn

 

[Wooky]

I have also been wondering what happened to Bob, he did an excellent write up on the one he bought and has not posted for quite a while now.

J hn

He only posted in one more thread after the Voyager, you don't like to ask really do you, just in case ....

That was an excellent thread and it was a shame there wasn't more follow ups on it.

t

 

[Cyclezee]

Rush Trek And Helkama Links

For those who haven't seen them here are the links to the bikes 720Cycles are selling:

• RUSH TREK ELECTRIC MOUNTAIN BIKE on eBay (end time 22-Jul-09 09:03:16 BST)
• FAST ELECTRIC BIKE FROM RUSH, "trek S" with speed motor on eBay (end time 22-Jul-09 15:26:51 BST)
• HELKAMA E2800 ELECTRIC BIKE on eBay (end time 06-Jul-09 17:57:22 BST)
• HELKAMA TE2800 ELECTRIC BIKE on eBay (end time 22-Jul-09 09:04:48 BST)

J hn

 

[Wooky]

Terry,

I understand they are going to start using LiFePO4 batteries which should increase the sales.

J hn

I hadn't heard that although they did at one time have that label on the battery packs in their advert which they changed when I pointed it out to them. I hope they're not going to change to them so soon after I just bought one!

Terry.

 

[Cyclezee]

I hadn't heard that although they did at one time have that label on the battery packs in their advert which they changed when I pointed it out to them. I hope they're not going to change to them so soon after I just bought one!

Terry.

Terry,

I think you got a good deal, I understand the LiFePo4 batteries are going to be more expensive than the current Phylion ones used by 720cycles.

J hn

 

[Wooky]

Terry,

I think you got a good deal, I understand the LiFePo4 batteries are going to be more expensive than the current Phylion ones used by 720cycles.

J hn

I thought LiFePo4 batteries were bigger anyway so I wonder if you could actually fit one within the existing space.

Terry

 

[flecc]

I thought LiFePo4 batteries were bigger anyway so I wonder if you could actually fit one within the existing space.

Terry

They do tend to be, so the LiFePO4 one may have smaller cells of lower capacity and therefore a bit less range.
.

 

[Blew it]

I have also been wondering what happened to Bob, he did an excellent write up on the one he bought and has not posted for quite a while now.

J hn

Hi John,

The answer to your question is quite simple, I'm very much alive and well and still living in dreary old Swindon.

As has previously been stated, Members leave the forum for their own reasons, In my case the forum suddenly became a hostile and somewhat unfriendly place. Hence my return to quietly "lurking" in the shadows. Those who subscribe to the Jack-the-lad culture invading every part of our lives will thrive in such an environment.....but it's not for me. I will of course maintain my membership as I very much enjoy viewing the photos of other members projects and acquisitions.

Updates of threads originated by me were stopped for the above reasons. In the case of Voyager, I was "relieved" of ownership of the machine a few weeks ago....It's current location remains unknown.

Happy E-biking to you all
Bob.

 

[flecc]

Sorry to hear of your losing the bike to theft Bob, have you any plans for a replacement?

Also sorry that you felt the forum had become hostile. There have been short periods when that has happened but it usually passes quite quickly and of late I feel it's been very friendly.
.

 

[rog_london]

Sorry to hear of your losing the bike to theft Bob, have you any plans for a replacement?

Also sorry that you felt the forum had become hostile. There have been short periods when that has happened but it usually passes quite quickly and of late I feel it's been very friendly.
.

Well, yes, I can't remember the last time someone took a pop at you, and at one time it was an almost daily occurrence. I've only ruffled one set of feathers so far AFAIK. As usual, I was joking and someone took it seriously. No names, but I think he's a policeman...

I blame the cold weather.... That and the fact that dialogue with no body
language is always a big problem! We're really not geared up to that at all.

Rog.

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi again Bob,
Glad you are OK and sorry to hear about the Voyager. You made a really good job of customising it. Hope you had it insured.

Perhaps a thread entitled 'Anyone Seen This Bike' with some photos might help, it was fairly unique. Can't do any harm and you never know.

J hn

 

[richardmu]

RUSH TREK vs WISPER 905 SPORT

Hi

It was interesting to see the information about the Rush Trek with what appeared to be a similar spec to my recently bought Wisper 905 Sport. What a big difference in price though. I could have bought two of the Trek bikes for what I paid for the Wisper and still had some change!

As a newbie to e-bikes am I missing something or is the Trek the bargain of the year, or have I paid a grossly inflated price for the Wisper?

I would be grateful to hear the comments from the experts on the forum.

Cheers

 

[Wooky]

Hi John,

The answer to your question is quite simple, I'm very much alive and well and still living in dreary old Swindon.

Bob.

Glad to hear you're OK and very sorry to hear you've 'lost' the Trek.

I must thank you for your Photos and descriptions on the Voyager thread they were invaluable in deciding to get a Trek and how to get everything fitted. Was a lot harder than I thought it would be!

Terry

 

[flecc]

As a newbie to e-bikes am I missing something or is the Trek the bargain of the year, or have I paid a grossly inflated price for the Wisper?

I would be grateful to hear the comments from the experts on the forum.

Cheers

A frequent question. The Rush Trek is partly a bargain through being sold
through ebay with the low overheads, partly because the battery is not the size or quality of the Wisper one, and it hasn't had the development the Wisper has had, over 40 improvements in one year alone.

There's the little matter of service too, the Wisper service often being favourably commented on as quite exceptional, and they are sold through dealers who need a profit margin as well to do that.

So the choice is yours, buy from an auction site a low cost bike that's quite newly introduced with no guarantees of future service and a battery with much less range and of lesser quality, or pay the higher amount and get all the benefits that accrue from that.
.