Reviewer: Ben
Purchased From: 720 Cycles
Purchase Price: £649
Time Owned: 4 days
Local Terrain: Very Hilly
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Strengths: Never had an electric bike before but this is lovely and quiet...pretty fast on the flat - about 17.5mph. Copes with all of Bristol hills (I weigh 79kg). No idea of the range as I have not gone a long distance yet but only 1 light out after 12 miles (very hilly cycling). It freewheels down hills and the first gear is nice and low.
This was bought for my wife who is very small and light so it's amazing on hills with her on - there's no way I can keep up on my bike and I'm pretty fit!
I took it to work a couple of times this week (5 mile commute) and everybody wanted a go on it....I think there will be a few more orders for 720 cycles!
Simon at 720 has been very helpful sorting out a couple of issues...he is very contactable and responds to all emails quickly - great customer service.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Weaknesses:
Ok a couple of negatives....for £649 I was a little disappointed with the finish in a couple of places...there are no rubber grommits to protect the wiring going into the frame - after a 10 minute cycle the cables were already chafed. This was easily fixed with some self amalgamating tape but really should be sorted at the factory in my opinion.
The pedelec sensor makes a bit of a noise...apparently they all do; it also adds a little resistance to the pedaling which is a shame. However...some PTFE spray has eased this a lot and made it a lot quieter.
The brakes....well I had a bit of a nightmare because my rear rotor is so warped that the pads cannot be adjusted tight enough to get a positive brake. I spent hours trying to true it up as per the instructions to no avail. The front was also warped but with a little patience I have trued that one up and the front brake is ok now. These are very basic and cheap cable operated disc brakes...I think I'm a little spoiled as I have self adjusting hydraulic discs on my MTB and they really are a different league. I would not have minded spending a little more for slightly higher quality brakes.
Having said that....Simon of 720 cycles has been very helpful and a new rotor is on order (I guess from China because it's a non-standard size)
A minor issue is that I also think the highest gear is a little short...as Bristol has some very steep hills you have to pedal a bit too fast to get a decent top speed
Oh...one last thing is that there were a few rattles....this has been resolved by removing the bell and adding some tape to the frame next to the battery to stop it banging around.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary:
Overall I am extremely impressed with this bike....it has exceeded my expectations and really feels amazing to fly up hills past people on road bikes in all their lycra. It is about half the cost of a Wisper that I tried out and seems just as good. I feel that it is a bit of a shame to have to sort out the aforementioned problems but thats a very small moan when you consider I could buy 2 of these for 1 Wisper! The wife is also delighted and we are looking forward to a day trip cycle to Bath next weekend (which she would never consider on a non-electric bike!!
)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall Rating (out of 10) :
9 (would drop more than 1 point for the delivery faults but the price keeps the score up)
Purchased From: 720 Cycles
Purchase Price: £649
Time Owned: 4 days
Local Terrain: Very Hilly
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Strengths: Never had an electric bike before but this is lovely and quiet...pretty fast on the flat - about 17.5mph. Copes with all of Bristol hills (I weigh 79kg). No idea of the range as I have not gone a long distance yet but only 1 light out after 12 miles (very hilly cycling). It freewheels down hills and the first gear is nice and low.
This was bought for my wife who is very small and light so it's amazing on hills with her on - there's no way I can keep up on my bike and I'm pretty fit!
I took it to work a couple of times this week (5 mile commute) and everybody wanted a go on it....I think there will be a few more orders for 720 cycles!
Simon at 720 has been very helpful sorting out a couple of issues...he is very contactable and responds to all emails quickly - great customer service.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Weaknesses:
Ok a couple of negatives....for £649 I was a little disappointed with the finish in a couple of places...there are no rubber grommits to protect the wiring going into the frame - after a 10 minute cycle the cables were already chafed. This was easily fixed with some self amalgamating tape but really should be sorted at the factory in my opinion.
The pedelec sensor makes a bit of a noise...apparently they all do; it also adds a little resistance to the pedaling which is a shame. However...some PTFE spray has eased this a lot and made it a lot quieter.
The brakes....well I had a bit of a nightmare because my rear rotor is so warped that the pads cannot be adjusted tight enough to get a positive brake. I spent hours trying to true it up as per the instructions to no avail. The front was also warped but with a little patience I have trued that one up and the front brake is ok now. These are very basic and cheap cable operated disc brakes...I think I'm a little spoiled as I have self adjusting hydraulic discs on my MTB and they really are a different league. I would not have minded spending a little more for slightly higher quality brakes.
Having said that....Simon of 720 cycles has been very helpful and a new rotor is on order (I guess from China because it's a non-standard size)
A minor issue is that I also think the highest gear is a little short...as Bristol has some very steep hills you have to pedal a bit too fast to get a decent top speed
Oh...one last thing is that there were a few rattles....this has been resolved by removing the bell and adding some tape to the frame next to the battery to stop it banging around.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary:
Overall I am extremely impressed with this bike....it has exceeded my expectations and really feels amazing to fly up hills past people on road bikes in all their lycra. It is about half the cost of a Wisper that I tried out and seems just as good. I feel that it is a bit of a shame to have to sort out the aforementioned problems but thats a very small moan when you consider I could buy 2 of these for 1 Wisper! The wife is also delighted and we are looking forward to a day trip cycle to Bath next weekend (which she would never consider on a non-electric bike!!
)----------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall Rating (out of 10) :
9 (would drop more than 1 point for the delivery faults but the price keeps the score up)
