Couple of ebay bikes - opinions please? :)

[dazzie]

Hi all,

I'm back in the hunt for a pedelec, yay! After perusing ebay for a bit, I've found the following couple of bikes (plus the 720 bike that looks good despite the dearth of information):

Electric touring bike (up to 60 miles per charge)Li-ION on eBay, also, Bikes, Cycling, Sporting Goods (end time 20-Nov-08 13:42:07 GMT)

and

electric bike, Full suspension mountain bike on eBay, also, Bikes, Cycling, Sporting Goods (end time 12-Dec-08 15:15:53 GMT)

1st one looks pretty decent and the second one decidedly budget! I think it's a whirlwind?

Not sure whether to just take the plunge and get a top end bike like a pro connect / cytronex / wisper or get something cheaper to see how I go? In Jan I will hopefully be starting a 12 mile each way commute so wonder whether something as cheap and heavy as the wirlwind would be completely out of the question? Thing is it's VERY cheap and about 3 miles from where I live. Ack!

Thanks for any advice,

Daz

 

[WRAGGY]

Hi Daz
Just had a look at the two bikes
How about one like this i have just got off Ebay,
Wraggy

 

[flecc]

Lots of hype on that first one, 60 miles range? No chance, it looks like the usual Phylion 10Ah battery and probably a Bafang motor, so from 15 miles to 25 miles range likely, depending on rider input, though ok for your journey. The buy now price is ok, but as ever with these ebay bikes, what happens in 18 months to two years when you need a new battery. Will one with that fitment exist any more? Anyone's guess, but probably no.

The second one isn't to my taste, but as it's so close to you, why not try for a trial? Watch out for the battery issue though, and bear in mind it might be at the end of it's life. If it's an SLA, are the three batteries inside it a size that's still available, one type isn't now.
.

 

[Fecn]

The second one looks almost exactly the same as the two I've got up in the classified section at the moment.... for £25 less than that ebay price. The are decidedly budget and rather heavy.. but they are the bikes responsible for be getting into e-biking and later buying an Agattu. I reckon most of the heaviness problem would be solved by replacing the Lead batteries with LiFePo4 ones.

 

[Blew it]

Dazzie

Hi Daz,

The first one's a bit of a mistery.

Could be a Suzhou Bafang Motor, can't really tell
I don't recognize the battery, so again, haven't a clue
It's another new kid on the block, you'd definately be an early adopter with that one.

Second bike: Thats a first generation E-bike. Extremely heavy, tiny lead acid batteries which in reality will give you about 12 miles range. Those batteries are now very difficult to source in the event of replacements being needed. It's what we call a "parts bin" bike. It's cobbled together with all the bits left over from the original production runs many years ago. It's old tech Daz, much better bikes available now.

If you really like the idea of a fast, lightweight lithium powered bike. Have a think about the Wisper 905se. It's a well proven bike backed up by an excellent customer support service. I know it's expensive, but in the long run I'm certain you wouldn't regret spending the extra money, I know, I own one. Don't worry about purchasing a Wisper from MTF enterprises on Ebay, In the unlikely event of a problem, you'll still get the full warranty support of the WEVCO team, headed up by David Miall, who visits this forum regularly.

If you want to go sub £1000, The Synergie Mistral will soon be available again. I really don't think your ready to be an early adopter, go for something which is already well proven.

All the best Daz

Bob

 

[720 Cycles]

Electric mountain bike arriving soon

This bike will be arriving soon. Further details on E Bay


Item number: 170278094935

WINTER SALE NOW £695.00
Notice these are not the usual fare you find on ebay, these are the best bikes we have ridden! A brief summary below of features, main one is these bikes are quality.
CANE CREEK HEADSET
INFRAME WIRING
QUALITY TORQ' SENSOR ASSISTANCE (measures rider effort)
BAFANG BRUSHLESS MOTOR
PHILYION 37V LITHIUM ION BATTERY
KENDA 1.95 TYRES PUNCTURE RES' TUBES
"JAK" SUPER BRAKE QUALITY DISC BRAKES
INTEGRATED 6 LED FRONT LIGHT AND HORN
THROTTLE
THUMB SWITCH ASSISTANCE, ON AND OFF
ZOOM SEAT SPRING
LUGS FOR REAR RACK AND FULL MUDGUARDS
VERY STRONG BUILD QUALITY
GREAT TO RIDE
We have a limited number arriving very soon, and have already sold many to local customers who have ridden our samples, for more info contact either Darren on 07711252627 or 01132394555 West Yorkshire or Simon (Nr Lincoln) Tel: 01777 228610 or 07949 383757.
Bikes will be available to try or buy at both locations by appointment.We are specialists and only sell electric bikes!

BIKE CAN BE PICKED UP FROM EITHER LEEDS OR LINCOLN SAVING £30.00 POSTAGE

 

[Mussels]

Big advert

Someone has already posted a link to your eBay auction, please go easy on the spam.

 

[eddieo]

Someone has already posted a link to your eBay auction, please go easy on the spam.

Yep I concur.....you will soon loose the good will on here if you keep advertising in this way.

Just be a bit more subtle about it like the other companies on here

 

[wibble]

The full suspension bike looks like it'll be very heavy. It'll also be very sluggish to ride up steep hills.

But on a positive note - full suspension is a good thing to have on a ebike if you plan to ride over flat and rough terrain. My hard-tailed Wisper is quite heavy and riding over rough terrain on such a heavy bike can be quite demanding on both the rider and the bike.

 

[wibble]

Someone has already posted a link to your eBay auction, please go easy on the spam.

Hey! That's not fair!.

The original poster complained about a lack of information on the 720 bike. So 720 was just providing that info.

Hardly spam..

 

[flecc]

Hey! That's not fair!.

The original poster complained about a lack of information on the 720 bike. So 720 was just providing that info.

Hardly spam..

Information given against a request is fine, but 720 cycles has been advertising with threads before and it's against forum rules to post trade adverts in the forum. If all the ebike companies were doing this the forum would become unusable for members, so no more ads please 720 cycles. Thank you.
.

 

[dazzie]

Thanks everyone for your comments, they are very much appreciated.

The info 720 provided is exactly what is in the ebay advert so didn't really help much The fact that the bike doesn't even have a name puts me off, let alone the lack of info on range, speed, weight, warranty etc. Tsk. Fingers crossed you can give a us a glowing review once you've got your hands on one, Bob! God bless you early adopters

At the moment I have to say I'm still leaning towards a Pro Connect, a cytronex or a wisper (though the poor wheels and brakes etc. of the wisper are putting me off).

Daz

 

[RedSkywalker]

I'm sitting quietly on the sidelines, once again benefiting from the free knowledge available here - must admit when I first saw that second bike at £200 I nearly bought it! even though I have a perfectly good Salisbury SLX [I was toying with the idea of keeping the £200 bike and selling my SLX - good job I thought twice.

Having said that it still looks like a good intro bike so could you uprate the battery to reduce weight and improve performance.

[and if you read this flecc, looks like you were right about the cadence thing ]

 

[eddieo]

Thanks everyone for your comments, they are very much appreciated.

The info 720 provided is exactly what is in the ebay advert so didn't really help much The fact that the bike doesn't even have a name puts me off, let alone the lack of info on range, speed, weight, warranty etc. Tsk. Fingers crossed you can give a us a glowing review once you've got your hands on one, Bob! God bless you early adopters

At the moment I have to say I'm still leaning towards a Pro Connect, a cytronex or a wisper (though the poor wheels and brakes etc. of the wisper are putting me off).

Daz

I know what you mean re the 720 bike, my request as to weight and battery amp's was ignored. maybe they just don't know yet

I would say the Kakhoff and the Agutta model in particular is a good choice if not bothered re throttle. But wisper seem to go the extra 9 yards with support for their product which must give owners confidence in the bikes...i doubt that many others can be relied upon to be as supportive.

 

[Phil the drill]

the poor wheels and brakes etc. of the wisper are putting me off.

Daz

Hi Daz,

I wouldn't let that worry you too much. I've done over 1500 miles on my Wisper since I bought it at the end of April, over some very steep, extremely rough, potholed lanes and I don't regret it. I was one of the original complainers about the brakes, but I'm fussy about that (I've got some history here...) they aren't that bad. They are also easy to fix - a good set of Jagwire ripcord or Goodridge brake housing and cables will dramatically improve them - an easy, cheap fix. That said, I spoke to David at the Cycle show and he is well aware of the problem he says the latest models have addressed this - so it seems this may no longer be an issue.
I don't know of any problem with the wheels. I have seen one thread on here with one specific user who had problems with a secondhand Wisper, but I believe that Wisper are sorting that out for him. Wisper have a very good reputation for customer service, which I'm glad to say I haven't really needed, but they very approachable for enquiries and others have found their customer service very good.
I've extensively customised my Wisper, but not really because there was anything wrong with it - just because I can't help it, that's what I do ! I'd probably do the same with a Flyer.....
Obviously try them all if you can and go with what suits you best, but don't let those "issues" put you off the Wisper, it's a cracking bike!

Cheers, Phil

 

[wibble]

Just to add to what Phil said:

I've had no problems at all with the wheels on my Wisper. But yeah, the brakes were a bit crap. But still, I've still not seen another bike that I want to replace my Wisper with.

 

[Simon Hopkinson]

Regarding the new bike from 720.

I know what you mean re the 720 bike, my request as to weight and battery amp's was ignored. maybe they just don't know yet

I would say the Kakhoff and the Agutta model in particular is a good choice if not bothered re throttle. But wisper seem to go the extra 9 yards with support for their product which must give owners confidence in the bikes...i doubt that many others can be relied upon to be as supportive.

Hi,
sorry i don't come on the site very often, i have just seen- last on 18 August.
The new bike weighs 25.5 kg, the battery is the well tried Phylion 37 volt 10 amp weighing 4.8 kg.
I do not use factory figures to give range, but use our own as tested figures, even these will vary due to rider, terrain and even bike to bike, but a couple of weeks ago i did 31 miles on one of our test bikes only stopped due to rider being old and knackered! when i have time i will fit a set of full road tyres (skinnies) and try again.
Just to mention some nice features which i like on the bikes and not always found on even more expensive bikes are :- inframe wiring, punture resistant tubes, 6 led front light, horn, 180mm front, 160mm rear disc brakes, frame lugs for rear rack all standard. The bike feels solid and strong with a more care attitude than the usual fare from our friends in China, thats why we chose this bike.

Regards
Simon

 

[720 Cycles]

Advertising

Sorry about the advertising of our new bike but I have tried to contact someone on numerous occasions regarding a banner add on your site but as yet had no reply

If you can contact me on my email address and will forward my mobile number on return

Darren

darrenhicks@me.com

 

[flecc]

Thanks Darren. I've passed this post of yours to the site administrator RSScott for him to contact you.
.

 

[Bigbee]

I hate ebay

Sorry,I hate ebay,anyone can be a dealer of any thing in minutes."Oh thats a good idea,I'll bring over a container of wyz,dont worry about service and sales support,I'll sell as much as I can and disapear"

Ebay has seriously effected my business which isnt bikes btw.We get constant calls of people asking for spares for their three legged donkey or long tailed Manx cat( for example )from people who had picked up a " bargain " from ebay.If you can risk £600 you're far wealthier than me.£150 more gets you a new X bike for example,with 10 years experience of back up service.

enter it at your peril,my wife loves it though,theres loads( apparently) of normally very expenisve original hand bags on there for bargain prices! Its ok theyve got genuine labels and stuff She'll move on to shoes next.