Cyclotricity Sahara or Woosh Santana CDL?

[Jefner]

Hi. Due to long term health problems I need to swap my much loved conventional bike for an electric model which will be mainly used for short and frequent trips (e.g. 6 miles) around a hilly town and the occasional longer day trip. Low maintenance would be a bonus. I feel really stuck between these 2 models and I won't be able to try either bike before purchasing as there are no dealers anywhere near me who stock them (I'm in Fife, Scotland) so I am really buying blind.

I like Cyclotricity as it is made in UK and it's light at 21kg: http://cyclotricity.com/sahara-electric-bike/ I like the Santana model for the crank drive (which I understand is better for hills and heavy loads - I weigh 60kg but will use the bike frequently for carrying heaving food shopping) and front suspension: http://www.wooshbikes.co.uk/?santana-cdl
I have been told Cyclotricity's components tend to be cheap, but how do the compare with Woosh components?

I really can't spend more than £780 tops. Perhaps I would be better off converting my current bike (a hybrid Trek?). Any thoughts, opinions or advice would be appreciated

 

[Benjahmin]

Hi Jefner, welcome to the forum.
I can't speak for either specific bike, however my wife does have a Woosh Big Bear LS. So this is hub drive rather than crank drive on the Santana. However the frame looks just about the same. This is very definitely a Dutch style upright riding position, the weight sits over your bum. The spec doesn't say, but it looks like it has a suspension seat post, and with that seating position it's a good idea. At the price of Woosh bikes the gears, brakes etc. aren't the best. However the only dodgy thing I've found on the BB are the brake cables (the outers are a bit 'collapsible'), but they are easily replaced. The suspension forks work well enough, again not the best but would be OK for the mileages you specify. I note that the battery on the Santans is much bigger. Could be a consideration as the battery ages and range diminishes.

As to Woosh themselves, they are very helpful and have many good after purchase/ service write ups on the forum. The bike arrives in a crate and requires only minimal assembly. Ours was great straight out of the box.

If you like your current bike conversion is a real possibility within your budget. This is what I did to my hybrid. Mines a front hub drive and conversion can be done easily in half a day. I understand that bottom bracket conversions can be as easy. If you look at the thread, Converting a Carrera Crossfire 3 , then you will see pictures of my hybrid conversion.
Conversion does have the advantage that, if anything does go amiss, you are more conversant with the whole system.
Welcome to e-biking and Happy choosing.

 

[trex]

it's easy and cheap to convert your hybride Trek with a GSM kit.

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?cdkit#gsmkit

 

[ajh2001]

I tried the Cyclotricity Sahara and the Woosh bikes recently.

The Cyclotricity was lighter and fairly powerful but I personally didn't like the thumb throttle - probably because I hired a twist throttle bike for a few days and have got used to that and I also found it to be quite noisy.

The Woosh CD was quiet, v powerful and has a twist throttle so I was much happier!! I am only 5'6" so have gone for the CD. I tried the Big Bear and the 20" frame felt a bit too big for me. If you are taller I would imagine the CDL would be fine. The riding position felt slightly more comfortable on the Santana too, but we did spend a bit more time altering the seat etc than we did on the Sahara. I also preferred the 5 levels of assistance on the Woosh and as we are planning some longer trips preferred the higher battery power on it too.

I am sure we spent less time deciding on our last family car than I have on this ebike purchase! Good luck with finding your ideal bike!