My Wife's Technium Priviledge

[Cyclezee]

My Wife's Technium Privilege

I bought one for my wife as my Kalkhoff Agattu wave frame has a medium size frame, whereas the small frame Technium suits her perfectly.

In my opinion it is a bargain with only minor differences between it and an Agattu. The saddle, lights, handlebars, rear carrier and front forks are different and probably slightly cheaper, but everything else is identical to the Agattu.

This has to be the best value Panasonic crank motor bike on the market and I would highly recommend it Well done Wiggle

If big players like Wiggle move into the Pedelec market, I wonder if we will see more excellent value e-bikes and in turn a lot more people buying them?

J hn

 

[flecc]

If big players like Wiggle move into the Pedelec market, I wonder if we will see more excellent value e-bikes and in turn a lot more people buying them?

J hn

Definitely. With the market growing faster now and more competition, I'm sure we will see further examples. If anything Halfords led the way a year or so ago with the Carrera Sparc at less than the price of the Sparc kit alone, nothing like as good a bike though.

The downside as ever is lack of support from direct selling at very low prices. It's one thing to buy a new car online at very low cut prices, given the huge coverage of garages capable of maintaining it. It's quite another with e-bikes where outlets capable of service are rarer than hens teeth.
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[tangent]

It's a Privilege by the way, without the "d". Great bike, stupid name.

I like mine much more now I have fitted the 11T motor sprocket.

 

[thunderblue]

Matilda

I agree - this is a great bike and at a fantastic price. Having never ridden a Kalkhoff I can't compare, but I love this bike. I have dressed her up today with a lovely little wicker basket and a retro round mirror - even saw an old-fashioned curly horn, but didn't give in to temptation. I think I will call her Matilda.

 

[thingaby]

My wife insists on calling mine 'The Wiggle' (because there is a Wiggle transfer on it). She won't accept correction so I'll have to give in to the inevitable and call it Jimmy.

 

[Cyclezee]

Something I have noticed about the battery on the Technium is that, according to the serial number, it is older than one which was supplied to me by 50cycles back in December.

This would suggest that they have been on the shelf for quite a while.

Could this be a problem? Probably not as the Panasonic batteries go in to hibernation mode when not used for more than a couple of weeks, so deterioration due to aging should not be a problem.

That should mean that the Technium batteries will be as good as one manufactured last week.

J hn

 

[Cyclezee]

It would seem this person is not having much sucess selling Technium pedelecs Technium Privilege Pedelec Electric Bike RRP £2,295 on eBay (end time 17-Jun-10 21:12:32 BST)

Still 15 left, I wonder why they are not flying off the shelf

J hn

 

[tillson]

Certainly a good bike at a very nice price. The battery still remains the real killer for ebikes though. We have the silly situation here where a new battery will cost 50% of the purchase price of the bike. That can't be right.

Let's hope that competition will see battery bargains of a similar magnitude to this Technium offering from Wiggle in the not too distant future.

 

[sopht]

Technium or Alien?

Wasn't sure whether to start a new thread, but I'll jump into this if I may, Aldby? I've been lurking here for ages - can't quite bring myself to buy an e bike I don't like, and I can't afford what I would really like - a pro connect or emotion sport etc. i don't have the time to build and buy a kit on the cheap...so...!

Recently, a couple have caught my eye - the Synergie Bliss, and this Technium Privilege (thanks for the heads up) - £300 the difference. In some ways they both look tempting. I have limited real experience, having tried the Torq (loved), Mistral (hated), and the Sparta Ion (affection), so I'd love anybodys' comparison of the two set ups, particularly:

1. weight, posted as 24kg for the Bliss, 21kg Technium - make much difference?
2. battery, 36V 10Ah for the Bliss, 24v 10Ah Technium - this puzzles me, the bigger Bliss one gives a range of 25 - 30 miles, the Technium up to 50? I know these ranges are very ish, but how does this compute?
3. well, crank or hub, I'll have to try myself I think, rather than bore you any more!

cheers, soph

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi Soph,

I have no experience of Synergie bikes, so I don't feel qualified to comment on them.
You do seem to know what you like and from what you say sporty Panasonic powered bikes seem to be what you aspire to.
In no way shape or form could the Technium be described as sporty, but it does have the same motor and battery as a Pro Connect or Emotion Sport and with changes to the gearing it could come fairly close to the performance of the aforementioned bikes, or put it another way, a wolf in sheeps clothing for a fraction of the price

J hn

 

[Cyclezee]

Having ridden the Technium for only a few miles, it reminded me of my very first e-bike, a Giant LaFree, and the joy I felt riding that bike came back to me. Just cruising along with no speedo or throttle in a very relaxed and comfortable manner smiling to myself

There was also the ressurance that I was riding a tried, tested and reliable bike, a great improvement over the LaFree at a price less than a new one cost several years ago

Peace and love everybody

J hn

 

[lemmy]

Certainly a good bike at a very nice price..

I must be missing something - this bike on eBay with 7 speed hub is £700 odd more than the effectively same Agattu -with 8 speed - at 50Cycles.

If I'm not missing anything, why would anyone buy this

 

[Cyclezee]

I must be missing something - this bike on eBay with 7 speed hub is £700 odd more than the effectively same Agattu -with 8 speed - at 50Cycles.

If I'm not missing anything, why would anyone buy this

I don't think anyone in their right mind would Lemmy. I would imagine the seller doesn't have any stock, just waiting for some poor, or rather rich, unfortuante to buy one and then place an order with Wiggle so that the can eBay seller can supply one.

I ahve been tempted to make a 'Best Offer' under the Wiggle price just for fun

Anyone else game for a laugh

J hn

 

[flecc]

If I'm not missing anything, why would anyone buy this

In case you didn't see the other thread, Wiggle are selling them at only £897.50, way below the Agattu list.

Like John, I assume that e-bay seller is chancing his arm, hoping someone will bid above the Wiggle price having only seen the Agattu price, enabling then to collect a profit for having or doing nothing.
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[HarryB]

I must be missing something - this bike on eBay with 7 speed hub is £700 odd more than the effectively same Agattu -with 8 speed - at 50Cycles.

If I'm not missing anything, why would anyone buy this

We are talking about this bike Technium Privilege Pedelec Electric Town Bike Only £897.50 and has been the subject of a few threads as it is such good value for money. The downside is that it is old stock that they are trying to get rid of - probably 2009 models. The batteries will have slightly degraded being li-ions though this won't be too bad if they were kept in a cool warehouse.

I don't know what the ebay seller is thinking at that price but anyway his feedback has enough dodgy entries to put most people off.

ps crossed with Flecc's post obviously

 

[thunderblue]

Hi Soph

If you live near anybody with the agattu or technium privilege, it might be worth giving it a try. I have just bought a technium and I love it. It isn't sporty, but it is really nippy and fast. It reminds me of a big Dutch Batavus bike I hired once in Amsterdam -big, solid, safe and more than capable. My daughter says it reminds her of the pedal bike equivalent of a Harley Davidson! Previously I had an alien bike, with a throttle and I loved that too, but this one surpasses that, but I guess you get what you pay for. My non-electric bike is a Dahon Cadenza with an Alfine 8 speed hub, and again I love that bike, but the Technium surpasses that as well.

Elaine

 

[thunderblue]

Don't know what happened here - I was replying to a different thread.

Hi Soph

If you live near anybody with the agattu or technium privilege, it might be worth giving it a try. I have just bought a technium and I love it. It isn't sporty, but it is really nippy and fast. It reminds me of a big Dutch Batavus bike I hired once in Amsterdam -big, solid, safe and more than capable. My daughter says it reminds her of the pedal bike equivalent of a Harley Davidson! Previously I had an alien bike, with a throttle and I loved that too, but this one surpasses that, but I guess you get what you pay for. My non-electric bike is a Dahon Cadenza with an Alfine 8 speed hub, and again I love that bike, but the Technium surpasses that as well.

Elaine

 

[sopht]

Thanks John, the normal bikes I've had tend not to have the more upright stance, so I don't know whether that'll suit me or not, but otherwise both tempt me.

I know you've had a few bikes to compare (didn't you have a Cytronex Trek fairly recently?) - have you formed an opinion whether battery watt hours give the closest idea of range that'll be obtainable, or whether the combination of other factors (quality of battery, weight of bike, set up of motor etc) are the most important?

Soph

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi again Soph,

I guess that you are looking for a more sporting style of bike than a stepthru frame, but please don't rule out a Technium. I did have a Cytronex Trek for a while, but formed the opinion that the bike was great, nicely put together and very stealthy, but the power from the small motor and battery was not worth the money.
As has been said before, the Cytronex is for people who dont need an electric bike.

The Panasonic system is different from any hub powered bike and is counter intuative until you get used to it. That is the more effeort you put into pedaling the less assistance you get from the motor and vice versa.

The high range possible from these bikes is because the torque sensor and controller only delivering power when it is really needed thereby not wasting battery power.

I would recommend that you test ride as many bikes as possible and/or contact members who live close to you and ask if you can have a trial ride.

J hn

 

[sopht]

Hi Soph
It reminds me of a big Dutch Batavus bike I hired once in Amsterdam -big, solid, safe and more than capable.

Elaine

Hi Elaine, your enthusiasm is catching! I'm seriously considering... Does it seem heavy to you? (see my post to Aldby). Whether I can justify the cost at the moment is another matter, but sometimes you just have to think, life is short!

all the best, Soph