New bike

[pinnaboy]

Hi

I'm not new to ebikes having had four - two folders, two full size, two second-hand, two brand new. But now I'm newly retired I'm getting back into ebiking more seriously and think I need/want to replace my ten year old Oxygen e-Mate City, (battery not charging well and leaking front forks).

The Oxygen has been great for my needs (mainly light off-roading and commuting) except the rear hub motor makes a really loud and quite embarrassing woo-woo noise under load, worse on power levels 2 and 3, ok on level 5 (max). Ok if you're riding alone but not if you're riding with others. (My other favourite bike was a hub drive Wisper 806 folder which didn't have the same problem).

So I'd appreciate opinions on - which hub drives are quietest, do the crank drives make much noise - and is it worth spending the extra £1000 or so on a Cube or Moustache over say a Wisper, Oxygen or Volt?

I will be really grateful for people's views.

 

[Benjahmin]

The problem with the brands that you mention is that you are locked into proprietry systems, a bit like apple. With Bosch even dealers are not capable of motor repairs and have to send the whole motor back to Bosch, leaving you without a bike for the duration.
Have a look at Woosh bikes. These are assembled using generic parts so all are available to you. They have a good reputation for customer service on this forum.
As to hub or crank. If what you have has suited your riding style and demands, I would stick with it. There's nothing particular to be gained from either, though some will claim so.

 

[matthewslack]

If your riding is not going to change then the type of bike doesn't need to.

Mid-drive comes into its own as the off road gets more serious, and the gradients get steeper. Best way to understand the difference is to hire or borrow a good one for a day, and go do a proper day ride on it.

 

[pinnaboy]

Thanks for both of the above comments. I did once test ride a Woosh Bear and was very impressed with the torque of the front hub (and I don't recall it being noisy).

Is the noise from my Bafang motor peculiar to my bike do you think and do you know where can you hire ebikes from? (I'm Surrey/Hampshire borders)

Thanks.

 

[Nealh]

The emate hub likely needs a little service , bearings wear and greasing can be a bit thin on the ground.

 

[matthewslack]

Thanks for both of the above comments. I did once test ride a Woosh Bear and was very impressed with the torque of the front hub (and I don't recall it being noisy).

Is the noise from my Bafang motor peculiar to my bike do you think and do you know where can you hire ebikes from? (I'm Surrey/Hampshire borders)

Thanks.

Too far south for me to know. There's a shop in Keswick, plenty of Lakes up and down in easy reach, but that's probably too far north for you!

If you do hire, go for best spec available so that you fully see the possibility of the type of bike, then work back from that to what you really need.

 

[pinnaboy]

Thanks for that, I tested a Woosh Bear some years ago and liked the torque and I think it was quiet. Is the noise from my ten year old Bafang motor unusual (it's done it even from new).

Any suggestions for a good hire place (great idea), I'm on the Surrey/Hampshire border but don't mind an hour or so travel?

 

[matthewslack]

No personal knowledge of any of them, but searching for 'emtb hire south east England' gives a fair number of places. You need a range of hill length and steepness to explore the bike's performance fully.

You might take along your existing bike for comparison on the same terrain.

 

[saneagle]

All hub-motors are exceptionally quiet if you use a sine wave controller. Depending on which version of the E-mate you have, you probably have a Dapu motor, which is difficult to service without the special tool.

You can replace the motor with any Chinese motor for about £200 (Plug and play). If you get just the motor and spokes, it's £69. A new battery is about £200. You have the opportunity to go up to to 48v for better hill-climbing, in which case a decent new controller set is around £60. Forks for 26" wheels are really cheap. You can get new air forks for around £150, which will last a lifetime. That comes to about £610 for a bike that's legal, quieter than most, more powerful than most, is more comfortable than most and can have a legal independent throttle, which a ew bike can't have.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Hi,

Our new Wisper Tailwind 806's arrive in our warehouse on Friday, we have sold most of the first container of 250 bikes but still have some left, our next container arrives in 4/5 weeks.

Have a look by clicking HERE

These bikes are a huge improvement on the old award winning Traditional 806 model and the batteries are certified to the new EN standard.

If you need any further information, please drop me a line.

All the best, David

 

[jamesporritt]

What's the new EN standard?

 

[Wisper Bikes]

What's the new EN standard?

EN 15194 together with EN 50604, the new battery safety certification. There is still a lot of chatter about whether or not batteries are legally bound to conform but from the Gov.UK website... "where non-compliant products are identified at the border, they may be prevented from entry". So we have opted to spend the money and get the new batteries fully compliant. Another US$20,000 I will never see again!

From Mr Google AI... EN 15194, the European standard for electrically power assisted cycles (EPACs), requires compliance with EN 50604-1 for lithium-ion batteries used in e-bikes, starting August 23, 2025. EN 50604-1 specifies safety requirements and test methods for these batteries. This means that after this date, e-bike batteries must meet the more stringent requirements of EN 50604-1, rather than the previous options.

It is my understanding that from 23rd of next month EN 15194 will continue to be the whole e-bike standard. However, in the section about the e-bike's batteries, it now requires that the battery complies with EN 50604.

EN 50604 only applies to the battery!

In other words, the battery pack needs to comply with EN 50604 so that the whole e-bike can comply with EN15194...

All the best, David