New e-bike arrived

[morphix]

Hi everyone, I purchased a new e-bike this week from a seller on eBay called Road Legal Quad Bikes (158 Performance Ltd) and thought I would do a review..

I've been researching bikes for a month now and had narrowed down my choice to between a Wisper 905 Eco and an Ezee TorQ, purely based on reviews, impressions and comments from people. I liked the TorQ but at nearly £1.5k it was way more than I wanted to spend really, so the Wisper 905 Eco seemed second best option coming in at £1.2k with a 14A battery upgrade.

However, then I saw a bike offered on eBay which looked like a Wisper but with a better specification for £799. I was hesitant about buying it as the seller, although an established motor vehicle retailer, didn't have any feedback for selling e-bikes and this bike had no brand (the dealer has nicknamed it "The Ghost"). It was a blind buy and something of a gamble but I decided to go for it as they were offering 12 months warranty and it seemed a proper company.

The bike was duly delivered on-time (free) via next day Parcel Force (that must of cost a bit) in a huge box which proved a right pig getting up 2 flights of stairs! It needed the usual assembly (front wheel, handlebars, chain, seat) which I managed to do in about 20 mins. The toolkit provided was pretty useless so I got my own tools out. After I unpacked it and assembled it I noticed several discrepancies..

The battery was advertised as 2.9kg, which I thought was unusually light for a 14A so I checked with the seller before I purchased and they confirmed it was 14A and weighed 2.9kg. However after removing the battery it weighed a ton and I knew it couldn't be 2.9kg, so popped it on the scales and sure enough..4.5kg! That's a bit of a let down as 2.9kg is just about luggable in my rucksack but 4.5kg is out of the question, it will have to stay on the bike.

The other annoying thing was, the bike was advertised as having a front dynamo lighting and a bike lock. Neither of these were supplied.

I'm sceptical about the other claims made in the listing about the bikes speed and range.. I know bike dealers exaggerate range on bikes, but the 60 miles on throttle and 100 miles assisted claimed for this bike is just crazy!

It's a pity about these issues as the bike looks ok and reasonable build quality for the price as you can see from the pictures.. it feels quite substantial, and more like a motorbike than a push bike! Saying that, this is the first electric bike I've seen "in the flesh" so to speak. I've weighed it on a scales with the battery fitted and it weighs in at 25kg.

I've just made a video of the motor running in throttle and pedal assist with the bike upturned so you can see how fast it is and how much noise it makes..I will upload these shortly!

Electric E-powerbike - Lightweight super fast The Ghost on eBay (end time 25-Dec-10 17:03:17 GMT)

 

[Deleted member 4366]

It looks like the seller made a mistake in his listing. The last picture shows a different bike that appears to have a hub dynamo, so i guess he copied and updated the listing. It wouldn't surprise me if he's Chinese and doesn't fully understand English. I have seen similar errors in other listings. It looks like quite a nice bike anyway and if the battery is a 14ah, not bad value. If it's like my Chinese import, the pedal sensor will give a certain amount of power when you pedal, and if you open the throttle fully, you get more power. I guess that's what he means by high and low power modes. On both my amd my neighbour's Chinese imports, the low quality bottom bracket bearings failed, so you might want to replace them with the cartridge type if yours give trouble. My bike's a Sunlova and I'm very pleased with it for £520.

 

[morphix]

Thanks for the info d8veh.. I think you're right about the high/low being pedal assist and throttle only modes. With the bike upturned you hardly need to push the pedals around and the motor gives plenty of assist. The seller is a firm in Lincs, they're English and specialise in quad bikes but are trying to branch out into e-bikes too it seems as they have a selection of Chinese imports in their showroom.

The user guide is terrible it's in Chinglish and hardly makes any sense at all. You would think for the resale price of the bike they would at least get someone who speaks fluent English to make their manuals..so I'm basically figuring things out by trial and error. The battery is 36v 14A Poly, well that's what it's sold as, but who knows what's inside it..I just hope it lasts it being the most expensive component on the bike to replace of course.

£520 for your Sunlova e-bike, can't go far wrong at that price can you. Actually I looked at sunlova bikes, they do some decent bikes at reasonable prices. I like the folding ones, I may consider buying a folding bike later on, will see how I get on with this one first! There is another selling offering a Wisper style bike on eBay, it's the Moskino brand from Italy which I think has raised some eyebrows on the forum before.. It's only £545 and I was tempted to get one, but the battery is only 10A and it has no throttle. Although the dealer "Take Charge Bikes" on eBay tells me he will fit a throttle for £20 and can do a 14A upgrade for an extra £100 if you're prepared to wait a month..can't be bad! I think it's good we're starting to see some cheaper bikes coming onto the market so there's something to suit everyones budget.

I'm itching to take it out for a first road test, perhaps I should tomorrow before we get covered in snow. ;-)

 

[Old Timer]

Hi everyone, I purchased a new e-bike this week from a seller on eBay called Road Legal Quad Bikes (158 Performance Ltd) and thought I would do a review..

I've been researching bikes for a month now and had narrowed down my choice to between a Wisper 905 Eco and an Ezee TorQ, purely based on reviews, impressions and comments from people. I liked the TorQ but at nearly £1.5k it was way more than I wanted to spend really, so the Wisper 905 Eco seemed second best option coming in at £1.2k with a 14A battery upgrade.

However, then I saw a bike offered on eBay which looked like a Wisper but with a better specification for £799. I was hesitant about buying it as the seller, although an established motor vehicle retailer, didn't have any feedback for selling e-bikes and this bike had no brand (the dealer has nicknamed it "The Ghost"). It was a blind buy and something of a gamble but I decided to go for it as they were offering 12 months warranty and it seemed a proper company.

The bike was duly delivered on-time (free) via next day Parcel Force (that must of cost a bit) in a huge box which proved a right pig getting up 2 flights of stairs! It needed the usual assembly (front wheel, handlebars, chain, seat) which I managed to do in about 20 mins. The toolkit provided was pretty useless so I got my own tools out. After I unpacked it and assembled it I noticed several discrepancies..

The battery was advertised as 2.9kg, which I thought was unusually light for a 14A so I checked with the seller before I purchased and they confirmed it was 14A and weighed 2.9kg. However after removing the battery it weighed a ton and I knew it couldn't be 2.9kg, so popped it on the scales and sure enough..4.5kg! That's a bit of a let down as 2.9kg is just about luggable in my rucksack but 4.5kg is out of the question, it will have to stay on the bike.

The other annoying thing was, the bike was advertised as having a front dynamo lighting and a bike lock. Neither of these were supplied.

I'm sceptical about the other claims made in the listing about the bikes speed and range.. I know bike dealers exaggerate range on bikes, but the 60 miles on throttle and 100 miles assisted claimed for this bike is just crazy!

It's a pity about these issues as the bike looks ok and reasonable build quality for the price as you can see from the pictures.. it feels quite substantial, and more like a motorbike than a push bike! Saying that, this is the first electric bike I've seen "in the flesh" so to speak. I've weighed it on a scales with the battery fitted and it weighs in at 25kg.

I've just made a video of the motor running in throttle and pedal assist with the bike upturned so you can see how fast it is and how much noise it makes..I will upload these shortly!

Electric E-powerbike - Lightweight super fast The Ghost on eBay (end time 25-Dec-10 17:03:17 GMT)

That frame looks just like my year old Powertrek and even the rear hub looks similar, there are obviously some differences but if it turns out to be similar to mine you will be very pleased with it. The rear hub on mine is still the most powerful and the quietest 250Watt hub I own or have ridden so good luck and enjoy.I think I paid £699 from memory but that was with a 10Amp Li-ion battery.

 

[eddieo]

WOW! high power wheels whatever next!

 

[onmebike]

That frame looks just like my year old Powertrek and even the rear hub looks similar, there are obviously some differences but if it turns out to be similar to mine you will be very pleased with it. The rear hub on mine is still the most powerful and the quietest 250Watt hub I own or have ridden so good luck and enjoy.I think I paid £699 from memory but that was with a 10Amp Li-ion battery.

I agree with Dave[Oldtimer] This bike is almost identical to the Powertrek dynamo and my bike which is a no name version of the Juicy Sport. The main difference is whereas Dave and my bikes were supplied with 10ah battery's this one has a 14ah. Looking closer you'll probably find apart from Samson wheels and tourney gears, the motor will be suzhou bafang and the front forks, Zoom. I think you'll be pleased with your purchase.

 

[tillson]

I'm not really interested in buying one of these bikes, but I am a bit curious.

The level of technical backup, service advice and customer care isn't going to be as good as some if the bigger brands. But if you are a bit handy and have some technical aptitude, these cheap bikes could make a lot of sense. After all, on the face of it, there appears to be scope to save hundreds of pounds.

That old chestnut, the battery, would be a bit of a worry though. I think you would have to go into this with the assumption that the spiv who initially sold you the bike will have moved onto another, get rich quickly, scheme and won't be interested in your battery problems. So, where would you then get a new battery for a bike such as the one purchased by the OP? Are these batteries some sort of standard fit into the frame with a plug on the bottom? Would a Wisper battery fit for instance? If not, I suppose something of EBay, of which there seems to be good reports, would do.

It's also interesting to see that nearly all of these cheapies seem to be hub motored bikes. Is this because it's easier and cheaper to design and build compared to a crank system such as a Panasonic? As far as I am aware, none of the clone makers have had a go at a Panasonic type system yet.

 

[flecc]

That old chestnut, the battery, would be a bit of a worry though.

It's also interesting to see that nearly all of these cheapies seem to be hub motored bikes. Is this because it's easier and cheaper to design and build compared to a crank system such as a Panasonic? As far as I am aware, none of the clone makers have had a go at a Panasonic type system yet.

There's probably enough space to take one of the top batteries from the likes of eZee or Wisper, with a bit of adaptation for the connections and mounting.

The cost will certainly militate against the Panasonic system, but since they only ever appear on very high quality bikes, I suspect Panasonic only supply approved makers for obvious reasons. It's likely that other crank drive system producers like Bosch will do the same, while Shimano will supply anyone with their new hub motor system as SB always have.
.

 

[morphix]

Video uploaded

If anyone's interested, I made a little video showing the bike's arrival in pre/post assembly state, plus a test of the motor and power modes
indoors..

YouTube - My New Electric Bike - Part One

/// video updated 28/11 - visual tour of the bike added with explanation of the power modes ///

Some initial observations after testing the motor...

The crank looks very wobbly to me and also the front wheel a little. Also the rear brake shoes seem to be rubbing on the wheel rim so may need adjusting, unless it's just a case of wearing them in.

The motor seems quite noisy to me, but about the same as the Ezee Torq bike I've seen on YouTube.. Would be interested to know how it compares to the Wisper bikes and others.. do you guys think it's noisy?

One other thing..when you turn on the power (from the battery key) the 3 power level LED's (green, yellow and red) on the throttle control all stay illuminated (labelled FULL/HALF/EMPTY). This seems unusual, I would of thought only one should be illuminated to indicate the battery status..? I've had a read of the user guide but it doesn't explain this. Perhaps the LED's go out as the battery life reduces..

Some positive comments on the bike itself...

There seems to be hardly any drag from the motor on rear wheel, it spins very freely without power.
The finish and build quality is very professional, it looks like something you would buy from a big retailer, not import from China.
At 21kg without the battery, the bike is not excessively heavy to lift.
Brakes are firm and responsive, no squeak.
Suspension feels good.

 

[morphix]

I'm not really interested in buying one of these bikes, but I am a bit curious.

The level of technical backup, service advice and customer care isn't going to be as good as some if the bigger brands. But if you are a bit handy and have some technical aptitude, these cheap bikes could make a lot of sense. After all, on the face of it, there appears to be scope to save hundreds of pounds.

That old chestnut, the battery, would be a bit of a worry though. I think you would have to go into this with the assumption that the spiv who initially sold you the bike will have moved onto another, get rich quickly, scheme and won't be interested in your battery problems. So, where would you then get a new battery for a bike such as the one purchased by the OP? Are these batteries some sort of standard fit into the frame with a plug on the bottom? Would a Wisper battery fit for instance? If not, I suppose something of EBay, of which there seems to be good reports, would do.

It's also interesting to see that nearly all of these cheapies seem to be hub motored bikes. Is this because it's easier and cheaper to design and build compared to a crank system such as a Panasonic? As far as I am aware, none of the clone makers have had a go at a Panasonic type system yet.

Hi tillson, these are fair comments.. I must admit I was quite reluctant about buying an unknown brand bike from an unknown dealer even at this price. However they are a proper established company that sells motorbikes with a showroom in my region of the country (they have their own delivery vans and mechanic) so I figured it was worth a punt at this price.. They are offering a 12 months warranty on everything and have told me they will be keeping the bike in stock so parts should be readily available.

The higher price of the Wispers definitely gives you the extra peace of mind and the knowledge you're dealing with a company that's fully committed. However if you're on a tight budget or just want to get your feet wet, these bikes look like a good alternative.

At the end of the day, what can go wrong with a bike really? Nearly all the parts can be swapped out or serviced locally. The only worry is the motor, controller and the battery being the main cost component. The battery looks very similar (possibly identical) to the Wisper batteries so would be interesting to do a comparison to see if it is the same. I will take some macro shots and measure all the dimensions shortly so someone with a Wisper out there can compare..

 

[morphix]

That frame looks just like my year old Powertrek and even the rear hub looks similar, there are obviously some differences but if it turns out to be similar to mine you will be very pleased with it. The rear hub on mine is still the most powerful and the quietest 250Watt hub I own or have ridden so good luck and enjoy.I think I paid £699 from memory but that was with a 10Amp Li-ion battery.

Thanks Old Timer! I just found a picture of your Powertrek bike here

it does look exactly the same frame design as mine. Maybe it's the same manufacturer.

How long did your battery last and do you still run that Powertrek much?

 

[Old Timer]

Thanks Old Timer! I just found a picture of your Powertrek bike here

it does look exactly the same frame design as mine. Maybe it's the same manufacturer.

How long did your battery last and do you still run that Powertrek much?

Ihave been told by Andy (who imports Oxygen bikes) that mine is an actual rebadged early Oxygen, he has one and still rides it. I have stuck an Oxygen replacement battery on mine (13Amp Li-Polymer) and your battery looks to be the very same. Since buying the Powertrek I had a mild heart attack and had a stent fitted so toget me back on the wheels I fitted an Alien front wheel conversion on as well because I needed a touch more assistance and also didn`t want to be stranded just in case. How I ride it is just pedelec from the original rear hub and I have a small thumb throttle on the left hand bar end that I can bring into play on steepish hills or when the need arises that works the front hub. I fitted a larger front chain ring to lift the gearing.
Not wishing to dig up old sores but I was told I had bought rubbish when I got mine and how wrong that statement was. We all now know that price is in general no judge on quality when your talking Chinese gear because most of the parts are sourced from identical factories anyway.
You`ll find that the motor will sound a lot quieter out on the road with the sound following you. You should hear my Aurora motor on full power

If the roads are clear of snow(unlike here) get out on it and be prepared to smile

Dave

 

[tillson]

Hi tillson, these are fair comments.. I must admit I was quite reluctant about buying an unknown brand bike from an unknown dealer even at this price. However they are a proper established company that sells motorbikes with a showroom in my region of the country (they have their own delivery vans and mechanic) so I figured it was worth a punt at this price.. They are offering a 12 months warranty on everything and have told me they will be keeping the bike in stock so parts should be readily available.

The higher price of the Wispers definitely gives you the extra peace of mind and the knowledge you're dealing with a company that's fully committed. However if you're on a tight budget or just want to get your feet wet, these bikes look like a good alternative.

At the end of the day, what can go wrong with a bike really? Nearly all the parts can be swapped out or serviced locally. The only worry is the motor, controller and the battery being the main cost component. The battery looks very similar (possibly identical) to the Wisper batteries so would be interesting to do a comparison to see if it is the same. I will take some macro shots and measure all the dimensions shortly so someone with a Wisper out there can compare..

I think that if I were in the market for a hub motor type bike, I would definitely go down the route of something similar to yours. The price differential between that and a, "branded" model is too great to ignore and you can correct a lot of faults with the money you have saved.

I think most people are capable of maintaining the bicycle bits if they take there time and do a bit of research. The electrical side of things may be a bit more taxing, but still within the scope of anyone motivated enough to find things out for themselves.

I find these relatively cheap bikes interesting and I shall look forward to hearing how you get on with it.

 

[morphix]

wooooo I rode the bike today

Well I finally took the bike out today for a spin this morning early with the camera...I have finished part two of my review and will upload the video shortly!

 

[morphix]

Part Two (Road Test) of My New Electric Bike

YouTube - My New Electric Bike - Part Two

 

[morphix]

Part Two - Road test of my new electric bike

I decided to brave the weather and take the bike out for a test run early this morning. It was bitterly cold and minus 5 degrees, but I wanted to try it out for 10 minutes so armed with my flip video camera I took it to a quiet buses-only lane which was clear of snow and had a nice steep hill and some flat road. Filming and cycling at the same time proved very tricky. Wouldn't try that on a busy road!

Being a speed freak, I decided to start by testing the bike in "high power mode" using the red "off-road" button which enables the throttle. To push the bike to the limit, I decided to test it on a steep hill. This hill is normally a killer for me when I'm cycling my regular mountain bike..I always have to stand up to pedal and legs ache when i reach the top.

So with the throttle fully open I was whirring along at a nice pace and beaming away as I started climbing the hill. The bike got a bit slower as it climbed the hill, but it made it to the top without any problem and I didn't need to pedal at all. I thought that was impressive. Next!

The next test I did was using the "low power" mode which disables the throttle and provides pedal assistance up to 15mph. I did this test on the flat in first gear and was pleasantly surprised. Pedalling was incredibly easy and it felt as though a hand was pushing from behind.

Next I tested in "high power" mode, using pedal assistance this time, and I kept off the throttle. This felt much more powerful and the assistance kicked in with a jolt. It almost like being towed along by a car rather than being gently pushed as in low power mode. I very quickly had trouble keeping up with the motor in first gear and had to move up a couple of gears.

As soon as I stopped pedalling the motor cut out quickly. And likewise, when I applied either of the brakes even gently, the motor was stopped immediately.

My next test was to tackle the same steep hill from the other side using pedal assistance in "high power" mode. This required hardly any effort and the assistance made light work of the hill. In fact, it felt easier and quicker climbing it than it had using the throttle alone.

So has the bike met with my expectations and do I think it's worth £800?

I'd have to say I was a little underwhelmed by the throttle mode. For me, it didn't seem fast enough and felt slightly frustrating. As a fairly fit person who is used to cycling a regular bike I felt I could pedal my ordinary bike faster than the throttle speed on the flat. Whether this was due to the 15mph limit being on the "high power" mode I'm not sure. I don't have a speedometer fitted to the bike yet so I couldn't tell how fast it was actually going. It felt like one of those mobility vehicles old folks use! Nice if you want to cruise through the countryside at a leisurely pace, but slightly frustrating if you're trying to get somewhere in a hurry!

The pedal assistance in high power mode was more enjoyable for me and propelled me along faster than using the throttle did. It didn't feel as though there was any cut-off restriction and felt like 20mph could of been possible. However, when I descended the steep hill I continued pedalling in a high gear but the motor had definitely cut out when the bike picked up speed on the descent.

I expected the bike to be as easy to pedal as an ordinary bike without any power. When I had spun the wheel with the bike upside down there didn't feel like there was any drag at all. However on the road proved to be very different and there was significant drag. You would definitely not want to pedal the bike any great distance without assistance. In fact even pedalling short distances unassisted would be like pedalling in 3rd gear and tiring on the legs I think.

Overall the bike was a comfortable ride and handled well on the road. The steering, brakes and gears were all perfect. The suspension didn't feel up to much however. Bumps like curbs felt just like my normal bike without suspension, but perhaps I was expecting too much from them. The noise level from the motor was nowhere as loud as I thought it would be, once you get going you hardly notice it at all.

The experience of moving under power was quite unique to me never having ridden a motorcycle or driven a car before. No sooner had I got the bike home I was itching to get back in the saddle and go further afield! I can easily see now why people get so enthusiastic about electric bikes and need to own several of them.

After I got back, all the power level LED's were still illuminated on the handlebars indicating full power. However one of the 3 LED's on the battery (marked HIGH power) itself had gone out, leaving MEDIUM and LOW power still lit. It's surprising that one of the battery LEDs went out after maybe 30 minutes fairly light use, perhaps the hill did it and using the throttle a lot from standing start.

So was it worth the money? Well, I would of liked a bike that pedals as easy as a normal bike I think for this price..but if it goes the distance claimed between charges (or even half the distance claimed in fact) I think I would be more than happy to use it on pedal assist all the time. It would certainly make my days out much more enjoyable by taking out all those hills (and there are many around here). With the money I have saved on buying a branded bike I could afford to get a second cheap light folder bike which is something I may consider for shorter distances and portability.

My only concern with buying a grey import is that I don't think I will be able to get insurance for the bike, not even household cover, as it seems insurance firms will only cover branded bikes and they want to know the model number and serial number etc.

YouTube - My New Electric Bike - Part Two

 

[rustic]

I decided to brave the weather and take the bike out for a test run early this morning. It was bitterly cold and minus 5 degrees, but I wanted to try it out for 10 minutes so armed with my flip video camera I took it to a quiet buses-only lane which was clear of snow and had a nice steep hill and some flat road. Filming and cycling at the same time proved very tricky. Wouldn't try that on a busy road!

Being a speed freak, I decided to start by testing the bike in "high power mode" using the red "off-road" button which enables the throttle. To push the bike to the limit, I decided to test it on a steep hill. This hill is normally a killer for me when I'm cycling my regular mountain bike..I always have to stand up to pedal and legs ache when i reach the top.

So with the throttle fully open I was whirring along at a nice pace and beaming away as I started climbing the hill. The bike got a bit slower as it climbed the hill, but it made it to the top without any problem and I didn't need to pedal at all. I thought that was impressive. Next!

The next test I did was using the "low power" mode which disables the throttle and provides pedal assistance up to 15mph. I did this test on the flat in first gear and was pleasantly surprised. Pedalling was incredibly easy and it felt as though a hand was pushing from behind.

Next I tested in "high power" mode, using pedal assistance this time, and I kept off the throttle. This felt much more powerful and the assistance kicked in with a jolt. It almost like being towed along by a car rather than being gently pushed as in low power mode. I very quickly had trouble keeping up with the motor in first gear and had to move up a couple of gears.

As soon as I stopped pedalling the motor cut out quickly. And likewise, when I applied either of the brakes even gently, the motor was stopped immediately.

My next test was to tackle the same steep hill from the other side using pedal assistance in "high power" mode. This required hardly any effort and the assistance made light work of the hill. In fact, it felt easier and quicker climbing it than it had using the throttle alone.

So has the bike met with my expectations and do I think it's worth £800?

I'd have to say I was a little underwhelmed by the throttle mode. For me, it didn't seem fast enough and felt slightly frustrating. As a fairly fit person who is used to cycling a regular bike I felt I could pedal my ordinary bike faster than the throttle speed on the flat. Whether this was due to the 15mph limit being on the "high power" mode I'm not sure. I don't have a speedometer fitted to the bike yet so I couldn't tell how fast it was actually going. It felt like one of those mobility vehicles old folks use! Nice if you want to cruise through the countryside at a leisurely pace, but slightly frustrating if you're trying to get somewhere in a hurry!

The pedal assistance in high power mode was more enjoyable for me and propelled me along faster than using the throttle did. It didn't feel as though there was any cut-off restriction and felt like 20mph could of been possible. However, when I descended the steep hill I continued pedalling in a high gear but the motor had definitely cut out when the bike picked up speed on the descent.

I expected the bike to be as easy to pedal as an ordinary bike without any power. When I had spun the wheel with the bike upside down there didn't feel like there was any drag at all. However on the road proved to be very different and there was significant drag. You would definitely not want to pedal the bike any great distance without assistance. In fact even pedalling short distances unassisted would be like pedalling in 3rd gear and tiring on the legs I think.

Overall the bike was a comfortable ride and handled well on the road. The steering, brakes and gears were all perfect. The suspension didn't feel up to much however. Bumps like curbs felt just like my normal bike without suspension, but perhaps I was expecting too much from them. The noise level from the motor was nowhere as loud as I thought it would be, once you get going you hardly notice it at all.

The experience of moving under power was quite unique to me never having ridden a motorcycle or driven a car before. No sooner had I got the bike home I was itching to get back in the saddle and go further afield! I can easily see now why people get so enthusiastic about electric bikes and need to own several of them.

So was it worth the money? Well, I would of liked a bike that pedals as easy as a normal bike I think for this price..but if it goes the distance claimed between charges (or even half the distance claimed in fact) I think I would be more than happy to use it on pedal assist all the time. It would certainly make my days out much more enjoyable by taking out all those hills (and there are many around here). With the money I have saved on buying a branded bike I could afford to get a second cheap light folder bike which is something I may consider for shorter distances and portability.

My only concern with buying a grey import is that I don't think I will be able to get insurance for the bike, not even household cover, as it seems insurance firms will only cover branded bikes and they want to know the model number and serial number etc.

YouTube - My New Electric Bike - Part Two

Hi Morphix,

The handlebar spec looks very similar to my Alien GSII. Having had a look at those youtube postings I don't think the motor sounds too noisy, it's no noisier than my bike and unless you are on a quiet road you don't really notice it too much. My bike also struggles a bit on hills using the throttle only option, but a bit of pedal assist will usually do the trick. I really would take the sellers claims on the range with a pinch of salt (maybe a bucket of salt). I would love to be proved wrong, but I doubt it would manage to do half the distances quoted. But then again, it does have 'high power' wheels

 

[morphix]

Hi Morphix,

The handlebar spec looks very similar to my Alien GSII. Having had a look at those youtube postings I don't think the motor sounds too noisy, it's no noisier than my bike and unless you are on a quiet road you don't really notice it too much. My bike also struggles a bit on hills using the throttle only option, but a bit of pedal assist will usually do the trick. I really would take the sellers claims on the range with a pinch of salt (maybe a bucket of salt). I would love to be proved wrong, but I doubt it would manage to do half the distances quoted. But then again, it does have 'high power' wheels

Hi Rustic, thanks for your comments, I think you are probably right on the distance, the seller has "oversold" the bike a bit on eBay it has high power everything according to him ;-) Since the throttle isn't as fast as I thought (would be interested to see how it compares to other bikes and the Wisper in particular) I will probably use it less in preference for pedal assist so maybe that will help battery life..

 

[rustic]

You tend to think that if the seller has exaggerated in one area he has probably overstated the bikes abilities in other areas as well. In compaision I would say that on a fresh battery over the summer I was getting around 25-30 miles range on my Alien GSII - this was using a mixture of throttle, pedal assist & pure pedal power on mostly flat road surfaces.

The bike would hit around 16.5mph using throttle only on a level surface, given that I was around 15.5 stone at the time, I was pretty pleased with that.

 

[morphix]

You tend to think that if the seller has exaggerated in one area he has probably overstated the bikes abilities in other areas as well.

Yes exactly my thinking.. the accessories which were supposed to come with it weren't supplied either and still no reply about those. Since this is the sellers first sale of an e-bike on eBay you would think he would be making sure the sale goes smoothly. It may be that he is liquidating leftover stock and cutting his losses on these bikes, who knows.

In compaision I would say that on a fresh battery over the summer I was getting around 25-30 miles range on my Alien GSII - this was using a mixture of throttle, pedal assist & pure pedal power on mostly flat road surfaces.

That sounds like the sort of figure range I've seen quoted by others compared to the 40-50 miles quoted by manufacturers. Is yours a 36V 250W and 14A battery?

The bike would hit around 16.5mph using throttle only on a level surface, given that I was around 15.5 stone at the time, I was pretty pleased with that.

I guess if you want a bike that does 20mph on throttle only it's going to come at a high cost in terms of limited battery life/range? And perhaps a 350W motor would be more suitable?

To be honest I think I went into this purchase with my expectations a bit high for the throttle speed and now I've tried a bike, that has sort of changed my thinking quite a lot. If I was going to buy another bike, I would probably be more interested in low weight, smaller battery, and better pedal assistance performance. Maybe something like a Dahon Espresso kitted out by the Electric Wheel Company, which is a mountain bike that folds..best of both worlds!