New to E-Biking - First impressions

[Tubaman]

Being a `newbie` to e-bikes, I`d just like to share with you my experience over the last few days after converting my mountain bike to an e-bike using an AlienOcean 36V 10Ah kit – this is not a review just an observation about how the thing works.

Travelling to work is 11 miles each way and I`m a big guy (19St+). First few days, I rode the bike all the way (mostly flat) using a combination of pedalling & power. My route is basically from one end of the Fylde Coast in Lancashire to the other passing Blackpool Tower (England) on the way.

The first few days I noticed that: 1) using the thumb throttle made little or no difference, it seemed on or off 2) The lights on the battery meter were all still on at the end of the journey and stayed on throughout the ride. It took about 1.5 hrs to recharge the battery from full.

Today, I decided to temporarily de-restrict the controller as I`m riding on the lower promenade. Wow, the bike seems like a different animal with much more power available. I managed to do an 11 miles journey in 40 mins into a headwind with not a lot of effort.

Some observations on the journey: 1) The throttle now works like I think it should work with proportional power depending on how far you open it 2) The top lights on the meter now go down a bit as you use the power more and the further you get into the journey. At the end of the journey, I had used about 2 lights.

I have absolutely no connection with AlienOcean but cant speak highly enough about the kit and quality of the motor, battery & controller…….so far

 

[wibble]

blah.. that's such an easy run. You could do it on a AAA battery!

You should come to some of the inner towns of Lancashire, those hills will really test ya!

Some days I''m lucky to get 15 miles out of my '40 mile' rated ebike. and I'm slim guy..

Still, welcome aboard, Tubaman!

 

[carpetbagger]

so where are you Wibble ?

 

[wibble]

Nextdoor to you - Darwen!

I usually ride over towards Bolton, Edgworth etc. I'm not a big fan of Blackburn (or Darwen). Although I do sometimes go over Belmont and get on the canal at Abbey Village then get off at Ewood. One of these days I'm gonna keep going!

 

[carpetbagger]

i am in samlesbury,,usually ride around ribchester,clitheroe,feniscowles...you are right..too many big hills around here...eat up all the battery........but then again thats the point...we can now get up the hills !!

 

[wibble]

Oh yeah, killer hills. I was coming back through Hoddlesden the other day and my battery died. My easy going Wisper was transformed into a Harley Davidson with pedals (and no petrol).

I had to quickly get off and push before traces of sweat appeared on my forehead. Was very scary.

I'm considering getting one of those Cytronex Trek thingies next. This way if my battery goes flat I can carry on. Or even stick a backup battery (or two) in a backpack.

 

[winterdog]

Is the Wisper (905) realy that bad with out the battery ?
(i was hoping to get one soon) but thought as it was only 20kg it would be ok to pedal with out electric(think the Cytronex Trek is 17 kg)

 

[torrent99]

Is the Wisper (905) realy that bad with out the battery ?
(i was hoping to get one soon) but thought as it was only 20kg it would be ok to pedal with out electric(think the Cytronex Trek is 17 kg)

No it isn't, but when the power switches off, because the difference is so big, you'll certainly think it is! (That is too say the power provided by the Wisper is so nice that when it goes away anything else feels like a brick).

 

[Mussels]

Is the Wisper (905) realy that bad with out the battery ?
(i was hoping to get one soon) but thought as it was only 20kg it would be ok to pedal with out electric(think the Cytronex Trek is 17 kg)

It is a touch overgeared, I found that mine was extremely hard to pedal with no power on. I reduced my chainring by 16 teeth and it became much easier, I've now gone up to 39 teeth and it's about right.
IIRC older versions came with a smaller chainring which may be why Torrent hasn't noticed the issue, I should have looked when I was parked next to him yesterday.

 

[wibble]

Is the Wisper (905) realy that bad with out the battery ?
(i was hoping to get one soon) but thought as it was only 20kg it would be ok to pedal with out electric(think the Cytronex Trek is 17 kg)

24kg is a lot of weight. But it depends on what you're used to. There's a lot 14 year old kids "riding" cheap mountain bikes that weigh 20+ kg.

But for somebody that's always had expensive lightweight bikes - 24kg is a monster. and trying to pedal a 24kg bike up hill isn't fun at all. Hell, I can walk faster and save more energy too!

The Wisper is a great bike, but if you're in a hilly area and like to go on an adventure and aren't sure how far you're going to go, then it can be a problem. But if it's only for getting you to work and you're always going to be traveling the same distance then it's just purrrfect.

 

[wibble]

Oh, and we mustn't forget that the Wisper has a lot of drag from the motor. So drag+weight = heart attack.

 

[Tubaman]

Drag + weight + flat battery = faster heart attack

 

[wibble]

Drag + weight + flat battery = faster heart attack

Well yeah, sorry, that's what I meant. With a charged battery there's no problems at all..

and I don't want to bash the Wisper. I think the above problems I've mentioned will apply to most ebikes (except the Trek)

and the Trek is far from perfect. It's gonna kill my street cred having to ride a bike with those skinny wheels. It looks like something my granddad rode.

 

[torrent99]

It is a touch overgeared, I found that mine was extremely hard to pedal with no power on. I reduced my chainring by 16 teeth and it became much easier, I've now gone up to 39 teeth and it's about right.
IIRC older versions came with a smaller chainring which may be why Torrent hasn't noticed the issue, I should have looked when I was parked next to him yesterday.

Well then you would have noticed my 32! tooth chainring with 110!mm "kiddies" crank.
The original crankset on my "2007 German Ebay" machine is a 52T beast on a 130 BCD (rather than 110) crankset with 170mm cranks.

I just never pedalled in the higher gears with the 52T chainring!

 

[Mussels]

Well then you would have noticed my 32! tooth chainring with 110!mm "kiddies" crank.
The original crankset on my "2007 German Ebay" machine is a 52T beast on a 130 BCD (rather than 110) crankset with 170mm cranks.

I just never pedalled in the higher gears with the 52T chainring!

I saw the crank but didn't pay attention to the chainring. I know what you mean about not using higher gears, most of my riding was in first and second gear to start with and I could barely get up steeper hills.

My BB has gone, I was going to ask if you wanted to do a deal with your crank stuck to your BB but 130 BCD isn't much good for me.
I'm hoping I can adjust it OK but I think it may be knackered.

 

[winterdog]

Drag + weight + flat battery = faster heart attack

where is the drag from i thought i had read that the wisper was one of the good bikes for free pedeling as it has is brusless drive

have i picked up the wrong end of the stick again

davidk

 

[Barnowl]

where is the drag from i thought i had read that the wisper was one of the good bikes for free pedeling as it has is brusless drive

have i picked up the wrong end of the stick again

davidk

I can almost hear the sound of Flecc accessing his folder

The Wisper 905SE is one of the good bikes because of it's overall design and gearing etc. There is still some overall drag though as with most e bikes.

See Fleccs posts in " Cytronex vs. Alien "Special" "

 

[rog_london]

where is the drag from i thought i had read that the wisper was one of the good bikes for free pedeling as it has is brusless drive

have i picked up the wrong end of the stick again

davidk

I've not noticed much drag at all, but the Wisper has evolved at a rate of knots over the time it's been available, so possibly there may be variations in the motors of bikes depending on exactly when they were manufactured and shipped. It seems that, especially recently, every shipment has numerous improvements (or modifications, at any rate!) since the previous one.

I get the impression that there is a really good working relationship between the guys in the UK that we usually see on here and those in China at the manufacturing end.

I'm told that the motor freewheel is between the reduction gears and the motor's rotor, so that the outer part of the freewheel always runs at a much higher speed than the bike's wheel does. If this is the case, I would expect there to be some drag especially at speed, though I can't say I've been aware of it.

Riding it with the power off is not a problem as long as you don't hit a hill. Then the main problem seems to be that the only useful gear is first, and that's such a long way from the other six that progress is somewhat slow. It's at times like that when you realize that seven gears are not really enough, as the main set of six are set up for power assist, so are a bit too high for most unpowered pedalling other than downhill or on the (almost) flat.

That's not a criticism. With a rear powered hub the width gets too much for a full derailleur setup with multiple front chainwheels, so once again there's a compromise, though not such a bad one.

Rog.

 

[carpetbagger]

Drag + weight + flat battery = faster heart attack

powabyke + lead acid +drag + flat battery = even faster heart attack

now thats a real equation

 

[keithhazel]

powabyke + lead acid +drag + flat battery = even faster heart attack

now thats a real equation

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i brought a 24 speed one back from rhyl on the train to doncaster...off train and 8 miles to home...seat would NOT rise up...gears would NOT work....so i thought ar well just have to use throttle all the way home....first light on battery went befor left car park...all other lights went out befor 2 miles further.... .it was very windy,getting dark..NO lights... very cold and raining.late november... no heart attack but wrecked the underside of my foot for the next month....all leads to end equation..NO MORE POWABYKES SECOND HAND.. NO MORE SECONDHAND BIKES FULL STOP...if i cant afford as i cant at moment then no electric bike.. especially with the knowledge now that no matter how new a second hand bike is the warranty is not passable to any other owner..