Trying to regain confidence on my Wisper

rog_london

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 3, 2009
764
2
Harrow, Middlesex
Slightly off topic, so apologises to Rose.
But, if I had an older type wisper and I read the above quote, I would be praying my controller never dies :eek:
.
I expect they would need to keep a stock of the older controllers and other parts to cover warranty claims. The electronics and motor have a two year warranty in any case.

Electronic parts tend to fail early or not at all. If the controller lasts a year, it will probably last for ten years. Of course you could be seriously unlucky, but that applies to anything you buy....

If you bought a TV set three years ago and it failed now, you might have quite a problem sourcing parts. Back then it would probably have had a CRT - now they're all plasma or LCD.

I think it's called 'progress'! :)

My main concerns with an e-bike, looking back at the story so far, would be: Are the manufacturers likely to be still there in two years time, or maybe less, to honour your warranty claim, and could you still obtain a suitable replacement battery (at any price!) when THAT unhappy day arrives?

Rog.
 

Mussels

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 17, 2008
3,207
8
Crowborough
My main concerns with an e-bike, looking back at the story so far, would be: Are the manufacturers likely to be still there in two years time, or maybe less, to honour your warranty claim, and could you still obtain a suitable replacement battery (at any price!) when THAT unhappy day arrives?

Rog.
That did concern me but I am confident that the different parts are sufficiently interchangable with different brands.
Battery, not a problem really as long as it fits in the hole and comes with both the male and female parts of the plug.
Controller, again all fairly similar. May require minor changes to the wiring and a bit of thought so that it doesn't go pop.
Sensors - I haven't worked this bit out yet, I think the throttle is quite standard and the pedelec sensor is simple to repair.
Motor, hub motors seem quite standard and I just need to get one of the same spec.
The only people I can see with big problems are those with motors that drive the chain as these are quite bespoke and if the manufacturer goes bust then spares will be scarse. Hopefully Panasonic won't go bust so most people with those motors will be OK. :)

I found parts for a telly are hard to get even when it is current, my last TV gave me a fault code that said which circuit board was broken. The TV shop refused to sell me the part and tried insisting I took it to them to be fixed. One uneconomical to repair TV and lost custom for the TV shop, I don't understand their business model. :confused:
 

torrent99

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 14, 2008
395
36
Highgate, London
That did concern me but I am confident that the different parts are sufficiently interchangable with different brands.
Battery, not a problem really as long as it fits in the hole and comes with both the male and female parts of the plug.
Controller, again all fairly similar. May require minor changes to the wiring and a bit of thought so that it doesn't go pop.
Sensors - I haven't worked this bit out yet, I think the throttle is quite standard and the pedelec sensor is simple to repair.
Motor, hub motors seem quite standard and I just need to get one of the same spec.
A few weeks ago I was looking around at the options of replacing the controller on my Wisper (not a serious thing just a paper based exercise). I couldn't find a replacement controller that supported a pedelec sensor....
(I think that's because most of the controllers available as retail are for the US market where pedelecs aren't so popular)
Pedelec control is also likely to be a bit manufacturer specific e.g. 80% or 20% power? Or maybe ramped? Or controlled by the throttle?
 

Mussels

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 17, 2008
3,207
8
Crowborough
A few weeks ago I was looking around at the options of replacing the controller on my Wisper (not a serious thing just a paper based exercise). I couldn't find a replacement controller that supported a pedelec sensor....
(I think that's because most of the controllers available as retail are for the US market where pedelecs aren't so popular)
Pedelec control is also likely to be a bit manufacturer specific e.g. 80% or 20% power? Or maybe ramped? Or controlled by the throttle?
That's a shame as I find it quite useful but it's loss would not render the bike unusable, and if I had a choice with the pedelec version costing £30 more then it would be byebye pedelec anyway. :eek:
I probably sounded a bit blase above saying that the parts wouldn't be too hard to find as almost compatible parts may need modifying or operate slightly differently, this doesn't bother me but may be very important to other people. I think a bigger stumbling block for many people will be finding someone to carry out the work, the cost of transporting the bike to a willing workshop and labour charges may be quite horrifying.
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,763
30,349
Battery, not a problem really as long as it fits in the hole and comes with both the male and female parts of the plug.
Many don't use plugs to connect to the bike though, using instead a battery base with various connection blade arrangements and a make specific "lock in place" facility. Battery replacements for these types can be a problem for the average customer.
.
 

Howard

Pedelecer
Jul 8, 2008
73
0
That's a shame as I find it quite useful but it's loss would not render the bike unusable, and if I had a choice with the pedelec version costing £30 more then it would be byebye pedelec anyway. :eek:
The pedelec mode is broken on my 905se at the moment, and whilst it isn't too much of a problem, I did notice it when cycling steep uphill yesterday and having to take my hand off the throttle to indicate right... Steep uphill with no assistance on a 905se is not good!
Howard
 

rog_london

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 3, 2009
764
2
Harrow, Middlesex
That did concern me but I am confident that the different parts are sufficiently interchangable with different brands.
Battery, not a problem really as long as it fits in the hole and comes with both the male and female parts of the plug.
Controller, again all fairly similar. May require minor changes to the wiring and a bit of thought so that it doesn't go pop.
Sensors - I haven't worked this bit out yet, I think the throttle is quite standard and the pedelec sensor is simple to repair.
Motor, hub motors seem quite standard and I just need to get one of the same spec.
The only people I can see with big problems are those with motors that drive the chain as these are quite bespoke and if the manufacturer goes bust then spares will be scarse. Hopefully Panasonic won't go bust so most people with those motors will be OK. :)

I found parts for a telly are hard to get even when it is current, my last TV gave me a fault code that said which circuit board was broken. The TV shop refused to sell me the part and tried insisting I took it to them to be fixed. One uneconomical to repair TV and lost custom for the TV shop, I don't understand their business model. :confused:
I think perhaps you might be over-simplifying things. I suspect, knowing the principles involved, that a hub motor and controller would need to be a matched pair. That doesn't mean to say that a controller might not suit several different motors, but that would require some cooperation between motor manufacturers and controller designers. There would be many possible problem areas - consider the gearing in a motor for a start. There's no guarantee that the internal gear ratios would be standard between different motors, so a controller would need to run a motor at a different speed to allow for that. Then there would be different pedelec sensors to allow for, and so on. Rather like your experience with the telly.

Most people would not be in the position of being able to tinker and mix 'n' match to get things to work. As with most things these days, the electronics and the motors are not designed to be fixable. Picking up an item 'of the same spec' might be a challenge. It's like buying a light bulb - they all work the same way, but they come in different ratings and voltages, some have bayonet caps, some have screw caps, some have something different to either of those - etc.

Rog.
 

torrent99

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 14, 2008
395
36
Highgate, London
I think perhaps you might be over-simplifying things. I suspect, knowing the principles involved, that a hub motor and controller would need to be a matched pair. That doesn't mean to say that a controller might not suit several different motors, but that would require some cooperation between motor manufacturers and controller designers. There would be many possible problem areas - consider the gearing in a motor for a start. There's no guarantee that the internal gear ratios would be standard between different motors, so a controller would need to run a motor at a different speed to allow for that. Then there would be different pedelec sensors to allow for, and so on. Rather like your experience with the telly.

Most people would not be in the position of being able to tinker and mix 'n' match to get things to work. As with most things these days, the electronics and the motors are not designed to be fixable. Picking up an item 'of the same spec' might be a challenge. It's like buying a light bulb - they all work the same way, but they come in different ratings and voltages, some have bayonet caps, some have screw caps, some have something different to either of those - etc.

Rog.
Rog, though I can see what you're saying, it appears that our cousins over at EndlessSphere have shown that in practice most of the controllers are compatible, so long as you don't try going "out-of-spec". As you predict they had problems using 48+V controllers to overdrive 36V motors, the signals back from the hall sensors were just to quick for the processors (it seems even the cheaper controllers have a microcontroller brain) to handle.

Of course, as with many things at ES, this is beyond the average e-bikers skill level. So in practice interchangeability isn't there as you say...

Cheers

Steve
 

Wisper Bikes

Trade Member
Apr 11, 2007
6,211
2,174
68
Sevenoaks Kent
Hi Lo etc

Hi

Quite a lot to look at here, yes the assistance on the 905 and 705 is good and powerful, and a little too good in some circumstances!

Here are a few answers.

All 905's and 705's will have the Hi Lo setting from the April delivery, all 905s have it now.

We are looking into a retrofit solution or adjustment within the controller and will report back next week. It looks as if we will be able to turn off the instant assistance unless the throttle is turned so the rider can chose the amount of power they are comfortable with.

We will always have replacements for all our electrical components so please do not worry in this score.

Best regards David
 

rog_london

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 3, 2009
764
2
Harrow, Middlesex
Hi

Quite a lot to look at here, yes the assistance on the 905 and 705 is good and powerful, and a little too good in some circumstances!

Best regards David
Having seen the photo of your goodself in action, I can see that 80% mode would probably appear somewhat more gentle to you than it does to me.

My all-up weight is only around 90kg. I am certainly very happy with the performance, but I probably do better than most. Actually, it turned out to be much better than I had expected.

Rog.
 

wotwozere

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 6, 2008
280
1
Hi

Its amazing what parts you can find in the old scrap yards maybe in the future you can find old electric bike parts to fix up for free, i got my last microwave from a skip best by ever got.

thx

Bob
 

Grumpy1

Pedelecer
Jan 23, 2009
84
0
In the future no one will care about electric bikes, we will all be on hoverboards. Electric hoverboards.
 

keithhazel

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 1, 2007
997
0
Hi

Its amazing what parts you can find in the old scrap yards maybe in the future you can find old electric bike parts to fix up for free, i got my last microwave from a skip best by ever got.

thx

Bob
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and how did you fasten this accessory to your electric bike bob ? :rolleyes:
 

Rose

Pedelecer
Dec 2, 2008
29
0
Rider's weight

Having seen the photo of your goodself in action, I can see that 80% mode would probably appear somewhat more gentle to you than it does to me.

My all-up weight is only around 90kg. I am certainly very happy with the performance, but I probably do better than most. Actually, it turned out to be much better than I had expected.

Rog.
I hadn't thought about rider's weight making a difference, but my husband who is much heavier than me said he didn't understand what I was talking about, relating to the motor cutting in and making me feel out of control. I weigh 67 kilos including cycling clothes.