Value for money
Thanks for the info, all very useful. They seem very similar to me which is what I'd expect from 2 bikes costing about the same. The most important things (to me at least) are the quality of the frame (weight in particular) but also geometry, the quality of the motor (efficiency and power) and the quality of the battery (lifetime).
This is why I fitted an eZee kit to my Specialized Epic mountain bike.
Bicycles have 2 wheels, and they are not all the same. Walmark or Tesco may have one at $100, the one that Lance Armstrong competes would be more than $10,000. That's where the cost of each and every part comes in to make the difference.
I can understand not everyone is in the bicycle business so such things are not so obvious.
Shimano mountain bike series starts with entry level - Tourney (made in China) , next is Altus, then Alivio and then Deore (made in Japan) at the top. Within Deore sub-series there are those that cost an arm and a leg. I don't know what the OTC retail prices are in UK, but just very basic information Tourney shifter, derailleur, sprocket cost adds to about US$10 and the same in Deore we use is about US$ 30.00 for mfrs like us. This is 3X more. There is a very big difference in performance between the Tourney and the Deore.
Devil is in the details. We replace all the steel screws, nuts, and bolts that comes with the many of the parts like the head stem, carrier, kick stand, etc and even the grub screw in the throttle with high quality stainless steel parts.
Value for money is what we provide. eZee as the manufacturer is located in Shanghai and we sell direct to Onbike which sells direct to the consumer. Wisper bikes are made by a company called Active (near Shanghai) , goes to Wisper and then to dealers or retailers then to consumer, each step have to take a cut.
Talk about development, we have frequent and direct access to numerous suppliers for the frame, bicycle parts, battery, chargers, etc, in China, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, some within an hr drive and others with 3 hrs flight. We have our own design and engineering team here.
We have all the options available in Shimano Alfine (since 2007), Nexus 8, Magura, Rohloff, and very soon the NuVinci. And other European products like Axa Defender locks, Pletscher carrier and kick stand.
eZee will have the ultimate Deluxe e-bike, hopefully but July 2010 we will have a
FULL titanium Torq model - " eZ Torq T1" available made with superb craftmanships, with incredible options available for the discerning rider with deep pockets. It has been more than 3 years in the making.
Let Onbike know if you are interested, and keep a look out on our website
eZee electric bicycles: index
Yours truly,
Chief eZee Operator