It’s now four years since I bought my Wisper 905. I hope this review will prove useful to anyone thinking of buying one.
I went for the 905se City with a 36v battery, fitted with Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres and slimed tubes. I mention these specifically as I haven’t had a puncture in four years, despite riding round the pot-holed roads of north-west London.
I’m disabled (one leg), old-ish (65+), fat-ish (125kg+), and not very fit. These facts are relevant, too, as they mean that I always use the throttle starting from rest; on the flat, just for a few yards; on rising ground, full throttle until I get my legs going and the bike moving, and the 3-way power control is permanently set to ‘maximum’.
The point I’m making is that I have used this bike to its limits. I forget the weight recommendation by Wisper, but I’m certainly way above it, and despite all this, the bike - and more importantly the battery - has held up well. I had a problem with the key switch after about two years, which PowaRider fixed under warranty. After three years, the original battery was still going strong, but a windfall meant I could buy a new battery, which gave a boost both to the bike’s power and range. But I use the original battery from time to time, and it still works well.
Criticisms of the bike itself? Few. For a machine of that price, a rear disc brake would have helped - old-fashioned brake blocks wear out quickly. Curiously, the internal diameter of the handlebars was a problem - being narrower than standard, it meant that accessories such as bar-end mirrors couldn’t be fitted. I ended up buying a new pair of bars from a bike shop (about £30) and changing them over. 7/8” seems to be the norm for internal diameters on bars, and the Wisper’s originals were about 5/8”.
The soppy little bell, of course, which scarcely worked, needed changing for a proper one - only a couple of quid, but for a £1500+ bike you might have expected better. Likewise the saddle was not the most comfortable, a point where spending a few extra pounds at manufacture could improve the bike.
The Wisper didn’t let me down in nearly 4 years, except recently when it refused to switch on. I looked at all the obvious (?) places where wires could have come undone, without success, and ended up getting the bike taken the 12 or so miles into London to the Electric Transport Shop (as by then PowaBike had moved from the just-about-accessible Woking area to the definitely-not-accessible distant Cheltenham).
Once the Wisper arrived at The Electric Transport Shop, it was working again, sod’s law being what it is; they went through the Wisper from battery to handlebars, undoing all the joints, putting them together again, and found no obvious fault. Since then, the Wisper has once again been totally reliable.
But that brings me to a final point, one which I ignored when I bought the bike, and one which potential buyers of ANY e-bike should ponder.
What do you do when (if) your bike goes wrong? If you live within a mile or two of an e-bike dealer, well, you’re one of the lucky few, but if you don’t, you’re in trouble. Most of us can fix small things on our bikes - chains coming off, brakes that need fixing, puncture repairs, and many of us will live within reasonable distance of a good local bike shop for more major work, but haven’t a clue when it comes to a dead electric bike, and need the services of a skilled e-bike mechanic.
If you’ve got a car, you can probably cram your bike into the back and take it to an e-bike dealer, although the Wisper only went into the back of my small car if I removed the bike’s front wheel.
No-one’s fault, of course. The e-bike industry is growing at differing rates - sales might be up, all to the good, but servicing is lagging way behind. My local bike shop, run by a lovely guy who’s been there for decades, won’t touch e-bikes, and I’m sure it’s the same with most of you. Maybe the problem needs an industry-based solution, i.e. the e-bike makers and sellers should start their own training programmes. But think on. If you buy your bike from a dealer a few hundred miles away, no matter how pleasant they are and no matter how willing they will be to fix your future sick e-bike, just how are you going to get it to them? Driving is probably not an option, as it’ll almost certainly be TWO trips (one to take the bike in, one a few days later to collect it). Stripping your bike down and stuffing it into a bike-box is an option, but not an attractive one. Learn how to do it yourself? Probably the best bet, but most of us couldn’t learn that much!
Would I recommend the Wisper? Absolutely. Or in fact any other comparable e-bike. You will get what you pay for, though. A £500 e-bike will not last like a £1500 model.
Downsides? Few, the major one being that the bike is very heavy and hard to propel once the electrics are dead, so once it’s stopped, it’s stopped. Don’t buy an e-bike thinking you’re going to be able to ride it like a normal pedal cycle. Unless you are ultra-fit, you’re not! And if you’re thinking of changing your car, just make sure the new one is big enough to cart your e-bike to your dealer, just in case....
A.
I went for the 905se City with a 36v battery, fitted with Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres and slimed tubes. I mention these specifically as I haven’t had a puncture in four years, despite riding round the pot-holed roads of north-west London.
I’m disabled (one leg), old-ish (65+), fat-ish (125kg+), and not very fit. These facts are relevant, too, as they mean that I always use the throttle starting from rest; on the flat, just for a few yards; on rising ground, full throttle until I get my legs going and the bike moving, and the 3-way power control is permanently set to ‘maximum’.
The point I’m making is that I have used this bike to its limits. I forget the weight recommendation by Wisper, but I’m certainly way above it, and despite all this, the bike - and more importantly the battery - has held up well. I had a problem with the key switch after about two years, which PowaRider fixed under warranty. After three years, the original battery was still going strong, but a windfall meant I could buy a new battery, which gave a boost both to the bike’s power and range. But I use the original battery from time to time, and it still works well.
Criticisms of the bike itself? Few. For a machine of that price, a rear disc brake would have helped - old-fashioned brake blocks wear out quickly. Curiously, the internal diameter of the handlebars was a problem - being narrower than standard, it meant that accessories such as bar-end mirrors couldn’t be fitted. I ended up buying a new pair of bars from a bike shop (about £30) and changing them over. 7/8” seems to be the norm for internal diameters on bars, and the Wisper’s originals were about 5/8”.
The soppy little bell, of course, which scarcely worked, needed changing for a proper one - only a couple of quid, but for a £1500+ bike you might have expected better. Likewise the saddle was not the most comfortable, a point where spending a few extra pounds at manufacture could improve the bike.
The Wisper didn’t let me down in nearly 4 years, except recently when it refused to switch on. I looked at all the obvious (?) places where wires could have come undone, without success, and ended up getting the bike taken the 12 or so miles into London to the Electric Transport Shop (as by then PowaBike had moved from the just-about-accessible Woking area to the definitely-not-accessible distant Cheltenham).
Once the Wisper arrived at The Electric Transport Shop, it was working again, sod’s law being what it is; they went through the Wisper from battery to handlebars, undoing all the joints, putting them together again, and found no obvious fault. Since then, the Wisper has once again been totally reliable.
But that brings me to a final point, one which I ignored when I bought the bike, and one which potential buyers of ANY e-bike should ponder.
What do you do when (if) your bike goes wrong? If you live within a mile or two of an e-bike dealer, well, you’re one of the lucky few, but if you don’t, you’re in trouble. Most of us can fix small things on our bikes - chains coming off, brakes that need fixing, puncture repairs, and many of us will live within reasonable distance of a good local bike shop for more major work, but haven’t a clue when it comes to a dead electric bike, and need the services of a skilled e-bike mechanic.
If you’ve got a car, you can probably cram your bike into the back and take it to an e-bike dealer, although the Wisper only went into the back of my small car if I removed the bike’s front wheel.
No-one’s fault, of course. The e-bike industry is growing at differing rates - sales might be up, all to the good, but servicing is lagging way behind. My local bike shop, run by a lovely guy who’s been there for decades, won’t touch e-bikes, and I’m sure it’s the same with most of you. Maybe the problem needs an industry-based solution, i.e. the e-bike makers and sellers should start their own training programmes. But think on. If you buy your bike from a dealer a few hundred miles away, no matter how pleasant they are and no matter how willing they will be to fix your future sick e-bike, just how are you going to get it to them? Driving is probably not an option, as it’ll almost certainly be TWO trips (one to take the bike in, one a few days later to collect it). Stripping your bike down and stuffing it into a bike-box is an option, but not an attractive one. Learn how to do it yourself? Probably the best bet, but most of us couldn’t learn that much!
Would I recommend the Wisper? Absolutely. Or in fact any other comparable e-bike. You will get what you pay for, though. A £500 e-bike will not last like a £1500 model.
Downsides? Few, the major one being that the bike is very heavy and hard to propel once the electrics are dead, so once it’s stopped, it’s stopped. Don’t buy an e-bike thinking you’re going to be able to ride it like a normal pedal cycle. Unless you are ultra-fit, you’re not! And if you’re thinking of changing your car, just make sure the new one is big enough to cart your e-bike to your dealer, just in case....
A.
