Woosh kits...

safetyfast

Pedelecer
Mar 1, 2015
29
16
50
Evening all,

My dilemma continues, the more I ponder the options, the harder this gets. Having considered converting my immaculate Gary Fisher Monona hybrid, then deciding a complete ebike might be better, I then discovered the reasonably priced Woosh kits on their website.

I would imagine my Gary Fisher to be ideal for conversion. It's as new, with virtually no wear, is nice and light (11.5kg), has steel front forks and disc brake mounts. Wheels are 700c. I don't really want to part with it so wonder if I should go for the convert option to enjoy it even more.

What concerns me about the Woosh kits is the suggestion that the warranty will be invalid if I do the conversion myself. Given that I have many years experience in the motor trade, building and repairing bikes and currently teach electronics at GCSE as well as lots of engineering experience, doing the conversion to a good standard is half the fun and not something that overwhelms me.

I am just wondering if anyone else has tried the same route with a Woosh kit. I have emailed Andy at Woosh with my thoughts, and sent a photo of my bike, and am hoping to hear back soon. I may call them for a chat tomorrow. Here in Devon I don't even know of any fitters, and can't face parting with £100 for something that I know I can do (fitting cruise control to my Golf and Passat, now that was a scary sight!).

I would probably go for a front hub motor if I did it, though I like the look of the Woosh Krieger, which is crank drive. Unfortunately I have yet to find someone in the area that has a crank drive to try.

Thoughts appreciated...
 
D

Deleted member 4366

Guest
Don't worry about the warranty. Woosh are very reasonable people. They have to cover themselves against people breaking their aluminium forks when they don't install the motor properly and anything else that ham-fisted pseudo home mechanics might do. If your battery gives up after a month, you'll still be covered. All the parts used in the Woosh kit are cheap, upgradeable and available from loads of places.

If it bothers you, you can always buy the same stuff from China for about £20 cheaper and cover your own warranty. There's also kits from Cyclotricity, Oxydrive, 8FunUK, Ezee and others, who probably don't care about who fits your kit.
 

trex

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 15, 2011
7,703
2,671
the BBS01 and BBS02 that Woosh and Eclipse sell are very easy to fit.
It's not the same with the hub kits. Firstly, the pedelec sensor is made for square tapered bottom brackets and a pig to fit on bikes with Isis cranks. It only works if you fit it to the chain side and you need about 10mm clearance. Try to find space there is a nightmare. Secondly, the cables are too long, you need to cut them down and crimp a dozen wires. Thirdly, the controller is outside the motor casing, more wires. Lastly, you have to fit torque arms because the motor is strong. Before you buy, read both the installation manual and the LCD setting manual on the web page. http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?hubkits
Woosh are trying to make the installation easier but the new kits won't be here until May.
 

safetyfast

Pedelecer
Mar 1, 2015
29
16
50
Thanks for your comments d8veh and trex. I really hope I can try out a crank drive soon. Is the hub motor the same as used on the Big Bear?

I'm not sure I can wait 'til May!
 

Sylvester

Pedelecer
Feb 22, 2015
51
8
73
Epsom, Surrey
I recently bought a BBS01 kit from Woosh, and fitted it myself. Before and after purchase Tony has been extremely helpful and responsive, both on this forum and in private correspondence. I had very little prior experience of working on bikes but got on pretty well after some googling and buying a few tools from Halfords. If you get stuck (as I did a couple of times) you are in the right place (here) to find help. Go for it!
 
C

Cyclezee

Guest
There's also kits from Cyclotricity, Oxydrive, 8FunUK, Ezee and others, who probably don't care about who fits your kit.
At Cyclezee we, some might say naively, take the approach that if someone has read the installation guide and spends their hard earned on one of our kits, they must possess the necessary skills and have an inkling of what is involved, if not they can always phone a friend.
Unfortunately this is not always the case, but I have made a few extra friends.
 
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trex

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 15, 2011
7,703
2,671
According to the Woosh website the BBS01 kit isn't in stock until late July (sigh)...
that's not correct, sylvester got his last week.
 

safetyfast

Pedelecer
Mar 1, 2015
29
16
50
Interesting... Just looked on the Eclipse website and it's in stock there. I'm assuming their kit is identical. It's also a bit cheaper at just a share under £600 with frame battery and charger.

Anyone had dealings with Eclipse?
 

Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
19,989
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West Sx RH
No dealings but then again not seen any bad reviews.
 

Fordulike

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 26, 2010
3,802
1,537
Yes, they're perfectly pleasant and helpful, they don't answer their email 100% of the time but I think it's not deliberate.
I noticed that too about answering e-mails, although my success rate is more like 50% lol
 

Sylvester

Pedelecer
Feb 22, 2015
51
8
73
Epsom, Surrey
Interesting... Just looked on the Eclipse website and it's in stock there. I'm assuming their kit is identical. It's also a bit cheaper at just a share under £600 with frame battery and charger.

Anyone had dealings with Eclipse?
I'm not sure if Eclipse include free UK delivery. Woosh do, which has to be worth a few ££.
 

trex

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 15, 2011
7,703
2,671
Yes, but the website still says "next delivery 28 July"!
I've just checked their online shop, BBS01 and BBS02 are in stock.
May be your browser showed a cached page, just reload the page.
http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?cdkit
Eclipse have stock too. Eclipse's prices are a little cheaper on the web page but Woosh include delivery charge, Eclipse don't.
 

Sylvester

Pedelecer
Feb 22, 2015
51
8
73
Epsom, Surrey
I've just checked their online shop, BBS01 and BBS02 are in stock.
May be your browser showed a cached page, just reload the page.
http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?cdkit.
I normally use an iPad, but I've just googled Woosh on a Windows 8 laptop, followed the links to your online shop, and it still says "next delivery 28 July"....very strange.
 

jonathan75

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 24, 2013
794
213
Hertfordshire
I've just checked their online shop, BBS01 and BBS02 are in stock.
May be your browser showed a cached page, just reload the page.
http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?cdkit
Eclipse have stock too. Eclipse's prices are a little cheaper on the web page but Woosh include delivery charge, Eclipse don't.
Eclipse are not a little cheaper, they're massively cheaper! £269.99 + £7.99 (£277.98) including battery + charger + delivery, against Woosh's £289 + £25 (for compulsory charger they insist on you buying) (£314), that's £36.02 less! And they actually say they've got a 14.5ah (which is what it is on paper) rather than 15ah (which Woosh says, which it isn't on paper, it's 50 x 2900mah cells). They are identical cells by the way, identical case, identical charger, everything.

And if you want to get Eclipse's £239.99 13ah battery it's £66.02 cheaper than Woosh's "15" ah.

Woosh are I read doing very good business, deservedly, with their bikes, but these lads doing Eclipse are bravely having a pop at undercutting everyone on the market by a long way, with their components for kitbuilders, and I think we should acknowledge them for it.
 
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jonathan75

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 24, 2013
794
213
Hertfordshire
I'm not sure if Eclipse include free UK delivery. Woosh do, which has to be worth a few ££.
Woosh don't include the price of their £25 compulsory charger which they insist everyone buy. It works out £36.02 more at Woosh for exactly the same thing, same charger, same battery, delivered. £66.02 more if one plumps for Eclipse's 13ah - see my post just above.
 
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trex

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 15, 2011
7,703
2,671
woosh 15AH battery kit includes a charger - costs £315 including shipping.
http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?batteries#batkit
You can buy a second charger if you wish. That charger also works on other bikes like the Big Bear. That's why it's listed in the online shop.

Eclipse 15AH battery also includes a charger, costs £270 but before shipping.