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Well. I've finally got my bike on the road, with all the bits fitted that I wanted. My Woosh Santana did me well, covering over five thousand miles over two years and three months. It was used virtually every day of the year. Having used it for that long, I could see what I wanted in an electric bike. I realised that three speeds were adequate for my use, but there was no way of converting the Santana without bodging, and the people at Woosh did tell me that! So, I searched for a frame, and found one on AliExpress at £160. All credit to Woosh – when the two frames were side by side, you could see the difference in build quality. The new frame is a lot lighter, but this may be because there is less metal in it. However, I transferred the handlebars and stem, rear rack, saddle and battery. I used the front rim to build a new back wheel with Nexus hub.I bought the new front motor from Panda Ebikes. I asked for a thumb throttle and 'old' type PAS sensor, as I knew this would fit. These were added to the kit, so I gained a few things, and it was all decent quality, all for £199. I had intended to buy the motor from Woosh, as they have always been helpful, but it was not available. A 52 tooth chainring has worked wonders. The Panda set-up is very responsive, with no gaps in the power, and I use it mainly at the lowest power setting. It is almost like a CVT. It took a while to find a wide enough cartridge (£10) for the bottom bracket, so no more open ball bearings. I drilled drain holes in the controller housing and bottom bracket housing, as it seems water can get in quite easily. Rigid front forks, mudguards and steering stabiliser came from Germany. Some good French Michelins (from Thailand!) give a really smooth ride. The spokes loosened-up quite a bit after about fifty miles, so I sorted that. I've done nearly 200 miles so far. It's really comfortable, and is a real pleasure to ride. The centre stand is an improvement on the prop stand, but not as good as those fitted to the Giant Ebikes/ODK cargo bike. I might have to sort that. Total cost has been about £500 so, with a new battery, probably around £700. Over two years, that's about six pounds per week for my transport. Even I cannot moan about that.
Well. I've finally got my bike on the road, with all the bits fitted that I wanted. My Woosh Santana did me well, covering over five thousand miles over two years and three months. It was used virtually every day of the year. Having used it for that long, I could see what I wanted in an electric bike. I realised that three speeds were adequate for my use, but there was no way of converting the Santana without bodging, and the people at Woosh did tell me that! So, I searched for a frame, and found one on AliExpress at £160. All credit to Woosh – when the two frames were side by side, you could see the difference in build quality. The new frame is a lot lighter, but this may be because there is less metal in it. However, I transferred the handlebars and stem, rear rack, saddle and battery. I used the front rim to build a new back wheel with Nexus hub.I bought the new front motor from Panda Ebikes. I asked for a thumb throttle and 'old' type PAS sensor, as I knew this would fit. These were added to the kit, so I gained a few things, and it was all decent quality, all for £199. I had intended to buy the motor from Woosh, as they have always been helpful, but it was not available. A 52 tooth chainring has worked wonders. The Panda set-up is very responsive, with no gaps in the power, and I use it mainly at the lowest power setting. It is almost like a CVT. It took a while to find a wide enough cartridge (£10) for the bottom bracket, so no more open ball bearings. I drilled drain holes in the controller housing and bottom bracket housing, as it seems water can get in quite easily. Rigid front forks, mudguards and steering stabiliser came from Germany. Some good French Michelins (from Thailand!) give a really smooth ride. The spokes loosened-up quite a bit after about fifty miles, so I sorted that. I've done nearly 200 miles so far. It's really comfortable, and is a real pleasure to ride. The centre stand is an improvement on the prop stand, but not as good as those fitted to the Giant Ebikes/ODK cargo bike. I might have to sort that. Total cost has been about £500 so, with a new battery, probably around £700. Over two years, that's about six pounds per week for my transport. Even I cannot moan about that.
