Xipi Silent Wing Kit Review

haltny

Finding my (electric) wheels
Sep 19, 2013
20
0
Ok guys, as promised here is my review of the Xipi Silent Wing kit as fitted to my Dahon Cadenza P18 folding bike. I have had the kit about a month and have so far covered 364 miles.

The silent wing is the fastest of the kits Xipi do with a claimed top speed of 28mph+ and the description is accurate, however I will say that speed isn't everything. I will also state now that I know the kit is not road legal so before anyone mentions it, please don't bother with the legal blah.

OK, first my daily commute from SE London to central London of 11 miles driving my car takes 1 hour 5 mins (on a good day) to 1 hour 30+ on a bad day. This has now been cut to just 35 mins on the bike. I cycled the journey without the kit before I had it fitted and it took 1 hour dead, so that is a significant time saving over standard cycling. The bike will cruise at 27/28mph without pedaling on a flat, however I always pedal to assist the motor (and to burn those calories). With pedaling depending on how frenetic I pedal I can ride at up to 33mph, faster downhill but quite frankly I wouldn't want to go faster than that on a pedal bike. On my return journey there is quite a long steep hill in Greenwich Park, the bike will do 22mph up hill, 24mph with pedaling to assist the motor. It has plenty on grunt and going up hills does not pose a problem for this kit.

30mph on a bike is fast so i have upgraded the brakes to Shimano Deore Hydraulic and they do a good job of stopping it. The throttle also has a 'Regen' button which when pressed acts as another brake, if you're not travelling too fast you can use this to slow the bike. What I like about this kit is that I can comfortably keep up with morning rush hour traffic (when there is a clear stretch of road). In my opinion there is nothing worse than an HGV or bus driver that is impatient sitting behind a slow cyclist who then overtakes leaving little gap, I feel vulnerable and it's dangerous. With this kit I can comfortably keep up with traffic meaning that I can hold a dominant position in the road in front of the buses/HGVs. Pretty much all are happy to sit behind a cyclist doing nearly 30mph without feeling the need to overtake. I have kept up with several motorbikes from Blackheath to the Oval much to their disgust, they might be quicker on the straights but I always catch up with them at the next set of traffic lights.

Due to storage reasons I decided to have the battery in a Topeak MTX Bag on a rear saddle rack. Frank at Xipi made a box for the battery so that it doesnt move around inside the bag. The ideal solution would have been to have the battery on the downtube but as I said this wasn't good for me. The downside to having the battery in the rear bag is the balance is a little off and it takes a little while to get used to having a heavy weight at the back but you just learn to take it a little easier on bends and slow for corners. The controller is located under the rack under the bag.

The battery is big and is heavy but it also has the range. I have done 16 miles on a full charge and yet there was still more than 25% left. I have not run it flat yet whilst out but suffice to say it is easily capable of completing my 11 mile commute. Charging takes about 2/3 hours (for me) which is not bad at all.

Because the kit is so powerful my bike is constantly kept in a high gear. This is great for when moving as I can pedal to keep up with the motor however not so great for low speed maneuvering. However that said its far easier just to leave the gears alone, the kit has more than enough power to move you from stationary even on an incline (I am 12 stone).

Overall so far I am happy with the kit, it has been reliable (well its only been a month) and has worked admirably in wind and torrential rain. Its not the most stylish of kits (there are wires everywhere), its not the lightest of kits (but it doesn't need to be) but it simply works and it has turned a commute from hell into something quite exhilarating and enjoyable.

Just incase anyone is wondering what all the stuff on my bike is, I have an air horn (£16 amazon, which is absolutely brilliant and i recommend anyone who commutes to get one), a C2B Seen rechargable 1200 lumen light and a case for my Samsung smart phone. I have also had the bike fitted with Dutch Perfect puncture resistant tyres
 

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RobF

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
4,732
2,311
Good review.

I know it's called Silent Wing, but how noisy is it?
 

trex

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 15, 2011
7,703
2,671
it should be near silent, being a direct drive. All good probably, except the weight.
 
C

Cyclezee

Guest
High vis is good. Means you don't get run over.
Indeed, an invisibility cloak is not advisable in heavy traffic, on the other hand it could be useful if being pursued by the Old Bill:rolleyes:
 

RichB

Pedelecer
Feb 12, 2013
143
15
I can't see the pics that clearly as I'm on my phone, but is the battery etc on one of those seat post racks?
If so I'd be a bit wary of putting that amount of weight/stress on the seat post?

Sounds like a good bit of kit though!
 

mountainsport

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 6, 2012
1,419
298
Hi,

The pictures are not that clear but from what I can make out it seems to me that you keep your bike quite clean. Do you do much off road riding?

MS.
 

D C

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 25, 2013
1,140
575
I can't see the pics that clearly as I'm on my phone, but is the battery etc on one of those seat post racks?
If so I'd be a bit wary of putting that amount of weight/stress on the seat post?

Sounds like a good bit of kit though!
I would agree with that from personal experience,
http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bike-conversion-kits/15822-kit-now-trek-4300-a.html
you may get away with it on smooth tarmac, no bumping down kerbs etc, but off road on rough stuff the weight is likely to do some harm.

My battery weighs 4 Kilo and frame was OK for about 400 miles.
 
Last edited:

banbury frank

Banned
Jan 13, 2011
1,565
5
Hi Our 48 volt 15 ah Battery is a cube aprox 130 mm square 4.5 kilos so we mounted in the topeak bag as close to the saddle as possible to keep the leverage o the seat post to a minim

We would normally mount the Kube battery controller case in the triangle off the frame BUT the customer wanted it removable

Frank
 

haltny

Finding my (electric) wheels
Sep 19, 2013
20
0
Hi

To answer all the questions. Yes the battery is in the MTX back on the rack and the controller is fitted underneath the rack (non removable unless you unscrew it). The kit is not that noisy at all. Its not silent (nothing is) but it doesn't scream look at me. With the noise of London rush hour traffic its probably barely noticeable at all. I don't do any off-roading with the bike, it is purely a commuting tool so road use only. If I do have to bump up or down any kerbs I slow to a minimum and take it nice and slow. Ultimately these kits are not designed for crashing up and down kerbs and I'm sure it wouldnt do the bike much good either, so treat them with a little respect! If it were to be used for off road use I would recommend the battery be moved to distribute weight more evenly. The battery is fairly heavy however Topeak state that the MTX rack is good up to 9 kilograms, so its within the manufacturers recommended weight. So far it has performed well with no issues. There isn't as far as I am aware any issues with the rack or seat post, its all solid and holds well.

Oh also, Frank at Xipi tells me the bike is still fold-able although I haven't tried it myself as I don't need to but handy to know should you ever need to put it in the back of your car!
 

haltny

Finding my (electric) wheels
Sep 19, 2013
20
0
Finally sorry for the poor pics the others were too large to upload!
 

D C

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 25, 2013
1,140
575
Topeak state that the MTX rack is good up to 9 kilograms, so its within the manufacturers recommended weight. So far it has performed well with no issues. There isn't as far as I am aware any issues with the rack or seat post, its all solid and holds well.
This is exactly what I would have said a few weeks back, until without any warning I felt the frame crack!
My rack was rated up to 9 kilos as well but it wasn't the rack that broke.
I sincerely hope that you don't get that gut wrenching feeling that I had when I realised what had happened.
I don't wish to alarm you, just stating what happened to me, maybe my frame wasn't as strong as yours.
 
D

Deleted member 4366

Guest
Yes, Why have you used a seat-post rack, when you don't have rear suspension? Couldn't you use a normal rack, which is braced at the back and will allow the battery to be fitted about four inches lower?

If nothing else, you can make some braces out of alloy tube from Wickes. You can also strengthen the frame by using a longer seat-pin.
 

haltny

Finding my (electric) wheels
Sep 19, 2013
20
0
This is exactly what I would have said a few weeks back, until without any warning I felt the frame crack!
My rack was rated up to 9 kilos as well but it wasn't the rack that broke.
I sincerely hope that you don't get that gut wrenching feeling that I had when I realised what had happened.
I don't wish to alarm you, just stating what happened to me, maybe my frame wasn't as strong as yours.

I take what you say on board, I can only hope that doesn't happen. I may just invest in a rack that isn't attached to the seat post. They are not that expensive on Ebay..
 

haltny

Finding my (electric) wheels
Sep 19, 2013
20
0
D8veh

I simply didn't realise that seat post racks were for designed for suspension bikes, nor did I appreciate when specifying to Frank my requirements what a difference to stability a few short inches can make. With hindsight I should have had a proper rack, but as I just stated in another reply I will probably change the rack over to a fixed type to avoid any possible problems arising. The used Topeak racks are cheap as chips on ebay
 

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