Wattwheels or eSPRESSO E-Bike?

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outdoorsnz

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#315162 18-Jun-2024 13:18

Helping a older chap buy an e-bike for street / urban / some gravel roads and perhaps a few trips on some of the cycle trails such as alps to ocean and central otago rail trail.

Have narrowed down to two e-bike brands.

Wattwheels bighorn LS 2024 model

This looks like a really nice bike
Ananda m100 300 W 120 NM torque
720 WH battery
Big battery, big torque and quite a bit of range at the lowest setting.
Have concerns about the 4G inbuilt sim card and security system. Couldn't find any details on sim card, data usage and privacy.
Net Weight 24kg (battery + 3.75kg)
Also unsure on 4G battery usage cost
Could get the 2023 model, but thinking 24 model would be better for resale

eSPRESSO CC 400 EQ

Also very nice looking bike
Shimano based motor / drive unit, 60 NM torque, 250w i think?
630 WH battery. Can be upgraded to 750 w battery.
Couldn't find specific weight, but around 25kg. Unsure if this is plus battery.

Which is the better bike? Thanks :-)

jamesrt

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#3250407 18-Jun-2024 13:39

Have you considered buying the 2nd hand stock off one of the companies that hires out for things like the Central Otago Rail Trail? For example: https://www.trailjourneys.co.nz/bike-hire/bikes-for-sale (We used these guys when biking the rail trail, and they had excellent bikes)

I know it's not an answer to the question, but it's a way to consider perhaps a cheaper purchase of a bike that's proven to be suitable for the task...

Senecio

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#3250410 18-Jun-2024 13:50

Those two bikes sit in very different categories. The Wattwheels isn't even purely a peddal assist bike as it has a throttle. That Merida with its 60NM E6100 Shimano motor would be considered a light or SL pedal assist bike. It might be perfctly fine depending on the use case but if the are the chap lives is hilly or he simply can't apply much power to the pedals himself it might get a bit frustrating.

From my eperience I would consider ~85nm motors to be the sweetspot (Shimano EP600/EP801 or Bosch CX Line). The EP600 is available on that Merida on the net step up eSPRESSO CC 575 EQ

wellygary

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#3250419 18-Jun-2024 14:36

outdoorsnz:

Helping a older chap buy an e-bike for street / urban / some gravel roads and perhaps a few trips on some of the cycle trails such as alps to ocean and central otago rail trail.

Hopefully your're South Island based, But if you're in the North Island, they will have to take the ferry for any of the South Island Trails.

AIR NZ will NOT allow an ebike (battery) as either carry on or check in,

Jestar require it to be shipped via a dangerous goods freight forwarder, (which sounds expensive) :(

outdoorsnz

674 posts

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#3250424 18-Jun-2024 14:47

jamesrt:

Have you considered buying the 2nd hand stock off one of the companies that hires out for things like the Central Otago Rail Trail? For example: https://www.trailjourneys.co.nz/bike-hire/bikes-for-sale (We used these guys when biking the rail trail, and they had excellent bikes)

I know it's not an answer to the question, but it's a way to consider perhaps a cheaper purchase of a bike that's proven to be suitable for the task...

Thanks for pointing that out, handy to know. In fact, why we looked at Merida was because he hired an e-bike and biked that trail from Cromwell to Clyde.

outdoorsnz

674 posts

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#3250428 18-Jun-2024 15:03

Senecio:

Those two bikes sit in very different categories. The Wattwheels isn't even purely a peddal assist bike as it has a throttle. That Merida with its 60NM E6100 Shimano motor would be considered a light or SL pedal assist bike. It might be perfctly fine depending on the use case but if the are the chap lives is hilly or he simply can't apply much power to the pedals himself it might get a bit frustrating.

From my eperience I would consider ~85nm motors to be the sweetspot (Shimano EP600/EP801 or Bosch CX Line). The EP600 is available on that Merida on the net step up eSPRESSO CC 575 EQ

Good advice thanks. Gravel roads around east otago are reasonably steep. The 575 is quite expensive. The eSPRESSO CC 400 SE EQ (EP6) looks similar but with a smaller battery, and guessing that you can't upgrade that battery setup (compact design).

What are your thoughts on the Ananda motor?

outdoorsnz

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#3250430 18-Jun-2024 15:06

wellygary:

outdoorsnz:

Helping a older chap buy an e-bike for street / urban / some gravel roads and perhaps a few trips on some of the cycle trails such as alps to ocean and central otago rail trail.

Hopefully your're South Island based, But if you're in the North Island, they will have to take the ferry for any of the South Island Trails.

AIR NZ will NOT allow an ebike (battery) as either carry on or check in,

Jestar require it to be shipped via a dangerous goods freight forwarder, (which sounds expensive) :(

Lucky we are in the South Island. Plenty of trails south and north (and Inland) of Dunedin :-)

rp1790

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#3250702 19-Jun-2024 08:20

The 60nm torque on the eSPRESSO CC 400 EQ bike is pretty light, otherwise don't know anything about that bike but do own a slightly older Wattwheels with about 100nm torque. The Torque is what counts when it comes to any hills so I'd highly recommend the Wattwheels Bighorn. They're more than suitable for trails and light mountain biking up to say grade 3.

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jonathan18

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#3250728 19-Jun-2024 09:25

I own the ‘city’ version of the Merida which has the same motor; a few other differences, notably skinnier/less knobly tyres. Personally I don’t think it lacks grunt; it’s also got very clean power delivery, which I didn’t find with the Wattwheels that I road at the time (that was powerful, for sure, but somewhat crude). As mentioned by others, it may depend on how much assistance the ‘old chap’ requires, of course…

I also think ‘better bike’ is partially determined by which one he likes more, finds more comfortable etc; one may be the better bike on paper but if it doesn’t suit the rider then… Has he had the opportunity to ride them yet?