Whyte Clifton V2.

[Spartak]

I currently commute 2 days out of 4, 20kms each way and have been thinking of getting an ebike to therefore negate the need to use the car for the other 2 days of my commute.

Does anyone have any experience of the Whyte Clifton V2 or similar.

https://www.balfesbikes.co.uk/bikes...xd1nsJ4B79Z_Mj38V6PTeETf1jaWqWYRoCpXwQAvD_BwE

It's powered by the following system....

Key Features and Benefits​

• Shimano E6100 60 Nm motor:is super-compact with exceptionally smooth power delivery.
• Hydraulic disc brakes:Tektro Auriga handles the braking, giving reliable stopping in any conditions
• 418Wh battery:gives you increased range.

I'd welcome any feedback positive or negative...
Thanks

 

[Joffey]

Sounds dangerous after a few pints of cider...

Looks a sweet ride though @Spartak 👍

 

[bonzobanana]

My only point is mid-drive is a much more complicated motor and delivers its power through the drivetrain so the drivetrain wears much faster. I think for high mileage applications a hub motor is much better it delivers its power separately to the drivetrain so the drivetrain wears much slower than a normal bicycle and hub motors are mechanically much simpler. Yes they don't deliver quite as much power. The 60Nm of the Shimano unit will be reduced by the power loss through the chain maybe 2-3Nm and because the gearing is 44T at the front and 36T at the rear 36/44 x 60Nm its only going to be around 46Nm in real terms not much more than a good hub motor which could be around 40-45Nm.

Mid-drive motors can also break chains more regularly which can be annoying on a long commute because so much power is delivered through the chain but hub motors mean the chain is far less likely to break even than a normal bike and even if they did if its cadence sensor based you just spin the cranks without a chain and the motor still powers the bike.

Mid-drives make a lot of sense on e-mountain bikes and perhaps leisure riding where you don't clock up huge miles but I feel the more you use an ebike the more it skews in favour of a hub motor.

It's worth trying both types of ebikes to see what you prefer. Mid-drive ebikes are often torque sensor based mainly so they scale their power with yours to give you a feeling like you have bionic power. Many hub motor ebikes are cadence sensor based so you literally turn the crank to enable power, this can make the bike feel more powerful as it delivers power with less effort by the rider meaning you may arrive at work less sweaty but the feel of the ebike is different perhaps not quite as satisfying as scaled power. Cadence sensor ebikes allow you to decide how much assistance you give the ebike yourself more easily by choosing a lower or higher gear. However there are cadence sensor based mid-drive ebikes and torque sensor based hub motor ebikes like Suntour HESC based ebikes. Halfords were doing free ebike days where you get to try one for a few hours not sure if they are still doing this.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

My LBS was quite happy for me to take an ebike out for a short - but decent ride - I was out for about 15 minutes
Gave me a chance to try in up a short hill or two

The thing with cheaper hub motors is that some can be used as a sort of throttle by just spinning the pedals slowly and the motor senses it and kicks the motor in. If the assist is high then it will accelerate you up to around 10 mph with almost no effort.
I have seen this referred to as 'ghost pedalling" - my frist ebike (in 2011 - second hand so it was from before that) would do this very easily to the extent that you have to pedal at around 15-17 mph to get any exercise at all. Mind you it has 2 assist modes - on and off - which could only be changed when you were stopped!!!

 

[Spartak]

So I took the plunge and ordered a 2022 model at reduced price.
I took it out for a test ride yesterday and once I understood the cadence for riding hills it was great.
Did a 32km around South Gloucestershire in search of hills, it easily coped with Coxgrove, Wapley, Goldcrest and Ram Hill.

Very comfortable ride and it coped well on a gravel section too.

It tops out at approx. 24km/h but I believe a simple movement of the magnet onto the crank arm can increase the power....!!!

I will update regularly to inform of the bikes progress and capabilities... 👍

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

So I took the plunge and ordered a 2022 model at reduced price.
I took it out for a test ride yesterday and once I understood the cadence for riding hills it was great.
Did a 32km around South Gloucestershire in search of hills, it easily coped with Coxgrove, Wapley, Goldcrest and Ram Hill.

Very comfortable ride and it coped well on a gravel section too.

It tops out at approx. 24km/h but I believe a simple movement of the magnet onto the crank arm can increase the power....!!!

I will update regularly to inform of the bikes progress and capabilities... 👍

View attachment 663783

It won't increase the power but it will fool it so that it thinks you are going slower so the cut-off won;t come in at 25 kph

Also means that the speedo and mileage counter will be wrong

Oh - and it will be illegal on the roads so you will be followed by the Police Helicopter and the Armer Response squad will throw you to the ground and lock you up for many years


that last bit might be a lie
The rest is trues

 

[Spartak]

Took it out last night to test out the lights that came attached to it.

They both worked brilliantly with the front light throwing out a good beam, I appreciate this will reduce the battery capacity but it does negate the need for rechargeable lights, and considering my commute starts at 04:15 in the morning it will help.

 

[bonzobanana]

Took it out last night to test out the lights that came attached to it.

They both worked brilliantly with the front light throwing out a good beam, I appreciate this will reduce the battery capacity but it does negate the need for rechargeable lights, and considering my commute starts at 04:15 in the morning it will help.

View attachment 664034

I wouldn't of thought it would reduce it too much as typically the lights included on ebikes aren't that powerful and ebike batteries have huge capacity. On many ebikes even when the battery switches off due to low charge and no longer powers the motor the lights are still powered for many hours.

 

[Spartak]

500 mile review

Clocked up 500 miles this week on the Clifton.
Bike still rides excellently and is extremely comfortable.
Took a few rides to get used to controlling the cadence which allows for smoother riding.
It has three power modes to which I’ve now got used to and use the different modes for different hills on my Bristol commute. It certainly levels out my ride.

The advertised mileage range of the battery is fairly accurate and allows me to get five commutes out of a full charge.

I’ve tried the easy hack to increase the top speed from the restricted 25 mph top speed, by moving the magnet onto the crank and moving the sensor to pick up the new position, however after approx 10 kms it flags a fault E014 on the display and turns off the power until you reposition the magnet and reset the system. I’ll have to investigate more to see a work round - if anyone knows please post.

 

[CXRAndy]

500 mile review

Clocked up 500 miles this week on the Clifton.
Bike still rides excellently and is extremely comfortable.
Took a few rides to get used to controlling the cadence which allows for smoother riding.
It has three power modes to which I’ve now got used to and use the different modes for different hills on my Bristol commute. It certainly levels out my ride.

The advertised mileage range of the battery is fairly accurate and allows me to get five commutes out of a full charge.

I’ve tried the easy hack to increase the top speed from the restricted 25 mph top speed, by moving the magnet onto the crank and moving the sensor to pick up the new position, however after approx 10 kms it flags a fault E014 on the display and turns off the power until you reposition the magnet and reset the system. I’ll have to investigate more to see a work round - if anyone knows please post.

https://www.speedbox-tuning.com/for...lTLg-uRMm2rjS_LNecJYsBBCrBo0vCbxoCiAEQAvD_BwE

 

[CXRAndy]

You got it before I was going to say the only fly was the smallish battery capacity. 60 Newtons is ok, but 85 from the Bosch CX line is better or 120-160Nm from Bafang motors.

Seems its ticking most of your boxes

 

[Sixmile]

I have new officially joined the Whyte Clifton club.

I've only had 3 rides on it thus far but it seems to have been a wee billy bargain at £1149. My first ride was 37 miles of some of the biggest hills around me to see how it got on. I still went home with 2 bars so again, impressive work from the bike although I understand that range will lessen once I've recharged the life out of the battery. I find the assistance cuts out at precisely 16mph.

I own a Whyte Portobello which I believe to be almost the same frame geometry so it's no surprise it's comfortable, feels secure and looks good as I'm a full convert to tan sidewalls. I managed to carry my little bass amp bungee'd on the rack at the weekend too so that's a useful feature straight out of the box.

 

[Spartak]

I have new officially joined the Whyte Clifton club.
View attachment 711109

I've only had 3 rides on it thus far but it seems to have been a wee billy bargain at £1149. My first ride was 37 miles of some of the biggest hills around me to see how it got on. I still went home with 2 bars so again, impressive work from the bike although I understand that range will lessen once I've recharged the life out of the battery. I find the assistance cuts out at precisely 16mph.

I own a Whyte Portobello which I believe to be almost the same frame geometry so it's no surprise it's comfortable, feels secure and looks good as I'm a full convert to tan sidewalls. I managed to carry my little bass amp bungee'd on the rack at the weekend too so that's a useful feature straight out of the box.

That is a great price to pay for a great E - bike.

 

[Sixmile]

That is a great price to pay for a great E - bike.

Have you (or any other e bikers) had experience of your ebike - without battery - getting a good old soaking?

As with my other bikes, I aim to use the Clifton in all weathers, for example it's 1st ride last weekend was a showery afternoon with alot of lying water on the roads. My concern however is that on occasions say that I go for a part-commute or a weekend away, I hope to attach the Clifton to my roof rack as normal but in order to save on weight on the roof and to protect a little against opportunist theft, I'd planned to remove the battery during my journeys to and from destinations. Often on these journeys, my bikes get soaked, which isn't really an issue for my road bike, tandem or standard Whyte hybrid - could this be a problem for the ebike though? What have your experiences been?

 

[Dadam]

Have you (or any other e bikers) had experience of your ebike - without battery - getting a good old soaking?

As with my other bikes, I aim to use the Clifton in all weathers, for example it's 1st ride last weekend was a showery afternoon with alot of lying water on the roads. My concern however is that on occasions say that I go for a part-commute or a weekend away, I hope to attach the Clifton to my roof rack as normal but in order to save on weight on the roof and to protect a little against opportunist theft, I'd planned to remove the battery during my journeys to and from destinations. Often on these journeys, my bikes get soaked, which isn't really an issue for my road bike, tandem or standard Whyte hybrid - could this be a problem for the ebike though? What have your experiences been?

Orbea Gain and Cube Reaction have both had soakings and been fine. I was advised just not to use a pressure washer or allow the motor to be fully immersed (hub or crank as appropriate).

DIY electric conversion of my Giant hybrid got its first drenching this afternoon while locked up outside work (unforecast shower). I will see if it's ok when I go home. It better be; I specified it was for all weather commuting!

Any e-bike sold in Britain should be able to cope with rain or it isn't fit for the purpose intended and you'd have grounds for a return. The purpose intended being any kind of riding outdoors at any time of year!

The only issue with removing the battery might be exposed contacts or water ingress. It depends on the bike. Does the battery have a cover you can replace when it's removed?