My New Piaggio Wi-bike has finally arrived from Vespa in NYC

[Dfstarman]

Finally my Piaggio Wi-bike has arrived , it was very well packed and fully assembled.

Took it for a short test drive, really like the Nuvinci drive and belt drive very quiet.
Pretty cool and functional Smartphone APP.
Built in GPS, bike location, theft alarm, navigation. Belt Drive. 3 levels of assist eco, tour and power and walk and 10 levels of assist via the app. NYC Vespa dealer shipped it to Florida. Great support from the owner , Andrew. So far very pleased well made and well finished.
Integrated front and rear light that works off the battery, fenders rear rack. Leather seat and hand grips.

 

[e-boy]

a beauty !
What is top assisted speed ?

 

[Dfstarman]

Thanks
Std Euro 20 MPH I suppose easy to hack by moving the speed pickup and using a magnet but 20 is fine for me.

This is my 4th E-bike a I had a Neo Jumper I sold and have a Eflow Nitro E3 that is for sale with low miles and I bought a Benelli Classica for my wife. Needed a step thru as I have a bad hip now.

 

[e-boy]

Thanks for posting !

How is it on hills ?
Is see torque is listed at 50Nm .

 

[Dfstarman]

Don't know yet, will try tomorrow

 

[Trail Cruiser]

a beauty !
What is top assisted speed ?

Outside US, 250 watts, 25 kph max assist.
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)
US version is 350 watts and 20 mph max assist speed.
http://www.piaggiousa.com/scooter/wi-bike-active-plus.html

 

[e-boy]

Thanks .

 

[Dfuser]

I am a huge Vespa fan (we own two and rent them frequently at vacation locations). Last year, Vespa announced its electric model, but so have pushed its date out to 2018. Glad to see that the other side of the house got out this beauty.

If this EBike is as well made as Vespa scooters and morotcycles, you will have years of happy riding.

By the way Vespa has some other cuties, like this "robot" luggage carrier. http://www.chipchick.com/2017/02/piaggio-vespa-gita.html. Not sure how practical it is, but if money is no object....

 

[Trail Cruiser]

a beauty !
What is top assisted speed ?

I was mistaken in saying that US version is 20 MPH only. It actually indicated, it can go 28 MPH! YAHOO!

..... "The 350W electric motor is designed and produced by Piaggio in Italy.With three levels adjustable from the handlebars: Eco, Tour and Power – you can almost triple the force applied to the pedal, reaching a maximum assisted speed of 28 mph" ...

http://www.wibikenyc.com/comfortplusunisex/

 

[Dfstarman]

The Active models can , but not the comfort models

 

[Dfstarman]

I put ten miles on it this morning, still like it . It is not as powerful as my Eflow and I really like the Nuvinci Drive.

I live in Florida so hills are scarce where I, live but I did go up the one big hill in my neighborhood it went up easily enough but somewhat slower than my Eflow could.
Pretty quiet. Think I want to raise the handlebars a bit, it does not have water cage bosses. So I just got one with a clamp but since it is on the front of the post where the seat is, I need a smaller water bottle to fit.
I could always do a handlebar mount or an under seat mount, but I am not partial to those. Heading out shortly to get the cell phone mount for the handlebars and a BLE chest strap for the APP. The app has 3 levels of standard power City, Hill and Fitness.
The display has Eco, Tour and Power. You can get 10 levels from the app but I assume it is just finer grades of the 3 levels. See this from the manual:

STANDARD: The pedal torque multiplier factor is constant and proportional to the assistance level selected. '0‘ value corresponds to electric motor switched off and '10‘ value allows increasing the pedal torque by a factor about 3.5. WARNING: the usage of high assistance levels may significantly reduce the achievable range down to 40km for a fully charged battery. CITY: The pedal torque multiplier factor is function of the vehicle speed and of the selected assistance level. Electric assistance is high while starting and gradually decreases approaching 25km/h. This mode optimizes battery range while maintaining a high reactivity of the electric motor in standing start. HILL: The pedal torque multiplier factor is an increasing function of the pedal torque and of the selected assistance level: the electric support is dynamically reduced when low efforts are detected (constant speed on flat road or downhill) but it is immediately increased in case of relevant torque request (acceleration, uphill). This mode optimizes the battery range by using the electric motor only when necessary. FITNESS: Turns the Wi-Bike into a true mobile fitness machine: the rider selects its pedal power level to be maintained along the route (i.e. 100 Watt) and the electric motor dynamically adjusts the assistance level to maintain as constant as possible the effort close to the user selected target. In the graphic representation of the strategy behavior, the orange bar and the related number indicate the target power level; the blue area shows the instantaneous power of the cyclist. There is also a USB port to be able to charge your cell phone while riding. Max charge time is 3.5 hours.

 

[Don12]

Looks like a great choice! Wondering how the fit is? I see Piaggio is offering only two sizes in the Active line, M, L > 50, 55 cm. Wondering how the fit is for you? I usually ride a 60cm so it looks like the Piggios would be too small for me.

 

[Trail Cruiser]

Looks like a great choice! Wondering how the fit is? I see Piaggio is offering only two sizes in the Active line, M, L > 50, 55 cm. Wondering how the fit is for you? I usually ride a 60cm so it looks like the Piggios would be too small for me.

Get the active line with the MTB handle bars having longer reach (not the cruiser bars of the comfort line). That can accommodate taller riders.

 

[e-boy]

What is the torque rated ?
This websites" Specs says 60Nm :
http://www.piaggiousa.com/scooter/wi-bike-active-plus.html
This says 50Nm:
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

 

[Dfstarman]

I don't have that model. I have the Unisex Comfort PLus

 

[Dfstarman]

Looks like a great choice! Wondering how the fit is? I see Piaggio is offering only two sizes in the Active line, M, L > 50, 55 cm. Wondering how the fit is for you? I usually ride a 60cm so it looks like the Piggios would be too small for me.

Medium is okay I am 5' 10"

 

[Trail Cruiser]

What is the torque rated ?
This websites" Specs says 60Nm :
http://www.piaggiousa.com/scooter/wi-bike-active-plus.html
This says 50Nm:
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

The 250 watt version has 50 nm torque while that 350 watt has 60 nm toque. At least, that's what they say on the websites.

 

[Trail Cruiser]

I thought the wheelbase of the Piaggio is too long. So I day dreamed and sketched 2 imaginary short wheelbase versions with repositioned batteries. The top one is the original, the 2 lower pictures are short wheelbase sketches. The third one is easier to carry on the shoulder when going through the stairs with better weight distribution (but then it loses its unique identity).

 

[Dfstarman]

The app is pretty cool, it can monitor 5 things on a dashboard choices are : KM/H ,pulse, avg pulse,rpm, speed, calories, avg speed, distance. When you are using the Smartphone app the display is still available with some info but not the level of assistance, that is controlled by the app but is connected to the normal handlebar control and then has 10 levels of assistance. The anti theft system is very sensitive, if you move the bike with the display attached but not on , and you do not have your cell phone with you you get a push notification saying your bike is being stolen. Same thing if you remove the battery after more than 1 minute after turning off the bike an alarm is triggered. Same if the display is removed from the bike and it is moved, alarm , Then it shows you where the bike is on a google map.
You can also set minimums and maximums on each of the monitorable stats and it will color them green within the range and red outside of the range.
It also has a Diagnostic feature and can link to low energy BT HR monitors.

 

[Trail Cruiser]

Chrck out Court's review!
I really want to know more about the Piaggio's exclusive fitness program and other smart phone program, especially when paired with the automatic shifting nuvinci.

https://electricbikereview.com/piaggio/wi-bike-comfort-plus/