ELECTRIC BIKE (1 Viewer)

[Bollard]

Just clocked up my first 100 miles on my new Kalkhoff Impulse 8 electric bike. If any Funsters are thinking of buying an electric pedal assist bike I can thoroughly recommend thes bikes. The latest being a belt drive, quieter, no maintenance and lasts 5 times longer than a chain. The new battery on ECO Mode has a range of 120 MILES. I am 15+ stone and realistically it looks as if I am going to get around 90 miles Eco, 45 miles Sport and 30miles on high assist. These bikes are not cheap but really are the Rolls Royce of electric bikes. Just another bit of information, as from April this year TWIST AND GO Electric bikes ie if you are not pedalling assistance will be illegal bringing us inline with the EU.

 

[Landyguy]

I also have one of these but with the chain drive as a year old nearly.
Excellent bike and range.
If going for and electric buy quality and you won't be disappointed with a Kalkhoff bike. Wife has a step through also and thinks it is the best thing since sliced bread.

 

[canopus]

We have Kalkhoff Pedelecs but there are other makes which are even more innovative and hence more expensive i.e. Flyer Switzerland, Batavus Holland, Reise & Muller Germany, Haibikes Germany.

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[Bollard]

Sorry Funsters . . . the twist and go bit is for Spain!
Reply from IVS.ENQUIRIES@dft.gov.UK re power output.
"Increase from 200 watts to 250 watts to harmonise with European rules. Subject to clearance and final Parlimentary approval, the intention is that the new regulations will come into force on 6th April 2015.
Cycles with motors that have a maximum power greater than 250 watts are classified in European legislation as a powered cycle and therefore are required to be type approved by the manufacturer. In the UK these cycles will need to be registered, taxed, insured and the rider will need to hold the appropriate license and wear an approved helmet."

 

[Lenny HB]

Test rode a couple of Kalkhoff's last week quite impressed with them but I would prefer a bike with the battery on the front tube within the frame, they do both belt & chain drive depending on the model. I prefer a chain with derailleur gears easier to sort out if things go wrong. Going to try out some Haibikes tomorrow also want to have a look at KTM. If we decided to buy will wait until we go though Germany later in the year, same price in Euro as they are in pounds here.

 

[jockaneezer]

Bought two Kalkhoff Aguttis two years ago, both been great except the battery on mine started loosing power in December, it took a few emails and phone calls, but the supplier sent me a new battery in January. Pleased it happened before the warranty ran out, would have set me back £400 to replace

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[laird of Dunstan]

I was thinking of spending around the £1500.00 mark for a bike , any reccomendations?

 

[DBK]

I was thinking of spending around the £1500.00 mark for a bike , any reccomendations?

Have a look at the Brompton Nano - although the bike and kit will take you a shade over your budget I think. Very different thing to the bike in the OP but an impressive bit of kit. Here is a review: http://www.freewheelingfrance.com/books/nano-electric-kit-brompton.html

 

[Lenny HB]

I was thinking of spending around the £1500.00 mark for a bike , any reccomendations?

Ordinary bike or e-bike?

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[laird of Dunstan]

Ordinary bike or e-bike?

e bike

 

[Lenny HB]

e bike

In the UK you can get a bottom range Kalkhoff for but if you want something better look at the german dealers, if you want to get up hill really need a crank drive not many at that price. Stretch your budget to 2k and you can get something decent.
Eddie (judgemental ) is the man to talk too.

 

[laird of Dunstan]

Okay ill talk it over with the missus , she's trying to keep it to 1500 I've had a look at volt bikes I liked the styling

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[Hughman]

'if you want to get up hill really need a crank drive not many at that price'

True enough, and crank drive beats hub drive hands down IMHO. It gives a more natural riding experience right through the gearing range.

I had a Kalkhoff for several years and was very happy with it - excellent quality frame and bits. I changed it for a Haibike full suspension bike a couple of years ago as I wanted to do more offroad stuff and the Kalkhoff I had was really a commuter bike. The Haibike is really good - again, being German, good quality fittings, which can make a really big difference compared to low-end stuff in the long run, and also in day to day usage.

I reckon the single most important upgrade you can make, once you've got a decent bike to start with, is the saddle, for obvious and sometimes painful reasons

If you're not confident about your ability to fix bikes generally, it's probably better to buy from a decent dealer here. If you know your way around bikes, you can get much better deals buying direct from Germany (which I did) as long as you don't mind not having dealer support in the UK.

I'd also recommend joining pedelecs.co.uk, an ebike forum that has some very helpful and knowledgeable people. It can get a bit techie sometimes, but that's the same with all forums as far as I can see.

 

[DABurleigh]

Wife has the Raleigh Motus which is a high-specced hub drive at £2k. But if you want to get the price down you can still get the Captus at £1750.
http://www.raleigh.co.uk/ProductType/ProductRange/Product/Default.aspx?pc=1&pt=198&pg=12247

It is so good I have a dilemma over getting a conversion for my Brompton, because there is nothing out there to compete with the Bosch hub drive's ergonomics. Brompton will bring out their own e-bike with Williams F1 technology, but the project has been going at least 5 years with production always cited for next year :-(

Dave

 

[Lenny HB]

Okay ill talk it over with the missus , she's trying to keep it to 1500 I've had a look at volt bikes I liked the styling

Have a look at KTM & Haibike.

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[cruiser]

I still want one. I just can not afford one

 

[BONZO]

Try roodog we have two of them and up to now ok £975.00. Each they are based at Hornsea

 

[Lenny HB]

Just got back from trying out a Haibike Xduro Trekker, a different world to the Kalkhoff, went up a steep hill didn't even feel like it was a hill, riding position very comfortable. Just need to persuade the boss at £2700 each, going to take some doing.

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[BONZO]

Sounds like some bilke hope you get what you want.

 

[Lenny HB]

That was only one of their cheapest ones they top out at 12 grand.

 

[cruiser]

you can buy almost new swift for that.

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[Dogsense]

We are looking at the Raleigh Motus and debating between:
1) V braks vs hydraulic V brakes
2) Hubs gears vs Derailleur gears
3) low step vs Diamond frame

Comment/advice please.

 

[Lenny HB]

you can buy almost new swift for that.

The bike would be a better buy from what I've seen of Swift quality.

 

[Lenny HB]

We are looking at the Raleigh Motus and debating between:
1) V braks vs hydraulic V brakes
2) Hubs gears vs Derailleur gears
3) low step vs Diamond frame

Comment/advice please.

Raleigh are now a Dutch Company and the e- bikes are made in Germany.
Hydraulic V brakes are very good but still nowhere near as good as discs.
Derailleur's give a better riding experience but require more maintenance & you get a better range of gears much better on hills.
Step through frames are heavier & battery is on the back making the front end a bit light.

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[DBK]

We are looking at the Raleigh Motus and debating between:
1) V braks vs hydraulic V brakes
2) Hubs gears vs Derailleur gears
3) low step vs Diamond frame

Comment/advice please.

Difficult to give specific advice without knowing the suppliers involved. I suggest you join the CTC Forum and try asking there - but expect some wide differences of opinion!

But I would avoid hydraulic brakes, too much maintenance in my experience.
Hub gears vary widely. The old Sturmey Archer in 3 speed form is brilliant. At the other end of the scale the 14 speed Rohloff which my bike has is a bomb-proof example of German technology. In between are the Shimano hubs which are a bit variable in terms of reliability and maintenance needs.
If you just want something to cycle to the nearest pub then keep it simple would be my suggestion.

 

[Lenny HB]

But I would avoid hydraulic brakes, too much maintenance in my experience.

Not in mine, my ordinary bike has hydraulic discs, only maintenance is occasionally changing the pads which is dead easy, no cables to stretch and you get awesome braking power. My daughter has cable discs on he bike she is forever bringing it round for me to sort out the bakes.

 

[Hughman]

Not in mine, my ordinary bike has hydraulic discs, only maintenance is occasionally changing the pads which is dead easy, no cables to stretch and you get awesome braking power. My daughter has cable discs on he bike she is forever bringing it round for me to sort out the bakes.

Absolutely right - hydraulics no maintenance apart from rare pad changes, which are easier to do than changing V-brake pads. The hydraulic fluid is actually mineral oil, so it doesn't go off like car brake fluid.

Also, they work better and you aren't grinding your wheel rims down with them!

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[bernardfeay]

My Yamaha 650 dragstar works fine for me.

 

[Dogsense]

Is the Hydraulic brakes system not making it more complicated when needing to take the wheel off (puncture) than the V brakes?