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[Aftersales 50cycles UK]

Hi I did extensive research before I bought our bikes, and test rode them.
At no time when puchasing our bikes was any mention of the fact that unless the bikes were returned to 50 cycles to have any repairs done, we would have to pay, they would only pay for the parts, I had a argument with them, over them wanting me to pay the cost of returning the old motor.
They seem to have a lot of Glib talk, but are not interested when they have your money.
I would be surprised if they don't monitor these forums, so will be aware of these comments.
Obviously 50 Cycles don't care.

Dear Trevor,

Of course we care we have been in business since 2003 and was the founder of modern electric bikes with crank drives in the UK. We now have over 20000 customers in the UK all of which are kept happily on the road without fail.

You have a very unusual case here as we have 15000 Kalkhoff customers and in that time have replaced under 150 motors within a warranty period.

Through all the brands and motor systems in 12 years of business we have only ever sold 20 motors out of warranty most of which have been ezee, Panasonic and Impulse 1.0

On your case it is best you put both bikes on your Motorhome and bring them to one of our depots for testing to see if there is actually a motor failure and explain exactly what you mean by wear on your motor so close to the end of your warranty period. Of course if there is a yet another problem with your motor then it will be replaced under warranty without question.

Please remember a warranty is that of parts in whatever products you buy worldwide. Wherever possible and in most cases we offer alongside any warranty claim through us with free labour.

Some of our partners and agents that help us with servicing will need to charge for additional labour as with any car service at any garage they need to keep in business.

However the guarantee that I can offer you from our company 50cycles is that as the UK Kalkhoff distributor is that we will keep you on the road no matter what. We have done this successfully now with 20000 customer. However it cannot be expected that we offer free service including delivery costs indefinitely. Although our after-sales staff do have set guidelines we also flexible and open to each individual case.

To put your situation in context we have sold by far more bikes in 2015 then ever before, but our after-sales contact volume is way down due to the ongoing continued quality of the Kalkhoff range of bikes.

Our battery and motor technology are simply amazing and are the best in the pedelec world, achieving many times multiple the warranty period. I think on this forum out of our 150 motor changes out of 15000 Kalkhoff bikes only 5 have ever been reported on here. When our firm sells 200 a month that is not a bad ratio for the 7 years we have been a distributor.

Please get your bikes back to our Bristol Branch for a full inspections, service and to see what is happening with your bikes different to the other many thousands of Impulse motor driven bikes on the road.

It is also company policy that if a bike is bought to one of our outlets and agents then if it cannot be dealt with in store we will pick it up with our own driver, taken to our HQ in Loughborough, fixed, serviced and boxed up in a reused box and delivered back you free of charge.

If you are not willing to get the bike to us then we have to charge to send you a box and get the bike picked up without us actually knowing what the fault could be. Often sending us an individual part works best but with a motor claim it is a little bit more complicated and we are can only go by the guidelines of our supplier for how claim back any part. Again our company is one of the only few in the country that deals with this on large scale very effectively for such a small team. There can always be improvements and your feedback is only helping us get it right for everyone.

Working long distance generally works well for 95% of our customer but it would really be best now if you met and discussed with one of our experts in store that will give you the best retail bicycle service in the UK. We do not even know for sure if either bikes need a motor change or one of many reasons could be as simple as a software upgrade.

I assure you are service is second to non in the UK and we take it very seriously indeed. Please get in touch with our Aftersales Manager joseph.kneip@50cycles.com or directly on 01509217775 on the 4th January to advise the best location for you to leave your bike with us for a week to be tested, fixed and delivered back to you anywhere in the UK free of charge.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.


Kind regards

Kalkhoff Aftersales

 

[oriteroom]

Dear Trevor,

Of course we care we have been in business since 2003 and was the founder of modern electric bikes with crank drives in the UK. We now have over 20000 customers in the UK all of which are kept happily on the road without fail.

You have a very unusual case here as we have 15000 Kalkhoff customers and in that time have replaced under 150 motors within a warranty period.

Through all the brands and motor systems in 12 years of business we have only ever sold 20 motors out of warranty most of which have been ezee, Panasonic and Impulse 1.0

............

I

Kalkhoff Aftersales

Agree with Service Supprt BUT

You quote motor replacements over a 12 year period, during which time, for a substantial period the
bikes were powered by Panasonic motors. More illuminating would be a breakdown of units sold versus motor service/replace statistics for the different motors. That way confidence can either remain the same or go up/down with each model.

Having been a member of this forum since 2008, I cannot remember similar concerns over the Panasonic motors. I well remember the initial problems with the 24 spoke wheels on the ProConnect, but have one still on the road, no probs after 9,000 miles on that one.

Kalkhoff are in danger with the constant steam of motor improvements of doing development for development's sake (or excuse to raise the price). Improvement may be needed by competitive market forces in search of the ultimate nirvana of torque or whatever it is, coz that what the opposition are doing. BUT the average user may not need or want that. We certainly do not.

As they warn on financial products....

PAST PERFORMANCE IS NO GUARANTEE OF FUTURE PERFORMANCE.

For me the jury is out on Kalkhoff, and hopefully your evidence for the defence (broken down statistics of units sold verses service/replacement requirements) would allow me to reach a verdict. My belief is you would not present such data as it would be commercially sensitive (even on a percentage basis). I look forward to such info, but am nit holding my breath....


Apologies fir ne typos, i HATE fat fingers and an iPad Keypad.

 

[pichipedals]

Hi Tinker17

sorry to hear you are having repeated issues.

Have you been able to progress this issue ?.

I'm new to eBikes, but did buy a Kalkhoff from 50cycles (55 miles from my home) on Saturday; couldn't fault the guys at Bristol - no hard sell, just 'here's a couple of bikes , go give them a try'.

I'm very happy so far, it was by far the best riding position, comfort and ease of use of the bikes I shortlisted and tried.

I hope you find some resolution; I can appreciate the aggravation of being so far from 50cycles but courier services are not too costly these days.

Fingers crossed for you.