2008 Kalkhoff Pro Connect

[tillson]

As a little bit of nostalgia for some of the longer term members, I thought I would provide a brief update on my 2008 Kalkhoff Pro Connect. This model is powered by the 24 volt Panasonic crank motor and cost £1500 (about £1250 after Cycle scheme discounts)

I bought the bike new in June 2008 and used it almost every day to commute to and from work (20 mile round trip). This continued up until 29 January 2016, after which my place of work moved making it a 100 mile round trip, which is too far to cycle of course.

On 29 January 2016, the bike had done just over 22000 miles, had a new motor at about 16000 miles, and a new battery at 17000 ish. The new motor cost £100 (old stock) and the battery (18 Ah) cost £550. I tend to run chains and sprockets until all the teeth are worn away and the chain starts jumping. I get about 8000 miles from a chain and rear sprocket (Alfine hub gear) and about double that out of the front sprocket, so not a huge outlay. I think it helps running 1/8" beefy chain and meaty sprockets, which the Alfine hub gear allows.

After arriving home from my last cycle commute on 29 January 2016, I gave the bike a thorough clean, charged the battery and parked it in the back of the garage. I never touched it again until 9 April 2017. The battery was still fully charged! I literally switched the bike on and went for a 35 mile ride, arriving back home with plenty of charge left. The bike is still a very strong hill climber whilst being a smooth and refined cruiser. Out of curiosity, I tried the original 9 year old Panasonic battery on the bike. This still works, but I would guess that the range is down to under 10 miles. Not bad for an old battery though.

This bike still looks brand new. What more could you want from an ebike? I know I keep asking the same question, but why did Kalkhoff incrementally make their bikes worse with each release?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Yes. All they needed to do was change the motor to the 36v version and there would have been a lot of happy ebikers.

How much do you weigh, because I found those motors totally useless for hill-climbing? The 14 amps at 24v is just not enough for anybody near 100kg. The Bosch at 36v and 18 amps has double the power, and I know some people that find that not enough.

The cost works out at 7p a mile, assuming £400 residual value. That seems a lot more reasonable than that guy's potential £10 a mile for his Haibike.

Has your fitness gone down since you stopped riding?

 

[tillson]

Yes. All they needed to do was change the motor to the 36v version and there would have been a lot of happy ebikers.

How much do you weigh, because I found those motors totally useless for hill-climbing? The 14 amps at 24v is just not enough for anybody near 100kg. The Bosch at 36v and 18 amps has double the power, and I know some people that find that not enough.

The cost works out at 7p a mile, assuming £400 residual value. That seems a lot more reasonable than that guy's potential £10 a mile for his Haibike.

Has your fitness gone down since you stopped riding?

When I bought the bike I was slightly over 100 Kg. I'm now 76 Kg. I've never considered it to be low on power, but I wanted to put some work in to gain fitness.

My fitness hasn't gone down since stopping using the Kalkhoff. Initially I wanted the bike to start me off on the road to a healthier life style. I now run 30 miles a week, cycle 70 on a road bike and swim a fair bit as part of my Triathlon training. This wouldn't have happened if ebikes didn't exist and they are a good exercise device, even if only pedalling lightly.

I know some find the Panasonic motor short on power, but I've always found it to be ok. With the power chopping relative to pedal cadence, there is s technique to riding these bikes which can take some getting used to.

 

[Paul smith]

Yes. All they needed to do was change the motor to the 36v version and there would have been a lot of happy ebikers.

How much do you weigh, because I found those motors totally useless for hill-climbing? The 14 amps at 24v is just not enough for anybody near 100kg. The Bosch at 36v and 18 amps has double the power, and I know some people that find that not enough.

The cost works out at 7p a mile, assuming £400 residual value. That seems a lot more reasonable than that guy's potential £10 a mile for his Haibike.

Has your fitness gone down since you stopped riding?

Unless your mrs is a e-bike loon...you must be impossible to live with..

 

[Deleted member 4366]

When I bought the bike I was slightly over 100 Kg. I'm now 76 Kg. I've never considered it to be low on power, but I wanted to put some work in to gain fitness.

My fitness hasn't gone down since stopping using the Kalkhoff. Initially I wanted the bike to start me off on the road to a healthier life style. I now run 30 miles a week, cycle 70 on a road bike and swim a fair bit as part of my Triathlon training. This wouldn't have happened if ebikes didn't exist and they are a good exercise device, even if only pedalling lightly.

I know some find the Panasonic motor short on power, but I've always found it to be ok. With the power chopping relative to pedal cadence, there is s technique to riding these bikes which can take some getting used to.

Triathlon. Wow! I take my hat off to you. The power of that Klakhoff is plenty for a 75 kg rider. I guess you don't have the same sort of hills as me if you found it OK when you were 100kg.

 

[Nealh]

Yep have to concur on the triathlon, just make sure you don't go to fast on the bike though, Read that Jenson was disqualified from his last event for riding to quickly , I thought that was the idea swim, ride and run the fastest to WIN yes !!!!

 

[D8ve]

Triathlon. Wow! I take my hat off to you. The power of that Klakhoff is plenty for a 75 kg rider. I guess you don't have the same sort of hills as me if you found it OK when you were 100kg.

I found the 26 volt Panasonic drive ok on steep hills, but I didn't expect motorcycle performance and did work to help it climb slowly.
Without the motor I wouldn't have even attempted the hill in bath I'm thinking off.

 

[Peter Thornton]

I've just ordered a Pro Connect B10, this morning, for delivery in May.
As a politician facing election on May 4th I was looking forward to using May to relax after the election and ride my new bike - that was the plan right up to 11am! Thank you Theresa! The best laid plans ..........
Interested in your comment that the bikes are not as good as they were. Having looked at a few similar bikes, it does seem as if they all fit more or less the same components. Suntour forks, Shimano gear sets and brakes etc. I just wish someone offered a few bright colours, other than different shades of black!

 

[tillson]

I found the 26 volt Panasonic drive ok on steep hills, but I didn't expect motorcycle performance and did work to help it climb slowly.
Without the motor I wouldn't have even attempted the hill in bath I'm thinking off.

I think that sums up the 26 volt Panasonic system. I find it will climb any hill, it's never defeated, but I suppose it is a slow climber.

 

[D8ve]

I

I've just ordered a Pro Connect B10, this morning, for delivery in May.
As a politician facing election on May 4th I was looking forward to using May to relax after the election and ride my new bike - that was the plan right up to 11am! Thank you Theresa! The best laid plans ..........
Interested in your comment that the bikes are not as good as they were. Having looked at a few similar bikes, it does seem as if they all fit more or less the same components. Suntour forks, Shimano gear sets and brakes etc. I just wish someone offered a few bright colours, other than different shades of black!

ts the motor that changed the Panasonic is economic and rarely has any failures. The modern ones are high performance run the batteries down quickly and have has some issues.
Ergo if you want assistance and good range the older ones are better.
The modern gears and suspension components are good but haven't made significant progress in the last 10 years.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Ergo if you want assistance and good range the older ones are better.
The modern gears and suspension components are good but haven't made significant progress in the last 10 years.

I don't think that's quite true. If you have a lot of power, like on the modern ones, you can always turn it down if you want to go a long way. You can make the assistance and consumption exactly the same between the old and the new; however, you can turn the power up on the new ones to double what the old one could do - if you want. The newer ones have considerably more battery capacity too, which compensates for the higher consumption when you turn the power up.

Like the batteries, gears and forks are being steadily improved. there's lots of small incremental changes that the average person wouldn't notice.

There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that ebikes of today are considerably better than they were 10 years ago, and prices are similar for the same bikes.
Kalkhoff made a mistake in betting that the Daum (Impulse) motor would be better than the Panasonic. They lost that bet. That's all. Every other manufacturer has leapt forward in reliability and performance.

Your arguments remind me of when we used to argue about motorbikes: "These new multi-cylinder bikes are OK, but my BSA/Triumph/Norton/AjS/Matchless has/had much better reliability/torque/comfort, etc." Unfortunately, I was a BSA guy then. I never made that mistake again when arguing about progress.

 

[Woosh]

modern bikes are much more flexible, nimbler and lighter.
better value for money too.
for every well maintained 8-year old bike like Tillson's, you probably have 10 that are broken or sleeping in a shed somewhere.

 

[nemesis]

My 2011 Kalkhoff pro connect had the 36v 350w S class motor and it was superb,very fast and reliable.I even had a deristrictor on it to stop it cutting out at 45km-h.I owned it for three years and used it every day.
Why Kalkhoff implemented the impulse motor is beyond me.

 

[Excalpino]

I've just ordered a Pro Connect B10, this morning, for delivery in May.
As a politician facing election on May 4th I was looking forward to using May to relax after the election and ride my new bike - that was the plan right up to 11am! Thank you Theresa! The best laid plans ..........
Interested in your comment that the bikes are not as good as they were. Having looked at a few similar bikes, it does seem as if they all fit more or less the same components. Suntour forks, Shimano gear sets and brakes etc. I just wish someone offered a few bright colours, other than different shades of black!

I've just ordered a Pro Connect B10, this morning, for delivery in May.
As a politician facing election on May 4th I was looking forward to using May to relax after the election and ride my new bike - that was the plan right up to 11am! Thank you Theresa! The best laid plans ..........
Interested in your comment that the bikes are not as good as they were. Having looked at a few similar bikes, it does seem as if they all fit more or less the same components. Suntour forks, Shimano gear sets and brakes etc. I just wish someone offered a few bright colours, other than different shades of black!

I have now completed 700 miles on my B10 bought in Feb., it's a great bike, have fitted Nyon from new.

 

[Peter Thornton]

Tell us more please! Have you fitted any other extras/ upgrades and what are the advantages of the Nyon?

 

[Nealh]

My 2011 Kalkhoff pro connect had the 36v 350w S class motor and it was superb,very fast and reliable.I even had a deristrictor on it to stop it cutting out at 45km-h.I owned it for three years and used it every day.
Why Kalkhoff implemented the impulse motor is beyond me.

The excellent Panasonic TS mid drive.
My brother has recently opened his up for maintenance as the drive stuck/ceased, grease had turned to a tar like substance and jammed up the pawls. A clean up and a regrease has sorted it all out and working again.

 

[Excalpino]

Other upgrades
an SKS XXL front mudflap ( the standard mudguard is just a wee bit short and alllows a lot of mud to hit the bottom of the frame)
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/mudguards/4245-mm-sks-long-mudflap/
this I fitted using a Halfords trim panel rivet as the supplied fitting is not long enough to go through the Kalkhoff guard. ( I also applied a liberal coating of Evostick for good measure !)

I can also recommend
Ibera Bicycle PakRak Commuter MultiMount Bag
Ibera (Amazon)
Link: http://amzn.eu/e2rgTYI

The Nyon is a real boy's toy providing loads of stats as well as a very good sat nav. Expensive but if your planning to use your bike recreationally ( as opposed to daily commute) all adds to the pleasure.
https://www.bosch-ebike.com/en/components/nyon/

I bought mine online from Germany ( http://tinyurl.com/mymcq57)
and saved over £100 off Uk price, my Kalkhoff supplier fitted it FOC prior to delivery. ( I now have a redundant Intuvia unit).