Clacking noise - Kalkhoff Impulse 2 motor

[mike killay]

Mike how very dare you to imply your Chinese budget bike is a reliable steed. Just stop it it's not German quality you know.

Makes you think though, doesn't it?

 

[Crockers]

German v Chinese. Hmmm I wonder if all the parts on a "German" bike are manufactured in Germany or is it an assembled in Germany product?

I had a quality German car....Mercedes. It was a lovely car to drive but went wron many times with the same part failing. Mercedes after care was fantastic and even way after the warranty was over at 5 years and 95,000 miles paid 50% ofwork to be done because, that part shouldn't fail on a quality car.

Would I buy another. Yes because I know all mechanical things can go wrong but it's how you're looked after when they do that counts.

Having read 50cycles response I don't see what else they can do. If your motor goes every 20 months you could get a new one adinfinitum. By then a better one will have come along. I bet Derby are working hard on the new one as we talk.

 

[KeithMac]

Makes you think though, doesn't it?

We get a few Harley Davidson motorbikes to work on and it make me smile when you have a Genuine Harley part in it's bag and the words "Made In China" written on the bottom.

Same with Snap-on tools, plenty of that is Chinese made..

 

[oriteroom]

Hmmm I bet Derby are working hard on the new one as we talk.

Sadly I do not share your confidence. They have already produced the Impulse EVO as a newer more reliable motor (to quote their publicity blurb..

• Stronger gear unit, designed for a maximum torque of 100 Nm ) .....which surely acknowledges a weakness

But we already have reports of motor problems with the new EVO powered bikes. Also, i don't not believe the EVO can be retrofitted (due to issues re controllers?) or why wouldn't they be fitting the newer motor instead of replacing failing ones with exactly the same motors with known weaknesses?

 

[Kudoscycles]

We get a few Harley Davidson motorbikes to work on and it make me smile when you have a Genuine Harley part in it's bag and the words "Made In China" written on the bottom.

Same with Snap-on tools, plenty of that is Chinese made..

I buy ratchet spanners in China from the same supplier as Snap On,the only difference is mine have Blackline,not Snap On logo.

 

[KeithMac]

I use mostly Halfords Pro at home and there's not much in it.

Over the last 10 years you can see more and more Snap-on tools being outsourced.

All their battery impact tools are Chinese made but to be fair Ive had my 3/8ths 14.4v for 6 years in daily use and it's still going strong..

 

[nemesis]

Sadly I do not share your confidence. They have already produced the Impulse EVO as a newer more reliable motor (to quote their publicity blurb..

• Stronger gear unit, designed for a maximum torque of 100 Nm ) .....which surely acknowledges a weakness

But we already have reports of motor problems with the new EVO powered bikes. Also, i don't not believe the EVO can be retrofitted (due to issues re controllers?) or why wouldn't they be fitting the newer motor instead of replacing failing ones with exactly the same motors with known weaknesses?

I bought a kalkhoff with the evo motor at the end of last year and was very disappointed.The motor was making a noise like a duck quacking on the climbs straight away and then after a few weeks it started cutting in and out at low and high speed,a new motor was fitted.
The bike was also very heavy even for an e-bike and also with the new motor the performance was poor because i think they have lowered the torque to save the motors.I sold it on as soon as i could.
I wouldn`t buy another unless they use a proven motor such as the panasonic or bosch and get the weight down.

 

[Will Tinker]

I bought a kalkhoff with the evo motor at the end of last year and was very disappointed.The motor was making a noise like a duck quacking on the climbs straight away and then after a few weeks it started cutting in and out at low and high speed,a new motor was fitted.
The bike was also very heavy even for an e-bike and also with the new motor the performance was poor because i think they have lowered the torque to save the motors.I sold it on as soon as i could.
I wouldn`t buy another unless they use a proven motor such as the panasonic or bosch and get the weight down.

Ugh!

Thanks for posting this. Makes for depressing reading, though. I'm on motor number 2 (Impulse 2.0) and it's already giving problems after just a couple of hundred miles.

Thought about getting in touch with 50Cycles and asking for an amiable solution that doesn't involve another Impulse 2.0 motor... but if the Evo's as bad....

 

[Will Tinker]

In fairness, I think 50 C have made a reasonable offer. If I have interpreted their words correctly and your motor breaks after 23 months, you will get a new one fitted with a new two-year warranty on the replacement motor only.

I don't think it is unreasonable to expect a bike costing between £2000 and £4000 to last for five years without incurring major expense. This offer is a a start in the right direction.

Yep, agree here.

Personally I've found 50Cycles to be really friendly, and willing to sort out any problems. I know that some people haven't had such a good experience (and I don't for one moment doubt their sincerity), but this has been mine.

However, they are in a tough spot. I agree, they've been let down in selling a premium product that has an inherent fault. They had no way of knowing about this beforehand, but now that thousands have bought these bikes and so many motors are failing... what can they do?

I'm not sure how to approach this, personally. I'm on motor number 2. Motor 2 is less than a month old, and is already giving me problems that are similar to the last (I only got about a hundred trouble-free miles).

So... they give me another Impulse 2.0. And what then? Most likely, within weeks a problem will occur with that one.

I paid £1700 for a bicycle, and I honestly can't remember more than a few weeks in which I haven't had any sort of problem with it. It's all very well, offering to replace the motor as and when it fails, but... I want to ride a bike that doesn't feel permanently wounded! It's just not very nice pedalling along, then feeling a crunch and a vibration through the pedals every couple of miles. That isn't what I paid for.

So what do I do?

I don't want to put 50Cycles through the mill. But I want a bike that represents what I spend on it.

Ugh.

 

[Wicky]

It begs the question do Derby Cycles have enough spare motors to keep replacing broken ones - if they run short will they have to start production lines again of the flawed motors to meet demand / honour their promise...

 

[Will Tinker]

Dear Dinger,

Sorry you feel that way. All the messages have been different and adapted in response to the forum replies.

Our service to our customers and all electric cyclists we take very seriously indeed and when that comes in to question, we need to get the message out loud and clear that if your motor fails it will be replaced as many times as it needs to be. If the motor fails within 2 years of it being fitted it will be replaced. This is not an extension of warranty from 50cycles but from the manufacturers Derby Cycles themselves.

To ensure that all Kalkhoff Impulse 2.0 owners and potential owners get the message we will continue to copy and paste the bulk of this message so it is not lost as a service to all Kalkhoff owners. If you motor fails, email us and we will test, update software and replace motor if needed.

Again in light of this recent situation to assure all our customers that own a Kalkhoff Impulse 2.0 bike that we at 50cycles on behalf of our loyal customers have managed to get Derby Cycles to extend the 2 year manufacturer motor warranty to be applied from the date of the unlikely event that a new Impulse 2.0 motor is fitted. Every time the motor does not last 2 years from the date the replacement was fitted.

This is unheard of in any motor or cycle industry warranty guidelines and we feel it shows that Derby Cycles are confident in the reliability of its own motor system.

If you do experience a motor problem please contact Joe directly on after-sales@50cycles.com

We do hope you enjoy the rest of the cycling season and look forward to seeing you all at the Cycle Show 2016 where you can test ride the latest models that the electric bike world has to offer.

Best regards

50cycles Team

Thanks again for the messages on this forum. I have now emailed you at the address given.

Edit:

Come on guys... is this a joke?

"We're writing to let you know that the group you tried to contact (after-sales) may not exist, or you may not have permission to post messages to the group. A few more details on why you weren't able to post:

* You might have spelled or formatted the group name incorrectly.
* The owner of the group may have removed this group.
* You may need to join the group before receiving permission to post.
* This group may not be open to posting.

If you have questions related to this or any other Google Group, visit the Help Center at https://support.google.com/a/50cycles.com/bin/topic.py?topic=25838.

Thanks,

50cycles.com admins"

 

[Will Tinker]

It begs the question do Derby Cycles have enough spare motors to keep replacing broken ones - if they run short will they have to start production lines again of the flawed motors to meet demand / honour their promise...

Yes, I'm not sure how this is sustainable.

Really wish they could actually find a way to just give us a reliable motor...

 

[soundwave]

take it back and get a refund and buy a different bike,do you all really think you are getting new motors? cos think again you are all getting motors that have been re con with new parts with the same fault thats failed on another bike.

they will never last 5 years and im sure they will not be making the motors for that long with the problems they have had with them.

 

[soundwave]

Derby Cycle improves its services further and makes it to its customers even easier and faster - and with warranty! Therefore Derby Cycle offers from 9.1.2016 a simplified complaint processing to. Repair service within the warranty Once a complaint because of an Impulse engine failure at Derby Cycle arrives, will be shipped from there within one working day departing from Cloppenburg a very good replacement engine to the dealer. If the engine has been running less than 200 km, in any case, a new engine to the dealer will be shipped. Attention new: On this Impulse Austauschmotor Derby Cycle are independent of the warranty 2 years warranty. Repair service out of warranty and guarantee for Impulse engine damage outside the warranty will also be sent in a message impulse replacement engine within one day to the dealer. The original motor must but back to the dealer and will be picked up from there. If you are replacing an impetus 1 engine after the warranty period, 2.0 engine incl. Speed sensor is sent to the dealer for this a very good momentum.In addition, you can now also an outdated PRO service engine without engine swap. the cost: service within the warranty: free replacement of the engine out of warranty 349 € buying a service engine 449 € . we offer this service from now on course for bikes that were not purchased from us. If interested a PN

 

[Will Tinker]

Derby Cycle improves its services further and makes it to its customers even easier and faster - and with warranty! Therefore Derby Cycle offers from 9.1.2016 a simplified complaint processing to. Repair service within the warranty Once a complaint because of an Impulse engine failure at Derby Cycle arrives, will be shipped from there within one working day departing from Cloppenburg a very good replacement engine to the dealer. If the engine has been running less than 200 km, in any case, a new engine to the dealer will be shipped. Attention new: On this Impulse Austauschmotor Derby Cycle are independent of the warranty 2 years warranty. Repair service out of warranty and guarantee for Impulse engine damage outside the warranty will also be sent in a message impulse replacement engine within one day to the dealer. The original motor must but back to the dealer and will be picked up from there. If you are replacing an impetus 1 engine after the warranty period, 2.0 engine incl. Speed sensor is sent to the dealer for this a very good momentum.In addition, you can now also an outdated PRO service engine without engine swap. the cost: service within the warranty: free replacement of the engine out of warranty 349 € buying a service engine 449 € . we offer this service from now on course for bikes that were not purchased from us. If interested a PN

Interesting... where did you find this?

 

[soundwave]

its google translator not me lol

 

[soundwave]

its on the German site and like i said b4 derby cycles do not make the motor daum electric do and thats where ulli from pcg sends them to get fixed.

and after there back there is no where near the amount of problems that you get with 50 cycles.

just seems odd to me are 50c just fixing them with parts or what?

http://www.daum-electronic.de/

http://www.pro-cycling-golla.de/

http://www.pedelecforum.de/forum/index.php?threads/neuer-service-für-impulse-i-und-ii-motore.42226/

 

[Crockers]

This also shows up a flawed business model....pinning all your sales on one brand. If they offered more brands with differing motors their problem wouldn't be so crippling.

This is where a monopoly becomesa liability

 

[countarthur]

Ugh!

Thanks for posting this. Makes for depressing reading, though. I'm on motor number 2 (Impulse 2.0) and it's already giving problems after just a couple of hundred miles.

Thought about getting in touch with 50Cycles and asking for an amiable solution that doesn't involve another Impulse 2.0 motor... but if the Evo's as bad....

Dear Dinger,

Sorry you feel that way. All the messages have been different and adapted in response to the forum replies.

Our service to our customers and all electric cyclists we take very seriously indeed and when that comes in to question, we need to get the message out loud and clear that if your motor fails it will be replaced as many times as it needs to be. If the motor fails within 2 years of it being fitted it will be replaced. This is not an extension of warranty from 50cycles but from the manufacturers Derby Cycles themselves.

To ensure that all Kalkhoff Impulse 2.0 owners and potential owners get the message we will continue to copy and paste the bulk of this message so it is not lost as a service to all Kalkhoff owners. If you motor fails, email us and we will test, update software and replace motor if needed.

Again in light of this recent situation to assure all our customers that own a Kalkhoff Impulse 2.0 bike that we at 50cycles on behalf of our loyal customers have managed to get Derby Cycles to extend the 2 year manufacturer motor warranty to be applied from the date of the unlikely event that a new Impulse 2.0 motor is fitted. Every time the motor does not last 2 years from the date the replacement was fitted.

This is unheard of in any motor or cycle industry warranty guidelines and we feel it shows that Derby Cycles are confident in the reliability of its own motor system.

If you do experience a motor problem please contact Joe directly on after-sales@50cycles.com

We do hope you enjoy the rest of the cycling season and look forward to seeing you all at the Cycle Show 2016 where you can test ride the latest models that the electric bike world has to offer.

Best regards

50cycles Team

There are two ways of looking at this;
1. Motors are failing left right and centre
or
2. There are only a small number of motors failing as per bikes sold and 50 Cycles/Derby are confident in their product and that not that many will be returned.

I'd like to think its the second one but of course have already had a new Evo motor after just 30 miles. Out of interest I Googled other electric bike makes and many other brands have particular problems. I'm reassured with the 50 Cycles warranty but of course won't feel too happy if I get stranded again miles from home.

 

[redalexx]

Today the motor pawl failed. When I stopped pedaling while the bike continued rolling, the motor didn't stop spinning ... KLACK ... another turn .... KLACK .... another turn .... I stopped this after about 400 meters.

1st motor - bearing failure
2nd motor - bearing failure
3rd motor - pawl failure

another 7 month warranty

What now? Every 5 month a new motor? Is this the solution?

But after all the good thing is that Derby Cycle confessed that there is a problem and the possibility to change tho motor the whole bike life.