Clacking noise - Kalkhoff Impulse 2 motor

[soundwave]

shimano steps motor is 900 euro 100 euro for the display and 55 for the buttons.

sod that.

 

[Tomtomato]

That is also my understanding of the law. A manufacturers warranty or a dealers warranty cannot remove any rights enshrined in consumer law. Probably mean a trip to the Small Claims Court though

That's correct.

However, probably no trip anywhere is required. A money claim can be raised online in about 15 minutes, and I don't know many retailers, when at fault and the claim is reasonable, who would actually let it go to court. Most would settle much before, once they get the notification.

 

[oriteroom]

Tomtomato

Your original post has certainly prompted musch discussion and interest, with posts running at 161, and views approaching 5,000 now. The UK Kalkhoff either 50cycles, and/or Kalkhoff Aftersales haven't posted much on here. The latest discussion on small claims court action, if and when required, cannot be a ringing endorsement of faith in the latest breed of motors by those of us who have them!

 

[Tomtomato]

small claims court action, if and when required, cannot be a ringing endorsement of faith in the latest breed of motors by those of us who have them!

I was just mentioning the consumer rights people have, regardless of the brands and vendors, and regardless of the warranty period provided by the manufacturer. To me, it's reassuring to know that we have some rights, and those are fairly easy to enforce.

I have no reasons to believe that 50 Cycles would require such steps (small claim court) to provide a suitable level of support, even after warranty.

My experience with them was that the first motor issue was fixed (even thought it took a bit of escalation to speed the repair up), and the motor has been very silent since (but I have only done about 400 miles with it), so I am happy.

I am also happy that my expensive purchase, from a UK leading retailer, will be covered against manufacturing defects, if those occur again. Good luck to people who buy online, abroad or from small retailers, who won't be around for long (the SOGA protection is on the retailer, not the manufacturer, so best to trade with a company likely to stay in business).

 

[Mike45]

I was just mentioning the consumer rights people have, regardless of the brands and vendors, and regardless of the warranty period provided by the manufacturer. To me, it's reassuring to know that we have some rights, and those are fairly easy to enforce.

I have no reasons to believe that 50 Cycles would require such steps (small claim court) to provide a suitable level of support, even after warranty.

My experience with them was that the first motor issue was fixed (even thought it took a bit of escalation to speed the repair up), and the motor has been very silent since (but I have only done about 400 miles with it), so I am happy.

It may be of interest that one 50 Cycles employee has stated that the warranty on a replacement motor is not 2 years from supply and fit as I would expect but runs from that date of purchase of the bike. I happen to think that he's wrong and I hope that my motor doesn't show any of the signs discussed and that, if it does, matters never deteriorate to the point that I have to go to court to prove it . A bit of a gamble, methinks.

 

[Tomtomato]

I happen to think that he's wrong and I hope that my motor doesn't show any of the signs discussed

Does not really matter what he says. No retailer is going to say: "yes, we provide a warranty on our bikes for 5 years, given the SOGA rules". Not just niche electric bike retailers, look at Apple for instance.

And no, you most likely wouldn't need to go to court, as explained previously, so it's probably not a big deal (apart from the inconvenience of having the bike being repaired, if required).

A bit of a gamble, methinks.

Which other manufacturer/retailer do you suggest, that will still be around in 4-5 years' time, to give you support? 50 Cycles is probably much less of a gamble than many other small independent retailers (or buying online, abroad).

 

[Mike45]

Does not really matter what he says. No retailer is going to say: "yes, we provide a warranty on our bikes for 5 years, given the SOGA rules". Not just niche electric bike retailers, look at Apple for instance.

And no, you most likely wouldn't need to go to court, as explained previously, so it's probably not a big deal (apart from the inconvenience of having the bike being repaired, if required).

Which other manufacturer/retailer do you suggest, that will still be around in 4-5 years' time, to give you support? 50 Cycles is probably much less of a gamble than many other small independent retailers.

Please, don't mention Apple I'm having my dinner!

 

[Crockers]

It may be of interest that one 50 Cycles employee has stated that the warranty on a replacement motor is not 2 years from supply and fit as I would expect but runs from that date of purchase of the bike. I happen to think that he's wrong and I hope that my motor doesn't show any of the signs discussed and that, if it does, matters never deteriorate to the point that I have to go to court to prove it . A bit of a gamble, methinks.

Replacing any item under warranty never gives a new start date for that item. That's common a!ongst most consumer items. If you own a car and the engine blows up after 2.5 years into a 3 year warranty the new engine gets just the remained of the manufacturers original warranty I.e. 6 months. This is of course before any goodwill.

 

[tillson]

Replacing any item under warranty never gives a new start date for that item. That's common a!ongst most consumer items. If you own a car and the engine blows up after 2.5 years into a 3 year warranty the new engine gets just the remained of the manufacturers original warranty I.e. 6 months. This is of course before any goodwill.

That's true, but a warranty is only a statement by the manufacturer to say that they won't quibble over a repair during a defined period, ie their warranty period.

If that same engine developed a fault one year after the manufacturer's warranty ran out and it was a Mercedes with low mileage which had been regularly serviced by a main dealer, a court may decide that a vehicle which purports to be of superior quality and carries a price tag to match should last longer than X years and rule that the repair must be at the manufacturers expense.

 

[Lothlean]

With regard the Impulse 2 motor. On first purchasing it, had to be returned due to wrong software apparently with motor problems from day 1. After 10 months of use; the motor began to whine; then clacking; then after 3 weeks it sounded like a loose pebble in there. Tried to pedal and the motor ceased in the middle of heavy traffic. In fairness, we cannot complain about 50 Cycles, they have been very accommodating and driving immense miles to repair the bike. I think they are getting a raw deal from faulty manufacturing of the Impulse 2 motor that I feel Kalkoff should replace with an alternative. I own several other e bikes; front hubs, rear hubs, step through, Ebcos, Dawes etc. I took the plunge in the hope of making a good investment that would last several years for my daily work commute. I think Kalkoff need to publish the percentage of failed Impulse 2 motors rather than unit numbers that can be misleading. Shame on them for high end products. Kalkoff need to fork out the new motors to replace the Impulse 2 which are obviously faulty.

 

[nemesis]

The replacement impulse motor i had fitted to the focus jarifa is running great after 500 miles so far,silent and powerful and i hope it stays that way because no other mid drive performs the same so at the moment no matter what i would have stayed with kalkhoffs product.

 

[Pilot99]

My Tasman Impulse 2 has also started making a clicking sound, after about 1000 miles. I'm not sure it's the same as the noises recorded here. What I'm experiencing is a momentary snap as I pull away, as if something has slipped. After that everything seems normal and I can pedal normally without any noise. This is an intermittent thing and doesn't happen all the time though it is fairly regular. I'm pretty sure it's not the chain (it's new), but something coming for the pedals or the gears. When I back pedal a fraction then move forward again I also get a clicking but I'm not sure it's related to the snapping sound when I pull away. Interestingly I wasn't aware of this problem until I did get my chain changed. Coincidence?

Usually the snapping sound is fairly minor but once or twice has been quite dramatic as though something was actually breaking. Quite disconcerting, though I haven't been particularly impressed by 50cycles to date. Perhaps I need to persist when them for a solution. In the meantime, any ideas or comments would be grateful.

I have a four year old Kalkhoff Agattu i8 HS and getting a very intermittent Clack sound - might do a couple of miles, then tye Clack from engine area and a slight sensation through the left crank.
Have replaced the rear wheel with another which I know to have perfect gears and still getting intermittent Clack.
Sounds as if a "missed gear" has occurred, but it's n the engine area.

 

[bernharvey]

Hi,

I have a Kalkhoff Pro Connect 10 bike, purchased a couple of months ago.

I have done about 1,000 miles with it so far, mainly on flat towpaths (so with the minimum assistance most of the time).

Originally, some loud "clacking" noise came from the motor when I was using the maximum assistance level. However, today, the noise also started after about 2 hours when using the lowest "eco" mode one (basically, one loud "clack" per front sprocket full rev). Sometimes, pedaling in reverse for one full rev is fixing the issue, as if the chain was not engaged properly on the front sprocket.

I am sure it's not the chain, derailleur or anything else, as the noise stops as soon as the motor is switched off. The noise does not specifically happen either when changing gears, which are changing fine and the chain does not have to be changed yet.

I can see old threads regarding the Panasonic motor having similar issues, but this is an Impulse 2 Kalkhoff motor.

I am going to send my bike for a maintenance check to 50 cycles soon, but would be interested to know if other people have a similar issue with crank noise.

Thanks,
Tom

 

[oriteroom]

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/kalkhoff-agattu-not-fit-for-my-purpose.23199/

The worrying/bad news on the reliabilty of the Impulse 1/2 motors just keeps on coming in.

 

[lordvincent]

I have a four year old Kalkhoff Agattu i8 HS and getting a very intermittent Clack sound - might do a couple of miles, then tye Clack from engine area and a slight sensation through the left crank.
Have replaced the rear wheel with another which I know to have perfect gears and still getting intermittent Clack.
Sounds as if a "missed gear" has occurred, but it's n the engine area.

That sounds a lot like my noise. I have a 2013 agattu with the impulse 1 motor and usually hear the clack when I put a lot of pressure on the pedal, for example when in too high a gear, but it sometimes happens in other circumstances, and also with the pedal sensation. On one occasion I heard the noise when pushing down quite hard, then there was a total loss of resistance in the pedals for half a turn, then back to normal, which made me suspect the hub gears.

 

[tillson]

I'm hearing reports of a third Impulse motor fitted to a Kalkhoff starting to fail.

Does anyone know of an Impulse motor lasting for more than 3000 miles? A bike in the Kalkhoff price range should easily cover 10000 without any issues.

The Impulse motor seems to be a lemon an Kalkhoff need to address the problem. The situation is reflecting badly on the UK supplier(s) which is unfair because it's not their fault. They are trying hard to do their best with a bad product.

 

[Will Tinker]

Just wanted to contribute with my experience.

Just to emphasise - I am 1,000 miles (and almost 5 months) in with my Pro Connect Impulse 9 (Impulse 2 motor). My motor has NOT failed: my bike is still running ok. However, I have started to hear noises similar to those reported here (which appear to be early symptoms eventually leading to a failure).

I first noticed it around the 500 mile mark. Initially it was happening once or twice a day. I now get it around 4 times per 7.5 mile journey.

Doesn't feel bad, but does appear to be gradually worsening.

I am a little disappointed. I previously had a Giant Prime E+ 2014 (then a 2015) which was a nice bike but so unreliable. I bought Kalkhoff, rightly or wrongly, based on their reputation. I was hoping for at least a couple of years trouble-free considering the £1,750 I spent.

Going to keep using the bike until cycling with the fault becomes difficult, then return it to 50Cycles.

I hope they will continue to provide support over 2 years, though like others here if a second motor fails within warranty I might end up getting it replaced, then selling the bike and cutting my losses.

Hope it won't come to this, as I like everything else about the bike.

And just to add - 50Cycles have been really nice to me (so far).

 

[lowranger]

Unfortunately the 'clacking' from the motor is the first sign of failure. I wouldn't wait to get it repaired. Before the long the pedals will start to lock up occasionally which can be dangerous. 1000 miles seems to be the best you can expect from the impulse 2 or has someone out there done more trouble free miles?

 

[oriteroom]

This story is just a catalogue of absolute disasters for what was a premium brand of pedelecs. More and more faults appear out of the woodwork, and all with relatively LOW mileage. Mrs O is going go have to start using her 'new' Impulse 2 Tasman before the warranty runs out!!! Mind you that only seems to get you a replacemwnt tht has a similar life expectancy.

It's going to be a LONG LONG TIME, BEFORE I EVEN CONSIDER BUYING OR RECOMMENDING KALKHOFFS to the many head-turners our old Pnaaonic powered models attract. Just hope they continue to serve us well as they hve done for the past 7 years and combined 30,000+ miles.

Disappointed and disillusioned.

 

[Will Tinker]

This story is just a catalogue of absolute disasters for what was a premium brand of pedelecs. More and more faults appear out of the woodwork, and all with relatively LOW mileage. Mrs O is going go have to start using her 'new' Impulse 2 Tasman before the warranty runs out!!! Mind you that only seems to get you a replacemwnt tht has a similar life expectancy.

It's going to be a LONG LONG TIME, BEFORE I EVEN CONSIDER BUYING OR RECOMMENDING KALKHOFFS to the many head-turners our old Pnaaonic powered models attract. Just hope they continue to serve us well as they hve done for the past 7 years and combined 30,000+ miles.

Disappointed and disillusioned.

I'm disappointed too, but I wouldn't call it a catalogue of disasters just yet. For one, my bike is still running after 1,100 miles (which isn't much, but it's already more reliable than two Yamaha Syncdrives in the Giant bikes that proceeded my Kalkhoff!), and two, even if it does fail that is not to say that every other motor is going to be the same.

We just don't have an accurate sample base/return rate to tell how big or small an issue this is.