E bike upgrade from Kalkhoff Agattu

[Andrewk]

I've had a Kalkhoff Agattu 8HS for a few years and whilst it has given good service its geometry is a little too upright for my liking plus the Mk 1 Impulse drive is a bit clunky. I am therefore considering getting a new and better e bike.

My requirements are:
good quality
crank drive
hub gear (Alfine or Nuvinci)
disk brakes (Shimano or Magura)
slightly more stretched out riding position
trekking bike (mudguards, rack, dynamo lights, stand)
not looking too obviously like an e bike
fast pedelec or capability of being dongled

I like the look of the Kalkhoff Integrale S11 speed, this is the sort of thing that I'm after but I think that I would prefer a Bosch drive as I have heard that Bosch are the best of the crank drives. Plus the Kalkhoff Integrale S11 speed is very expensive, considerably more so than its standard power 8 speed Alfine brother which is otherwise identical.

My questions:
Could someone please suggest some alternatives to a Kalkhoff Integrale with similar spec. and styling?
Does anyone have experience of both Impulse Mk 1 and Impulse Mk2 drives? Is the Mk 2 smoother and more robust?
Similarly does anyone have experience of both Impulse Mk2 and Bosch Mk2 drives? How did you find them relative to each other?
How does dongling work? Does it overstress the drive unit leading to shorter life? Is dongling a standard drive as good as a speed pedelec drive?

 

[JohnCade]

You really should ride the Bosch and maybe the Yamaha too. It doesn’t have that little front sprocket, and can take a double chainset. Everyone has opinions just as they have arseholes, and there is no substitute for finding out for yourself.

For what it’s worth many people are of the opinion that the Impulse motor is the best crank drive. It’s certainly among the most powerful in its mark 11 guise. I’ve got an Impulse 1 and I have tried the Impulse 11 which is more powerful than mine, but not noticeably smoother. But I don’t think mine isn’t smooth anyway. So possibly there might be an issue with yours if it’s a bit rough. It might be that the software hasn’t been updated. I don’t know if yours is earlier than 2013 but from that year there was a software update available from the dealer which gave a lot more usable torque and better rideability, and mine came with that done.

I’ve ridden the Pro Connect 9 Impulse 11 and if you were prepared to give up on hub gears it or the bigger battery PC10 might suit. They are available at a discount at the moment and the 9 in particular is very good value.