I've read and reread all the views, reviews etc., on here and for me, I know that I should really choose a Kalkhoff, so how come I became the owner of a Salisbury LPX last week? Well, just having lost an amount that would buy a Pro Connect (from my savings in the recent stockmarket shenanigans), in effect, I have to regard myself as having already bought one. It's money that's gone. When I looked at what else was available cheaply, I was really taken at what was on offer from Powacycle for £599. I don't think you can get much better below that price for late 2008.
Then on eBay I spotted a seller offering his 'as new' 4 month old Salisbury LPX for sale and so little used that the battery had only been charged the once. I then put a query on here about Lithium batteries standing for 3 to 4 months without charging and was reassured by Flecc that it would probably be okay. It was, but still I allowed £200 in the bidding for a new battery, just to be safe. I 'won' the bid, £1 below my maximum at £360. Phew!
Now that's just up my street - £360 for a four month old, little used bike. My thoughts were: it's not highly rated as a powerful bike, so at that low cost I can have some inexpensive fun upgrading, even possibly fitting a more powerful motor, (eBay bargains permitting).
When I collected it from the seller he admitted to why he sold-up so soon after buying new, (checked his feedback and there it was, one LPX bought from an online retailer in Scotland in June of this year). And that was because on trying to commute to work on it, he found the whole experience in rush hour traffic quote 'a terrifying ordeal', and had retreated back to the tin box. Oh well.
Nearly six days later I have to say: I can't remember when I last had so much fun!
Who said these bikes were best used for commuting to work? I'm self-employed so don't do a daily commute, so it's going to be used for shopping errands, odd-jobs, getting about and recreation, and hopefully to regain some of my former fitness, and lose that unwanted excess weight I'm carrying. But mainly because I thought I might have to give up traditional cycling for good. Shortly before I joined this forum about a month ago I developed crippling pains in my heel, 24/7. I've been diagnosed as having Plantar Fasciitis. Mowing the lawn left me crippled in agony. Walking any distance is now out of the question. So tried my bikes for one last time with a view to selling up and discovered that the pain miraculously disappeared completely when I cycled. Off the bike, and the pain reappears instantly. Anyway, hospital appointment next month; see what's what. It was about then that converting to pedelec transport started to form in my mind, and the Salisbury LPX is the result.
First thing, I'm very heavy and need to lose about 3 stone in weight to regain my ideal weight-to-height ratio. Even so, the Salisbury gently hurls me about without concern. Really, it just bowls along, (pedelec mode is best; throttle being useful for a gentle getaway from the front of traffic lights, or when you're just plain tired). Also, at 6' 2" tall I find the bike in stock form almost unrideable with my legs bent at a permanent right-angle thoughout the pedal cycle - with the seatpost at maximum extension! Today a brand new, beautifully turned out, extra-long 400mm seatpost arrived courtesy of an eBay bicycle retailer £12.49 all in. Haven't fitted it yet, as meeting up with a pal for lunch tomorrow and promised him a test ride, and I don't want to risk my new seatpost gaining some scratches from adjusting to fit.
And that's just the start. Future imminent upgrades are:
- 175mm cranks, (Stock is 170mm).
- Steering riser, (one I've identified boasts 5 inches of height increase).
- 120mm longer reach handlebar stem, (stock stem is 100mm and too short for me).
- Shwalbe City Jet super-fast slick tyres, (would like the 1.95 but reviews recommend and concentrate on the faster 1.5 width).
- Bar-ends for the handlebars
- Threaded freewheel with sprockets going down to 34T, (already got that), stock freewheel only goes down to 28T.
- Derailleur to handle the larger spread.
(Have all the above of reasonable quality on 'watch' on eBay).
Oh, and some decent quality V-brake blocks - whatever I try, just cannot get the front brakes to stop squealing, they defy toeing-in!
I had fully intended to replace the suspension forks for lighter non-suspension forks as most reviews complain about them; but to my surprise I find no issues with them, perhaps my weight keeps them more fully depressed from the off and less likely to clatter and jump up and down.
The throttle response can only be described as gentle, but it does work. However progress is much more forceful when the bike is used in the pedelec mode. Finally after being amazed at all the hills and steep climbs that the little bike floated up without duress, I headed for two 'killer' hills of which I can only climb on my pushbike touring bike's extremely low 21" gear, and then drenched in the sweat of exhaustion. But with the Salisbury's hill climbing gear of only 37" it was almost a forgone conclusion - it petered out half way up, on both hills. I got off to push the bike up, and was met with immediate pain in my heel. However, using the throttle the bike was 'all go', and I let it drag me to the top which reduced the pain in my heel somewhat as the bike literally heaved me up and lightened the weight on my left heel. About three quarters of the way up I was too exhausted to climb aboard and pedal so standing on the pedal with my one good foot I gunned the throttle and the bike sailed up to the top, believe it or not it was quite relaxing. Useful thing to have a throttle in addition to the pedelec mode. I'm withholding my final opinion until I've fitted that low 34T freewheel and 175mm cranks, but it does appear true that the Salisbury will do most hills but not the very steepest that are draining even just to walk up.
Tried to recondition the battery as I don't know if it ever has been done, but I could not manage to get that last light to give up the ghost in an attempt to fully discharge for reconditioning. I left it on charge for 6 hours, not realising there is no 'green' light to inform when it's fully charged. Nor do I know if the charger automatically ceases charging once the battery is fully charged. I'll repeat that process once more then charge as soon as there is a hint of one light remaining.
I'll wait until the 2009 Kalkhoffs are fully reviewed before making a further decision about next year, (hopefully they'll fit one with a SRAM Dualdrive - what the Pro Connect is crying out for).
- However, if all the upgrades make a huge difference to my Salisbury, I might not bother trading in bikes at all, I'm that pleased with it; especially as financially, its initial cost was so small it's left me with room to manoeuvre with upgrades. If you're on a budget, the Salisbury has to be on the list. AtoB rate it quite highly too, awarding it 4 out of 5 stars, describing it overall as 'Genteel'.
And that I'd agree with - a 4 star genteel pedelec/e-bike.
Then on eBay I spotted a seller offering his 'as new' 4 month old Salisbury LPX for sale and so little used that the battery had only been charged the once. I then put a query on here about Lithium batteries standing for 3 to 4 months without charging and was reassured by Flecc that it would probably be okay. It was, but still I allowed £200 in the bidding for a new battery, just to be safe. I 'won' the bid, £1 below my maximum at £360. Phew!
Now that's just up my street - £360 for a four month old, little used bike. My thoughts were: it's not highly rated as a powerful bike, so at that low cost I can have some inexpensive fun upgrading, even possibly fitting a more powerful motor, (eBay bargains permitting).
When I collected it from the seller he admitted to why he sold-up so soon after buying new, (checked his feedback and there it was, one LPX bought from an online retailer in Scotland in June of this year). And that was because on trying to commute to work on it, he found the whole experience in rush hour traffic quote 'a terrifying ordeal', and had retreated back to the tin box. Oh well.
Nearly six days later I have to say: I can't remember when I last had so much fun!
Who said these bikes were best used for commuting to work? I'm self-employed so don't do a daily commute, so it's going to be used for shopping errands, odd-jobs, getting about and recreation, and hopefully to regain some of my former fitness, and lose that unwanted excess weight I'm carrying. But mainly because I thought I might have to give up traditional cycling for good. Shortly before I joined this forum about a month ago I developed crippling pains in my heel, 24/7. I've been diagnosed as having Plantar Fasciitis. Mowing the lawn left me crippled in agony. Walking any distance is now out of the question. So tried my bikes for one last time with a view to selling up and discovered that the pain miraculously disappeared completely when I cycled. Off the bike, and the pain reappears instantly. Anyway, hospital appointment next month; see what's what. It was about then that converting to pedelec transport started to form in my mind, and the Salisbury LPX is the result.
First thing, I'm very heavy and need to lose about 3 stone in weight to regain my ideal weight-to-height ratio. Even so, the Salisbury gently hurls me about without concern. Really, it just bowls along, (pedelec mode is best; throttle being useful for a gentle getaway from the front of traffic lights, or when you're just plain tired). Also, at 6' 2" tall I find the bike in stock form almost unrideable with my legs bent at a permanent right-angle thoughout the pedal cycle - with the seatpost at maximum extension! Today a brand new, beautifully turned out, extra-long 400mm seatpost arrived courtesy of an eBay bicycle retailer £12.49 all in. Haven't fitted it yet, as meeting up with a pal for lunch tomorrow and promised him a test ride, and I don't want to risk my new seatpost gaining some scratches from adjusting to fit.
And that's just the start. Future imminent upgrades are:
- 175mm cranks, (Stock is 170mm).
- Steering riser, (one I've identified boasts 5 inches of height increase).
- 120mm longer reach handlebar stem, (stock stem is 100mm and too short for me).
- Shwalbe City Jet super-fast slick tyres, (would like the 1.95 but reviews recommend and concentrate on the faster 1.5 width).
- Bar-ends for the handlebars
- Threaded freewheel with sprockets going down to 34T, (already got that), stock freewheel only goes down to 28T.
- Derailleur to handle the larger spread.
(Have all the above of reasonable quality on 'watch' on eBay).
Oh, and some decent quality V-brake blocks - whatever I try, just cannot get the front brakes to stop squealing, they defy toeing-in!
I had fully intended to replace the suspension forks for lighter non-suspension forks as most reviews complain about them; but to my surprise I find no issues with them, perhaps my weight keeps them more fully depressed from the off and less likely to clatter and jump up and down.
The throttle response can only be described as gentle, but it does work. However progress is much more forceful when the bike is used in the pedelec mode. Finally after being amazed at all the hills and steep climbs that the little bike floated up without duress, I headed for two 'killer' hills of which I can only climb on my pushbike touring bike's extremely low 21" gear, and then drenched in the sweat of exhaustion. But with the Salisbury's hill climbing gear of only 37" it was almost a forgone conclusion - it petered out half way up, on both hills. I got off to push the bike up, and was met with immediate pain in my heel. However, using the throttle the bike was 'all go', and I let it drag me to the top which reduced the pain in my heel somewhat as the bike literally heaved me up and lightened the weight on my left heel. About three quarters of the way up I was too exhausted to climb aboard and pedal so standing on the pedal with my one good foot I gunned the throttle and the bike sailed up to the top, believe it or not it was quite relaxing. Useful thing to have a throttle in addition to the pedelec mode. I'm withholding my final opinion until I've fitted that low 34T freewheel and 175mm cranks, but it does appear true that the Salisbury will do most hills but not the very steepest that are draining even just to walk up.
Tried to recondition the battery as I don't know if it ever has been done, but I could not manage to get that last light to give up the ghost in an attempt to fully discharge for reconditioning. I left it on charge for 6 hours, not realising there is no 'green' light to inform when it's fully charged. Nor do I know if the charger automatically ceases charging once the battery is fully charged. I'll repeat that process once more then charge as soon as there is a hint of one light remaining.
I'll wait until the 2009 Kalkhoffs are fully reviewed before making a further decision about next year, (hopefully they'll fit one with a SRAM Dualdrive - what the Pro Connect is crying out for).
- However, if all the upgrades make a huge difference to my Salisbury, I might not bother trading in bikes at all, I'm that pleased with it; especially as financially, its initial cost was so small it's left me with room to manoeuvre with upgrades. If you're on a budget, the Salisbury has to be on the list. AtoB rate it quite highly too, awarding it 4 out of 5 stars, describing it overall as 'Genteel'.
And that I'd agree with - a 4 star genteel pedelec/e-bike.
