Is this the best value new bike,release soon?

[Kudoscycles]

When I first saw the new KTM Force 27 and 29 models my initial reaction was that it was such good value that I couldn't see any reason why anyone,in the market for a top quality mountain style bike, would buy any other bike.
Priced at £1699.00,it is very competitively priced.
Available in 27" and 29" wheel sizes and in the classic KTM colours of black/white and orange,to my eyes it is a very good looking bike.
Specification,
Suntour XCR forks
Bosch 2015 spec crank drive,performance line
Bosch 2015 400 Wh battery,wind cheating shape
Shimano Alivio gears
Tektro disc brakes
Weight,20,5 KGs
27",available 15,17 and 19 inch frame sizes
29",available 17,19 and 21 inch frame sizes.
On behalf of our London dealer I have pre ordered as many bikes as sensible,I think the big problem with this bike is that it will sell very quickly and KTM will have under estimated the demand.
I thought initially that the distributor had made a mistake with the price so I got him to check,but it is correct at £1699.00.
At the London Electric Bike Company we anticipate first shipments will be due early October.
Perhaps some forum member would kindly load a photo,DamianHarrisCycles have piccies,I am at home and cannot easily load images.
I am sure that EddieO would have liked this bike,shame he is not still around,he was very knowledgeable about these Austrian and German new releases.
Dave

 

[flecc]

Here you are Dave:

 

[Kudoscycles]

Thanks flecc.
Dave

 

[Kudoscycles]

What I particularly like about this bike is that KTM have remained faithfull to their house colours,they keep experimenting with blues and yellows but I like that black,orange and white.
I am going to keep one for myself.
Dave

 

[Will]

Ooh nice. Tempting, but looking to buy something sooner.

 

[KTM Bike Industries UK]

Ooh nice. Tempting, but looking to buy something sooner.

They should be shipped to the UK dealers that have ordered before the end of this month. So not too long to wait. It could actually even be this week.

 

[EddiePJ]

I know that I have said it before, but I definitely reckon that KTM will be stealing the show from here on in.
Their range of bikes is top notch, the frame build quality is second to none, the component quality and spec is very competitive, although I'd personally swap the forks out on the above bike. Even when taking an upgrade of those into account, it still represents a superb value for money bike.
Finally, I struggle to see anything coming close in the price versus value department for the whole range.

Hold out Will, you won't be disappointed.

 

[Woodbutcher]

I'm new around these parts but was wondering why a guy from kudos is raving about a bike from another maker. Am I missing something?

 

[JohnCade]

I believe he's got a few irons in the fire.

 

[Woodbutcher]

Ah! Ok. Thanks John.

Quite like the looks of the Kudos bikes and there is a seller near me. They as good as they look?

 

[Kudoscycles]

I'm new around these parts but was wondering why a guy from kudos is raving about a bike from another maker. Am I missing something?

Firstly,I genuinely think that KTM bike is good value. But if you read my original posting I have never hidden the fact that the London Electric Bike Company is part of our business. To some extent the LEBC was set up to offer a retail business that had good stocks,it seemed to me that one reason why the e-bike business was not progressing in the UK was that retailers were not stocking enough choices of bike,the KTM product sits well with the Kudos product offering a wide choice of price,type and style.
KudosDave

 

[Woodbutcher]

Thank for the reply Dave. Only joined the site tonight and getting to know whose who and what's what.

Like the look of your bikes. What would you recommend to someone who has spent most of his life riiding a touring bike with a bit of light lloffloading on trails on my second bike which is a Dawes ATB

Still want to feel like I am cycling and not on a moped. Just need some assistance for the old knees nowadays on hills.

 

[Woodbutcher]

Should have read offroading. Damn fat fingers and predictive text.

 

[Croxden]

Should have read offroading. Damn fat fingers and predictive text.

Offloading? I thought it was a carpentry term.

 

[Kudoscycles]

Thank for the reply Dave. Only joined the site tonight and getting to know whose who and what's what.

Like the look of your bikes. What would you recommend to someone who has spent most of his life riiding a touring bike with a bit of light lloffloading on trails on my second bike which is a Dawes ATB

Still want to feel like I am cycling and not on a moped. Just need some assistance for the old knees nowadays on hills.

Hi,the choice of e-bikes is so wide now that it's almost impossible to recommend a suitable bike without knowing a bit more,it's also relevant how much you want to spend. Assuming you are average height and average weight the Kudos Tornado may be a good start,there are a number of dealers around the UK who have sample bikes,where is your location?
Kudos and KTM have tried to keep the bikes looking like normal bikes and in many cases a casual glance would not identify them as electric assist,we don't like the moped look.
KudosDave

 

[Woodbutcher]

Offloading? I thought it was a carpentry term.

Well I am carpenter and it's not a term I use. Not until now at least.

 

[Woodbutcher]

Hi,the choice of e-bikes is so wide now that it's almost impossible to recommend a suitable bike without knowing a bit more,it's also relevant how much you want to spend. Assuming you are average height and average weight the Kudos Tornado may be a good start,there are a number of dealers around the UK who have sample bikes,where is your location?
Kudos and KTM have tried to keep the bikes looking like normal bikes and in many cases a casual glance would not identify them as electric assist,we don't like the moped look.
KudosDave

Average height......................tick, average weight.........................not any more, unfortunately. Around 100kg now and looking to shed some excess flab. There is a Kudos dealer 20 miles from me. I'll arrange a visit and a test ride or two.

Thanks again.

 

[RobF]

Is the derailleur system up to it?

I ask partly because in another thread KudosDave posted: "I cannot find anything wrong with a good quality derailleur system(Alivio or Deore) provided that you are not trying to feed a crank drive motor system through it."

This KTM bike has Alivio derailleurs by the look of it.

 

[KTM Bike Industries UK]

Is the derailleur system up to it?

I ask partly because in another thread KudosDave posted: "I cannot find anything wrong with a good quality derailleur system(Alivio or Deore) provided that you are not trying to feed a crank drive motor system through it."

This KTM bike has Alivio derailleurs by the look of it.

I'm not sure why KudosDave has said that... because the deraillier shouldn't be a load bearing part, that is in any way effected by the increased power or weight added by the Bosch drive. The chain just rolls though it, the only stress its under is as it moves up and down the gear and the fact its an eBike doesn't effect that stress.

Why would a derailleur be under any more stress on an eBike? There are lots of parts we'd not compromise on, on an eBike... brakes, frame, wheels etc etc. Rear Mech i can't see how it could be a problem.

 

[Kudoscycles]

I'm not sure why KudosDave has said that... because the deraillier shouldn't be a load bearing part, that is in any way effected by the increased power or weight added by the Bosch drive. The chain just rolls though it, the only stress its under is as it moves up and down the gear and the fact its an eBike doesn't effect that stress.

Why would a derailleur be under any more stress on an eBike? There are lots of parts we'd not compromise on, on an eBike... brakes, frame, wheels etc etc. Rear Mech i can't see how it could be a problem.

Colin,there is no question that a derailleur connected to a crank drive is under much greater stress,the chain has to cope with the rider's power as well as the power from the crank motor. This is particularly a problem with downshifts on steep hills. There are some of us on this forum and I agree with them that the action of unassisted cycling has a point on the rotation of the crank where the chain is relaxed and the chain is lifted easily but with an e-bike the motor keeps the power on constantly so the relaxed point does not occur.
The Bosch generation 2 system is clever that it lowers the motor power when attempting a shift under load and returns the power when the change is completed. Simpler Chinese crank drives do not have this sophistication so it is necessary to temporarily remove the motor load when attempting an under load shift,this is normally achieved by tapping the brake lever. All is good provided that you execute the change quickly but a slow change can result in considerable loss of momentum.
It was because of the foregoing that we deleted the derailleur system on our Kudos Ibex bike and replaced with a Nuvinci hub,this hub's operation allows power on changes under load.
Of course,none of these considerations apply to a hub drive e-bike where the motor load is completely independent of the derailleur,the chain is under no more load than with a non assisted bike.
The crank drive has the advantage that the Nexus or Nuvinci hub can be fitted in the rear hub,on for example the Macina Bold,some customers prefer the operation of hub gears and there are some who find the Bosch crank drive system very smooth in its operation.
But we are both naughty boys talking about this because Trex will be along in 10 mins to tell us both why a crank drive is best,flak hats back on!!!
KudosDave