Kalkhoff Pro Connect Impulse 10 2015 Review

[lowranger]

Supplied by 50 Cycles end of Oct 2014.
First 500 mile review.

Overall impression. Very comfortable bike, practical for the commute and sporty enough for leisure riding.

I am a fairly fit rider 14+ stone who has an ebike for the daily commute. I ride a daily 17-18mile route with around 900 feet of climb.

Firstly battery life/range the one everyone is interested in. It's a 36v 17amp battery pack that is sculptured to fit in front of the rear wheel. For its first conditioning charge I had some difficulty in running in down! I did 36 miles on hilly terrain and had to let the motor do a lot of work to drain the battery. On this basis I would say that 50miles+of assistance will be easily achievable . My longest ride part from this was 32 miles with 2100 feet of climbing and I still had an indicated 50% battery remaining. I had used the bike in sport ( the middle setting) and had used the assistance on all the climbs.
When the opportunity arises I will do a long ride to check the full range.
The motor is very powerful and feels like it would power the bike to way past 20mph if it was derestricted. It's a great hill climber but as with all crank drives requires input from the rider to get the best out of it.

The impulse drive takes a little getting used to. To make for smooth gear change and to save gear train wear it automatically cuts the power a bit when you change gear. As I have always eased off the pedal power when changing gear I found it unatural as I was easing off myself and the bike was also doing its thing. I now just let the bike do its thing and keep the pedal pressure the same. Now I'm used to it we get on fine. It does make for smooth gerachanges. It will pull off in a high gear if you forget to change down before coming to a stop but it's better not to do it!

Finishing kit is good. The mudguards are good and effective at keeping you dry. I have fitted and extension mudflap o. The rear of the front mudguard as it is a bit short. Rear panniers rack is very sturdy and wil cope with 2 loaded panniers, it's nice feature is being integrated into the mudguard which maps it neat.

Dynamo lights are VERY good. I ride on unlit tracks and roads and the front light is more than adequate . Rear light is bright and both stay on a sidelight setting when standing at junctions etc, these stay on for about 5 minutes.

The speedo/trip has an illuminanted display and is very clear as are the thumb controls to adjust power/switch on and off.

Saddle and bar grips are comfortable suspension fork well well on the damping out shocks in a progressive way.

Brakes are good, smooth and progressive.

Only peice of poor quality is the fitted sks pump. Only a small point but I would expect it to at least be capable of inflating the tyre! 50 cycles did send a replacement but it was no better. Kalkhoff claim it's for "emergency use" only. I can't think of more of an emergency that a self tapping screw though the Schwalbe Marathon tyre that I suffered and found I couldn't inflate the tyre! I have suggested to Kalkhoff that it's not fit for purpose but am still awaiting a response. Only a small issue but on a bike of this price everything should work as it should.

I'm not sure what the chain life is going to be like. Kalkhoff state 2kmiles as a service life. I will see how this goes.

Overall I am very impressed with the bike it's making my daily commute a pleasure and on days with better weather I'm even going the longer way home to enjoy it a bit more.

 

[JohnCade]

Thanks for taking the time to post a review. I tried the Pro Connect 9 the other week - they didn't have the 10 unfortunately - and was impressed by the gear change cut out and the increased power over my Impulse 1.

I thought it was let down by the low end forks though and I didn't like the colour. It is a lot less than the ten speed now so savings have to be made somewhere. I don't like the idea of the ten speed really. The chain is narrower than the nine and with the motor there is a lot going through it... and is there really a need for the extra gear? Perhaps the Deore is the best you can get in 9 speed now so they had to have a ten speed to improve on that?

I am thinking of getting one though. But with the price difference to the PC 9 it would make sense to buy that and upgrade the forks it it wasn't for the colour.

 

[lowranger]

I agree re 10speed John, it's not needed. 7 would be enough or maybe less. The ratios are so close and the motor so powerfull that when accelerating in traffic I have to shift two gears at a time and go through the gears really quickly. I have seldom used the lowest gears.

as I said in another post hub gears and disc brakes would be my ideal solution and, again, it wouldn't need the 11 speed hub. Maybe I will do a conversation when I've got through a couple of chains!

 

[lowranger]

Longer ride update.
Did 38 miles today with a 'Mount Snowdon worth' of of climbs at 3150 feet.
One of these is a 1:8 gradient for a mile. I tackled that in low gear and sport ( medium setting) and averaged 8mph on that section. This bike really does climb well. I used the medium setting for most of the ride upping it to 'power' for the last 8 miles as my legs were getting tired and I was into a headwind. Plus I was late for lunch!
The battery gauge indicated about 35% remaining so at least another 10 miles in there. So my conclusion is the bike is good for at least 50 miles in sport setting with even more on offer on less hilly terrain.
Top speed downhill was 45mph, the bike felt very stable with no speed wobble. All in all this is very balanced, accomplished bike and could easily be used for touring with that range.

 

[RobF]

Nice report, and 38 miles before lunch is a good effort in this weather.

 

[powerme]

Fantastic! I'm an out of shape middle aged woman and am wondering about the impulse 2 in the highest assist mode. I don't have the kind of hills you do, but I'm wondering if this would be a good bike for me, because I do need more motor assist than you do.

Or..would I be better off with an eBike that has both throttle and pedal assist?

 

[lowranger]

Fantastic! I'm an out of shape middle aged woman and am wondering about the impulse 2 in the highest assist mode. I don't have the kind of hills you do, but I'm wondering if this would be a good bike for me, because I do need more motor assist than you do.

Or..would I be better off with an eBike that has both throttle and pedal assist?

I've always prefered the Pedelec as I'm happy to pedal.
You don't have to pedal much if you don't want to!

I would suggest you go and try some out. 50 cycles are happy to let you have a good test ride. If you've not ridden one before make sure you tell them so they can advise you how to best use the gears. With a crank drive you only get out what you put in so you have to put some effort in but it so powerfull you can do a good speed with little effort. A good benefit is you always get some excercise even if it's just light spinning and thus your fitness will improve. However I would also try a hub geared bike as well, you might find it better suited to you.
The proconnect is a great commuter bike and will cope with two large pannier bags etc.

 

[JohnCade]

Fantastic! I'm an out of shape middle aged woman and am wondering about the impulse 2 in the highest assist mode. I don't have the kind of hills you do, but I'm wondering if this would be a good bike for me, because I do need more motor assist than you do.

Or..would I be better off with an eBike that has both throttle and pedal assist?

It is pretty powerful but it's a torque sensor so you do need to put something in to get the power. So depending on just how out of shape you are it might or might not be suitable. You'll get into shape with a TS bike though.

Best to try one and a couple of others too.

Crossed with the above. Great minds and all that....

Edited sensor. Must have automatics on the brain.

 

[powerme]

I'm in the US so won't be able to get to 50cycles. There are only a few dealers in the US, none of which I am near.

 

[RobF]

If you are just 'out of shape' and not catastrophically overweight, I wouldn't worry about a throttle.

The Kalkhoff should have enough poke, and you will soon regain a little fitness to make up for any shortfall.

At the higher end of the market, I like the look of the Stromer ST2.

It has a 500w hub drive - lots of power - and a nice big battery.

We can't get them officially in the UK, but recently launched in the US:

http://newwheel.net/products/stromer-st2-electric-bike-san-francisco/

 

[lowranger]

I'm in the US so won't be able to get to 50cycles. There are only a few dealers in the US, none of which I am near.

I'm in the US so won't be able to get to 50cycles. There are only a few dealers in the US, none of which I am near.

Ah sorry Powerme. Cheap flight to Europe needed? Seriously though do try before you buy if you can. There are loads of differing views and options on here so have good read through and it will give a flavour for each type.

Good luck.

 

[powerme]

Thanks all. Stromer st2 is out. Too expensive.

I'm looking at Easy Motion EVO Street. Waiting for the 2015s to arrive in the US.

 

[RobF]

Thanks all. Stromer st2 is out. Too expensive.

I'm looking at Easy Motion EVO Street. Waiting for the 2015s to arrive in the US.

Could be a wise move on the Stromer.

Much as I like the look and spec of the bike, it does appear they have quite a lot of reliability problems.

 

[lowranger]

SNOW and ICE update. I've done two rides on the snow and ice this week. It performed very well on both. The great torque of the motor allowed me to use a high gear yet travel at slow speed and avoided any wheel spin. Of course it's still a bike on two wheels at the end of the day and great care had to be taken matching speed to conditions and avoiding the front brake!

 

[lowranger]

1100 mile update.
We've ridden through about every weather condition in the last month including several inches of snow, heavy rain and serious sub zero. Bike continues to perform well. The bike was really good in the snow, I went cross country on the snow. I love riding this bike!

 

[Cyclezee]

View attachment 10562 1100 mile update.
We've ridden through about every weather condition in the last month including several inches of snow, heavy rain and serious sub zero. Bike continues to perform well. The bike was really good in the snow, I went cross country on the snow. I love riding this bike!

Beautiful photo Dave, but what is that strange white stuff

 

[lowranger]

Thanks John. It's what we get up North, remember?

 

[lowranger]

1800 mile update.

Still very pleased with the bike. One serious issue to report.

I noticed the rear wheel had gone out of true. On closer inspection at least 12 of the spoke eyelets had large fatigue cracks around them. The wheel didn't appear to be far from failure. 50 cycles have replaced the rim and say they haven't had any other reported failures.

However I would suggest that people check the rims around the eyelets for any signs of cracks.

The inadequate pump issue has never been resolved. It's only fitted as a marketing ploy and cannot be regarded as being of any use.

Chain is ready for replacement and will be done shortly.

 

[Simo]

Thanks for the update, will monitor my rear wheel, I don't live near 50cycles sadly but may well end up booking a service for peace of mind, had mine for a couple of months. Since I will have to a hire a van to transport the bike I may wait until the weather turns after summer.

 

[lowranger]

Long ride report:

81 miles, 5500 feet of climbing. Using all power modes but mostly Eco. 3 bars left on the dashboard indicator, one led on the battery itself so maybe another 5-10 miles left in the tank. Impressive!