REVIEW.
What great value for money and overall a great bike. I looked at and tested 10 e-bikes and bought a Kudos City bike. I have completed 105 miles in 2 weeks and all have been fun, even when riding up hills. It has also stopped me using the car for short trips.
My shortlist consisted of the Whisper 906 Alpino and 2 kudos bikes, the Tourer and the City. I finally went for the Kudos based mainly on price as disc brakes and the other 'nice to haves' like neater wiring, a better paint job etc did not, in my opinion warrant the extra £1104. It rides very similar to the whisper, even making the same motor whir under acceleration. I chose the City over the Tourer because of the front suspension. The guys at Kudos took me for a test ride along the seafront at Swalecliff on both bikes and the City won hands down. The ride was along a very bumpy stretch of concrete pathway and at 54 the old joints are not as flexible as they were.
The saddle is very comfortable and combined with adjustable handlebars, the riding position is excellent. I have replaced the handlebars with a straight set, purely personal choice.
Having the lights built in is a real plus as is the lock. I have added a Kryptonite cable with loops at each end. Looped round the front wheel, something permanent and then close the lock through the loop makes for great security.
The chain cover is both good and bad. Its great not having to use cycle clips, but the large protruding cover at the back looks odd and only holds on with a couple of clips. The one delivered was broken and replaced. I caught it on a door frame and broke the replacement. I have just left it off.
The 2 critisms I have is the controller is very basic, why not fit the LCD display type so you have speed and distance information. First thing i did was fit a cycle computer. I use distance to know how much battery/distance I have left. It is far better than relying on the indicator lights. The second is the battery. It does not have enough Amp hours. I just about get 30 miles on a charge. I have tried it on 2 long runs. I used level 1 and 2 for 90% applying constant preassure to the pedals(enough to increase heart rate) and just about have enough power to get home. On the face of it 30miles seems a fairly long ride and on a normal bike it is, but on the City its just not enough. It is very easy to get out and about and go for a long ride. As an example last Sunday I went down to Docklands, 12 miles, rode along the Thames walkway. This took just over an hour. I thought about going to Greenwich, about another 3/4 miles but realised I would not have enough power to get home, it was a real shame. I have tried riding without power but this is not a option for me as I have recently had surgery and bought the bike for the assistance. It would be really great to have a larger battery as an option. I know that I could have a second battery but where to store safely if I leave the bike.
A final point. I noticed on the bike the forks have a mount for a disc brake but the wheel does not have the necessary bolt holes. It would have been nice if it did so I could have fitted one.
In conclusion great product, great value, great fun.
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I sent this review to Kudos and Dave from Kudos asked me to publish the review for other to read, even though it is not 100% favourable. He also replied to all the points I made which are below.
Michael
Glad that you have an overall good impression of the City bike. It is my personally preferred bike, I find it comfortable to ride for miles.
When specifying these bikes I have to make compromises which allows us to buy in big quantities and this is reflected in the price. To try to point by point answer your email.
The Wisper is a fine bike. Wisper have made the decision to increase the controller amps – this offers higher hill climbing power but at the expensive of range, hence the need for big batteries – we chose to stick with 10AH batteries across our entire range with massive savings in cost.
I am investigating a rear wheel lock with extendable cable as part of our 2012 model improvements.
We put the LCD display on our more sporty models (example King), but many customers said they preferred the simplicity of the LED type unit.
The battery range is a big compromise – I really like this LiFePO4 battery, it has so much less storage and life problems when compared to the lithium ion type batteries – it is possible that many customers will have the same battery for 5 years plus. But it is heavier if we go up to 14AH, the battery will weight 6.5kgs. Our batteries are half the cost of most of our competitors and that seemed an important long term factor.
Perhaps a second battery, strapped to the rear rack and only use when considering a long trip – take a rucksack if you leave the bike.
Thanks for your valued feedback, when deciding on a new model specification it is most helpful.
Could I ask that you post your review on the Pedelecs site, it is good for future customers to have an unbiased report.
------------------------------------------------
I have to say that Kudos have been very helpful and its nice to see that they have thought out their decisions and have responded to my comments. I do agree that the simple controller is easier to use than the LCD one, perhaps there is a controller that is simple to use with the mileage display. The lock with a cable built in would be great. However I would still like a bigger battery.
What great value for money and overall a great bike. I looked at and tested 10 e-bikes and bought a Kudos City bike. I have completed 105 miles in 2 weeks and all have been fun, even when riding up hills. It has also stopped me using the car for short trips.
My shortlist consisted of the Whisper 906 Alpino and 2 kudos bikes, the Tourer and the City. I finally went for the Kudos based mainly on price as disc brakes and the other 'nice to haves' like neater wiring, a better paint job etc did not, in my opinion warrant the extra £1104. It rides very similar to the whisper, even making the same motor whir under acceleration. I chose the City over the Tourer because of the front suspension. The guys at Kudos took me for a test ride along the seafront at Swalecliff on both bikes and the City won hands down. The ride was along a very bumpy stretch of concrete pathway and at 54 the old joints are not as flexible as they were.
The saddle is very comfortable and combined with adjustable handlebars, the riding position is excellent. I have replaced the handlebars with a straight set, purely personal choice.
Having the lights built in is a real plus as is the lock. I have added a Kryptonite cable with loops at each end. Looped round the front wheel, something permanent and then close the lock through the loop makes for great security.
The chain cover is both good and bad. Its great not having to use cycle clips, but the large protruding cover at the back looks odd and only holds on with a couple of clips. The one delivered was broken and replaced. I caught it on a door frame and broke the replacement. I have just left it off.
The 2 critisms I have is the controller is very basic, why not fit the LCD display type so you have speed and distance information. First thing i did was fit a cycle computer. I use distance to know how much battery/distance I have left. It is far better than relying on the indicator lights. The second is the battery. It does not have enough Amp hours. I just about get 30 miles on a charge. I have tried it on 2 long runs. I used level 1 and 2 for 90% applying constant preassure to the pedals(enough to increase heart rate) and just about have enough power to get home. On the face of it 30miles seems a fairly long ride and on a normal bike it is, but on the City its just not enough. It is very easy to get out and about and go for a long ride. As an example last Sunday I went down to Docklands, 12 miles, rode along the Thames walkway. This took just over an hour. I thought about going to Greenwich, about another 3/4 miles but realised I would not have enough power to get home, it was a real shame. I have tried riding without power but this is not a option for me as I have recently had surgery and bought the bike for the assistance. It would be really great to have a larger battery as an option. I know that I could have a second battery but where to store safely if I leave the bike.
A final point. I noticed on the bike the forks have a mount for a disc brake but the wheel does not have the necessary bolt holes. It would have been nice if it did so I could have fitted one.
In conclusion great product, great value, great fun.
--------------------------------------------------
I sent this review to Kudos and Dave from Kudos asked me to publish the review for other to read, even though it is not 100% favourable. He also replied to all the points I made which are below.
Michael
Glad that you have an overall good impression of the City bike. It is my personally preferred bike, I find it comfortable to ride for miles.
When specifying these bikes I have to make compromises which allows us to buy in big quantities and this is reflected in the price. To try to point by point answer your email.
The Wisper is a fine bike. Wisper have made the decision to increase the controller amps – this offers higher hill climbing power but at the expensive of range, hence the need for big batteries – we chose to stick with 10AH batteries across our entire range with massive savings in cost.
I am investigating a rear wheel lock with extendable cable as part of our 2012 model improvements.
We put the LCD display on our more sporty models (example King), but many customers said they preferred the simplicity of the LED type unit.
The battery range is a big compromise – I really like this LiFePO4 battery, it has so much less storage and life problems when compared to the lithium ion type batteries – it is possible that many customers will have the same battery for 5 years plus. But it is heavier if we go up to 14AH, the battery will weight 6.5kgs. Our batteries are half the cost of most of our competitors and that seemed an important long term factor.
Perhaps a second battery, strapped to the rear rack and only use when considering a long trip – take a rucksack if you leave the bike.
Thanks for your valued feedback, when deciding on a new model specification it is most helpful.
Could I ask that you post your review on the Pedelecs site, it is good for future customers to have an unbiased report.
------------------------------------------------
I have to say that Kudos have been very helpful and its nice to see that they have thought out their decisions and have responded to my comments. I do agree that the simple controller is easier to use than the LCD one, perhaps there is a controller that is simple to use with the mileage display. The lock with a cable built in would be great. However I would still like a bigger battery.
