I've been riding my Kudous Tourer on my 28 mile round-trip commute most week days for the last six months. Here are my thoughts.
Reviewer: Jonathan Pallant
Purchased From: e Bikes Direct
Purchase Price: £999 (through cyclescheme.co.uk)
Time Owned: Six months
Local Terrain: Flat
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Strengths:
By and large this bike just works. I charge it at night and I charge it on my desk at work. I jump on it, crank it up to maximum boost, ride it for 14 miles at around the legal limit, then get off again, twice a day. If I'm tired, I put next to no effort in and if I'm feeling fit, I lift it above the speed limiter. The saddle took some getting used to but I've have no real aches or pains (apart from my hands - I'll come on to that). My commute is largely flat, but there is a slight hill at the home end, and there are some short, but severe, inclines as the cycle path drops down to water level and then back up to embankment level. These pose no problem. The ability to change gear while stationary is amazingly useful. I do it at every set of lights I come to, while my fellow riders clack-clack-clack away on approach, or curse their choice of gear when the lights go green. The kickstand is very sturdy, as is the frame. The lights are powered from the battery and I've used them to ride in otherwise pitch-black countryside miles from any street lights. The speedo is easy to read and has a backlight you can turn on. I like the speedo in rotating mode, where it cycles between odometer, trip, stopwatch and max speed. If I forget to charge the bike it will complete both legs of the
journey without trouble, but it will not complete a third. I fell off the bike in the rain (and later passed out underneath it while walking it back) and the only damage was that I bent the key in the frame lock. The key and the lock still work though. I can drop the wheels off in a few minutes, despite the necessary complications caused by the Nexus hub and particularly the roller brake, while the front motor just unplugs. The bike then fits in my car upside down quite nicely. I've added bar ends for comfort, which was easy to do. The included double-pannier straps down, rather than clipping on, but I tend to leave it on the bike all the time anyway as it carries my tool kit. As a bonus, it hides the battery quite nicely.
You'll read below that a few items have needed replacing, but nothing on this bike is particularly difficult to replace, nor particularly expensive. The vendor has been most accommodating and sent replacement parts when required.
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Weaknesses:
I've had two tube failures so far and I'm inclined to put these down to rim tape failure rather than a puncture from something on the road. This is easy to rectify. I've also had a tyre wear through to the rope, but that was my fault for not replacing it after it deformed (probably due to a pot hole). The Kenda tyres don't offer a lot of lateral grip in driving wind and rain, so I've swapped the duff tyre for a Schwalbe Marathon. The brake lever cut-out switch failed (leaving the motor in-operable), but it was easy to first disable (by pulling a connector) and then later replace (if you splice the wires - I didn't fancy unpicking the loom and feeding the new cable through). The first two batteries didn't work, but the third is a champ. The chain case broke off, but the bike has had some abuse over kerbs and so on. The bike is heavy, but I'm able to man-handle it in and out of my conservatory up and down a step every day without trouble. At all other times the weight is irrelevant - I can easily outrun most other bikes at the lights, right up until I hit the ~15 mph limit. The Nexus hub was a bit fiddly to adjust, and it doesn't like being cold, but it's working very well at the moment.
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Summary:
This is a good starter bike made from simple, reliable, ingredients. The combination of Nexus hub, encased chain and front motor is perfect for commuting.
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Overall Rating (out of 10) : 7/10
Reviewer: Jonathan Pallant
Purchased From: e Bikes Direct
Purchase Price: £999 (through cyclescheme.co.uk)
Time Owned: Six months
Local Terrain: Flat
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Strengths:
By and large this bike just works. I charge it at night and I charge it on my desk at work. I jump on it, crank it up to maximum boost, ride it for 14 miles at around the legal limit, then get off again, twice a day. If I'm tired, I put next to no effort in and if I'm feeling fit, I lift it above the speed limiter. The saddle took some getting used to but I've have no real aches or pains (apart from my hands - I'll come on to that). My commute is largely flat, but there is a slight hill at the home end, and there are some short, but severe, inclines as the cycle path drops down to water level and then back up to embankment level. These pose no problem. The ability to change gear while stationary is amazingly useful. I do it at every set of lights I come to, while my fellow riders clack-clack-clack away on approach, or curse their choice of gear when the lights go green. The kickstand is very sturdy, as is the frame. The lights are powered from the battery and I've used them to ride in otherwise pitch-black countryside miles from any street lights. The speedo is easy to read and has a backlight you can turn on. I like the speedo in rotating mode, where it cycles between odometer, trip, stopwatch and max speed. If I forget to charge the bike it will complete both legs of the
journey without trouble, but it will not complete a third. I fell off the bike in the rain (and later passed out underneath it while walking it back) and the only damage was that I bent the key in the frame lock. The key and the lock still work though. I can drop the wheels off in a few minutes, despite the necessary complications caused by the Nexus hub and particularly the roller brake, while the front motor just unplugs. The bike then fits in my car upside down quite nicely. I've added bar ends for comfort, which was easy to do. The included double-pannier straps down, rather than clipping on, but I tend to leave it on the bike all the time anyway as it carries my tool kit. As a bonus, it hides the battery quite nicely.
You'll read below that a few items have needed replacing, but nothing on this bike is particularly difficult to replace, nor particularly expensive. The vendor has been most accommodating and sent replacement parts when required.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Weaknesses:
I've had two tube failures so far and I'm inclined to put these down to rim tape failure rather than a puncture from something on the road. This is easy to rectify. I've also had a tyre wear through to the rope, but that was my fault for not replacing it after it deformed (probably due to a pot hole). The Kenda tyres don't offer a lot of lateral grip in driving wind and rain, so I've swapped the duff tyre for a Schwalbe Marathon. The brake lever cut-out switch failed (leaving the motor in-operable), but it was easy to first disable (by pulling a connector) and then later replace (if you splice the wires - I didn't fancy unpicking the loom and feeding the new cable through). The first two batteries didn't work, but the third is a champ. The chain case broke off, but the bike has had some abuse over kerbs and so on. The bike is heavy, but I'm able to man-handle it in and out of my conservatory up and down a step every day without trouble. At all other times the weight is irrelevant - I can easily outrun most other bikes at the lights, right up until I hit the ~15 mph limit. The Nexus hub was a bit fiddly to adjust, and it doesn't like being cold, but it's working very well at the moment.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary:
This is a good starter bike made from simple, reliable, ingredients. The combination of Nexus hub, encased chain and front motor is perfect for commuting.
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Overall Rating (out of 10) : 7/10
