Newbie, ello

[Lee1st]

Hi All. I'm pretty new to the e-bike scene having recently bought a Kalkhoff Agattu for my wife. Very pleased with that bike (from Rutland Cycling), so I've been on the look out for a Kalkhoff (or Riese & Muller) for myself. I would have looked at a well cared for 2nd hand but was lucky enough to spot a Kalkhoff Integrale 8 Belt Drive on Rutland's website as a returned item with 35% off. Checked it out and they assured me it had only light cosmetic damage. They sent photos through for me but I couldn't see any clear damage on them. I was sceptical, but being as they'd treated me well with the wife's bike I thought I'd give it a punt.
The bike was delivered late and so I started hearing alarm bells ringing, but once delivered, I've looked it over thoroughly and really can't find any damage on it at all! It's in black, so marks would show pretty easily. I even checked it against the photos where they were saying it was damaged and couldn't find anything. 33 miles on the clock and everything seems perfect!
I'll post more when I know more.
All the very best,
Lee

 

[Fat Rat]

Hi welcome
Seems a good buy
Happy peddling

 

[Tarka]

That's a good looking steed. Enjoy all the hills magically becoming flat!

 

[Lee1st]

Little update.
Unfortunately, when I got the opportunity to ride the bike, it's clear that there's some sort of problem with the transmission. The pedal assist seems to want to cut in inappropriately giving a kind of "clicking" sensation. Does it at any speed and under any or no load. Really disappointed as the bike otherwise seems a cracker. Rutland cycling are asking me to try a couple of things: Clean the belt drive (I will, but it's pristine), Check the belt's not too tight (if anything it's slightly on the loose side), and do a factory reset of the settings (who knows, may do something to it but worth a shot).
If none of that works they say they'll arrange collection and take it in to attempt a repair or refund my money. So no real complaints there other than I was very impressed with the bike and would really like to keep it.
Such is life :-(

 

[Crossroads]

So; no 'minor cosmetic damage' and returned bike with problems - not a great advert for Rutland Cycles IMHO.

 

[Lee1st]

I do agree with you mostly Crossroads, but as sophisticated as these machines are now becoming, it's inevitable that a few Friday machines will get through, it'll be how they deal with my problems that'll decide me on how good they are. Of course, it should come through perfect first time in a perfect world.

 

[wheeliepete]

I'm sure Rutland will sort things for you, i doubt it's the first Kalkoff they've had returned. I'm not certain the "Friday" bike rule applies to the Impulse 2/RS Evo motors fitted to the Kalkoff's. There does seem a strong case for it being badly engineered with the number of very low mileage failures reported, although some seem to reach huge mileage. Riding style may account for this to some degree, as someone pointed out on the "Impulse" thread recently. Hopefully the introduction of the Bosch motor on the new bikes will make Kalkoff's the quality bikes they should be, or for those that can remember, used to be.

 

[Lee1st]

Brief update:
So, Rutland paid for and arranged collection. They have assessed the bike and agree there is a problem and are replacing the motor under warranty, so I guess, provided the bike comes back to me in good fettle, I couldn’t have expected more from an otherwise unsatisfactory circumstance. Being as I knew I was buying a “new” returned bike, but with 35% discount, if all goes well, overall I feel Rutland will have done all they could, with the caveat that they should really have sorted this prior to re-releasing the bike.
We’ll see.
Lee

 

[wheeliepete]

I don't think you could of had a better result really, new motor in a new bike for a bargin price. I think part of the problem is that generally road testing is not part of the inspection process in most bike shops. I can understand this with a brand new, out of the box bike, but to me, one that is a customer return needs more than a quick turn of the crank on a bike stand to ensure it is working properly. Also, with so many of the bikes now having computer diagnostic capabilities an "OK and a green tick" is taken as a full bill of health.