News: 50Cycles launch the Kalkhoff Agattu Pedelec

[Cyclezee]

Hi Aldby

I do not usually take offense but must say I am extremely disappointed that you would suggest that we would label a product 'made in Germany' and it being actually made in China. This is highly illegal and misleading and we would not expect to be in business long with an attitude like that.

I can assure you these bicycles are made in Germany, using the best Japanese electric motor and battery technology on the market. This combination of German, Japanese engineering and manufacturing is a match made in heaven and one we are extremely proud to have in our range of bikes.

Everything on this bike is done to perfection.

If you can take a look at the details page on our website you will notice that every part of the bike is designed to be the best at what it does even the painting process is the latest powder coating technology that is Guaranteed for 10 years and is the same paint technology used on BMW cars.

I hope this puts your mind at ease Aldby.

Regards

Scott

Hi Scott,
my mind is quite at ease, not sure about yours though? It was not my intention to offend anyone, but I clearly have. Furthermore I did not suggest you were doing anything illegal!
Are you absolutley certain that these bikes are entirely made in Germany and have no Chinese content?
The Raleigh Deutschland models Leicester and Dover are clearly identical to the Kalkhoff models and frames etc. for Raleigh are made in China. Matsushita (Panasonic) also have factories in China. Your biggest sellers Ezee are made in China, does that mean they are inferior?
I think you need to chill Scott and be happy your sales are doing so well.

John

 

[flecc]

despite the 'strange' construction (7 series & 2 parallel of 3.72V 4Ah to make 26v 8Ah)

Will 50cycles supply spare/replacement batteries?

I'm already liking the German 'perfectionist' and efficient approach, having gathered from the agattu pedelec page that it has a 41 tooth front chainwheel and 21 rear sprocket as standard, giving a 244% standard gear range of 34.5" - 84.5"

it is the shimano nexus inter-7, isn't it? (2 hubs are listed on that page, but they have the same gearing).

Also shimano says the hub can take 16-23 teeth sprocket, so it seems some scope for gearing down, but more for gearing up .

Stuart.

My reading of the series parallel arrangement is that it's to ensure efficient current delivery from the high density content by simply using smaller cells. You may have noticed that the various prototype electric vehicles like the Tesla commonly use lots of small cells in series parallel arrangements to get their high performance.

I'm quite certain that 50cycles will supply batteries for the Kalkhoff.

The German design comes out in various ways. On the gents Pro Connect model which we may see next year and which has rigid forks, for once the front brake is where it should be, on the rear of the fork, this putting the brake arms into compression onto the mount rather than on the bolt head as in front mountings. It's a small point, but one an engineer appreciates has come from another thinking engineer instead of a "me too" designer. Click on the photo to enlarge it on this page.

It is the Nexus Inter 7 which comes with variations but the same gearing as you noticed, and it can take any sprockets, those just being what Shimano make. In fact you can get sprocket spiders on which chainrings can be used to get very large sprockets for extremely low gears on load trikes and quads, though they do put immense torque loadings on the hub with such low gearing and the hubs wouldn't be very long lived used that way.
.

 

[thunderpaws]

Two year guarantee on battery and bike

Even though this sounds good it is not as it seems. When I tried to get a replacement part I was told there is a guarantee but in reality to get it changed over is another thing I was met with hostility and to be frank they were not going to make any attempt to change anything. Just as well the Agattu is a very good bike because if it was not we as customers of 50cycles would be up the creak. They are known for being difficult with some customers.
The Agattu is brilliant.

 

[Fecn]

Since the end of September when I got my bike I have had a replacement rear reflector (broken in transit on it's way to me), two replacement stands, a new battery and a new charger. With the exception of the time when 50Cycles were at a bike show and not answering their emails for a couple of days, I have had nothing but excellent service from them. - Of course, everybody's situation is different, but my experience seems to have been the total opposite of yours. Personally I'd rate 50C as first-class for service and support.

 

[WALKERMAN]

Even though this sounds good it is not as it seems. When I tried to get a replacement part I was told there is a guarantee but in reality to get it changed over is another thing I was met with hostility and to be frank they were not going to make any attempt to change anything. Just as well the Agattu is a very good bike because if it was not we as customers of 50cycles would be up the creak. They are known for being difficult with some customers.
The Agattu is brilliant.

50Cycles replaced a battery for my Pro Connect over Xmas. There was no problem and the replacement was back with me in a few days.

 

[stokepa31_mk2]

50 C have always kept me on the road and gone the extra mile when it mattered. They even found spares for my ezze torq long after they stopped selling it.

 

[stokepa31_mk2]

judging from the feedback from others on here with battery problems, faulty batteries have been replaced swiftly if a fault was detected including the provision of new chargers where necessary. I would think paying for a new battery is not necessary if there is a genuine problem. I must say i'm surprised you think Lloyd is ill mannered as he is considered by many to be the most helpful of the team at 50c. good luck with the new battery and I hope your range improves.

 

[PED-AL]

Praise where it is due

I have also found Lloyd at 50C to be extremely Polite and helpfull.
He has sorted any issues that I had promptly so that they did not become problems.
Allan

 

[eddieo]

Mmm...Yes well. I have no connection with 50 cycles as I prefer bikes with throttles and bigger batteries. But I have never seen criticism like yours so that makes me suspicious of your motives.

No type of electric bike is without fault? it is the ability of a company to respond that sets them apart. going by the rubbish advertisers on your site you will be in for a rough old ride lol

It seems to me you are more interested in advertising revenue then a genuine electric bike pressure group/forum......Furthermore going by your insidiously inflammatory post & choice of name for your forum...... I doubt you have the skills to moderate fairly.

 

[flecc]

Lloyd and 50cycles are bullies and that is probably why there are not many complaints about 50cycles.

This inference that customers who are members of this site would be frightened by any company bullying them is utterly ridiculous and completely devalues everything else you have to say.

As for your complaint, all you had to do was hold in the test button and report the result. If the test had failed you would have had an immediate battery exchange. If your disability made that difficult while you were on the phone, you could have offered to phone back with the result.

The best service results from cooperation, suppliers need you to do a little bit to help them understand a problem when it occurs.
.

 

[eddieo]

Why do you think they have attached this on to a thread from 2007? Because there is less chanced of it being pulled....... disrupting an established thread

 

[Lloyd_50cycles]

Dear Forum

I would like to clear this matter up once and for all. Firstly, Thunderpaws, I am worried that you feel like this after talking to me all month. What you have written here today is severly detrimental to my character, and I am both shocked and saddened. I have tried to contact you today on numerous occassions to resolve this matter, as I would rather sort enquiries in private as opposed to on a public forum on the internet. You hung up on me today, after telling me you would call back after you had finished eating, and I never heard back from you. I have been trying to get hold of you so we can discuss why you are unhappy. Your battery is not faulty. It has been tested by David Henshaw, of AtoB, who can confirm the mileage returned from it was in fact slightly above the brand new Panasonic battery he has. The diagnostic light sequence also suggests there is no fault with the battery. Despite both these results, I was willing to test your battery in my personal time because you did not have a speedo fitted to accurately measure the range of your battery. I have always been polite to you as I am with all people, and I have always taken time from a very busy schedule to answer your queries. My apologies to everybody else on the forum but I simply cannot let this kind of slanderous claim go unanswered and I am personally shocked by the nature of his link on this forum.

Thanks to you all for your positive comments, I would like to think there are many here who would agree!

Best regards

Lloyd

 

[tillson]

thunderpaws

I don’t know what has gone wrong with you experience when dealing with 50 Cycles, but something clearly has.

Unfortunately, I have had problems with two batteries and two possibly three chargers. The facts of my experience are that without exception, 50 Cycles have resolved each of these issues within 24 hours and always in a polite and professional manner. I have dealt with different staff members and can only say that they have all offered a very good service.

I’m not suggesting that your perceptions of 50 Cycles aren’t true and I’m sure that you feel genuinely aggrieved. They do tend to ask a lot of questions in order to gather as much information as possible and I must admit that this can be a bit disconcerting. At one stage yesterday, I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the direction that a conversation was heading regarding my charger. In the end I put this down to 50 Cycles wanting to fully investigate the problem, which can only be to everyone’s benefit.

I’m sure they will sort out whatever problems you have with the bike if you bear with them and give them the benefit of any doubts that you might have.

I would like to add that I have had dealings with Lloyd and I must say that all of what thunderpaws has said is poles apart from my experience. He has been very helpful with my bike battery problems and has sorted them out quickly and efficiently.

 

[thunderpaws]

Two year guarantee on battery and bike

All I have to say on this is this. If someone is aggressive. You cannot deal with them in a balanced way or hope to get a good result. It has been beneficial for me just to get a new battery so I can cover more miles and move on from this situation with 50cycles. It is quite obvious that 50Cycles have all the answers and patter and enjoy trying to make some of there customers feel bad if they genuinely complain.
Perhaps it is best for 50Cycles to look at there own house first before critasizing there paying customers.

 

[thunderpaws]

50cycles After Sales Service

All I have to say on this is this. If someone is aggressive. You cannot deal with them in a balanced way or hope to get a good result. It has been beneficial for me just to get a new battery so I can cover more miles and move on from this situation with 50cycles. It is quite obvious that 50Cycles have all the answers and patter and enjoy trying to make some of there customers feel bad if they genuinely complain.
Perhaps it is best for 50Cycles to look at there own house first before critasizing there paying customers.

 

[eddieo]

Sounds to me that there is a possibility that you have bought the wrong sort of bike for your needs. Stick it on e*ay and get a Wisper.......Wisper will probably not agree

 

[nigel]

Perhaps all of these companys can have a bad day most times 50 cycles have been ok to me though i was not to happy with my bike service which cost £150 and yet dont know what was changed or replaced however i thought it best not to make a fuss NIGEL.

 

[eddieo]

Perhaps all of these companys can have a bad day most times 50 cycles have been ok to me though i was not to happy with my bike service which cost £150 and yet dont know what was changed or replaced however i thought it best not to make a fuss NIGEL.

Seems expensive!

My local quality bike shop in S/W London Dever cycles charge £80 for a full (non electric) service

 

[flecc]

I believe the 50cycles winter service includes pickup and redelivery though, so quite good if that is correct, considering it was I believe a national offer.
.

 

[musicbooks]

I am sorry about your experiences.. However..

I would like to say that I have found Lloyd a 100% gent and always highly professional. He sorted out a number of minor problems within 24-48 hours. I can't believe for a minute that he would be aggressive with you.

Regarding servicing, I had my Agattu serviced a few weeks ago and the bike was returned better than new. My only grumble was the lack of paperwork.

I have not been bullied or coerced, but I have to support 50c and reiterate that (despite some initiial supply issues), 50cycles is a solid company and doesn't deserve such vitriol.

bw
musicbooks