Ongoing reliability of Kalkhoff/Focus Impulse 2 motors

[Tomtomato]

I've had the nasty crack/clacking sound too, I stripped, cleaned and greased my Nexus 8 hub that had done around 7,000 miles and that cured the issue.

Good for you. Now we know that a bike may also do some clacking noises for other reasons that a faulty motor.

However, this thread was about people with motor issues. Usually, the noise goes away when the motor is turned off, confirming that the noise is coming from the motor...

 

[Artstu]

However, this thread was about people with motor issues. Usually, the noise goes away when the motor is turned off, confirming that the noise is coming from the motor...

Yes I know, my reply was to Biscuit who had reported the same issue. So I posted to make everyone aware that it can be an easy fix. If it isn't the motor that is causing the cracking/clacking noise.

 

[Nigel01]

400,000 sold it is a shame the happy owners don't come on here apart from me. I am sorry you have had faults. Due to a few on here obviously 50 cycles don't reply because of the abuse they get. There is a polite way to sort out problems and due to half a dozen people it makes it hard for all.

 

[Roger R]

I think most of the owners (including myself) have been very reasonable and objective. My motor failure and 50 cycles ultimately replaced it. I shared the fact that the Pro Connect 10 is a quality bike let down by a motor that seems to have a relatively high failure rate. This isn't 50 cycles fault although they have to deal with the fall out.

Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk

 

[dinger19]

400,000 sold it is a shame the happy owners don't come on here apart from me. I am sorry you have had faults. Due to a few on here obviously 50 cycles don't reply because of the abuse they get. There is a polite way to sort out problems and due to half a dozen people it makes it hard for all.

What abuse are you talking about and don't forget Nigel you have the support of Scott as well.

 

[Will Tinker]

So, 50Cycles wanted me to change the cassette and the chain, claiming the clunking was caused by one of those (or the pedals, which were changed and made no difference at all).

The replacements have arrived, and I've taken the bike into Motoman to fit.

The guy in the shop: "They're not worn out at all! They're fine!"
Me: "I know, but 50Cycles are saying they are so I have to go through the motions, so when the replacements make no difference I can disprove them and get a refund. "

Not a great show. The new bits will be fitted in a couple of hours, so I'll confirm then what we all probably already know...

 

[Will Tinker]

Fed up.

Got the new chain and cassette fitted. Chain kept slipping off. Got the old chain put back on and it snapped within 3 minutes.

So now I have no working bike.

I honestly want to throttle 50Cycles at this stage - I'm losing work hours, weekends over this nonsense. If I don't have a reliable bike they should swap it for one that is reliable or refund me. No more excuses. I'm done.

 

[Will Tinker]

Went into 50Cycles with the bike, soaked (had to push it all the way in, in the rain). The guy there was quite apologetic and helped get the chain fitted - the bike is up and running again.

...but the motor CLANKING sounds are identical with new cassette and chain. It's the motor. I did tell him this, again, and told him I'm going to want a replacement or a refund. He told me, "as you've done 2,500 miles I don't think you'll get that" and I replied that by law I am entitled to.

(this was an amicable conversation BTW - 50Cycles remained polite about it).

It sounds as though I'll probably have to have another new motor fitted soon. I'm quite divided over whether I should take this and give it one more chance, or demand the refund or exchange.

I just want a reliable bike, because I NEED that for my daily commute to and from work. I can't keep telling the company directors "sorry, I'll be late in this morning - bike going into 50Cycles", then "sorry, I need to leave early so I can pick up my bike from 50Cycles". My employers only have so much patience, and I as a consumer only have so much patience.

So there it is.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

So you just paid for a new chain and sprockets that you didn't need? Did 50 Cycles charge for fitting them?

 

[Will Tinker]

So you just paid for a new chain and sprockets that you didn't need? Did 50 Cycles charge for fitting them?

I had to buy the new chain and cassette myself (I bought them from Wiggle online).

The chain I bought was too short (I didn't get any advice whatsoever on chain length needed, so I'm not surprised really). They fitted a new chain that they had in the store and didn't charge me for that one.

But yeah... basically I spent £45 from Wiggle. For stuff that didn't help at all.

 

[IR772]

Went into 50Cycles with the bike, soaked (had to push it all the way in, in the rain). The guy there was quite apologetic and helped get the chain fitted - the bike is up and running again.

...but the motor CLANKING sounds are identical with new cassette and chain. It's the motor. I did tell him this, again, and told him I'm going to want a replacement or a refund. He told me, "as you've done 2,500 miles I don't think you'll get that" and I replied that by law I am entitled to.

(this was an amicable conversation BTW - 50Cycles remained polite about it).

It sounds as though I'll probably have to have another new motor fitted soon. I'm quite divided over whether I should take this and give it one more chance, or demand the refund or exchange.

I just want a reliable bike, because I NEED that for my daily commute to and from work. I can't keep telling the company directors "sorry, I'll be late in this morning - bike going into 50Cycles", then "sorry, I need to leave early so I can pick up my bike from 50Cycles". My employers only have so much patience, and I as a consumer only have so much patience.

So there it is.

Reading the story I do feel very sorry for you. Most of us just charge our bikes and off we go.

I hope reliability comes soon!

 

[Will Tinker]

Reading the story I do feel very sorry for you. Most of us just charge our bikes and off we go.

I hope reliability comes soon!

Thanks. Me too

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I had to buy the new chain and cassette myself (I bought them from Wiggle online).

The chain I bought was too short (I didn't get any advice whatsoever on chain length needed, so I'm not surprised really). They fitted a new chain that they had in the store and didn't charge me for that one.

But yeah... basically I spent £45 from Wiggle. For stuff that didn't help at all.

Not so bad then. At 2500 miles, your cassette probably was coming towards the end of its life so would probably have required replacement in the not too distant future anyway.

The worst thing is the lack of progress. My expectations would be that you take your bike back to 50C, tell them that your bike makes noises. They tell you to leave it with them for X amount of time. You go back after that time and you get your bike back fixed with maybe a bill for any service parts that needed changing. Or, you get a phonecall before X time has expired, when they tell you that the problem can't be fixed in X-time, It's now Y time.

Why can't life be as simple as that?

The thing that I don't get is that 50C have fixed other forum members' bikes with similar problems. There must be a lot of other people with the same problem, who are not forum members, so you would have thought that as soon as you presented your bike to 50C, the guy would be thinking, "Oh no, not another one", and he'd know exactly what to do with it. not send you off on a wild goose chase; however, that might be unfair on 50C because your problem might be different to the others. Only 50C know if that's the case.

Let's see what happens next. I hope you get it sorted soon. Please keep us informed.

 

[Artstu]

. They fitted a new chain that they had in the store and didn't charge me for that one.

Bike shops have chains on rolls so they don't waste any links as normally happens when we buy a chain of a certain length.

I hope you're sorted soon.

 

[Will Tinker]

Not so bad then. At 2500 miles, your cassette probably was coming towards the end of its life so would probably have required replacement in the not too distant future anyway.

The worst thing is the lack of progress. My expectations would be that you take your bike back to 50C, tell them that your bike makes noises. They tell you to leave it with them for X amount of time. You go back after that time and you get your bike back fixed with maybe a bill for any service parts that needed changing. Or, you get a phonecall before X time has expired, when they tell you that the problem can't be fixed in X-time, It's now Y time.

Why can't life be as simple as that?

The thing that I don't get is that 50C have fixed other forum members' bikes with similar problems. There must be a lot of other people with the same problem, who are not forum members, so you would have thought that as soon as you presented your bike to 50C, the guy would be thinking, "Oh no, not another one", and he'd know exactly what to do with it. not send you off on a wild goose chase; however, that might be unfair on 50C because your problem might be different to the others. Only 50C know if that's the case.

Let's see what happens next. I hope you get it sorted soon. Please keep us informed.

Thanks. This is already motor number 2. Motor 1 was replaced a couple of hundred miles ago (same noises). The replacement was perfect for about 100 miles and now, same thing.

I asked some questions thinking they might inadvertently give something away on the Impulse 2.0, but they're pretty tight-lipped on them. When I told them him there's an acknowledged fault there was no denial, but he didn't say much.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Hmm! I didn't realise that it was your second motor. That changes things a bit - in fact quite a lot. I would have thought that when you took it back the second time, it would go something like this:

You: "Alright, John. It's doing it again. Bit of a nuicance. How long do you think this time? Please don't take so long as last time because I need my bike. call me tomorrow to tell me when I can pick it up fixed".

50C: "Yes, bit of a nuicance alright, but I don't think it's going to be quick because your number N in the queue".

You: "I thought I was one of your good customers. Please do your best."

 

[Yamdude]

What a truly depressing saga of unreliability and shocking customer service this thread is.
You have my sympathies.

 

[Will Tinker]

Hmm! I didn't realise that it was your second motor. That changes things a bit - in fact quite a lot. I would have thought that when you took it back the second time, it would go something like this:

You: "Alright, John. It's doing it again. Bit of a nuicance. How long do you think this time? Please don't take so long as last time because I need my bike. call me tomorrow to tell me when I can pick it up fixed".

50C: "Yes, bit of a nuicance alright, but I don't think it's going to be quick because your number N in the queue".

You: "I thought I was one of your good customers. Please do your best."

No, the Readers Digest Condensed Edition went more like this:

Me: It's doing it again.
Them: Oh. Your cassette is worn (it isn't), you need a new chain, and the pedal bearing is worn. Here's some new pedals. Buy a new chain and Cassette.
Me: Oh. Ok.

[4 days later]

Me: I bought a cassette and chain but the new chain kept falling off and now the old one's snapped.
Them: I'll fix your chain.
Me: The motor's still making noises. It's the motor.
Them: We'll probably give you a new motor.
Me: I want a refund or exchange.
Them: We'll probably give you a new motor.

 

[tillson]

No, the Readers Digest Condensed Edition went more like this:

Me: It's doing it again.
Them: Oh. Your cassette is worn (it isn't), you need a new chain, and the pedal bearing is worn. Here's some new pedals. Buy a new chain and Cassette.
Me: Oh. Ok.

[4 days later]

Me: I bought a cassette and chain but the new chain kept falling off and now the old one's snapped.
Them: I'll fix your chain.
Me: The motor's still making noises. It's the motor.
Them: We'll probably give you a new motor.
Me: I want a refund or exchange.
Them: We'll probably give you a new motor.

The ridiculous thing is that Kalkhoff were making better and more reliable EBikes 9 years ago.

The proper solution here is a full refund. These things that they are selling today are not fit for purpose and should be withdrawn.

 

[soundwave]

if 50c will not give you a full refund for a not fit for purpose bike/motor then make it clear it will be going to court for a full refund plus time off work phone calls ect as it soon adds up.

they have no chance in hell of wining but will take time and cost them even more in the end.