Ongoing reliability of Kalkhoff/Focus Impulse 2 motors

[Oscdav]

I have an Agattu Impulse 11 from 2015. Very low mileage. Began the clicking, crunching noises soon after purchase, along with a very short yet easily noticeable loss of power when changing gears. Had one new motor fitted after some discussion and pressing the issue. But crunching sound appearing when on power mode and suddenly asked to tackle steep inclines. Momentary loss of power back when changing gear.
Not at all happy with this bike ; a shoddy example considering the advertising of a so called Premium product. Feel very dissapointed to say the least. How am I supposed to honestly sell on this bike and recoup a fair part of what I paid for it ? I'm passing on a complete lemon. A complete refund or choice of exchange is the only honorable course of action.
This is by no means at all a dig at 50 cycles.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Kalkhoffs have a gear sensor that it supposed to cut the power when you change gear. It's to make the gear-change less of a crunch when the power is on them.

 

[Artstu]

Kalkhoffs have a gear sensor that it supposed to cut the power when you change gear. It's to make the gear-change less of a crunch when the power is on them.

and by the sound of it they've wound it right down to a really soft-start in the hope of not breaking something.

 

[nemesis]

You can take the gear sensor off by going through the console menu,the instructions are in the manual that can be downloaded from the kalkhoff website if needed.

 

[Ted B.]

I have an Agattu Impulse 11 from 2015. Very low mileage. Began the clicking, crunching noises soon after purchase, along with a very short yet easily noticeable loss of power when changing gears. Had one new motor fitted after some discussion and pressing the issue. But crunching sound appearing when on power mode and suddenly asked to tackle steep inclines.

Unfortunately Derby Cycles/Kalkhoff don't have a proper fix for the ongoing reliability issues of their Impulse 2 motors.
You could ask 50 Cycles to put a third motor on your bike, and hope that the issue won't happen again, but as the motors are the same (no mechanical changes have been implemented) the problem could easily come back.

Otherwise, you can return the bike to 50 Cycles and ask for a full or partial refund (considering the condition of the bike and low mileage), given that this is a very known fault with hundreds of cases reported throughout Europe.

See online spreadsheet from previous posts.

If you go for the option of returning the bike to 50 Cycles, you can prepare yourself for some hard discussions, aggressive behaviour (as others have experienced), and possibly to have to take legal action...

 

[Perseus]

I'm not sure what to make of this thread, of Kalkhoff, or of the e-bike market in general.

This is not intended as a criticism aimed at anyone. I'm simply not sure.

Here is what I am sure of:

Positives

1) My Impulse 2 motor (on my Pro Connect 9) has completed almost 2,000 miles. I don't think a motor failure is imminent, so I think it will likely go quite a bit further.
2) The Yamaha SyncDrive motors on my previous e-bike(s) (Giant Prime E+ 2014 and 2015 models) managed nothing like this mileage. The first was a bag of bolts from purchase. The second began to fail after around 900 miles.
3) To their credit, Kalkhoff have now acknowledged a fault. 50Cycles have assured me, repeatedly, that if my motor fails they will replace it without a question asked. I have no reason not to believe them.

Negatives

4) There are occasional clacking, chain-slippy (but not actual chain slip) moments riding my Pro Connect 9. I'm a bit disappointed about this considering the cost of the bicycle.
5) Kalkhoff did not immediately acknowledge a problem.
6) My bike cost £1800. That's a huge amount of money for a bike. Kalkhoff have a reputation for making e-bikes at the premium end of the market. But look at the breakdown of components on my 'premium' bike:

Shimano Deore Gears - £25 entry level
Shimano Alivio Shifters - £25
Shimano M396, hydraulic disc brakes - £30 entry level

I'm not claiming they are bad components - they aren't. But what constitutes the bulk of the hefty price I paid for my bicycle?

I'm not against companies making a tidy profit on their products. Not at all. But, now that I know a little more about bicycles (than I did when I first began purchasing my commuting bikes), I'm disappointed in what to me is a lack of perceived value in what I have. I don't want or expect entry level components on a premium, expensive product.

I should make it clear that the Giant bikes I had prior were similar in their use of entry-level parts (that and they broke down a lot).

So, Kalkhoff. If you want me to purchase another one of your bikes, please:

* Make me confident it's hard as nails and won't break down in a hurry
* Be a bit more generous in what you provide for the price-tag.

Just reading through all the posts. I think I'll make do with a pedal bike. Bike costs £1800 and it is not worth £600 a year or even more as they don't seem to last the pace. I don't think it is only Kalkhoff. If they are any less powerful than the Kalkhoff, they'll not get up the hills (which is the main point of them).

Cyclamatic had grinding noises before it stopped altogether.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Just reading through all the posts. I think I'll make do with a pedal bike. Bike costs £1800 and it is not worth £600 a year or even more as they don't seem to last the pace. I don't think it is only Kalkhoff. If they are any less powerful than the Kalkhoff, they'll not get up the hills (which is the main point of them).

If they are any less powerful than the Kalkhoff, they'll not get up the hills (which is the main point of them).

That's just rubbish. Sick to a pedal bike then. We thousands of ebikers will carry on riding our bikes.

 

[Perseus]

That's just rubbish. Sick to a pedal bike then. We thousands of ebikers will carry on riding our bikes.

How many miles can I expect the motor to last?

 

[soundwave]

depends how fast you want to go and how big of a battery you have but with a dongle with a 500w bosch batt 25 miles no dongle about 40 ish.

 

[Tabs]

Think he means how long can he expect the motor to last?

 

[Perseus]

depends how fast you want to go and how big of a battery you have but with a dongle with a 500w bosch batt 25 miles no dongle about 40 ish.

I meant the total mileage. Two year warranty and I might do 5000 miles to get my money's worth. Only user I have been able to talk to has has done 2000 miles in a year on a Kalkhoff Impulse requiring a new chain and brake blocks. On the flat, not hills though.

 

[soundwave]

i have over 3000 miles on my bosch bike and never remove the dongle

 

[soundwave]

i bought my bike of ebay so never had any warranty with it but over that time i have had 3 chains 2 sets of peddles via crashes 3 new tyres and 6-7 sets of brake pads.

lost 1 pivot bolt 25 quid and had a xd hub replaced buy crank brothers as had 2 year warranty stamped on it.

had to bleed my dropper post 2 times but now need a service and was bought dec 2014.

 

[D8ve]

Panasonic crank drives I did well over 3,000 miles and the bikes were second hand before I started using them. So expected life of +5 years on a motor and +10,000 miles.

 

[RobF]

i bought my bike of ebay so never had any warranty with it but over that time i have had 3 chains 2 sets of peddles via crashes 3 new tyres and 6-7 sets of brake pads.

lost 1 pivot bolt 25 quid and had a xd hub replaced buy crank brothers as had 2 year warranty stamped on it.

had to bleed my dropper post 2 times but now need a service and was bought dec 2014.
View attachment 16316

Nice pic of the cable ties on the rear sus.

Eddie will be sad to have missed it.

 

[soundwave]

why do you think i leave them there

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Hub motors should last 40,000 miles. Bazwaldo did 26,500 miles on his without problems. I think he has the highest reported mileage. Awol has done 13,500 on his. Mine's done 4000.

 

[Crockers]

Had my Wisper for a while now...coming up to 3 years. As good as new.

 

[Perseus]

Encouraging. I'll see what the shops have to say about their products. I want them be able to service the bikes. But most of all I don't want to be stranded 20 miles from home. Not quite stranded but they can be very heavy to cycle w/o the motor as I've found out with my Cyclamatic. Lasted under 1000 miles (if it is the motor?). Retiring next year so I don't want to be fussed about threading break cables and replacing chains any more.

PS: my cycling class is hybrid, use cyclepaths and roads (worse condition than the bumpy paths) mostly, but some paths can be slippery and uphill, I don't want the battery weight on the back rack! Schwalbe Marathon tyres last for miles and miles.

 

[soundwave]

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Cube-Reaction-Hybrid-HPA-Pro-500-27-5-2017-Electric-Bike_97704.htm
500w batt

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Cube-Reaction-Hybrid-HPA-Pro-400-29er-2017-Electric-Bike_98481.htm
400w batt