Storck Raddar

[eddieo]

Dave, I just think as bikes are so popular they are having difficulty satisfying home market let alone anywhere else. Bosch themselves are serious about the UK as setting up service centres here, according to EBCO who sell the AVE brand of Bosch bikes

Bob, as Dave says maybe order from Germany, it will cost approx £70 postage and be with you within days..if in stock!

 

[Kudoscycles]

Eddie,no knowledge about Bosch setting up service centre-in fact,one of the concerns I have about selling the Bosch powered bikes is that all spares have to come from Germany,the prices of spares are so high that it is not practical to stock spares of Bosch parts at our warehouse,fortunately the system appears very reliable.
Ebco have been threatening to bring in the AVE range for over one year,I wonder whether they have the same problems with the owner as everybody else seems to experience-disinterest to the point of rudeness.
Probably this is the strength of the Chinese,if you give them good volumes,they give you product at right price and on time and they value their customers.
Wait awhile there is so much new in development in China,they will give these high end German manufacturers some real competition next year.
Dave
Kudoscycles

 

[Davanti]

I've not experienced it, before purchasing my bikes I spoke to the dealer/manufacturer first to find out what stock they had!

This sounds like good common sense! Although, I must check stock before I order some!

 

[Davanti]

Its up to you.... have fun!lol

Thanks Eddie. All good stuff! I know it isn't eco-friendly, but I have printed out your post to refer to on my visits to dealers.

Many thanks ... yet again.

Don

 

[flecc]

Stick with the Storck if available Davanti, there's no need for a drive through the gears bike with a Bosch or similar unit in your fairly flat area and having one will just needlessly cause extra chain and sprocket wear with the extra expense that causes.

The direct drive hub motor Storck will suffer none of that. As members know, I'm a fan of drive through the gears e-bikes, but I wouldn't dream of one in your area.

 

[eddieo]

Is it only me and a handful of motorhomers on here that manage to use bikes in other then our local areas...and why I suggested the cheaper Cube with 36 v system as a comparison to the Storke. Also maybe have a look at Bionix on a light bike of choice.

I certainly would not be paying 2.5-3k for a hard tail bike that I have no idea of what the range is. What Don needs to do is ask himself what he wants from a second bike, and what he wants to use it for. I only suggested he try the Bosch as he has a good hub bike already.

 

[flecc]

I only suggested he try the Bosch as he has a good hub bike already.

Not a direct drive one though Eddie, they can be radically different as David Miall has highlighted in the case of the Storck. There really are three ways to power an e-bike, crank drive with added transmission wear, internally geared hub drive with internal gears wear and noise, or direct drive without those disadvantages. In areas suited to direct drive like Don's, it's the obvious best choice. It doesn't have to be the Storck of course, there's BionX, Sparta and Koga which are all high quality, though all available indicators are that the Storck is top of that class.

As for the possibility of Don cycling in a hilly area at some time, we know the Storck can do that too if necessary, though that's not it's ideal territory.

 

[eddieo]

Cube, specialised and Bulls green mover all use versions of the same Go Swiss motor. So eventually there will be more choice

 

[muckymits]

Not a direct drive one though Eddie, they can be radically different as David Miall has highlighted in the case of the Storck. There really are three ways to power an e-bike, crank drive with added transmission wear, internally geared hub drive with internal gears wear and noise, or direct drive without those disadvantages. In areas suited to direct drive like Don's, it's the obvious best choice. It doesn't have to be the Storck of course, there's BionX, Sparta and Koga which are all high quality, though all available indicators are that the Storck is top of that class.

As for the possibility of Don cycling in a hilly area at some time, we know the Storck can do that too if necessary, though that's not it's ideal territory.

4 Flecc, you forgot mine 'sniff' , saves having a bell you can hear me coming a mile away

 

[flecc]

4 Flecc, you forgot mine 'sniff' , saves having a bell you can hear me coming a mile away

I confess I deliberately left out the other alternatives like the Currie side motor, belt and friction drive bikes. They really can't compete with the high end bikes using the three systems that I mentioned, hardly surprising since their designs date from decades ago. Yours originated with General Motors by the way, along with Cadillac and Buick, so exalted company at the time. It's a true classic of e-biking.

 

[muckymits]

Yes Dr Currie, and he never got a mention in the film 'Who killed the electric car'

 

[Davanti]

Stick with the Storck if available Davanti, there's no need for a drive through the gears bike with a Bosch or similar unit in your fairly flat area and having one will just needlessly cause extra chain and sprocket wear with the extra expense that causes.

The direct drive hub motor Storck will suffer none of that. As members know, I'm a fan of drive through the gears e-bikes, but I wouldn't dream of one in your area.

Thanks for all the wonderful advice, chaps! Having difficulty in coming up with anything better than the Storck for my situation at the moment BUT I'm looking forward to visiting lots of dealers ... and having lots of test rides ... over the next few weeks. Might just drive over to Germany to see what there is!

Can anybody advise who and where I should visit in Germany?

Thanks again to all

Don

 

[eddieo]

look at german pedelec and german ebay as lots of dealers advertise on there.

Simplon, Grace, Cube, Green mover, stromer etc...etc... + about 40 makes of Bosch powered bikes

electrorad magazine rate the storke radder as best e bike available. I suggest you try bikes available here first that we talked about earlier, plus maybe AVE bikes, they are in Warwick. Then if not sure widen the net......My only reservation with the storke is its 25 v...Knowing my luck I could buy one and the 36 v version appears......

Storck Raddar Multitask Review by ElektroRad - YouTube

Stromer electric bike review - the best electric bicycle - YouTube

 

[Davanti]

... and when will the 36 v version come out..knowing my luck in a few months.

Thanks for advice, Eddie. As an aside (and potentially crucial), when the 36v version appears, I assume that a retrofit would not be possible? Does it also mean that when the 36v version is released, the present version won't perform as well as it did before the announcement? Or will it be merely a case of me feeling inadequate ... yet again ... and another purchase!

Thank God for Pension Credit, Attendance Allowance, Council Tax Benefit and Housing Allowance! I don't know how the Government expects us to survive.

Regards

Don

 

[eddieo]

I have just spent 30 minutes reading through posts on German forum...and consensus to me seems to be that is is a great bike, expensive with mediocre equipment. Some will tell you that the voltage dont matter that much.. but what would you buy if given the choice.

a lot of the bikes I mentioned above use the 36v version of the Go swissdrive with bigger batterys, Storke were rumoured to have bigger batteries coming out over a year ago....

Your money, your choice, I think I prefer the Bosch, and certainly did on Saturday, but I would need a proper trial to be sure...

 

[Davanti]

... but I would need a proper trial to be sure...

Oh to be sure, Paddy! The Bosch ... the damn Bosch!

Why was the German army called "the Bosh" (or Bosch) during World War I?

The moon is out ... so saddle up for a final ride of the day ....... and then to bed ... Matron is jangling the front door keys!

(a trial ride of a Storck tomorrow!)

Don

 

[eddieo]

I'm sure you will like it ..just leave your wallet behind until you try some more bikes!lol

 

[Davanti]

I'm sure you will like it ..just leave your wallet behind until you try some more bikes!lol

Mmmm ... I hate to admit it, Eddie ... but the wallet position ... is so true! Seriously though folks ... definitely no purchase until I've sussed out more bikes!

 

[Cyclic]

The Storck Raddar does not feel like an electric bike to ride. Quiet no motor noise at all, and the power comes in so smoothly it makes you feel like its you providing all of the power. Really nice except for the price.

 

[Toondoom]

I might suggest you ask the owner, Mr. Fitzgerald, if Haibikes are in fact "IN STOCK, AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY". I think you may find they most certainly are not!

I paid the full price up-front for a Haibike Eq Trekking some twelve weeks ago, and not a word from Mr. Fitzgerald other than an automated acknowledgement by e-mail, and a brief phone conversation in which he suggested September as a delivery date.

Blew it,it may not be the owners fault,although that does not excuse the long delivery time. I tried buying Bosch powered bikes off many of the higher end German manufacturers,to be honest most of them have an arrogant not-interested attitude when selling to the uk. KTM at least told me that they were not interested,the rest just ignored my e mails,I understand KTM have now appointed a uk distributor,but they will only hold test bikes as stock,all orders will be placed direct with Austria-be interesting whether that works.
My advice is if you want one of these German bikes go over to Germany and buy one,the strongish pound against the Euro should be cost effective at present.
It was for bad delivery problems that we decided to stock the Bosch powered spanish BH bikes,we have good stocks of all models,the Xenion 650 is a very nice bike.
Kudos will not advertise a bike that we cannot supply in 24 hours from stock,surprising how many dealers take an order then try to source,that is against our business ethos-we never take payment for the product until the goods are available to despatch
Dave
Kudoscycles

It's a shame everyone does not operate with this ethos. I bought my bike from justebikes and in my case they had stock of what I wanted to picked up on the day so no complaints in their direct for me. I did visit other dealers though where they were quick at responding until explicit questions on stock were asked. In one case this only became apparent after a long drive and test ride that I'd have to wait a couple months. Needless to say they lost a potential sale.