The latest electric bike from Kudos Cycles - Mistral

[Kudoscycles]

When you specify these bikes you are never going to be sure that the production bike is going to match your ideas on paper. The opening of the first bike out of the container is sometimes an anti -climax.
But the manufacturers of the Kudos Mistral have done a superb job.
I really like this Samsung semi integrated battery,aesthetically it takes away the bulbous appearance of a battery mounted on top of the downtube and the frame rigidly supports the battery,ideal for a bike which will be used off road.
That battery is now used in the Kudos Stealth,Alamo,Sprint as well as this Mistral,it is not expensive and proven very reliable.
We have tested the Bafang BPM motor against all crank drive including Bosch and Shimano,its low speed grunt is so useful in setoff situations,the max torque comes in at 4 mph and once achieved the bike easily accelerates,particularly useful for riders that have low leg power.
Sometimes the chinese are not good at screwing these bikes together,requiring some considerable PDI work but this bike is very well built ,needing very little adjustment and checking.
I walked the bike section at the recent Canton (Guangzhou)Fair,admittedly smaller than Shanghai or Taipei,really not much had changed,most were still supplying classic heavy step-throughs,favoured by the Dutch market. There was a range that were similar to the Freigeist bike,using a lightweight motor known as AKM and 5.2 Ah battery (they quoted 40-60 km range????),no gears,the weight was about 14 kgs....I didnt seek a price because my Stealth and Alamo are more useable bikes with 11,6 Ah battery and 8 gears,weight about 19 kgs.
Nice to have some nice weather to think bikes instead of politics. Kudos is more a niche player in the e-bike world content to sell a modest number of bikes each year rather than swamp many bike shops with product.
KudosDave

 

[Kudoscycles]

So does your upcoming Rio for less than all these bikes. Not sure how true this 'get what you pay for' thing is. I've been told it before on other items and went with the cheap one anyway and worked out fine for my needs.

Its strange that if you sell inexpensively you have to try harder. Often the £1000 bike is a big purchase to a customer on modest income,whereas the guy spending £3000 its a smaller part of his income.
So rightfully the lower purchase price attracts greater scrutiny.
Our parent company,namely Rally Design,buys all product at high volumes to achieve OEM quality and low price but that makes us vulnerable to smaller bespoke suppliers who see our low price as an opportunity to criticise,which is why we have to ensure low price does not mean low quality.
KudosDave

 

[Deleted member 4366]

This may not be an advantage though.
If the ratchet mechanism fails, it's easy to replace a freewheel. On a motor with cassette, you will need to return motor wheel.
You also don't need as many gears on a geared hub bike. Even if you do, DNP sell inexpensive 9-speed and 10-speed freewheels.

That's one heck of an "if" though. You might as well say that if an asteroid falls out of the sky and hits your bike, you'll need a new motor. I've never heard of the ratchet failing on a cassette motor. I heard of one that stuck because it had a bit of rust in it. AQ squirt with 3-in-One sorted it, and it went on for many thousands of miles after that. Given the choice, I'd have a cassette motor in preference to a free-wheel one any time.

 

[Woosh]

Given the choice, I'd have a cassette motor in preference to a free-wheel one any time.

The probability that a cassette mechanism fails on a hub motor is very small but not nil.
If and when the freewheel fails (about the same probability that a cassette fails), it is inexpensive to replace.
I am always influenced by probability. So given the choice, I'd rather fit a freewheel.

 

[Nealh]

My initial thought was looks very nice but not keen on the bright yellow graphics, would be better if they were more subtle, more and less in your face. Sometimes less is more, though I do understand you have a brand to promote.

 

[Kenny]

The probability that a cassette mechanism fails on a hub motor is very small but not nil.
If and when the freewheel fails (about the same probability that a cassette fails), it is inexpensive to replace.
I am always influenced by probability. So given the choice, I'd rather fit a freewheel.

I've always thought of freewheel gears as old fashioned and cassette gears as the modern, popular choice of gears.
Isn't it a cassette motor you have fitted to your Rio bike?
I've always assumed a cassette motor was the better option.

 

[Woosh]

Isn't it a cassette motor you have fitted to your Rio bike?
I've always assumed a cassette motor was the better option.

no, it's a DNP 8-speed freewheel with similar arrangement (11T-32T) as a freehub.

The reason to have a freehub instead of freewheel is because Shimano freewheels have typically 14T-34T while freehubs can have 11T on the smallest sprocket, giving you more gear inches.
DNP freewheels have the same advantage like freehubs albeit are more expensive than Shimano freewheels.

 

[Kenny]

My apologies if I'm misunderstanding this.

The spec for the Rio says : Gears 8 speed Acera 11t - 34t

So does that refer to the rear mech being Acera and not the gear cluster which is the screw on type DNP freewheel?

 

[Woosh]

So does that refer to the rear mech being Acera and not the gear cluster which is the screw on type DNP freewheel?

Yes, you are correct. The derailleur is Acera M360 (RD-M360GSD), shifter is also Acera M360. The freewheel is DNP 8-speed 11T-34T, the crankset is Ounce GXP 245A-TT, chain is KMC X8.

 

[Kenny]

Thanks Woosh, all good working components though I prefer a freehub to a freewheel.

Back on topic,

I quite like the look of the new Kudos Mistral. It has a nice modern looking frame, with rear rack mounts, and the increasingly popular 27.5 wheel size.
The battery integration is very neat, though I'd like the option of a larger capacity. Also a little on the heavy side at 24.5kg.

 

[Volusia25]

What are the advantages/disadvantages of a freehub vs free wheel? Im new to bikes but my mind is almost made up on the Rio. Thats assuming it gets delivered to Woosh without any obvious flaws.

 

[Woosh]

A freehub (or cassette) lets you change just one worn sprocket whereas a freewheel has all its sprockets fastened together, you can't just change one sprocket.
The cost for a single sprocket is about £5, a whole freewheel is about £10. You save a little money with a freehub. However, freewheels tend to be more robust than freehubs, the ratchet mechanism is bigger on the freewheel compared to that on a freehub.
On a bike with a geared hub motor, a freewheel or freehub will last about 5,000-7,000 miles, much more than on a crank drive bike.
Besides that difference, you need a chain whip and sprocket tool to remove a freehub, you only need a sprocket tool to remove a freewheel. With the right tool, it's an easy 10 minutes job to remove either.

 

[falmouthtony]

A freehub (or cassette) lets you change just one worn sprocket whereas a freewheel has all its sprockets fastened together, you can't just change one sprocket.
The cost for a single sprocket is about £5, a whole freewheel is about £10. You save a little money with a freehub. However, freewheels tend to be more robust than freehubs, the ratchet mechanism is bigger on the freewheel compared to that on a freehub.
On a bike with a geared hub motor, a freewheel or freehub will last about 5,000-7,000 miles, much more than on a crank drive bike.
Besides that difference, you need a chain whip and sprocket tool to remove a freehub, you only need a sprocket tool to remove a freewheel. With the right tool, it's an easy 10 minutes job to remove either.

In my experience I would question a freewheel lasting more than 5 - 7K miles on a CD bike. When my chain needed replacing at around 3000 miles I had to replace the freewheel at the same time to retain precise shifting.

 

[Woosh]

In my experience I would question a freewheel lasting more than 5 - 7K miles on a CD bike. When my chain needed replacing at around 3000 miles I had to replace the freewheel at the same time to retain precise shifting.

I use Acera cassette and KMC X8 chain on my Bali and Krieger CD bikes.
They tend to need replacing around 2,000 to 3,000 miles. Although, recently I came across one that has done 5,000 miles and still on the original Acera cassette and KMC8 chain.
On my hub bikes like the Big Bear, they seem to last forever.