How about a nice bike conversion from Brightonebikes who is a regular forum poster and rider, choose any standard nice bike you like or have and he will do a nice mid drive Bafang BBS conversion.
What do you think is best for me?
- Thread starter Tykus
- Start date
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Too far away. I need to try out a bike before purchase. arthritis make straight handlebars and sporty geometry not the best choice (Tourer geometry is best), and I found the Cyclamatic too back heavy so ideally I'd want the battery nearer the middle of the bike. I need a local shop for problems and repairs. Shoreham-by-Sea has four to choose from: S-Cycles (Kalkhoff), Halford, Raleigh (?), Giant. Private shop in town won't even repair ebikes they sold customers! PS: I'm not going to spend all day travelling to try out a bike. Then there is a problem if the ebike goes wrong and as far as I've been able to ascertain, they all have problems.
Unsure how to cope with the very steep inclines without a throttle. In practice the very heavy weight at the rear was disadvantageous and it actually because a bit tricky when he power was not sufficient. On a light pedal bike, I could weave on tarmac, but this was not possible on an ebike. Need a walking mode ideally, found out in practice with rear heavy bikes.
All bikes have punctures and chain replacements required.
Impulse have a very high failure rate for a premium product.
Woosh, whisper are cheaper and have had few issues in relation to the volume sold.
So local is handy but not everything.
Local is only good if they do after sales service. I found one example where the shop would not deal with repairs and left the customer in the lurch.
The second thing about local is trying the bikes out which in view of the cost is pretty much essential as well.
Clever people could work this out from the geometry but in view of the extra weight it is best to try them out.
I ask people with ebikes and almost everybody has problems, not just mechanical like stretching chains (always with derailleur) but electrical as well. S Cycles does not have a local workshop. It is just a shop.
I need after sales service so the same reason why I need an ebike: arthritis.
Woosh seems a good buy but too far away.
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When you have had nothing but negative feedback I can't quite understand why you still want an ebike.
Having said that I can only offer advice based on my own personal experiences powered and unpowered.
I have had no electrical problems in 2000km of riding my ebike.
The chain is just about shot after this distance.
As a rule on unpowered bikes both road and mountain I replace the chain every 1000 miles / 1600km. After 5 chains I replace the cassette. I have never replaced a front chainring due to wear.
I have left the chain longer on the ebike as I intend replacing the whole drive train in one go to further increase my gear range.
My normal use is far more extreme from a climbing point of view than you are likely to encounter in the UK.
My ebike is a Yamaha crank drive with 2 chainrings. My MTB has about 30 thousand miles on the clock in the eight years I have owned it, my current road bike has about 10 thousand miles on it.
Have you tried asking regular cyclists if they have problems?
I guess the point of this post is if you ask an enthusiastic who understands what is going on if they have problems they will tell you no, if you ask someone with unrealistic expectations they will tell you they have problems.
Negative feedback somes all from the bottom of the range bikes: Freego and Cyclamatic mostly. Start off good and within a year end up with a crappy performance. Only did 10 miles at best.
Positive feedback from Kalkhoff owners, but motor not ascertained (yet).
I vetoed ebikes because of cost, but then Kalkhoff rang me up with reduced prices (to £1700-£1800) which reunited my interest.
I cycle 2500 miles a year and replace the chain once a year.
My current road pedal bike is about 20 years old and probably not best for a conversion. Lots of transmission repairs, derailleur..
I may just hire an ebike for longer journeys? £15 a day Kalkhoff (daylight only in one day so 2 days for an early start = £30). I've got pedal bikes for the general ten miles a day.
I bought a secondhand Cyclamatic for three months as a trial. Doesn't work at the moment.
I bought a secondhand lightweight pedal bike for local hills, that was a rational choice as it mostly copes up to 20 miles round trip.
I expect the sellers have keyed in my dream of having a good bike for the third time. I had two before. One was not as good as I thought and got run over my an errant bus and other one got stolen quite quickly.
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So all of the negative comes from bottom of the range, that's good as it isn't the market you or I would be in.
With the extra info you have provided with regard to your cycling I would urge you to examine what you want very closely.
My Haibike is superb in the Alps where I can be riding on 10% average uphill gradients for an hour at a time, the only downside coming down is increased brake wear, yes it is a little more difficult on the technical stuff but I would have bought an all mountain full suspension bike if that is what I wanted.
Back in the UK I find for day to day use the bike is to heavy to be enjoyable. Days out on the Pennines or in Yorkshire dales etc excepted. For most of my use a lighter bike would be better, maybe a light hub drive with with a torque sensor or current limiting controller.
From what I have seen here and elsewhere I would not consider a Kalkhoff as reliability seems to be a serious issue.
With the extra info you have provided with regard to your cycling I would urge you to examine what you want very closely.
My Haibike is superb in the Alps where I can be riding on 10% average uphill gradients for an hour at a time, the only downside coming down is increased brake wear, yes it is a little more difficult on the technical stuff but I would have bought an all mountain full suspension bike if that is what I wanted.
Back in the UK I find for day to day use the bike is to heavy to be enjoyable. Days out on the Pennines or in Yorkshire dales etc excepted. For most of my use a lighter bike would be better, maybe a light hub drive with with a torque sensor or current limiting controller.
From what I have seen here and elsewhere I would not consider a Kalkhoff as reliability seems to be a serious issue.
The snag is for day to day use for short trips, an ebike of any kind is of very marginal benefit. The constant stopping and starting in traffic may favour a throttle. A light pedal bike is a better bet.
As I am retiring next year, I've got more time for days out on country roads and cyclepaths. I have not got a car.
Hiring makes more sense financially. But it is inconvenient.
However, there are some steep local hilly trips that go on once a week which actually favours getting my Cyclamatic working again (if I can). Less security concerns.
Over ten miles and an ebike comes into its own.
Then there is the satisfaction of having a really good bike, when I need it: not so often. A bike for life for me. A bit cautious to make sure I get the right one.
This is the time of the year to buy last years models. I do not know the strength of the unreliability of Kalkhoff Impulse motors? They have not replaced them for 2017.
How do Kalkhoffs (and other models) fare in minor accidents that inevitably occur now and then. A big plus is there is a very local shop in town.
Hi there.
I've got a list of things I need from a bike and am a bit lost before I go try a shortlist out.
Here is what I need..
1) 2k limit but prefer to pay a lot less
2) I don't drive, my bike is my car (I currently have an efolder but badly need an upgrade) so it has to be reliable.
3) Distance - minimum 35 miles on full assist, but really need further if possible
4) Terrain - I regularly cycle on canal paths, nobbly tracks and on road.
5) Good with a trailer and/or rear basket- I have smelly dogs/shopping to pull
6) Full size wheels
What do you think?
Did you get an ebike? About the same specs as I want.
the impulse 2 motors and even the new ones have a design flaw so if you are a fit rider you will kill the motor and it will not take long if riding it like this and forget a dongle to remove the speed limit.
i can hit 30mph plus on my fs haibike with a dongle but with that speed comes less range.
for a 500w batt i get about 25 miles.
1.4 miles 4.11 sec KOM
i can hit 30mph plus on my fs haibike with a dongle but with that speed comes less range.
for a 500w batt i get about 25 miles.
1.4 miles 4.11 sec KOM
http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/ongoing-reliability-of-kalkhoff-focus-impulse-2-motors.24290/
the other thread was locked but you can find it if you go back far enough.
same problems on the German site as well.
they will replace the motors if in warranty and then it will be renewed to 2 years again but if they stop making it thats an expensive boat ancor.
the other thread was locked but you can find it if you go back far enough.
same problems on the German site as well.
they will replace the motors if in warranty and then it will be renewed to 2 years again but if they stop making it thats an expensive boat ancor.
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