What to do with my Agattu

[Gringo]

OK so before the bike there's me
Arthritis in my knees mean that I can't put all my weight into peddling, effectively that means I can't get off the saddle to peddle, I use the shortest mountain bike gears on steep hills and really spin those peddles, going up hill at 2 to 3 mph
This hasn't stopped me, in fact earlier this year I moved on to a non assisted hybrid with road tyres doing at least one trip a week of 20 to 40 miles (And yes last Saturday was cold)

So now I have my low mileage (900miles) Agattu doing nowt in the garage, I've tried advertising it at what I think is a good price and am not prepared to let it go for nothing.

Now thinking off road conversion.
This will get me onto the wooded trails my knees are still struggling with.
I know there's a lot more to it than just knobbly tyres.
I'll put down just a few things in a list
If anyone has any thoughts about what this could cost me or alternative ideas I'd like to hear them.

Knobbly tyres, I will probably need new rims as mine are 700c's (poor tyre choice)
Disc breaks, as I expect to see mud
Larger rear sprocket for those "stuck in the mud" times ( not forgetting, I can't get out of the saddle to put the power down)
That's for starters, I'm sure there's loads more and I'm starting to think maybe it will not be cost effective.
Another thought, can the motor/crank be grafted into another bike

Just a heads up, I can't do any changes to the hybrid as my father (78) uses it occasionally.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I think it would be better to sell your Agattu and buy a more suitable bike with a bit of grunt like the Kudos Tornado.

 

[Gringo]

Well D8veh, I know what your saying but I was asking what to do with my Agattu as no one wants to buy it.
I'm down to £600 for a 900mile bike, that must be a fair price ?

 

[103Alex1]

Not sure what system you have on your Agattu (how old ?) If it's the Impulse try updating the software - you shouldn't need to get up off the saddle in any conditions really with this. However you do need some chunkier 29er tyres on those rims to be more capable on rougher ground.

Otherwise I'd seriously consider converting a bike with a high torque hub motor and throttle option. In the end if the bike isn't going to be used any more and isn't suitable for converting are you not as well to float it on eBay ?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I still don''t think it's possible to do anything with the Agattu because there's too many things to change. If it's more power you want, You could fit a front hub-motor kit with a rack battery, which would cost about £400. It could work with a thumb-throttle on the left, just to give you a rest when the pedalling gets hard.

 

[flecc]

The limited market means it's often difficult to sell an e-bike, and at this time of the year at the onset of winter it's doubly difficult. It's not worth dropping the price when the problem is no customers, if a potential customer is there they will pay a fair price.

If you can delay your off road ambitions, it could be best to hang on until spring and retry selling the Agattu then when demand could be higher.

 

[johnc461165]

Keep the bike. Get some new knees I had my left one done 3 years ago, what a life changer go for it.

 

[Gringo]

Thanks for all the responce, I didn't realise there's so many late nighters out there and here's me getting up at 5 o'clock
Several points but the main one is not about buying a new bike but what to do with the one I've got already.
It's not about more power, it's how it's delivered.
Quite a while back, I tried to explain to a Annsman rep (after a test on one of his bikes) with my arthritis it's the initial surge or hard push that gets you going no matter what gear your in that's the problem and that's why his bike was not suited to me (sensor based not torque)
Anywho I'm rambling now and should be working, I'll get back online latter

 

[Hugh]

OK so before the bike there's me
Arthritis in my knees mean that I can't put all my weight into peddling, effectively that means I can't get off the saddle to peddle, I use the shortest mountain bike gears on steep hills and really spin those peddles, going up hill at 2 to 3 mph
This hasn't stopped me, in fact earlier this year I moved on to a non assisted hybrid with road tyres doing at least one trip a week of 20 to 40 miles (And yes last Saturday was cold)

So now I have my low mileage (900miles) Agattu doing nowt in the garage, I've tried advertising it at what I think is a good price and am not prepared to let it go for nothing.

Now thinking off road conversion.
This will get me onto the wooded trails my knees are still struggling with.
I know there's a lot more to it than just knobbly tyres.
I'll put down just a few things in a list
If anyone has any thoughts about what this could cost me or alternative ideas I'd like to hear them.

Knobbly tyres, I will probably need new rims as mine are 700c's (poor tyre choice)
Disc breaks, as I expect to see mud
Larger rear sprocket for those "stuck in the mud" times ( not forgetting, I can't get out of the saddle to put the power down)
That's for starters, I'm sure there's loads more and I'm starting to think maybe it will not be cost effective.
Another thought, can the motor/crank be grafted into another bike

Just a heads up, I can't do any changes to the hybrid as my father (78) uses it occasionally.

You could do a few relatively cheap mods for trail work. There are various quite knobbly tyres around in 700c which should be ok on relatively mild stuff e.g.
Specialized Tracer Pro Cyclocross Tyre | Evans Cycles

I wouldn't worry about the brakes - if the Agattu has decent rim brakes, especially if they are hydraulic, you'll be ok, unless you're hammering down very muddy steep downhills.

Gearing - change the cassette to give you some lower gears at the bottom end.

If you don't already have one, a suspension seat post will help - sprung forks would be even better, but start getting pricier.

I reckon you could do tyres and cassette for well under £100 and it'd be worth it if it gives you more use of the bike.

Good luck.

 

[jackhandy]

Quite a while back, I tried to explain to a Annsman rep (after a test on one of his bikes) with my arthritis it's the initial surge or hard push that gets you going no matter what gear your in that's the problem and that's why his bike was not suited to me (sensor based not torque

Unless I've read that foreside-back - you didn't get on with the Annsman bike because it was (speed) sensor based?

That doesn't sound at all right to me: My Cyclezee kit is speed-sensor based & gives a tremendous shove from standstill, when using throttle, whereas a torque-sensor will respond to the amount of pressure you put on the first pedal stroke - The opposite to what you need.

But... No motor/battery combination is going to be very happy if called on to provide maximum amps from standstill each time you start off: Effectively, you'll be "reverse stalling" it each time.

Unless I've got hold of the wrong end... Again

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I don't think that the Annsman has a throttle, does it. Starting from a stand-still wouldn't be a problem as long as the motor has hall sensors. Efficiency wouldn't be much of a concern if it were only used as an auxiliary for starting. I agree that speed control would be much better than torque control.

 

[Electrifying Cycles]

One other thing, several bikes now have an easy start which can get you off from a standstill but is not technically a throttle. I tried Annsman but was a little dissapointed with it when I tried. Alternative could be a Wisper which has a throttle. This is not the best bike if you plan to use your bike for proper off roading but is good for roads and off road cycle tracks. You could build a good kit bike or I am sure you would find a nice ready built bike. Ideally you need to try several and see which suits you best.

 

[tillson]

We need to know which model Agattu this is. I believe that Kalkhoff have made a range of Agattu bikes with Panasonic 24V crank drives, front hub motors and Impulse crank drives.

For some reason, I'm thinking that he has a 24 Volt Panasonic motored model with a 7 speed Nexus hub gear and cable operated Vee brakes. But I could be completely wrong. There is no way of knowing.

 

[flecc]

I've the same opinion too Tillson, since Gringo finds good off-the-mark torque with it, very much a Panasonic unit characteristic.

If so, it's got sprung forks and seatpost plus good rim brakes already so could be ready for moderate trail use with just a tyre change, and maybe mudguard/carrier removal.

 

[Gringo]

I've the same opinion too Tillson, since Gringo finds good off-the-mark torque with it, very much a Panasonic unit characteristic.

If so, it's got sprung forks and seatpost plus good rim brakes already so could be ready for moderate trail use with just a tyre change, and maybe mudguard/carrier removal.

Your both spot on.
My fault, I wasn't clear in my first post
The post modern seatpost gave up or I should say seized up and I now use a vastly superior suntour scx post, one post swaped between two bikes as required.
flecc has summed it up nicely, take off all that's not needed and fit some off-road tyres, I just need to see what tyre fits inbetween frame rails & the forks.
Thanks again for all the input.
I never intended buying a new bike, I just needed a push to modify what I already have, rather than see it collecting dust in the garage.

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi Gringo,

If you can get down to MK you can test ride any of our bikes and we maybe able to do a part exchange deal for your Agattu.

 

[banbury frank]

Hi Gringo


Pop into banbury for a test ride we to can do PX

Our bikes are throttel only and climb the stepest off hills NO pedaling

Please call to arange a test ride we are open 7 days a week


Frank

 

[tillson]

Here we go................

 

[Cyclezee]

Your both spot on.
My fault, I wasn't clear in my first post
The post modern seatpost gave up or I should say seized up and I now use a vastly superior suntour scx post, one post swaped between two bikes as required.
flecc has summed it up nicely, take off all that's not needed and fit some off-road tyres, I just need to see what tyre fits inbetween frame rails & the forks.
Thanks again for all the input.
I never intended buying a new bike, I just needed a push to modify what I already have, rather than see it collecting dust in the garage.

Hi Gringo,

Sorry I didn't read your post before going off into sales mode

If you need any help with the mods, I am happy to help ........FOC.

Agattu's are great bikes, I have owned 4 Kalkhoffs in my time, 3 of them were Agattu's

 

[Gringo]

I'm back again with my 7spd Agattu
Striped back, lights, rack, mudgards all gone and some lovely smart sam plus tyres (2.1").
I just love it !
But rim breaks + mud, suck big time.
When I'm not picking mud out (because it's bad enough to slow me down) I'm sure I can feel the rims getting smaller, or is it the break pads wearing out.
So now in stuck between a rock and a hard place.
I really need disc breaks, even cable one's would be better than mud caked rims ! But at what cost ? Is it even possible. The front is easy as Agattu forks are disc ready but I'm not so sure about the back end
I don't want to throw good money after bad by doing half a job.
Is there a economical way to do a disc conversion to my Agattu ( front & back )