Who's got a Kudos electric bike ?

[Mike63]

Hi....I'm looking for a new bike.
...All I've decided so far is it's got to be new and It's got to be step through.
I landed on the Kudos site and I quite like the look of the "eco" at £1055.

Anyone got a Kudos ? ...do you mind discussing it ?

How do you feel about the battery being situated on the rear rack as opposed to foreward of the rear wheel ?

I'm a tad concerned about the solid front fork, I had a wisper without suspension and my wrists felt every bump in the road.

The range(27-30)is on the very edge of my needs, my current bike, a UM44S U Sprite
has the same battery 36V 9ah, boasts a range of up to 50 miles, but being 14 stone I only get half of that ..and that's switching it off when not needed.
....anything less than 25 and I'm struggling....the drag from the motor does not let me ride it without power.

...any views, opinions, advice, appreciated....thanks....Mike

 

[indalo]

The range(27-30)is on the very edge of my needs, my current bike, a UM44S U Sprite
has the same battery 36V 9ah, boasts a range of up to 50 miles, but being 14 stone I only get half of that ..and that's switching it off when not needed.
....anything less than 25 and I'm struggling....the drag from the motor does not let me ride it without power.

...any views, opinions, advice, appreciated....thanks....Mike

It's different strokes for different folks Mike but before forking out a grand plus, I'd need to feel confident that if I can't maintain and repair an electric bike myself, there's a place not far away where I can have work done and any spare parts will be available.

The bike you mention looks ok at the money but there's quite a few other brands at similar money not dissimilar to the Eco. Given my comment in the first paragraph, I wouldn't discount Wisper too quickly on the basis of your experience with a rigid front fork model. They do the 705SE for example with suspension fork and a choice of batteries, depending on how much you're prepared to pay. For a bit more money, (quite a bit, actually) you will certainly go much further on that Wisper than on many others and you raised that as a concern.

Juicybike have models which I think would also fit your requirements and again, like Wisper, the support factor rates highly with their customers. Range won't be a problem with their bigger batteries either.

For all practical purposes, I doubt the position of the battery would affect your enjoyment of the bike and it wouldn't be a deterrent to me so, unless you're a proper cycling afficionado, in tune with all the handling nuances of a finely adjusted frame and correct weight distribution, it shouldn't be an issue.

I note you specify a new bike in your criteria which is a shame as there are some real bargains around both from dealers selling ex-demo bikes and from private sellers. If one was available at a good price, I could live quite happily with, for example, an Agattu, regardless of which gear set it's equipped with as I think it represents all the ebike most people will ever need. Also, Ezee do a model, (last time I looked) at around a grand which is probably a pretty decent machine still, well tried and tested over the years.

If you like large Dutch and German bikes, the chap up in Suffolk who sells up-market machines also has some second-hand bikes which look good. He asks a lot of money but I'm sure his prices are aspirational and you could probably negotiate a deal with him. I mention that as an option because the bikes he trades in are all quality machines rather than budget or mid-range bikes.

Best of luck with your choice, whatever you decide Mike,
Indalo

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi Indy,

Thank you for giving eZee a mention, just to update we have version of the Sprint which is priced at £750 + delivery. Bikes & Conversion Kits - Cyclezee Ltd

I did suggest this model to Mike previously, but I think he was adamant about having rear drive.

Regards,

 

[flecc]

Since the range is critical I'd hesitate to recommend another bike using a 36 volt 9 or 10 Ah battery, you really need more to accommodate the inevitable decline in range as the battery ages.

The Juicy Classic with the optional 16 Ah battery would fit the bill at £988 including that battery, and that battery is the same longer lasting LiFePO4 chemistry that Kudos specify. It has front suspension and a rear motor.

An alternative would be the eZee Sprint Primo step-through. although priced at £750 with an 8Ah battery, for an extra charge you can have the 14 Ah battery and that again should come in under £1000.

Another option is to have a bike with two smaller batteries and a charger at each end of your commute, but that can be expensive of course.

N.B. Crossed with CycleZee post.
.

 

[Mike63]

Thanks for that Indalo...I do have a liking for the Kalkhoff Agattu but at close to 2K it's a bit expensive especially with the possibility of it getting stolen, I think insurance with cycleguard is £200 year and I doubt they'd pay for a stolen battery.
....£1000 is a lot more acceptable.
I live in Wakefield..other than Halfords and a Trek dealer we have nothing in the way of e bike dealers.

I can do Chester anytime and I can make Loughborough so I'm 'gonna try to get to Loughborough to see/try a bike...I'd need to be convinced that for 2K it's a lot better than the alternative.

....many thanks....Mike

 

[Mike63]

Hi Indy,

Thank you for giving eZee a mention, just to update we have version of the Sprint which is priced at £750 + delivery. Bikes & Conversion Kits - Cyclezee Ltd

I did suggest this model to Mike previously, but I think he was adamant about having rear drive.

Regards,

Hi Indy....still keeping my options open but no way can I get to Milton Keynes to look at a bike.
....just not possible.

.....Mike

 

[JuicyBike]

Hi Mike
It would be a real pleasure to let you have a ride on any of our range from our Buxton, Derbyshire shop, or our new trade centre in New Mills, just south of Manchester.
We have a stockist in Chester and also in Scunthorpe if you're visiting or travelling through those towns. Your nearest stockist might well be in Preston.
I'd be interested in your feedback after trying our range.

 

[Jimod]

I've got a Kudos bike. I've got the Kudos Tourer 9 speed. I love it. As to battery range, I too am 14 stone (ok slightly over 14) I get over 30 miles on mine and I live in a hilly area. I use maximum power all the time, it never gets switched off.
The Eco seems to have a front motor, mine's a rear motor and the Eco's wheels are 26" mine are 700s. I don't know if that will make a difference to the battery range or not.

The battery on the rear rack doesn't bother me as I've never had an e-bike before and I'm not a professional cyclist who goes tearing down hills in the 50mph club.

The Kudos tourer lets me go out and 'play' as it were, I've been cycling to places I've never been before and wouldn't have been on a non e-bike as I'm not fit enough to do it. I am getting fitter though because of my e-bike.
In the 1st week of having the bike I flattened the battery whilst out as I was trying to drain it to condition it and as usual it went flat a couple of miles from home. The only way home from anywhere to my village is uphills. It wasn't easy but I made it OK. I have since bought a spare battery and if I'm going more than 30 miles I take my spare with me. Now THAT adds a wee bit of extra weight when lifting the bike but I have it on the carrier and I don't feel it when riding the bike.

The best advice I could give you is, try the bike first. I've never regretted buying mine and I bought it from their warehouse via the internet. I hadn't seen it nor tried it I had just seen pics of it on their website.
All this is only 'my' experience but It works for me.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Hi Mike, I agree the old eco without suspension was hard on the wrists and spokes. All our current bikes have RST suspension including the eco.

We currently have an offer on the eco and would fit within your budget. If you would like to try out the new eco please let me know roughly where you live I will ask our local dealer to contact you.

Best regards

David

 

[Kudoscycles]

Mike-we all want your business!
I note that you consider that the 30-35 mile range offered by the Kudos LifePo4 battery may not be sufficient for your required range,some customers have bought a second battery giving an economic 20Ah.
We rejected going to 16Ah with the LifePo4 batteries because of the weight,up to 8kgs. The decision to go with LifePo4 batteries was the best decision I made on entering this e-bike business,the chemical design of the battery means its the greenest,safest,longest lasting,inexpensive and generally fuss-free of the Lithium series but it is heavier than LiMnO4(Lithium-Ion).
We have a new bike,named Safari,due out late April which is the easiest Step Thro,the frame design is unique and truly unisex-It has the well proven Kudos layout of Front motor,Nexus 8 hub gears and rack mounted LifePo4 10Ah battery-I will try to PM details to you.
If you like the Kudos ECO bike I will arrange for your nearest dealer(please check our website)to have a sample if he does not have one already.
I think the Eco does have a certain wow factor,bit I am biased-I designed it!
Usual advice,try before you buy and look towards the long term cost of ownership as well was the initial capital cost.
regards
Dave
KudosCycles

 

[Kudoscycles]

Mike-if you private message your home address I will send a copy of the Safari spec sheet to you,I think you will like this bike-we tried to load the pdf file onto Pedelec site but without success.
regards
Dave

 

[Mike63]

The Juicy Classic with the optional 16 Ah battery would fit the bill at £988 including that battery, and that battery is the same longer lasting LiFePO4 chemistry that Kudos specify. It has front suspension and a rear motor.

Cheers Flecc..I will attempt to try a juicy Classic.
...unfotunately no way can I get to Milton keynes.

The 30 miles is not a commute..just places I visit...so no charging there.
....MikeC

 

[BrianSmithers]

Hi Mike. Like Jim I have the Kudos Tourer. Mine is the version with the hub gears which costs a bit more. I've never regretted opting for the hub gears - I like being able to change gear while stationary.

As for the rest of the bike - it is simply brilliant. My commute is 5 miles each way and I get three days worth per charge. I did try 4 days once and run out of battery - so 30 miles plus a bit is the range for me (and that is at maximum assist level).

It felt odd not having the power available on that day I ran out of charge but it wasn't so difficult to peddle the rest of the way without assistance. Fortunately, by then I had passed the big hill which the bike normally sails up - that hill would have made me give up commuting by ordinary bike.

The battery on the back isn't really a problem. You don't really notice it - and where it is situated allows you to plant a saddle bag on top and still easily slide the battery out which I've done at night all through the winter and kept it in the house. The Kudos pannier bags (included in the price) simply throw over the top of the saddlebags and a strap keeps them out of harms way.

I have nearly 500 miles on the clock now and I really haven't suffered through lack of front suspension but maybe it's because my route is fairly bump free.

Just about the only real problem I've had is the chain guard falling off twice before I duct taped the two halves together. I did also have a ticking noise as the pedals went round but that seems to have mysteriously stopped.

Dave from Kudos took me for a long test ride when I visited their offices in Kent last summer. I also rode the City which is a nice commuting bike and that does (or did) have front suspension. In fact, I probably would have had the City but at the time the first stocks hadn't arrived. It was slighly cheaper at the time than my tourer I think and it also has the hub gears.

I hope that helps.

- Brian

 

[apples]

hi mike, i an nearly 16 stone & not rode a bike for 55 years (school) very unfit, i spend 9 months of year in spain so weather not a problem & wanted an e bike for pure leisure & an aid to fitness. tried a few friends bikes, did not like front hub as dangerous on loose surfaces, i do not like deralleur gears. so for me it had to be hub gears & crank drive. i bought 2 step thru agattu's from 50cycles on spec sight unseen & shipped to spain. i can only say they have been absolutely great wife & i have really surprised ourselves, we are on coast so fairly flat but go inland 300 metres & it is really steep, none of this is a problem we do 15 to 20 miles a day charge every other day with one light left on mine & 2 lights left on wifes. the only thing to suffer is the backsides but that is improving, as a bonus they seem to ride very well without battery did this first day while charging. so if you can stretch to a Kalkhoff Agattu you wont regrett it better to buy once than buy cheap & regret it. just a personal view but we really love ours had them 4 weeks & now seem to see lots of others here now english & germans who brought them down on motorhomes. good luck whatever you decide, regards dave

 

[OldPedaller]

Kudos Bikes

Hi Mike,

I've had a Kudos King for almost a year now. Overall, I've been very pleased with it, although I've spent some additional money on improvements, such as a comfortable saddle and an upgrade to the gears. (The gear change on mine tended to be jarring at times, so I got the dealer to fit a replacement set).

It has the suspension forks (adjustable) which are excellent. I use the bike on very rough tracks in the Galloway Forest and it easily soaks up the bumps and handles the conditions well.

The battery on the back isn't much of an issue. You have to be careful lining up the battery before it will slide in, but you soon learn the knack. The other aspect of the battery and the motor both being on the back is that you do have to remember that therefore all the bike's weight is over the back wheel. On one infamous occasion I did rear up like an out of control stallion and went crashing down a bank, but to be honest that was on extremely rough terrain and an unusually steep slope.

Because we take the bikes on the back of a motor home, I've found the rear hub motor to be better. The reason is that it's easy for me to just grab the luggage rack and lift the heavy end of the bike on to the rack, while my wife steadies the front. If you try lifting a front hub bike onto a highish bike rack, you'll find that it can be hard to hold steady and can be very awkward to deal with. So the King wins on that score over my Powabyke.

As I say, overall I'm very pleased with it and would recommend the King to others.

 

[Mike63]

Hi Brian....thanks for your post...most informative.
Folk are always saying "you get what you pay for" but I quite like the idea of paying 1k as opposed to 2k

Unfortunately It's got to be a step through for me and Kudos appear pretty limited in this department.
.....or rather more choice in the crossbar mode.
cheers...Mike

 

[Mike63]

It has the suspension forks (adjustable) which are excellent. I use the bike on very rough tracks in the Galloway Forest and it easily soaks up the bumps and handles the conditions well.

Hi OP...thanks for your post...sadly this is one of the things that's 'gonna put me off the Kudos.

...because of an accident that put me in hospital for 3 weeks and kept me off my bike for 3 months I've decided that I will be safer on a step through....the Kudos "Eco"

Having time on my hands I've spent a lot of it studying the specs. and the "King" at £995 seems to be a far superieour machine to the "eco" at £1055...the "King " has disc brakes, suspension forks, a better frame I think, and a rear hub, I'm a tad concerned about the front hub on the "eco"
...I had a front hub on my first ebike a "powabyke x6" and while others disagreed with me I found that the weight made it unstable at slow speeds.

This'll be my fourth ebike so I should know what I'm looking for,
....I hope nobody's 'gonna talk me into something I don't want.

I too have a motorhome, but mine's a Tribby van conversion with a big sliding door, I lift my bike inside and tie it downto the rear seat belt post....I'd thought about a rear rack but this works ideal.

cheers....Mike

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Hi Brian....thanks for your post...most informative.
Folk are always saying "you get what you pay for" but I quite like the idea of paying 1k as opposed to 2k

Unfortunately It's got to be a step through for me and Kudos appear pretty limited in this department.
.....or rather more choice in the crossbar mode.
cheers...Mike

If it's got to be a step-through, 8Fun bikes have a couple. Their batteries are pretty good and replacement ones are cheap. The guys there are quite good on support. They're in Birmingham last time I checked, where you can go and try the bikes, otherwise they send out by mail-order. All the electrics are readily available from many sources - basically all the standard stuff.
8Fun Ltd

 

[avronb]

The same thing crops up time and time again,i would like an e.bike ,BUT,there are no dealers near me where i can go and try one out.
Brian.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The same thing crops up time and time again,i would like an e.bike ,BUT,there are no dealers near me where i can go and try one out.
Brian.

It must be very hard for people that can't fix things. I recently bought a nice Dahon online at a huge discount. One pedal bearing went loose after about 20 miles, which for anybody competent is a 5 minute job to fix, but for others, it would mean sending the whole bike back at huge expense and inconvenience to both themselves and the supplier, and would make them and other similar people think twice about buying on-line. I can only thank my lucky starts that I'm privileged.

Here's my idea for a website. It's based on something similar that I've seen used in the automotive industry. You make a huge register of people that are competent to fix bikes/ebikes. People can buy bikes on-line and if anything goes wrong, they ring up the dealer, who looks on the register and assigns the task of fixing to a local guy, who then charges the dealer for his work. They're individually rated by feedback from the customers and dealers for their quality, price and speed. Probably not practical, but wouldn't half give customers a lot more choice.