2016 kalkhoff/Focus

I like it very much, hope all models get to the US and exchange rate remains stable!
 
JayVee said:
Looks good. I wonder how well the alfine gear system performs and if it allows sufficient ratios to climb steep hills.
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The Impulse 2 has more torque than the Bosch system and will climb very very well. Alfine 11 has a gear range of about 430%. This is very wide. The gear ratios are spaced further apart then on a traditional derailleur so you have larger differences in effort between gears. I'm not sure I would go with an internal hub for a traditional bicycle as I like the broad range and tight gear rations. However, on my current ebike I used perhaps 3-5 gears at most and this includes most hills.
 
I'd love to buy the Impulse model with the Gates Carbon Drive, but it's a shame that it's so expensive ($5,334 at current exchange rate). Hopefully it will be less expensive in the US.

Their 250W versions are just too underpowered for me to even consider, though. I wonder if all their US bikes will be 350W (Bosch/Impulse) models?
 
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Cameron Newland said:
I'd love to buy the Impulse model with the Gates Carbon Drive, but it's a shame that it's so expensive ($5,334 at current exchange rate). Hopefully it will be less expensive in the US.

Their 250W versions are just too overpowered for me to even consider, though. I wonder if all their US bikes will be 350W (Bosch/Impulse) models?
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North American versions will have the 350w Impulse 2.0 motor
 
Whoa, sweet!!

Just recently @Ann M. pointed out that a quality ebike might last for years, but that doesn't mean you might not be wanting the latest and greatest sooner than that.

Sooner than I thought, apparently!!
 
J.R. said:
Such polished graceful bikes!
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Went to a dealer demo day with Kalkhoff bikes sitting next to izip and haibikes. Not even close in terms of fit and finish.

The 2016 Aventura Speed with Alfine 11, gates belt, legitimate 75 mile integrated battery, new impulse 2.0 motor with 80nm of torque, integrated GPS and NAV built into display. I have to wait until Sep/Oct. but the wait will be worth it.
 
Kalkhoff makes beautiful bikes. It's a shame they don't have wider distribution for them. The Bay Area is Kalkhoff mecca for the U.S.
 
PowerMe said:
Kalkhoff makes beautiful bikes. It's a shame they don't have wider distribution for them. The Bay Area is Kalkhoff mecca for the U.S.
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They are working on improving distribution but my understanding is that they want to limit dealers by territory to avoid saturation. This is a classic and myopic strategy that only results in fewer sales. As an example, in the small community in which I live I can buy specialized bikes at 4 dealers all relatively close to each other. The downside to this is that my area is saturated with specialized bike ownership resulting in number 1 brand and quality awareness and the bike brand that holds first choice consideration among those wishing to buy a bike (non e-bike). As you can see from this example, all the dealers hate the fact that they sell tonnage, have lots of customers, make decent margins, and support a profitable operation. Exclusivity is not in the vocabulary of smart marketers.

The other problem Kalkhoff faces is that most of the larger more successful IBD's are quite reticent to use finite inventory dollars for a product that literally has no demand and is 3-4X the cost of the majority of non-ebikes. Quite an uphill challenge for any e-bike vendor. Currie worked for 6-9 months to get (1) dealer in my area that has perhaps 20 bike shops. EBD's are emerging but the vast majority of folks who go shopping for a bike go to the larger more established dealers first and only through research and perseverance does the customer lean about ebikes.
 
86 and still kicking said:
They are working on improving distribution but my understanding is that they want to limit dealers by territory to avoid saturation. This is a classic and myopic strategy that only results in fewer sales. As an example, in the small community in which I live I can buy specialized bikes at 4 dealers all relatively close to each other. The downside to this is that my area is saturated with specialized bike ownership resulting in number 1 brand and quality awareness and the bike brand that holds first choice consideration among those wishing to buy a bike (non e-bike). As you can see from this example, all the dealers hate the fact that they sell tonnage, have lots of customers, make decent margins, and support a profitable operation. Exclusivity is not in the vocabulary of smart marketers.

The other problem Kalkhoff faces is that most of the larger more successful IBD's are quite reticent to use finite inventory dollars for a product that literally has no demand and is 3-4X the cost of the majority of non-ebikes. Quite an uphill challenge for any e-bike vendor. Currie worked for 6-9 months to get (1) dealer in my area that has perhaps 20 bike shops. EBD's are emerging but the vast majority of folks who go shopping for a bike go to the larger more established dealers first and only through research and perseverance does the customer lean about ebikes.
Click to expand...

I walked into a large bike shop in Denver, Bike Source. Four levels, Specialized and lots of others, hundreds of bicycles.

What do I see? 6-7 iZips and 2 Haibikes. Currie is getting the job done. Currie is also at REI (edit: when I went, the south metro REI had a Zuma on the floor, which I rode, and a Path+ also in inventory ).

There are more places to shop for one of those at a conventional bike shop than there are dedicated e-bike shops, here in Denver anyway.

what if the future of ebikes is at established bike shops, instead of at dedicated electric shops?
 
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stevenast said:
I walked into a large bike shop in Denver, Bike Source. Four levels, Specialized and lots of others, hundreds of bicycles.

What do I see? 6-7 iZips and 2 Haibikes. Currie is getting the job done. Currie is also at REI.

There are more places to shop for one of those at a conventional bike shop than there are dedicated e-bike shops, here in Denver anyway.

what if the future of ebikes is at established bike shops, instead of at dedicated electric shops?
Click to expand...
I agree with you since places like REI and Sports Basement have the financial and space resources to stock e-bikes. I walked in to the local REI on Saratoga in San Jose CA and they did not have one e-bike on the floor although they would gladly order one for me.
 
Even if you do your research and know you want to try (or just outright order) a Kalkhoff eBike, there are limited places in which to do so in the U.S. And you pretty much can't just demo it if it's a special order for a dealer. You must commit up front, unless you're near the very few cities that do have Kalkhoff.
 
86 and still kicking said:
myopic strategy
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Unable or unwilling to understand the potential of ebikes! There are two shops 25 miles from me, Trek and Specialized, neither sell ebikes. Last year at this time I was shopping for an ebike and couldn't even see one. "Pay upfront and we'll get one."
 
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