Another spanner in the works.

[EddieJ]

There was me considering the purchase of the discounted NEO Race, when suddenly I'm offered a Kalkoff Endeavour BS10 at a good price. I can't say that I overly like the looks, but I guess that I have always prefered sportier looking bikes, which obviously aren't generally as practical. As a commuting and long distance bike it ticks all of the boxes and that was kind of what I was after, but I've been trying to resist going away from flowing lines and sleek good looks.





Frame E-Bike Bosch Speed, alloy, internal cable routing
Fork Suntour NCX-D remote lockout
Motor Bosch Speed 36 V / 350 W
Assistance levels Eco +30% / Tour +100% / Sport +180% / Turbo +250%
Battery Bosch Li-Ion 36V / 400Wh
Max. assisted speed 45kph / 28mph
Intuvia Display a smart plug-in "ignition key", the new Intuvia on-board computer gets the eBike up and running and is a smart removable data storage device too. Its clear design and separate control unit attached to the handlebar offers the rider a wealth of information and achoice of five assistance levels. Also comes with built-in USB for powering your gadgets.
Gears 10-speed Shimano XT
Shifters Shimano SLX
Cassette Shimano HG62
Crank Kalkhoff Bosch, Aluminium CNC
Handlebar Concept SL Riser, oversize
Stem Concept SL, adjustable
Saddle Fizik Rondine
Seatpost Concept EX
Brakes Magura MT 2 Speed
Tyres Continental Contact 2 37-622, with reflective stripe, foldable
Mudguards SKS, plastic with reflector, rear spoiler
Rack 3-legged, aluminumHeadlight B&M Lumotec IQ Cyo R, LED
Backlight B&M Toplight Flat
Colour Magicblack matt

 

[Admin]

Hi EddieJ! I had the chance to ride several Kalkhoff electric bikes when visiting San Francisco a few months back. They are wonderful hill climbers and come with lots of extras like the lights, fenders and racks. This bike might not seem as beautiful to you but I bet it's more than capable, even for climbing hills! Where did you find it? I was under the impression that only a few shops in the US carried Kalkhoff?

 

[EddieJ]

Hi Court.
I've yet to ride a crank/mid drive motor, so one question. How does the motor noise compare with hub drives?
Kalkoff have a UK dealership, although from reading many reviews, the service is very hit and miss, but having said that there is also a lot of bitterness from a couple of UK dealers towards the guy that runs the business, which I feel is grossly unfair. It seems to stem from the following.. Taking the above bike, it isn't legal to use on UK roads as it's not rated at 200/250watts. It also cuts out at 28mph and not 15.5mph. Along with many others, these two points are what made me look at the bike in the first place.

My understanding is that Kalkoff bikes are finished to a very high standard and withstand day to day use very well.

 

[Admin]

Hi Eddie, while I've had limited experience with the Kalkhoff ebikes I did try them out at the New Wheel shop in San Francisco which is right next to a bunch of hills. They have been selling the bike for a while and apparently it holds up well and is very popular. The ones I tried used internally geared rear hubs that shifted well but would delay if you were climbing a steep hill (so as not to grind the gears). The motors were a bit noisier if I remember correctly, I'm planning to do a bunch of reviews this week and rather than try to remember the details (and potentially remember wrong) I'll just prioritize one of these so you can see and hear what I did when testing

I have heard that Kalkhoff is changing their distribution name in the US based on some reputation issues from older bikes that used different systems. It was all before my time and I heard it second hand but it sounds like more of their models will be hitting our shores under a new name.

 

[EddieJ]

What I can't help but to smile about is that I don't yet own the bike, and yet I'm already looking at ways to make it lighter and possibly neater without loosing any of its reliability or efficiency.

 

[Admin]

Ha! Well, that's half the fun right Eddie

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Wow, the bike is so decked out...!
You wouldn't need to change anything on that. May be add a pannier system but otherwise, it is perfect already.

 

[EddieJ]

Well I now have a new bike on order, and it isn't the one above. The reason for not buying the one above, was that I got talking to an owner of one, who had found that build quality wasn't as good as he had first thought, and that he had faced an up hill battle to get problems resolved.

A while back someone kindly steered me in the direction of a very trust worthy bike shop that sells on German Ebay. Said person had bought a couple of bikes previously from this seller and both times after putting in what should really have been an insulting offer that was accepted.
I spotted the bike below a couple of days ago, and layed awake last night thinking about it, then at lunch time today, I decided to put a very very silly offer in, which was accepted.

So although I have to wait for it to be delivered from Germany, I now own a Haibike eQ Xduro Cross. https://www.haibike.com/de/de

And here is a thread that I started for the bike. http://electricbikereview.com/community/threads/haibike-eq-xduro-cross.130/