Have just discovered EBR and decided to join seeing as I am a dedicated eBike rider. For years I rode a series of mountain bikes on my daily morning ride, and, living in Wellington with its hills and mostly windy climate, I decided to get an eBike. My first eBike was a Bofeili - at the time it was the only brand available with a mid drive and I was convinced that was the way to go so I purchased one and used it for about 18 months - in the meantime a lot of makes had come on to the market, many with mid drives but the one that took my fancy was the Kalkhoff Agattu i8 with a step through frame that was very appealing as it was getting more difficult, at my age, to get my leg over the Bofeili with its conventional top bar.
I've now had the Kalkhoff for 2 years and have done 15,000kms on my daily rides. For me, it is the perfect bike with one or two exceptions - they being the brakes and the front shocks. The Magura hydraulic rim brakes are absolutely amazing - but only in the dry weather, and as I ride in all weathers, they are useless in the rain to the point of being dangerous - I will be upgrading to one of their models fitted with disc brakes that are now coming available. The other gripe I have is the front shocks which in 2 years have just about totally worn out - I feel that they should last a bit longer than that and I don't know why the manufacturer has fitted such mundane equipment on what is quite an expensive, quality bike. When I apply the front brake I can feel the slop in the front, which is not good.
The battery is very good and the best range I've had when riding from fully charged to dead flat is 192kms - after 2 years this is starting to diminish and the most I can now get from a charge is a bit over 100km which is still pretty good.
The bike is incredibly comfortable to ride and it is possible to go for hours without having to stop too often. I replaced the original seat with a Brooks B17 which is possibly the best investment to make with a bike that is used as often as I do. The riding position is perfect as long as you don't want to be a racer.
I would be very happy to compare experiences with anyone else who has a Kalkhoff eBike.
Attached is a pic of me and m'bike taken at the bottom of a very steep street I used to have to go up with a grocery delivery bike when I was 12 years old - it was the bane of my existence at the time so I thought I would go up on my electric bike nearly 60 years later!
I've now had the Kalkhoff for 2 years and have done 15,000kms on my daily rides. For me, it is the perfect bike with one or two exceptions - they being the brakes and the front shocks. The Magura hydraulic rim brakes are absolutely amazing - but only in the dry weather, and as I ride in all weathers, they are useless in the rain to the point of being dangerous - I will be upgrading to one of their models fitted with disc brakes that are now coming available. The other gripe I have is the front shocks which in 2 years have just about totally worn out - I feel that they should last a bit longer than that and I don't know why the manufacturer has fitted such mundane equipment on what is quite an expensive, quality bike. When I apply the front brake I can feel the slop in the front, which is not good.
The battery is very good and the best range I've had when riding from fully charged to dead flat is 192kms - after 2 years this is starting to diminish and the most I can now get from a charge is a bit over 100km which is still pretty good.
The bike is incredibly comfortable to ride and it is possible to go for hours without having to stop too often. I replaced the original seat with a Brooks B17 which is possibly the best investment to make with a bike that is used as often as I do. The riding position is perfect as long as you don't want to be a racer.
I would be very happy to compare experiences with anyone else who has a Kalkhoff eBike.
Attached is a pic of me and m'bike taken at the bottom of a very steep street I used to have to go up with a grocery delivery bike when I was 12 years old - it was the bane of my existence at the time so I thought I would go up on my electric bike nearly 60 years later!
