Kalkhoff Integrale S11....review???

[Noreen]

I consider Court to be my surrogate rider! His reviews answer many of my questions re: noise, feature set, motor/battery info . . . and of course the ever-important, "Does it have a water bottle mount!" His reviews have helped me focus my search - so, thank you Court. Now, if you could test ride several down my street, I would appreciate it.

Ravi: I believe what you report re: Felt it is not a sustainable business model. Even Microsoft realized having local stores available to customers helped their brand. If I want to buy a "premium" sports car, I actually get the chance to test drive it. Premium brands should be available to test ride, because the cost of making a mistake is too high. As a result, this pushes consumers toward less expensive e-bikes.

So, the business model is flawed at the front end, which leads to flawed conclusions. My .02

 

[RoadHammer]

Fig or anyone else that has one of these bikes for a while care to post an update on how they like it and if any problems have arose? I rode one today and I enjoyed it. Has anyone custom programmed the display as Court mentioned in his review? I was wondering if it can tell you the amount of power the rider is pedaling? On my test ride I saw that it would show me cadence. I really like the belt drive, my non ebike commuter bike is a Spot Ajax with belt drive and I think the Kalkhoff would be a good replacement for it as my commute is a bit too long for me.

Right now I'm choosing between this bike or the Specialized Vado 6.0, but I can seem to find the Specialized bike in-stock anywhere and I'm hearing that I may need to wait till February or March. That's a long time from now.

Thanks for any info.

 

[redalexx]

I think the Kalkhoff would be a good replacement for it as my commute is a bit too long for me.

I can't see which Kalkhoff with which motor you like. Can you give us more details?

1. If it is an Impulse2.0, the the 2017 series is a lot more reliable. Take a look on the motor ID, it should be bigger than 620.000 and the manufaction date should be 2017! But there is a 3 year warranty on that, I think.
   
2. If it is an ImpulseEVO it is possible that you will have a motor failure (klacking or loss of power) I'm sure the improvements will come with the late 2017 or begin of 2018 motors, check manufaction date. Here in Germany, in France and in Great Britain are a few biker that had problems, watch the statistics.

Thanks @JayVee for your post, I just wanted to add this in my point of view important information above.

 

[RoadHammer]

Thanks for the responses. I'm looking at the integrale s-11. It is a 2017 model year bike and the local ebike shop is having a closeout sale on it. I will go back and look at the motor type and date. I've looked at the database that has been link and I think I need to understand it more. At first read it sounds like the entries in the database are from people who had some sort of problem with the bike. I will ask the LBS more about warranty and how the motor is serviced or replaced if I have problems. Has anyone with this bike in this forum experienced issues first hand?

Thanks,
Rh

 

[Over50]

...I really like the belt drive, my non ebike commuter bike is a Spot Ajax with belt drive ...

Sorry if a bit off topic: Spot Ajax. Way cool bike. I've got a fully outfitted Spot Champa. I set it up to be a commuter but then decided my commute was just too far for a human powered bike (and 51 yr old rider). It was my satisfaction with the Spot and belt drive that had me initially looking for an e-bike with a belt drive (now have the Riese and Muller with belt drive). Best of luck with that Kalkhoff or whatever you finally decide on.

 

[redalexx]

At first read it sounds like the entries in the database are from people who had some sort of problem with the bike. Has anyone with this bike in this forum experienced issues first hand?

It is a good mixture, some started to share their mileage before they had problems and some started with their 1st motor damage. An alternative is looking in www.pedelecs.co.uk. Currently I'm in a discussion with an EVO driver. He likes the bike a lot but there is a loss of power. The root cause is probably a slightly moved torque sensor.
All other owners of this bike type really like it, high quality components and a great design. If you want I can search for links of the german forum, so you have to use google translator.

 

[RoadHammer]

Redalexx,
Thanks so much for your help. I noticed that you are creator of that database. Great job! Looks like a very good resource. As I've been looking through it, I'm understanding a bit more. Google translate is pretty good!

The Kalkhoff Integrale S11 looks like such a nice bike and has a lot of features (e.g. belt drive, internally geared hub, speed pedelec). I talked with the dealer today about warranty and he says that Kalkhoff has been good on their warranty support. He mentioned that there is a 2 year warranty, and if the motor needs to be replaced under warranty, the new motor would have a new 2 year warranty. The bike I was looking at had a motor date of Aug 2015 and was an Impulse EVO RS.

I found the chart below in my searches. Is this yours? Is it showing reported failures per calendar year for each of the drive systems? I wonder if it's possible to find out how many of each of the drive units have been manufactured.

You mentioned that one user may being having issues with a torque sensor. Have you ever found a motor tear down on the web? I've looked and haven't seen any.

Thanks again!

 

[RoadHammer]

Sorry if a bit off topic: Spot Ajax. Way cool bike. I've got a fully outfitted Spot Champa. I set it up to be a commuter but then decided my commute was just too far for a human powered bike (and 51 yr old rider). It was my satisfaction with the Spot and belt drive that had me initially looking for an e-bike with a belt drive (now have the Riese and Muller with belt drive). Best of luck with that Kalkhoff or whatever you finally decide on.

I'm in a similar situation. I can currently make the ride on the Spot without any problem except that it just takes too long and I'll arrive at work a bit sweaty. I figure the ebike will reduce the time quite a bit on the way to work. On the way home, I can always choose to lower the assist and get more of a workout. I really like the Spot Ajax. It's a nice looking bike. I've made some upgrade. Different wheel set, rear rack, 11 speed Alfine (came with the 8 speed), larger rear gates sprocket (needed some extra help with a couple of hills) and a shimano dyno hub in the front to run my lights. I looked at the Riese and Muller Charger (I think that is what is was) and it's has a lot of nice features. I think the next model year will have an integrated battery in the downtube which would be really nice. I really like a sleek look that makes it difficult to tell it's an ebike.

 

[redalexx]

The Kalkhoff Integrale S11 looks like such a nice bike and has a lot of features (e.g. belt drive, internally geared hub, speed pedelec).

I agree!

He mentioned that there is a 2 year warranty, and if the motor needs to be replaced under warranty, the new motor would have a new 2 year warranty. The bike I was looking at had a motor date of Aug 2015 and was an Impulse EVO RS.

Ok, in Germany I heared that the warranty is longer ... but 2 years is also good. And that is the thing, all other manufacturers won't give another 2 years warranty on the changed drive unit. So if there is still a problem, you can be sure to get the motor replaced for free.

Motor from Aug. 2015? Give it a try - else you will get a new 2017 drive unit. So no risk - if the dealer is not that far away! The Kalkhoff Service is really good.

This is an overview of the current situation.
You can see here:
- number of registered motor systems
- mileage of all motor systems per type
- members year of purchase per motor system

There aro no failures in it. The failures are summarized in the "motors & statistics" section under each run time chart.

So buy it if the price is ok. Ask if you get another bike if your new one needs to be fixed.

Alex

 

[RoadHammer]

I agree!

Ok, in Germany I heared that the warranty is longer ... but 2 years is also good. And that is the thing, all other manufacturers won't give another 2 years warranty on the changed drive unit. So if there is still a problem, you can be sure to get the motor replaced for free.

Motor from Aug. 2015? Give it a try - else you will get a new 2017 drive unit. So no risk - if the dealer is not that far away! The Kalkhoff Service is really good.
......

So buy it if the price is ok. Ask if you get another bike if your new one needs to be fixed.

Alex

Thanks for your help Alex. The bike shop is bringing one in that I think will fit my size. I have short legs and the Medium was a little too tall for standover height. The bike shop tells me that the integrale runs larger in sizing. I expect the small will fit well, and if so I'll get it. It's going to be fun to ride!

--Rh