Kalkhoff vs Pedego

[kennyb]

Alright I have my first ebike purchased narrowed down to a Pedego latch for $2400 or a demo kalkhoff Sahel compact (2015) with 13.4 miles on it for $2400 as well. The kalkhoff is not folding, but has a much longer range (85 miles), an 8 Speed internal hub as well as a mid drive motor. The latch has a gates belt, is folding and has a dealer close to me. The kalkhoff doesn't have a dealer within 500 miles. Would love to know people's views on which one I should get and why.

Thanks

 

[MLB]

Kenny,
Don't know about the Pedego but Kalkhoff makes very high quality bikes that are lust-worthy. I'd be interested in anything they make.
The Pedego looks nice, but I hate tail mounted batteries. The 2 I've ridden both "wagged their tails" (flexed the frame) when cornering at any speed. Just a bad place for extra weight.
Add the mid drive over front hub motor if you have any hills and to me it's a no-brainer for the Kalkhoff.
To me Kalkhoff comes in the elite group of expensive and very well made bikes that are actually worth the extra money over some less expensive but still nice bikes. Lots of expensive, nice little details on them.
In this case $1,000 of a barely used demo is a screaming deal better than the Prodeco at $150 off list. JMO!
You may disagree

 

[kennyb]

MLB:

I would agree that the Kalkhoff is the better bike, however, I know nothing about fixing bikes and am worried about not having a Kalkhoff dealer close by. I have read some posts about the US Dealers don't even have adequate supplies of parts. Which is the better bike-Kalkhoff, hands down. Might that bike come back to haunt me service wise is the question. If you have any input I would love to hear it.

Kenny

 

[Berry78]

Can you take the Pedego for an extended trial (to really try out the balance etc)? Even though the Kalkhoff might be the better bike, if there is a problem, you'll have 1000miles min. to get it fixed.

Go with local..

Edited to add...in a few years maybe Kalkhoff will have a broader network and you'll be able to try them out then

 

[kennyb]

Berry:

I have tried the Pedego and liked it. It was the first time in a long while that I had a big smile on my face riding a bike! I am going to ride it again this weekend. Just spoke with a colleague who is a big biker and he said the same thing-always go local. Sure there are things the Kalkhoff has that the Pedego does not, but I don't think you can put a price tag on having a authorized dealer close by.

Kenny

 

[MLB]

been there, doing that.
Stromer, Haibike, Falco, Easy Motion - no local dealer for any of them.
Needed a part for the Stromer and the Easy Motion.
Makes me nervous a bit,but no choice so I rolled the dice. 98% of them is regular bike, so it's not like you need a factory rep for every problem.
Problem with brakes,shifting,etc it's just a bike to any lbs.Take the battery out and don't ask them to fix the motor and it's a bike.
Of course a motor going bad or other would definitely suck but that's rare and really the system is a few components that are mostly plug and play electronics, so .......?
What is the drive system on the K? Bosch are pretty dang bulletproof.

 

[Berry78]

The thing is the Kalkhoff motors are not bosch...they are a proprietary make. Impulse. There are rumors that the Impulse motors may have issues..I don't know this firsthand.. but the UK message board is very vocal

If you were just down the street from a dealer, it would probably be worth the risk. Not 500 miles away. Nope..not me. ( I was also seriously considering this brand, but I'm 2.5 hours away from a dealer. Don't wanna risk it...shrug.).

But then I'm not much of a gambler.

It would be great if people who actually own Kalkhoff could chime in with their experiences.

 

[kennyb]

I would say I'm not much of a gambler either. Looking forward to riding the latch tomorrow and see if it inspires me to buy it. I too have seen some places where people have said they have had problems with the Kalkhoff system.

 

[JoeinJP]

Kennyb, I test rode the Latch and wrote about it in the folding bike forum. Great advantage to go with a local dealer, but is there a reason you want a folding bike....try the City Commuter if he has that. Pedego provides quality bikes.

 

[EddieJ]

The thing is the Kalkhoff motors are not bosch...they are a proprietary make. Impulse. There are rumors that the Impulse motors may have issues..I don't know this firsthand.. but the UK message board is very vocal

The German pedelec forum is even more vocal about them, and reports are that the French and Dutch are just as vocal.

It is very doubtful that you will find anyone in Europe that would now buy a Kalkhoff fitted with an Impulse motor. Even more so now that Derby Cycles, have all but admitted that the motor has major issues.

I would strongly suggest taking a long look through the following links in this thread. https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/kalkhoff-impulse-evo-rs-250-watt-motor.6422/

 

[kennyb]

I really appreciate the heads up. Sounds like it is wise to steer clear of the kalkhoff because of the motor issues. Too bad because it really looks to be a nice bike with great range and some nice features.

 

[kennyb]

Kennyb, I test rode the Latch and wrote about it in the folding bike forum. Great advantage to go with a local dealer, but is there a reason you want a folding bike....try the City Commuter if he has that. Pedego provides quality bikes.

I am looking to ride to work and need a smaller bike to keep in my classroom while I teach. Also just want to throw it in the trunk and take it places.

 

[EddieJ]

I really appreciate the heads up. Sounds like it is wise to steer clear of the kalkhoff because of the motor issues. Too bad because it really looks to be a nice bike with great range and some nice features.

Personally I wouldn't want to risk my money buying one, but one thing that could or rather should be taken into account is that whilst very lengthy discussion, ranting and threats of court cases are being raised, proportionally I do wonder how many motor units have actually failed.

I haven't taken the time to count, but if you were to say that perhaps 20 very vocal owners Europe wide have reported issues with the motor, I do wonder how many thousands of happy owners that there are, that have said nothing. Generally people only give negative comments about a product, and there are always two sides to every complaint or issue.

 

[MLB]

The thing is the Kalkhoff motors are not bosch...they are a proprietary make. Impulse. There are rumors that the Impulse motors may have issues..I don't know this firsthand.. but the UK message board is very vocal

If you were just down the street from a dealer, it would probably be worth the risk. Not 500 miles away. Nope..not me. ( I was also seriously considering this brand, but I'm 2.5 hours away from a dealer. Don't wanna risk it...shrug.).

But then I'm not much of a gambler.

It would be great if people who actually own Kalkhoff could chime in with their experiences.

Ahh, that is certainly different! Especially with no local dealer. i'd go the other way too.

 

[MLB]

Personally I wouldn't want to risk my money buying one, but one thing that could or rather should be taken into account is that whilst very lengthy discussion, ranting and threats of court cases are being raised, proportionally I do wonder how many motor units have actually failed.

I haven't taken the time to count, but if you were to say that perhaps 20 very vocal owners Europe wide have reported issues with the motor, I do wonder how many thousands of happy owners that there are, that have said nothing. Generally people only give negative comments about a product, and there are always two sides to every complaint or issue.

I've had endless trouble with a VW Touareg hybrid i bought last year. When I first started looking online I immediately found a handful of very vocal, very pissed off owners of the car. Talk of class action, etc etc
6 months later and I've found a total of less than 10 pissed off owners. The car DOES suck eggs through a straw, but it's a small small minority with problems. Would still scare me off here with no LBS.

 

[Ann M.]

Do you plan to carry stuff with you on the bike @kennyb? Fitting saddlebags on the Pedego Latch could be an issue given that the tubing for the built in rack are oversized. You would probably want to go with a saddlebag designed with both bags connected as a one piece set that uses hooks on bungee type cords or other rear stay mounts since a typical saddlebag mount doesn't work on the fatter tubing. The Axiom Appalachian bag below is an example.

 

[kennyb]

Thanks for the info. Because I will be carrying a laptop to and from work as well as a change of clothes for coaching I may have to go with an osprey or some other kind of backpack.

 

[Ann M.]

These style of bags work well, Kenny; it's just a different design. Some are even built with a padded interior section specifically for a laptop. Just gotta do a little research!

 

[kennyb]

These style of bags work well, Kenny; it's just a different design. Some are even built with a padded interior section specifically for a laptop. Just gotta do a little research!

Thanks Ann! I appreciate the insight.

 

[Noreen]

Kalkhoff is like the Big Foot of e-bikes. People claim to have seen and ridden them, but dealers are so few and far between in the US it's hard to get a clear picture. I would really like to consolidate to a single bike, and upgrade my Stromer ST1. The Kalkhoff seems like the perfect solution, but not having a dealer within 1,000 miles makes it a no-go.