If it wasn't for the fact that I might need to transport myself around a practice area extending along the flat coastal strip for about 6 miles and up to the bottom of the South Downs from the coast during the course of a working day, contending with hills, headwinds and the school run, I would have been using by bike (German hybrid - Focus) for work long before this. I recently looked at the average speed and fuel consumption that my car was managing for my trips to work and during work and I was managing the fantastic average speed of 16mph - 22.5 mpg. I then realised an e-bike might solve the headwind and hill problem and spent several months dithering. Somewhere along the line I must have ticked the appropriate box on the 50cycles website and ended up on their e-mail list, and around Christmas noticed an e-mail about their sale with 12% off and decided it was time to take the plunge.
I had been looking at the Kalkhoff range as it came from the same Derby stable as my non-electric bike and ended up doing what all the experts advise against - buying without trying! Unfortunately, the limited time of the sale meant I either had to forego the discount ot wait to get up to Richmond for a test ride. I decided on the Agattu 8 speed Ltd Edition for it's range with the 18Ah battery (I want to know that I will have enough power to get me up the hills on high power!) and its comfort and suspension - speed humps and potholes are equally common around here.
So far I managed almost a week before the cold weather set in and I wimped out and went back to the car. I will also be sticking to the car when there is a risk of having to do visits after dark to the village (small town) we cover that does not have street lighting, but does have lots of traffic that does not believe that it is polite to dip headlights for approaching cyclists. So far the only comment I have had from any patient was one lady who said she didn't recognise me - I reminded her I did not usually wear a cycle helmet in the surgery
Despite not confusing myself with numerous other makes, the Agattu seems a good decision - solid, stable and with a similar feel to ordinary cycling, but more "bionic" - bring on the headwinds! Only 2 little niggles so far - I had to replace the rather pathetic kickstand with a Pletscher stand like my (rather lighter) hybrid, as the stand that was fitted was really not up to the job. It claimed to be adjustable: indeed it was, but it did not stay adjusted and I don't want to come out to find my expensive bike on the ground every time I leave it. Also, when it arrived I looked at the connections without the battery and thought "That is going to get very wet, very soon". 50cycles sell a cover for the terminals for about £11 specifically for Kalkhoff bikes - would it be too much to expect that this would be included with the bike? On the plus side, the bike came with the wrong charger, but 50cycles managed to get the right charger to me the next day when I contacted them about the problem.
Sorry about the long post - so far I have found the expertise on the site very useful and look forward to continuing to benefit from all your experience (especially flecc's!)
I had been looking at the Kalkhoff range as it came from the same Derby stable as my non-electric bike and ended up doing what all the experts advise against - buying without trying! Unfortunately, the limited time of the sale meant I either had to forego the discount ot wait to get up to Richmond for a test ride. I decided on the Agattu 8 speed Ltd Edition for it's range with the 18Ah battery (I want to know that I will have enough power to get me up the hills on high power!) and its comfort and suspension - speed humps and potholes are equally common around here.
So far I managed almost a week before the cold weather set in and I wimped out and went back to the car. I will also be sticking to the car when there is a risk of having to do visits after dark to the village (small town) we cover that does not have street lighting, but does have lots of traffic that does not believe that it is polite to dip headlights for approaching cyclists. So far the only comment I have had from any patient was one lady who said she didn't recognise me - I reminded her I did not usually wear a cycle helmet in the surgery
Despite not confusing myself with numerous other makes, the Agattu seems a good decision - solid, stable and with a similar feel to ordinary cycling, but more "bionic" - bring on the headwinds! Only 2 little niggles so far - I had to replace the rather pathetic kickstand with a Pletscher stand like my (rather lighter) hybrid, as the stand that was fitted was really not up to the job. It claimed to be adjustable: indeed it was, but it did not stay adjusted and I don't want to come out to find my expensive bike on the ground every time I leave it. Also, when it arrived I looked at the connections without the battery and thought "That is going to get very wet, very soon". 50cycles sell a cover for the terminals for about £11 specifically for Kalkhoff bikes - would it be too much to expect that this would be included with the bike? On the plus side, the bike came with the wrong charger, but 50cycles managed to get the right charger to me the next day when I contacted them about the problem.
Sorry about the long post - so far I have found the expertise on the site very useful and look forward to continuing to benefit from all your experience (especially flecc's!)
