Hi everyone, the name's Peter Furlong and as the recent purchaser of our first electric bike I thought some of you might be interested in a short review on the new KTM.
To put things into context a few personal details might be useful, particularly as there seem to be degree of antipathy such machines in the wider (MTB) biking world. Maybe I can redress the balance a little. The bike will be shared by my wife, 62, and myself at 66. I'm in good shape and have ridden cycles and motorcycles off-road for 50 years, but the legs and lungs are not what they used to be and a long ride is not as enjoyable as it once was. On selling my Husqvarna 250 enduro a couple of years ago I bought a Giant Anthem full-sus MTB, a truly superb all-rounder, with a view to riding the my favourite trails somewhat slower and a lot more quietly. My wife has a more mundane Raleigh and we ride together occasionaly, but not as much as I would like. I recently noted that 'proper' MTBs are now available e-powered and hatched a cunning plan, namely that Marysia could use an e-bike and keep up more easily on rides, and I would see if I liked it well enough to fork out for one for myself. So we looked out for either a KTM or a Haibike and eventually sourced a second-hand Macina Race. So here we go with a 'first-impressions' review.
Sizing. We are luckily much the same 5'10” height but the bike was the smallest in the range at 43cm and bought unseen, so a little concerned. Well, even the 43cm model is not that small, and we are both happy with it, especially as I tend to have the saddle a lot higher.
Components, as expected, are top class. The finish seems powder coated and semi-matte, and should be tough, though dirt tends to stick a bit. Saddle far too flat, but easily changed. Now fitted a Charge Ladle ladies model, which suits us both. Brakes are very sharp, one finger at most!
Riding, on road, is much as expected. Being heavier than a standard bike, and on fat tyres, one needs a little assistance much of the time. Ours is the 2012 model with 4 power modes, each with 3 further variations. On the road Eco 1 or 2 is fine most of the time. Battery seemed to go on forever- certainly good for 70-80 k's on flattish roads.
However, living in the Welsh borders we were soon trying it off-road around the Brecon Beacons. Absolutely superb. Just put it into Tour mode and a middling gear, toggle between the 3 power settings and hills that had me sweating/pushing have ceased to exist. Handling is fine, in fact the weight makes it less skittish than an MTB, which suits M well. Being a hardtail a bit of leg-flexing is needed on the rougher stuff, but the extra power means we can lower tyre pressures a bit as well. Again, the extra mass tends to reduce hopping at the rear when seeking traction. And the smooth power delivery helps a lot here too, reducing the pulsing effect of pure human pedalling. In fact uphill traction is the biggest surprise when considering that my leg power is being doubled. I ought add that Marysia is mightily pleased too, and has found it easy to adapt. Trouble is I'm playing catch-up all the time on the Giant now.
Battery. We have the smaller capacity power pack (8Ah?) but I hate to admit that on rides so far the battery has out-lasted me. As an example I took a run up and over Hergest Ridge (any Mike Oldfield fans out there?) from Kington village, and down towards Gladestry. Vertical climb of 300 odd and mostly sheep-grazed turf. Started off with 90k range indicated, but this dropped like a stone on the climb. Lowest figure was 20k remaining. But battery still over half full. What the gauge was saying was that if I kept up this climbing malarkey I'd only have an hour or so left. But ups are usually followed by downs, and after the descent and a bit of road riding the estimated range went back up significantly. Recharge time on this one was under 2 hours. So pretty impressed to date.
Conclusions: I want one for myself, possibly a full-sus Haibike, but not too fussed. You still get a good work-out if you want a decent range, but I can go further, faster and with a grin rather that a grimace at the end. Any questions gladly answered, and if anyone wants a go on it I'm sure we can oblige. Especially if you make use of our B&B and make a weekend of it (arboynehouse.co.uk).
P.S. Just bought a Haibike direct from Germany- a 2013 Haibike eQ Xduro Cross. Still in transit, but will post another another 'review' soon.
P.P.S. First posting, and not sure of best section for review, any suggestions?
To put things into context a few personal details might be useful, particularly as there seem to be degree of antipathy such machines in the wider (MTB) biking world. Maybe I can redress the balance a little. The bike will be shared by my wife, 62, and myself at 66. I'm in good shape and have ridden cycles and motorcycles off-road for 50 years, but the legs and lungs are not what they used to be and a long ride is not as enjoyable as it once was. On selling my Husqvarna 250 enduro a couple of years ago I bought a Giant Anthem full-sus MTB, a truly superb all-rounder, with a view to riding the my favourite trails somewhat slower and a lot more quietly. My wife has a more mundane Raleigh and we ride together occasionaly, but not as much as I would like. I recently noted that 'proper' MTBs are now available e-powered and hatched a cunning plan, namely that Marysia could use an e-bike and keep up more easily on rides, and I would see if I liked it well enough to fork out for one for myself. So we looked out for either a KTM or a Haibike and eventually sourced a second-hand Macina Race. So here we go with a 'first-impressions' review.
Sizing. We are luckily much the same 5'10” height but the bike was the smallest in the range at 43cm and bought unseen, so a little concerned. Well, even the 43cm model is not that small, and we are both happy with it, especially as I tend to have the saddle a lot higher.
Components, as expected, are top class. The finish seems powder coated and semi-matte, and should be tough, though dirt tends to stick a bit. Saddle far too flat, but easily changed. Now fitted a Charge Ladle ladies model, which suits us both. Brakes are very sharp, one finger at most!
Riding, on road, is much as expected. Being heavier than a standard bike, and on fat tyres, one needs a little assistance much of the time. Ours is the 2012 model with 4 power modes, each with 3 further variations. On the road Eco 1 or 2 is fine most of the time. Battery seemed to go on forever- certainly good for 70-80 k's on flattish roads.
However, living in the Welsh borders we were soon trying it off-road around the Brecon Beacons. Absolutely superb. Just put it into Tour mode and a middling gear, toggle between the 3 power settings and hills that had me sweating/pushing have ceased to exist. Handling is fine, in fact the weight makes it less skittish than an MTB, which suits M well. Being a hardtail a bit of leg-flexing is needed on the rougher stuff, but the extra power means we can lower tyre pressures a bit as well. Again, the extra mass tends to reduce hopping at the rear when seeking traction. And the smooth power delivery helps a lot here too, reducing the pulsing effect of pure human pedalling. In fact uphill traction is the biggest surprise when considering that my leg power is being doubled. I ought add that Marysia is mightily pleased too, and has found it easy to adapt. Trouble is I'm playing catch-up all the time on the Giant now.
Battery. We have the smaller capacity power pack (8Ah?) but I hate to admit that on rides so far the battery has out-lasted me. As an example I took a run up and over Hergest Ridge (any Mike Oldfield fans out there?) from Kington village, and down towards Gladestry. Vertical climb of 300 odd and mostly sheep-grazed turf. Started off with 90k range indicated, but this dropped like a stone on the climb. Lowest figure was 20k remaining. But battery still over half full. What the gauge was saying was that if I kept up this climbing malarkey I'd only have an hour or so left. But ups are usually followed by downs, and after the descent and a bit of road riding the estimated range went back up significantly. Recharge time on this one was under 2 hours. So pretty impressed to date.
Conclusions: I want one for myself, possibly a full-sus Haibike, but not too fussed. You still get a good work-out if you want a decent range, but I can go further, faster and with a grin rather that a grimace at the end. Any questions gladly answered, and if anyone wants a go on it I'm sure we can oblige. Especially if you make use of our B&B and make a weekend of it (arboynehouse.co.uk).
P.S. Just bought a Haibike direct from Germany- a 2013 Haibike eQ Xduro Cross. Still in transit, but will post another another 'review' soon.
P.P.S. First posting, and not sure of best section for review, any suggestions?
