I've learnt a lot from this forum so I thought I should put something back. Apart from having a quick shot on a nasty throttle based e-bike I had no knowledge of what to buy, but I wanted something that would get me up the annoying hill out of my village and would also cope with short steep sections of single track road in the Highlands and Islands. With the help of advice here I narrowed the selection down to crank-driven bikes. But there are still a lot to choose from and I live hundreds of miles from anywhere with a decent selection.
At this point I checked with 50cycles whether they had any demonstrators in Scotland, and instead was offered the chance to buy on approval. The cost of returning the bike was certainly less than the cost of visiting shops. So to my surprise I found myself with a Kalkhoff C8, which on paper looked a bit like the bike my mother used to ride but was, I was told, suitable.
I chose 3 hills around the village to test it on. The first one was essential - it takes me out to the more gentle hills of the surrounding area. The second was desirable - it's short and steep and I encounter this sort of thing on the west coast and islands. The third was silly, and I would never consider cycling up it. Walking is taxing enough.
The weather conditions were dry, about +1deg C, and my condition was poor after 3 weeks cooped up with colds. I'm 58, 5'7'', 70kg, and no athlete. Naturally I switched to high power for the hill sections.
The first hill went fine: good speed up it and although I was out of breath it wasn't going to put me off cycling, as it has for the last few years. As far as I can remember I went up it in 4th and 3rd. Here's the slope:
The second was one I tackle from time to time and afterwards regret (aching lungs and legs). I shot up the first part in 3rd, changed to second towards the top, and felt fine after.
Overconfident, perhaps, I went for what is locally known as the hill road (caravans etc. not advised):
The early section went fine but I changed to 1st for the first 17% section. The increase in power was considerable and the motor made a reassuring noise (it's usually close to silent). I wasn't happy about my posture, which left me feeling as though I was going to go over backwards, or the bars, which I need to adjust. However I went up. The same thing applied at the 20% section where a car stopped at a passing place to let me by, staring at me. In fact by then I was more worried about how I was going to get down than whether I would get up. However I did, cautiously.
So all the tests were passed and I'll keep the bike. The only real oddity I noticed is that the steering is quite skittery compared with my old hybrid non-suspension, though that may be linked to the bars and how they're set up. The saddle felt uncomfortable when I got on but once underway I didn't feel a thing. The tyres seem very high pressure so I felt rough tarmac, but again that could be linked to the bars and my weight distribution. In all respects the bike is clearly high quality. The hydraulic rim brakes are cool, and evidently safe. The bike won't go very fast because of the ratio of the top gear but frankly I'm happy to freewheel downhill and take in the view. I found 8 gears to be plenty.
I hope someone finds this useful. Many of the bike's other characteristics (range, etc.) are discussed elsewhere here. Many thanks to Tim at 50cycles Electric Bikes | Kalkhoff E-bikes | Best Electric Bicycles UK for persuading me to invest, and to bikehike.co.uk - Home for the simple route-interpretation website (pictures above).
Richard
At this point I checked with 50cycles whether they had any demonstrators in Scotland, and instead was offered the chance to buy on approval. The cost of returning the bike was certainly less than the cost of visiting shops. So to my surprise I found myself with a Kalkhoff C8, which on paper looked a bit like the bike my mother used to ride but was, I was told, suitable.
I chose 3 hills around the village to test it on. The first one was essential - it takes me out to the more gentle hills of the surrounding area. The second was desirable - it's short and steep and I encounter this sort of thing on the west coast and islands. The third was silly, and I would never consider cycling up it. Walking is taxing enough.
The weather conditions were dry, about +1deg C, and my condition was poor after 3 weeks cooped up with colds. I'm 58, 5'7'', 70kg, and no athlete. Naturally I switched to high power for the hill sections.
The first hill went fine: good speed up it and although I was out of breath it wasn't going to put me off cycling, as it has for the last few years. As far as I can remember I went up it in 4th and 3rd. Here's the slope:
The second was one I tackle from time to time and afterwards regret (aching lungs and legs). I shot up the first part in 3rd, changed to second towards the top, and felt fine after.
Overconfident, perhaps, I went for what is locally known as the hill road (caravans etc. not advised):
The early section went fine but I changed to 1st for the first 17% section. The increase in power was considerable and the motor made a reassuring noise (it's usually close to silent). I wasn't happy about my posture, which left me feeling as though I was going to go over backwards, or the bars, which I need to adjust. However I went up. The same thing applied at the 20% section where a car stopped at a passing place to let me by, staring at me. In fact by then I was more worried about how I was going to get down than whether I would get up. However I did, cautiously.
So all the tests were passed and I'll keep the bike. The only real oddity I noticed is that the steering is quite skittery compared with my old hybrid non-suspension, though that may be linked to the bars and how they're set up. The saddle felt uncomfortable when I got on but once underway I didn't feel a thing. The tyres seem very high pressure so I felt rough tarmac, but again that could be linked to the bars and my weight distribution. In all respects the bike is clearly high quality. The hydraulic rim brakes are cool, and evidently safe. The bike won't go very fast because of the ratio of the top gear but frankly I'm happy to freewheel downhill and take in the view. I found 8 gears to be plenty.
I hope someone finds this useful. Many of the bike's other characteristics (range, etc.) are discussed elsewhere here. Many thanks to Tim at 50cycles Electric Bikes | Kalkhoff E-bikes | Best Electric Bicycles UK for persuading me to invest, and to bikehike.co.uk - Home for the simple route-interpretation website (pictures above).
Richard
and nice to read this.
