Who am I and why did I buy one?
I'm a 36-years old, 6ft 2" and weigh a little under 14 stone. I spend far too many hours a day every day sat in the same office chair, and as I don't even have to commute to get to the office, it's tough for me to get enough exercise. I used to use a bike up until I hit 17 and got a driving license, but hadn't ridden one for many years until a friend of mine gave me a couple of cheap chinese lead-acid e-bikes. I started riding them expecting them to be rubbish, and well.. in all honesty, they were.. but regardless of that, I was enjoying them really rather a lot. After a few months riding them, I realised I was hooked and decided to get myself the best e-bike I could find. I read the Pedelec forums inside and out, from top to bottom over the course of about two weeks, and every review and every problem anyone had posted, I decided that the crank-motored Kalkhoff Agattu was right for me. It was a close run thing between the Wisper 905SE and the Agattu for me, but the Agattu won out with the range of frame sizes and reported hill climbing ability (and Flecc's review of it didn't hurt either).
I'm not sure exactly how many miles I've done on my Agattu now. My cheap Aldi speedometer tells me I've done 938 since I purchased it on 8th May. I'd guess I've probably done about 2000-2500 miles in total whcih I figure is pretty good as it's all been leisure use. I try to pop out for a lunchtime ride whenever I can. I live at the top of the North Downs in Surrey where 25-33% hills are common, and I tend to avoid riding on roads unless I'm in a hurry to get somewhere, which is pretty rare. I'd guess that around 50% of the miles I've done have been off-tarmac. Everything around here is a hill!! All of the paths turn into streams during the winter time, and that means that they often washed away to bare rocks in the middle. I can often be found picking my way up these stream beds laden up with a couple of panniers full of shopping, plus a child seat, and a child. I reckon that would be a pretty gruelling test for any bike, but the Agattu has coped admirably with that, and everything else I've thrown at it.... and I've thrown pretty much everything I could at it.
My aggattu has been very well maintained, but also used very hard. Comsumable components such as brakes, cogs and chains do about 1/2 the mileage for me that they do for others due to the big hills and heavy loads my bike endures. I adjust the brakes every couple of hundred miles, oil chains, axles and cogs, grease suspension, check wheel truing and spoke tension etc etc. I suspect that the rigorous maintenance is why my Agattu has never let me down.
What's gone wrong?
Day 1 - Rear reflector at the bottom of the mudguagrd arrived broken - Must have got bashed in the box - Replaced under warranty no problem.
Week 2 - I bought a plastic coated springy coil lock which I had looped around the down tube for a week or so - It wore away a patch of the paintwork where the lock rested. I was extremely annoyed about that as the powder coated paint is supposed to be super-tough... But I never did anything about fixing it. I never even mentioned it to 50Cycles - The frame is aluminium so isn't going to rust anyway.
Month 2 - I broke the kick stand - I leant the bike over onto the stand ever so slightly to raise the back wheel off the ground and snap... 50 Cycles replaced it free of charge with a better one.
Month 3 - I broke the better kick stand. I leant the bike over onto the stand ever so slightly once again and 'snap'... This time it looked like there was a fault line running through the casting. 50Cycles sent me another new one.
Month 6 - Rear light wiring dodgy. The power from the dynamo to the back light is supplied through two copper strips which run along the underside of the mudguard. The rear light was somewhat dodgy when the bike first arrived, and there seemed to be some kind of short circuit occuring within the mudguard. I spent a few hours trying to work out the problem when the bike first arrived, and it seemed to fix itself whilst I was fiddling, so I figured things were all OK. However, after I did a long ride down to Brighton and had to ride back in the dark, I found that at some point it had stopped working altogether. Checking the mudguard strips with a multimeter showed that they were no longer conducting electricity, so I bodged it using some thin wires running along the frame instead.
Month 9 - Front Mudguard wrapped itself around the wheel. This was very strange and rather unexplained. I was cycling along the Shanklin trail on the Isle of White at around 7mph when suddenly there was a loud noise and the bike ground to a halt. The front mudguard had somehow become entangled in the spokes and wrapped around the wheel twice. It looked like a total mess, but after unwinding the mudguard back out of the wheel, the plastic sprang back to it's original shape wihtout a mark on it. I straightened out the support wires and it was as good as new. Later that same day, I was once again cycling along the Shanklin trail, only this time my wife was along for the ride. Again at about 7mph, and nearly at the same place as before, my wife's mudguard wrapped itself around the front wheel on her Agattu. I've no idea what caused either occurence. I guess that the wheels kicked up a small rock which got caught in the mudguard.. but to have it happen twice, hours apart to two different bikes in the same place.... Watch out for the Shanklin trail - It's haunted.
Ongoing - Rear wheel nuts keep loosening on one side
Every couple of months, the wheel nut on the sprocket side seems to slacken off and then the wheel pulls forward at one side and out of alignment. The only solution for this seems to be to do the nuts up white-knuckle tight and check them every now and again.
What have I changed?
Different Gearing
If you read any reviews of Panasonic system bikes, you will quickly learn that nearly everybody changes the gearing from the deafult setup. My Agattu came with a 7-speed Shimano nexus hub and 23-tooth sprocket. I tried the bike with the 23-tooth sprocket and decided it was most definitely undergeared. I changed to a 19-tooth sprocket which gave a sensible assisted cruising speed at around 16mph, but I just couldn't get along with the 7-speed nexus. The Nexus7 is fine for changing up gears which it can do under reasonable load, but you need to stop pedalling to change down gears. Because the Panasonic system keeps driving the motor for a couple of seconds after you stop pedalling, you have to wait quite a long time before you can shift down. I'd come bombing down a steep hill and hit the valley at the bottom at 30mph... start to climb up the other side.... start to feel that 7th gear was too long, and attempt to drop to 5th... but by the time you've not pedalled for 2 seconds up a steep hill, 5th is too long... so you need 3rd... but by the time you get there, you need 1st... and suddenly you're crawling up the hill at 4mph. After a few months of trying to get along with the Nexus7, I decided that I'd try something different and fitted a Nuvinci CVT hub, which I think is absolutely superb (apart from being too heavy). The Nuvinci has a wider ratio range than the Nexus7 (350% instead of 244%) and lets you change ratios whilst the power is still on, so it's great for hill climbing. For about 6 months I had an 18-tooth cog on the Nuvinci which gave me assisted speeds up to twenty-something MPH. I recently switched down to a 20-tooth as I don't need to get anywhere that quickly.
Different Tyres
I found that the original CityRides didn't have enough traction for the poor surfaces so changed them to a pair of Continental Travel Contact tyres which have a smooth centre strip and knobbly bits at the side. The smooth bit runs very well on tarmac surfaces, and the knobbly bits means that I can get some traction on gravel, rocks and mud. They've got a puncture protection belt too, but that doesn't stop me picking massive thorns every couple of hundred miles - Perhaps I should steer around them instead of just going straight over.
Different Saddle
The Belle Assano Virtuale that came on the Agattu was very comfortable for the first couple of hours, but on long distance rides became disticntly painful to endure. I changed it to a Rido R2 which is less comfortable initially, but doesn't seem to become painful even if you spend 8 hours sitting on it.
Walk-beside throttle
I am of the opinion that my Aggattu can be riden on absolutely any hill where it can get enough traction without spinning the wheels - However, every now and again, I want to go up truly impossible terrain. I was concerned that the throttle wouldn't provide enough grunt, but was reassured by 50Cycles that it provided a reasonable level of thrust - It doesn't. It's utterly pathetic. Don't bother with it - Save your money and buy sweeties instead.
What hasn't gone wrong ?
Apart from the list of stuff that went wrong, everything else has been flawless. Frame, Forks, Handlebars, Wheels, Spokes, Dynamo, Brakes, Seat Post. Electrics have never missed a beat. Never an issue with water or anything like that. It just keeps working.
I'm a 36-years old, 6ft 2" and weigh a little under 14 stone. I spend far too many hours a day every day sat in the same office chair, and as I don't even have to commute to get to the office, it's tough for me to get enough exercise. I used to use a bike up until I hit 17 and got a driving license, but hadn't ridden one for many years until a friend of mine gave me a couple of cheap chinese lead-acid e-bikes. I started riding them expecting them to be rubbish, and well.. in all honesty, they were.. but regardless of that, I was enjoying them really rather a lot. After a few months riding them, I realised I was hooked and decided to get myself the best e-bike I could find. I read the Pedelec forums inside and out, from top to bottom over the course of about two weeks, and every review and every problem anyone had posted, I decided that the crank-motored Kalkhoff Agattu was right for me. It was a close run thing between the Wisper 905SE and the Agattu for me, but the Agattu won out with the range of frame sizes and reported hill climbing ability (and Flecc's review of it didn't hurt either).
I'm not sure exactly how many miles I've done on my Agattu now. My cheap Aldi speedometer tells me I've done 938 since I purchased it on 8th May. I'd guess I've probably done about 2000-2500 miles in total whcih I figure is pretty good as it's all been leisure use. I try to pop out for a lunchtime ride whenever I can. I live at the top of the North Downs in Surrey where 25-33% hills are common, and I tend to avoid riding on roads unless I'm in a hurry to get somewhere, which is pretty rare. I'd guess that around 50% of the miles I've done have been off-tarmac. Everything around here is a hill!! All of the paths turn into streams during the winter time, and that means that they often washed away to bare rocks in the middle. I can often be found picking my way up these stream beds laden up with a couple of panniers full of shopping, plus a child seat, and a child. I reckon that would be a pretty gruelling test for any bike, but the Agattu has coped admirably with that, and everything else I've thrown at it.... and I've thrown pretty much everything I could at it.
My aggattu has been very well maintained, but also used very hard. Comsumable components such as brakes, cogs and chains do about 1/2 the mileage for me that they do for others due to the big hills and heavy loads my bike endures. I adjust the brakes every couple of hundred miles, oil chains, axles and cogs, grease suspension, check wheel truing and spoke tension etc etc. I suspect that the rigorous maintenance is why my Agattu has never let me down.
What's gone wrong?
Day 1 - Rear reflector at the bottom of the mudguagrd arrived broken - Must have got bashed in the box - Replaced under warranty no problem.
Week 2 - I bought a plastic coated springy coil lock which I had looped around the down tube for a week or so - It wore away a patch of the paintwork where the lock rested. I was extremely annoyed about that as the powder coated paint is supposed to be super-tough... But I never did anything about fixing it. I never even mentioned it to 50Cycles - The frame is aluminium so isn't going to rust anyway.
Month 2 - I broke the kick stand - I leant the bike over onto the stand ever so slightly to raise the back wheel off the ground and snap... 50 Cycles replaced it free of charge with a better one.
Month 3 - I broke the better kick stand. I leant the bike over onto the stand ever so slightly once again and 'snap'... This time it looked like there was a fault line running through the casting. 50Cycles sent me another new one.
Month 6 - Rear light wiring dodgy. The power from the dynamo to the back light is supplied through two copper strips which run along the underside of the mudguard. The rear light was somewhat dodgy when the bike first arrived, and there seemed to be some kind of short circuit occuring within the mudguard. I spent a few hours trying to work out the problem when the bike first arrived, and it seemed to fix itself whilst I was fiddling, so I figured things were all OK. However, after I did a long ride down to Brighton and had to ride back in the dark, I found that at some point it had stopped working altogether. Checking the mudguard strips with a multimeter showed that they were no longer conducting electricity, so I bodged it using some thin wires running along the frame instead.
Month 9 - Front Mudguard wrapped itself around the wheel. This was very strange and rather unexplained. I was cycling along the Shanklin trail on the Isle of White at around 7mph when suddenly there was a loud noise and the bike ground to a halt. The front mudguard had somehow become entangled in the spokes and wrapped around the wheel twice. It looked like a total mess, but after unwinding the mudguard back out of the wheel, the plastic sprang back to it's original shape wihtout a mark on it. I straightened out the support wires and it was as good as new. Later that same day, I was once again cycling along the Shanklin trail, only this time my wife was along for the ride. Again at about 7mph, and nearly at the same place as before, my wife's mudguard wrapped itself around the front wheel on her Agattu. I've no idea what caused either occurence. I guess that the wheels kicked up a small rock which got caught in the mudguard.. but to have it happen twice, hours apart to two different bikes in the same place.... Watch out for the Shanklin trail - It's haunted.
Ongoing - Rear wheel nuts keep loosening on one side
Every couple of months, the wheel nut on the sprocket side seems to slacken off and then the wheel pulls forward at one side and out of alignment. The only solution for this seems to be to do the nuts up white-knuckle tight and check them every now and again.
What have I changed?
Different Gearing
If you read any reviews of Panasonic system bikes, you will quickly learn that nearly everybody changes the gearing from the deafult setup. My Agattu came with a 7-speed Shimano nexus hub and 23-tooth sprocket. I tried the bike with the 23-tooth sprocket and decided it was most definitely undergeared. I changed to a 19-tooth sprocket which gave a sensible assisted cruising speed at around 16mph, but I just couldn't get along with the 7-speed nexus. The Nexus7 is fine for changing up gears which it can do under reasonable load, but you need to stop pedalling to change down gears. Because the Panasonic system keeps driving the motor for a couple of seconds after you stop pedalling, you have to wait quite a long time before you can shift down. I'd come bombing down a steep hill and hit the valley at the bottom at 30mph... start to climb up the other side.... start to feel that 7th gear was too long, and attempt to drop to 5th... but by the time you've not pedalled for 2 seconds up a steep hill, 5th is too long... so you need 3rd... but by the time you get there, you need 1st... and suddenly you're crawling up the hill at 4mph. After a few months of trying to get along with the Nexus7, I decided that I'd try something different and fitted a Nuvinci CVT hub, which I think is absolutely superb (apart from being too heavy). The Nuvinci has a wider ratio range than the Nexus7 (350% instead of 244%) and lets you change ratios whilst the power is still on, so it's great for hill climbing. For about 6 months I had an 18-tooth cog on the Nuvinci which gave me assisted speeds up to twenty-something MPH. I recently switched down to a 20-tooth as I don't need to get anywhere that quickly.
Different Tyres
I found that the original CityRides didn't have enough traction for the poor surfaces so changed them to a pair of Continental Travel Contact tyres which have a smooth centre strip and knobbly bits at the side. The smooth bit runs very well on tarmac surfaces, and the knobbly bits means that I can get some traction on gravel, rocks and mud. They've got a puncture protection belt too, but that doesn't stop me picking massive thorns every couple of hundred miles - Perhaps I should steer around them instead of just going straight over.
Different Saddle
The Belle Assano Virtuale that came on the Agattu was very comfortable for the first couple of hours, but on long distance rides became disticntly painful to endure. I changed it to a Rido R2 which is less comfortable initially, but doesn't seem to become painful even if you spend 8 hours sitting on it.
Walk-beside throttle
I am of the opinion that my Aggattu can be riden on absolutely any hill where it can get enough traction without spinning the wheels - However, every now and again, I want to go up truly impossible terrain. I was concerned that the throttle wouldn't provide enough grunt, but was reassured by 50Cycles that it provided a reasonable level of thrust - It doesn't. It's utterly pathetic. Don't bother with it - Save your money and buy sweeties instead.
What hasn't gone wrong ?
Apart from the list of stuff that went wrong, everything else has been flawless. Frame, Forks, Handlebars, Wheels, Spokes, Dynamo, Brakes, Seat Post. Electrics have never missed a beat. Never an issue with water or anything like that. It just keeps working.
