Raleigh Panasonic Bikes

[lemmy]

As an older rider with one very dodgy leg, there are times when I have to dismount and walk the machine up very steep hills.

Is that with the Panasonic? With my Kalkhoff Tasman the bottom gear is so low that it would climb any hill with ease. The steepest hill I usually use has me gasping for air on my normal bike but I climb it in 5th easily on the Kalkhoff.

First or second gear would would require hardly any rider input - though slow, of course.

I'm 66 and reasonably fit. I obviously can't speak for you, just interested.

 

[flecc]

Is that with the Panasonic? With my Kalkhoff Tasman the bottom gear is so low that it would climb any hill with ease. The steepest hill I usually use has me gasping for air on my normal bike but I climb it in 5th easily on the Kalkhoff.

First or second gear would would require hardly any rider input - though slow, of course.

I'm 66 and reasonably fit. I obviously can't speak for you, just interested.

Some older riders can't cope with the input that the Panasonic system still requires of the rider, especially on long climbs, and it's often more of an endurance thing than short term ability. A Spanish member in this forum witn a BH/Panasonic bike found it exhausting on long climbs and last heard of was looking for another e-bike that could give him the help he needed.
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[flecc]

Fair enough (and thanks for the serious reply). The critical bit for me as my fitness levels have improved is that I want to ride under my own steam most of the time and receive assistance for a only a few seconds every now and again. You can probably achieve a lot of what I get from the throttle with an easily accessible on/off switch.
atb steve

The Panasonic system does have simple on/off switching and power level switching immediately to hand on the handlebars, and I prefer to ride them using the on/off frequently. One slight disadvantage is a two second lag after switching on before pedalling can be resumed, so one has to think ahead.
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[Blew it]

Is that with the Panasonic? With my Kalkhoff Tasman the bottom gear is so low that it would climb any hill with ease. The steepest hill I usually use has me gasping for air on my normal bike but I climb it in 5th easily on the Kalkhoff.

First or second gear would would require hardly any rider input - though slow, of course.

I'm 66 and reasonably fit. I obviously can't speak for you, just interested.

Ah!, I should have mentioned, all the machines I currently ride are hub motored. Most of them are fitted with 255 rpm Bafangs, when the road speed falls below 6-8 mph, there is precious little assistance.

I must confess to an increasing interest in drive-through-the-gears machines such as Panasonic and Yamaha. It would mean a change to my preferred riding style of spinning in low gears on medium hills. It was my intention to test ride this type of machine at Presteign last year. This visit was cancelled due to security issues at home which resulted in the loss of a machine. All being well, I will attend the rally this year, I really want to have a look at the Gepida Sirmium.

 

[lemmy]

It would mean a change to my preferred riding style of spinning in low gears on medium hills.

I was used to multi-geared derailleurs and thus high cadence pedalling on my non-powered bikes. When I first tried the Panasonic system on my Kalkhoff it felt strange, based on low cadence.

But after the first couple of hours total riding time, I 'got' how the system re-acted to input (thank you, Flecc) and adapted without trouble.

I use both e and non e bikes now and swap between them without a thought. I especially enjoy using the particular characteristics of the Panasonic power delivery to their best advantage.

In a way it reminds me of riding a two stroke Yamaha 250 from the 70s. It had a highly restricted power delivery which should have been a nightmare in town but once you learned what it did and how it reacted it was immensely usable and enjoyable to ride.

Mind you, keeping the front wheel out of the air required some finesse. This is not a problem with the Kalkhoff

 

[Cyclezee]

I may missed something, but am I correct in assuming Lloyd has recently made a move from 50cycles to Raleigh?
It would of course be a logical step considering his expertise with the Panasonic system.

J hn

 

[HarryB]

I was thinking the same - I rang 50 Cycles the other week to speak to Lloyd but he was unavailable so maybe he has left. The old 50 Cycles Lloyd hasn't posted for a while either (and he always seemed such a knowledgeable chap).

 

[flecc]

Member name "Lloyd 50cycles" left 50cycles, possibly at the end of 2008 since the last post was 10th December; and apparently rejoined just as "Lloyd" in January 2009, first post 27th January.

That was as 50cycles lost the eZee agency and were taking on the Kalkhoff agency so business was very slack at that point. Lloyd rejoined 50cycles as the Kalkhoff brand took off, but finally left them again some months ago.
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[Lloyd]

I have indeed moved to Raleigh, to provide tech support to our dealer network but also to help develop a new bike for next year.

I was with 50Cycles from joining them late in 2007 up until the very end of 2009. I changed my forum name from 'Lloyd50Cycles' to just 'Lloyd' as I wanted my posts to be slightly more relaxed and generic.

If anyone wants to speak to me about Their bike, any bike, Panasonic systems, Eastenders or indeed anything else that takes your fancy, please feel free to send me a PM on here

 

[Tim]

Member name "Lloyd 50cycles" left 50cycles, possibly at the end of 2008 since the last post was 10th December; and apparently rejoined just as "Lloyd" in January 2009, first post 27th January.

That was as 50cycles lost the eZee agency and were taking on the Kalkhoff agency so business was very slack at that point. Lloyd rejoined 50cycles as the Kalkhoff brand took off, but finally left them again some months ago.
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Have to correct you hear on a couple of points. We didn't 'lose' the eZee agency, we cancelled all future orders in light of a number of issues that Lloyd alerted us to after his factory visit, and also because of the unacceptable battery and charger failure rate. They had no choice but to find a new UK distributor (and then another).

And business was far from slack in early 2008, Kalkhoff sales got off to a flying start, not least because of your stellar review of the Agattu that winter!

We wish Lloyd the best of luck, I consider him a good friend and we really enjoyed working with him during his time here. He knows enough about the qualities of the Panasonic system to want to work with it again.

Kalkhoff will always be the Derby Cycles flagship brand though

 

[flecc]

Of course Tim, I was using "lost" in the loosest of senses.

With Kalkhoff you certainly have the advantage of being first in and well established, plus the quality perception that goes with a German brand name, so I don't expect you to vanish any time soon.
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[Cyclezee]

All the best to Lloyd in his new position

He and the rest of the 50cycles team have provided an excellent level of service and support for the Kalkhoff brand in the past, no doubt Lloyd will be missed, but I am sure 50cycles will continue to provide the same service.

J hn

 

[lemmy]

And business was far from slack in early 2008, Kalkhoff sales got off to a flying start, not least because of your stellar review of the Agattu that winter!

That was why I bought one!

 

[flecc]

That was why I bought one!

I was referring to the period between the 50cycles record breaking sales of the eZee brand and the availability of the Kalkhoff range though, when physical sales must have been low.

I've no doubt the Kalkhoff orders were very high around the year end, but with just the step-through Agattu available they were physically limited since the crossbar Agattus and all Pro Connects didn't arrive until the spring. I well remember all the member's posts fretting while waiting for those popular machines!
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