Top Secret

12xu22

Pedelecer
Jul 28, 2011
97
0
My Kudos Secret arrived today, not had chance to take it out for a spin, but first impressions are positive. I should point out that this is not the production model but a prototype "test bike" the guys at Kudos put together when developing the Secret, so the bike is a one-off, which is nice.

Everything looks more than good and I am looking forward to my inaugural test ride, report to follow.
 

12xu22

Pedelecer
Jul 28, 2011
97
0
right, here's my initial feedback:

style: nice looking bike, I have removed the rack and mudguards and changed the handlebars and it looks the business. Being the prototype there is no logo on the crossbar which is cool by me

range: well, the battery is pretty light so you maybe would not expect too much but I rode it for 90 mins this morning and deliberately took it up quite a few battery-sapping hills (we have plenty to choose from round here) and I fully expected the battery to conk out but the meter is still showing four dots, so I have to say I am very impressed. I like the concept of a hidden battery and it seems to work very well on this bike

gearing: ah, the perennial problem with these ebikes, a range of gears so close in ratio that they may as well make it a single speed. Fine for ascending, but no high gear to speak of ... now I also have a Dahon Speed P8 which manages to incorporate all the gears you will ever need on one cog, so, it can be done ..

handling: steering a tad stiff, a bit of drag, but otherwise fine

weight: the Secret scores highly here being markedly lighter than, say, the Cheetah, so Kudos indeed to the designers.

power: the motor seems much more powerful than my previous e bikes, put it in the high power mode (there are free modes for pedal assist) and it fairly whizzes.... for general riding the medium setting seems to be more than adequate,

So, taking all the above into account I will give it 8/10
 

jazper53

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 20, 2012
890
18
Brighton
right, here's my initial feedback:

style: nice looking bike, I have removed the rack and mudguards and changed the handlebars and it looks the business. Being the prototype there is no logo on the crossbar which is cool by me

range: well, the battery is pretty light so you maybe would not expect too much but I rode it for 90 mins this morning and deliberately took it up quite a few battery-sapping hills (we have plenty to choose from round here) and I fully expected the battery to conk out but the meter is still showing four dots, so I have to say I am very impressed. I like the concept of a hidden battery and it seems to work very well on this bike

gearing: ah, the perennial problem with these ebikes, a range of gears so close in ratio that they may as well make it a single speed. Fine for ascending, but no high gear to speak of ... now I also have a Dahon Speed P8 which manages to incorporate all the gears you will ever need on one cog, so, it can be done ..

handling: steering a tad stiff, a bit of drag, but otherwise fine

weight: the Secret scores highly here being markedly lighter than, say, the Cheetah, so Kudos indeed to the designers.

power: the motor seems much more powerful than my previous e bikes, put it in the high power mode (there are free modes for pedal assist) and it fairly whizzes.... for general riding the medium setting seems to be more than adequate,

So, taking all the above into account I will give it 8/10
Was this one on ebay recently advertised? Does this have the same spec on the battery as the ones they are promoting now, or is this the 6amp version ?