Osho

What went wrong?

Mine has started to become noisy again thought not clunking as before. Sadly it's now out of warrenty.

I dropped into the 50 Cycles store in Shoreham by Sea to ask the ever affable Charles Martin why my second chain should have stretched significantly after a couple of hundred miles. I mentioned that the first chain was replaced under guarantee at their Bristol branch after three hundred miles as it had worn to its limits. He suggested that I might have been over lubricating the chain as this could attract dust and grit which would account for excessive wear. I had a larger sprocket fitted from new, on his advice, to give me a slightly higher gearing and I am wondering if this could be cutting into the chain and causing the excessive wear. Please don't laugh, too much, at my ignorance but it does seem odd that two chains have 'malfunctioned'. Any comments would be very welcome.

80+ miles in eco. Problems of clacking motor resolved after software fix but I still have nagging doubts about the motor as sometimes it becomes relatively noisy but on other ocassions it reverts to 'normal'.

I saw so many different makes of bikes in France this summer that I started to photograph them.

They delivered it to my home. I watched their videos on setting up your bike but there were so many niggling adjustments that were beyond my level of competence. Thanks to member oriteroom whom I met through this site and who lives near me, most of these were fixed with his help and advice . However it was only after I took the bike to Bristol (twice) that the spokes were rebalanced (?) chain replaced and software updated that I am now happy with my bike. Had this been a car I would have rejected it as not being fit for purpose.

[ Yes just a nut and a washer but you have to remove the light in order to reattach a new one which was just another one of those frustrating experiences I could have done without.

Correct: lots of small niggling things like a missing nut from the rear mudguard which I only realised when out on a ride and heard a rubbing sound.Somehow my bike had slipped through its pre-delivery inspection and I suspect , no evidence of course, that having asked for a larger sprocket to give me slightly higher gear, that was carried out but in doing so the normal preparation was missed.My cousin and wife who live in Germany both have the same model and not experienced any problems at all. I am about to buy my wife an eb but will do so from a local dealer because living so far from 50Cycles has been the cause of much of my frustration.

I've not noticed lower power, everything seems to be a lot smoother than before. Harry also fitted a new chain as mine had stretched after just 500 miles but I don't know if this played a part in the clanking noise I was experiencing. Altogether the bike is now fine but it certainly had not received a pre delivery service and I feel this reflects badly on the company.

My motor problems seem to have stopped after I took it to Bristol and had the software updated. There is a very knowledgeable electronic's student who works there at weekends called Harry Gyurgyak who knows his stuff and is very helpful.

I was surprised how many ebs I saw in France over the summer and noticed that French postmen are now supplied with an electric bike on which to do their rounds

I suffered a similar fault which was only corrected when the software was updated. Now after a year of clicking and clacking all seems well. Hope this helps.

Very impressive.

For what it's worth I wish I had a bike with much higher gearing or better still a wider range of gears.

50Cycles fitted a 19 sprocket for me before delivery but failed to shorten the chain so I had to have that done (wish I'd known about chain tensioners) Motor cuts out at 17MPH -could that be because I have 28 as compared to your wife's 26 wheel oriteroom?)

Thanks. It is a threaded one and as I don't have a c spanner I am going off to a bike shop to ask them to tighten the race head. ( Mike told me what to say as I've no idea! )

Whilst we are talking about this particular Kalkhoff I'd like to ask about head adjustment. Mine has always had a bit of movement in spite of me tightening everything. Mike,(oriteroom) kindly came and had a look and made some useful suggestions. However after he left I had a closer look and noticed that the rubber ring was broken. could this be a cause of the movement? I must say that for a two thousand pound bike I seem to have had more than my fair share of challenges.

Thanks for that. I am reluctant to slacken the screws however unless I hear that this is necessary/required.

So if I don't have any 'longitudinal float' I have a problem?

Should I be concerned about these brown marks that I have noticed on the terminal? Thanks

I hope that you'll be very happy with your choice buzzybee. I've now done 300 miles on my bike and it has taken me this many miles to feel totally comfortable on my bike. Adjustments here and there, tightening this and that have all been part of my learning process-enjoy!

Buzzybee. Welcome, you'll find lots of useful advice and help on this forum. I was advised to ensure that I purchased from a local dealer and now wish that I'd taken note. Ignore 'We are just a phone call away' -you'll need to pop into the dealer especially when you first get your bikes for adjustments etc and ebikes are vastly different from push bikes of 20 or more years ago.

BH8 Please

That's what I've have thought d8veh but my cousin said that the dealer said that in turning the motor on and off you used more power than you saved. I think in future I will just follow RobF and not keep turning my Kalkhoff battery on and off. Saying that I've never followed the advice of those who say it's better to leave the central heating on rather than turning it on and off. Perhaps it's something to do with my parents who continually admonished us for leaving the lights on.

My cousin, who lives in Germany and has an ebike, was told by his Kalkhoff dealer that when going downhill he should not turn off the battery whilst coasting as this uses up more energy than leaving it on. He has found that since following this advice his range has been extended.I turn my battery off at every opportunity. Could this be a reason why I am getting disappointing mileage?