Essgeebee

Thanks everyone for advice and suggestions. I’ve decided a bar end mirror is the way to go, probably the mirrycle. Was wary of cutting into brand new grips but not confident any bar top mirror would give a decent view.

My wife isn't happy with the handlebar-mounted mirror I got for her new Cube bike. She said it doesn't reach out far enough so all she sees is herself. I was tempted to reply with something chauvinist at that point about that being the norm... but I daren't! To avoid taking to the end of the handlebar cover with a knife and fitting a bar-end mirror, are there any decent handlebar mounted mirrors out there that are long enough to give good vision and fold back to get through narrow spaces?

A big fuss about nothing, in my view. While European cities are full of people happily zipping about on e-scooters our backward, stop-innovation bureaucracy decided years ago to do what it usually does, ban them when in fact they could do more to reduce emissions and now cross-infection while enabling people to travel where they want free of charge. It took a pandemic to shift the blockers but no doubt they will do whatever they can to restrict their use, citing the odd inevitable accident as an excuse. Ebikes have been popular in Northern European countries for decades while here we’re just waking up to their enormous potential.

Good to read something positive about Kalkhoff ebikes for a change. I bought a Pro Connect X27 with a Xion system in 2014 from 50 Cycles and love the quality. It’s only done 600 miles due to my health problems but is in regular use again this year. So much negative has been said about the Impulse motor I have to admit to feeling pessimistic about the long term. Your post is therefore very welcome, esp as I have two 15Ah batteries and they seem to be in great condition. Seems 50 Cycles no longer sell Kalkhoffs and won’t respond to queries about mine.

My Xion control unit on my Kalkhoff X27 will not retain settings like date and time, etc - although the odometer isn't affected. I wonder if this might be because a battery needs replacing inside the control unit. I can't find an easy way inside and don't want to break the thing. So if anyone knows about this I'd appreciate any advice.

Some very helpful info on this thread as I am thinking about the tyres on my Tourer ebike. They're fitted with Continental Eco Contact but I think I need something with a slightly chunkier tread for some gravel and grassy stretches I do. I haven't changed a tyre for decades and never on a bike with a rear hub motor or disc brakes. Is it as complicated as it appears? Got to disconnect the motor. Are there any other things to watch out for?

Thank you Darren and awol. I've ordered WD40 contact cleaner. Hopefully fewer problems with my control unit after using it.

I occasionally have problems with my Xion control unit and the other day I almost got stranded a long way from home. I got the triangle with a 'C' in the middle indicating a communication fault. This happens sporadically without any apparent reason. The manual mentions using contact spray on the control unit connectors when problems occur. Has anyone had a similar problem and what contact spray would you recommend?

Hi Jonah. I wasn't aware there was a difference in torque between hub and crank motors. My battery is fine and I have a spare too which is very handy. Not sure what you mean by 'direct drive' but I haven't noticed a particular problem at slow speeds - except of course climbing really steep hills where I eventually come to a stop as neither the motor nor my legs have what's needed. The motor must overheat on one local very steep stretch of about a mile - it has never made it to the top without a short break. I was wondering whether more modern crank drives had more grunt. As my wife's Cube arrived earlier than expected today, I may take it up there and see.

Thanks Darren. I have managed to fit the wheel at last but I have to say it does seem a flimsy axle for a heavy bike. I imagine if there was a problem many owners would have flagged it by now so German engineering might be even better than I expected. What's the point of a pristine bike? Yours obviously gives you lot of pleasure.

We took delivery today of my wife's Cube Touring Hybrid Pro 500. I was expecting a fully assembled bike but it arrived in two boxes needing assembly from scratch. No step by step instructions were included and the manuals are not designed to cover this initial assembly - they contain references to multiple parts for various models that are confusing. We couldn't do a test ride at a store so ordered online. The company will remain unnamed at present (it's multiple store group in Essex) but frustratingly my calls to them go straight to answerphone ("Corona virus means we are very busy, yada yada") and I've had no return call. The bike is now partly assembled but the front wheel will not go on - the axle looks incredibly thin and does not seem to fit with the fork. If anyone has assembled one of these and can offer any advice, I'd be grateful.

Thank you to all who've replied. I think it seems perfectly possible to convert my Ridgeback and have a decent ebike for a fraction of the price of buying a new one. I will speak to my local bike repair guy and see if he'd fit it for me. So glad I found this forum.

Thanks Warwick. The Ridgeback is in excellent condition, I’m glad to say, although I agree it would need a service to ensure gearing, brakes and lubrications were up to par. In fact the reason I’m considering a conversion is it is a lovely bike in such good condition but I can’t use it as a manual bike. Thank you for the explanation of cadence vs torque sensing. Makes more sense to me now. I’d need a bike mechanic to do the conversion but Woosh seem to have some good kit.

Thanks Nealh. I'll have a look at Woosh's website and see what I can find. I'm a bit unclear about the the difference between torque and cadence sensing. My health problem means that although I'm generally fit and able, I quickly get breathless with hard effort. I can pedal reasonably fast as long as it's not against too much resistance. There are quite a lot of hills, some really steep, around where I live. I can cope with many but some are just a bit much. If I can get a decent system installed that enables me to climb most, I'd be delighted.

As a newbie to the forum and being technically hopeless, I hope someone can give me some advice. I have a Ridgeback Supernova hybrid bike that has been idle many years. A chronic illness means I no longer have the puff for a manual bike. I wonder if it’s possible to convert it cost effectively to an E-bike. I’d appreciate some info on possible options, likely costs and how technically challenging it would be. I already have a touring-style E-bike but it’s a shame having the lovely Ridgeback sitting in the garage when (hopefully) I can use it again as a more sporty alternative on my better days.

FWIW until recently I hadn’t used my Kalkhoff for over two years due to illness and lethargy. It, and its two batteries, sat in my in unheated garage throughout that time, never touched. They were almost at full charge when I stored them in 2018 and when I first took my bike out a few weeks ago, both batteries showed almost fully charged still. I really did expect them to fail or play up in some way to repay my neglect but having done trips totalling about 80 miles, swapping batts several times and recharging them after each ride, they’ve performed flawlessly (touch wood). I’ve concluded that good quality batteries are tolerant of less than perfect management, though I intend to take better care of them now I am back in the saddle.

I lifted these from my Kalkhoff Pro Connect's user manual. It is six years old and uses a Li-ion battery. Unless battery technology has changed dramatically, I expect the principles apply to other ebike Li-ion batteries. You can extend the service life of the battery by fully recharging it after every journey, however short. The Xion Li-ion battery has no memory effect. If you continuously run the battery to empty during normal operation, this reduces its service life. Frequent partial recharging of the battery has a favourable effect on its service life. You should therefore partially recharge the battery whenever possible: Do not run the battery all the way down to empty and recharge it even after a short period of operation. If you do not need your battery for a while, store it at a temperature of +10°C at 50-70% of its full charge capac- ity. If you do not use the battery for six months, you must recharge it.

Hi everyone. New to the Pedelec site and impressed by the knowledge and experience evident in the forums. Therefore, I'm going to dive in with a technical question I hope someone can answer. My wife is about to get a Cube Touring Hybrid Pro (65Nm motor). I have a 2014 Kalkhoff Pro Connect Xion hub drive. We live in a very hilly area and my motor struggles on the steeper ones. According to my handbook, it has a rated torque of 12Nm with 41Nm maximum torque - much less than my wife's. As I am getting older with a progressive lung condition, more help on the hills would be good if I'm to keep up with her. Instead of getting a new bike I wonder if it's possible to re-engineer it with a more powerful motor, possibly a crank-drive one. The rest of the bike is in great condition.