Andrewk

I've had a Kalkhoff Agattu 8HS for a few years and whilst it has given good service its geometry is a little too upright for my liking plus the Mk 1 Impulse drive is a bit clunky. I am therefore considering getting a new and better e bike. My requirements are: good quality crank drive hub gear (Alfine or Nuvinci) disk brakes (Shimano or Magura) slightly more stretched out riding position trekking bike (mudguards, rack, dynamo lights, stand) not looking too obviously like an e bike fast pedelec or capability of being dongled I like the look of the Kalkhoff Integrale S11 speed, this is the sort of thing that I'm after but I think that I would prefer a Bosch drive as I have heard that Bosch are the best of the crank drives. Plus the Kalkhoff Integrale S11 speed is very expensive, considerably more so than its standard power 8 speed Alfine brother which is otherwise identical. My questions: Could someone please suggest some alternatives to a Kalkhoff Integrale with similar spec. and styling? Does anyone have experience of both Impulse Mk 1 and Impulse Mk2 drives? Is the Mk 2 smoother and more robust? Similarly does anyone have experience of both Impulse Mk2 and Bosch Mk2 drives? How did you find them relative to each other? How does dongling work? Does it overstress the drive unit leading to shorter life? Is dongling a standard drive as good as a speed pedelec drive?

Hi, I got back into cycling 6 or 7 years ago, enjoying it but hating going uphill. I've wanted an e bike for some time but baulked at being asked to pay a £1000 or more for a cheap and crappy Chinese bike that should sell for no more than £100 just because it comes with a battery and motor. I was also waiting for battery technology to improve and offer higher capacity batteries. Well I've finally taken the plunge and ordered a Kalkhoff Agattu C8 HS from 50cycles. Hopefully the 540W battery will give useful range.