Matthew Parris, once a Tory MP under Margaret Thatcher, now one of the Times newspaper’s most popular columnists and a regular presenter on BBC Radio 4, writes today about a fantastic ride on an electric bike in Spain. A couple of years ago he published a column that urged people to set up booby traps to presumably kill competitive, lycra-clad, energy drink swigging cyclists, which went down very badly in the cycling press and online community. Very badly indeed.

However, it seems he’s not ideologically opposed to getting on a bike after all. He spends much of today’s column writing about the joy of riding an electric bike from his house in the Pyrenees down to a local fiesta and back. It was a transformative experience:

“For a 62-year-old boyhood cycling enthusiast such as me, it’s like being 16 again: wings to your pedals as each push on the treads pulses the bike forward… Coming back around midnight through the evergreen oak forest on a warm clear night under a full moon, the night air cooling damp brows and the soft hum beneath the bum reassuring us of continuing electrical assistance, was magic.”

It’s not clear from the following description which electric bikes he and his sister were riding, but he gives a fairly detailed description of their appearance and how they worked:

“[My sister, Belinda] bought four of these bikes from a manufacturer in Barcelona. She hires them out to holidaymakers; but we borrowed two and, as evening fell, set out down the hill to L’Esquirol — ten miles away — to watch the little town’s annual fiesta. Off we whooshed through the dusk on a lonely road on futuristic bikes that look anything but futuristic. Black, solid, old-fashioned-looking, with a wicker pannier on each side of the rear wheel, indistinguishable at first glance from the kind of thing that you might see a rural French nun riding. All’s as expected on a traditional bike, with five gears.

But welded to the frame beneath the saddle is a battery holder containing a plastic-covered rechargeable powerpack the size and shape of two slim bricks, end to end, weighing about ten pounds. Here the electric assistance is switched on or off. A display light indicates how much power remains. And that’s it. There are two levels of electrical assistance, high or low, plus a booster operated by the equivalent of a motorcycle throttle on the handlebar. But here’s the really cool thing: if you don’t pedal yourself, the electrics won’t kick in to help you. You can’t just freewheel. It’s so Tory! I just loved it.

You’re all in this together, you and your bike; and as long as you’re doing your bit you’ll hear the faintest of hums from the fat rear hub as the electrics lend a hand. Stop pedalling, the hum cuts, and you’re on your own.”

But then, oh dear, Parris’s feelings about a certain type of cyclist emerged once more…

“But you know the best thing? Encountering ordinary sports cyclists in their lurid spandex garments and absurd minimalist crash helmets (ours were disguised, one as a solar topee, the other in hunting tweed). These ciclistas, with angry, spittle-flecked mouths, look at you in shock, glance at your battery, then eye you as one might eye a piece of excrement. And you hum and whirr on up the hill, with all the exultation of an unashamed cheat. Ha!”

That’s a glorious feeling many electric cyclists will be familiar with. Good to have you on board, Matthew Parris! Let’s hope his experience on an electric bike turns out to be more than a  holiday fling.

One of the things that really makes my job worthwhile is receiving glowing reports about our bikes from happy customers. It’s very important to hear about how our bikes are behaving out on the streets and we’ve learnt a lot about why the Kalkhoff brand has proved to be far and away the most popular range of electric bikes we’ve stocked. Every now and then we even learn a few things that customers have discovered for themselves – how to coax the best hill-climbing performance out of the motor, the best way to look after a battery pack, little maintenance tips and tricks.

It is, however, rare to hear of a whole function that we either missed or was not documented properly. One recent Kalkhoff Image B27 owner has found that that model has a hitherto undiscovered alarm/immobilisation function. That comes at the end of Bob’s comprehensive and informative review, under the heading ‘Easter Egg’. One more reason to consider this, the most powerful and sophisticated of Kalkhoff’s 2011 electric bike range.

Here’s Bob’s review:

Why electric?
I have just got an electric bike after more than 50 years of cycling, the last 30 years of which were on a 5-speed Raleigh Richmond. This was a ‘lightweight sport’ – Reynolds tubing, skinny wheels – that I could easily lift over styles. It is a lovely bike but I have never lifted it over a style and I’m unlikely want to do so in future. The only time I took it off road recently I got a very sore backside.

Having passed 65 I have a little more time to get out. I’m reasonably fit and walk a lot but would like to roam further afield without feeling guilty about the eco-damage from using the car. So I’d like to cycle a bit more. But even in leafy Hertfordshire, in the tail-end of the Chilterns, we are surrounded by surprisingly steep hills. And the road surfaces are abominable – I destroyed a £150 tyre and £300 wheel on my car in a single pothole recently.

And my knees are shot – 3 out of 4 of my cartilages have been hacked about.

And then I heard about electrically assisted bicycles.

My needs
I want something for (very) rough roads and occasional unmetalled country lanes – without having to stand on the pedals to avoid discomfort.

I want to get to the nearby towns and villages, over those hills, without straining my knees and without having to get off.

I do not need a huge range – I am unlikely to want to travel more than 50 miles at a time, and I don’t need assistance for all that time.

Why Kalkhoff?
I looked at the offerings of all the major suppliers of e-bikes in the UK. I excluded anything that didn’t come with mudguards. (Maybe it’s my age, but I just don’t get the appeal of that mudstreak down your back.)

While I found others that met the basic spec., Kalkhoff seems to be among the most up-to-date in the technology it is using and has a reputation for quality. And it was the only one I found that had a BionX model. I had heard less than favourable reports of BionX, but I was intrigued by the technology.

Why the Image B27?
50cycles were very helpful. I drove to Loughborough to try out the Pro Connect Disc (Panasonic) and the Image B27 (BionX). Matt was patient as I dithered.

I was attracted by the long-life battery of the Connect. And having cut my cycling teeth on Sturmey Archer (with one of their early TWO-speed hubs), I liked the 8-speed hub gears of the Connect. But I really did not its long wheel-base.

I had read that the BionX was not so good for hills, which given my needs was a concern. But when I rode it the umph I felt from moderate assistance was at least as good as the Panasonic-Connect. And in the highest assistance mode, it was just remarkable.

Eventually I chose the B27 for the ‘feel’ – a combination, I think, of the shorter wheelbase and that torque. I took my chances with range and hills.

Ordering and Delivery
No problem: 50cycles arranged delivery on the specific day I wanted, and it arrived just fine.

Experience
Early days yet, but I am very pleased with the choice I made.

That umph (even on ‘A2′) is just great for taking off from a standstill.

The B27 has 27 gears which took a bit of getting used to after the Richmond, but even without assistance they enabled me to get further up some of those hills than I’ve managed before. Even so, I began to flag, so tried the assistance – A2 and maybe A3 for a short while – and sailed up hills I’d never managed before. I have not found any problem with the support that it provides for hill-climbing – it has been just great for me.

I’d heard that the generative mode was not a big deal in that it does not add much to your range. But a huge benefit is that when freewheeling downhill you can just select a mode to go down at the speed you want. No gripping onto the brakes for dear life. I realised I was grinning to myself (not a pretty sight) when I first realised this: any regeneration to the battery is a bonus.

And the generative mode is automatically engaged when you apply the brakes. Very nice.

And .. it fits in that shed.

Adjustments (so far)
First off: note that it comes with the rear brake to the right. Bad news for an old geezer set in his ways of grasping the left brake first in an emergency: I could see myself going over the handlebars. So I swapped them over. Note that by loosening a screw you can adjust the angle of the reservoir tanks on the Auriga e-sub brakes which not only enables you to set them vertical again, it also relieves strain on the hydraulic lines. But unless you change the hydraulic lines to the BionX console (which I did not fancy) you have to move the console to the left handlebar. I did that (and you can reprogram the controls on the console between sides to suit, if you want).

Then I found that as the bike was supplied the position of my arms became very uncomfortable after a while. So I turned the handlebars round so that they droop and trail and shortened them by about 4cm each side. I would have liked to have taken another cm. or two off, but that was as far as I could go while still having space for the brakes and gear shifters. Maybe I’ll get some shorter grips and cut them a bit further some time. Another advantage of shortening the bars was that I could now remount the console on the right-hand side, albeit on the wide part of the bars next to the stem.

I’ll probably continue to tinker with saddle and handlebars to get my position even better, but I am enjoying using it now.

Easter Egg
There is a feature that is not mentioned in the manual – an alarm. However …

First find/set your PIN. Press + and – at the same time and you will see a preset PIN. If you want, you can change it to a PIN of our own choosing.

Now press the power button and the + button at the same time: the BionX goes into alarm mode in which it is set to maximum generative mode (so it moves as if through very heavy treacle) and more than a quarter turn of the rear wheel sets the battery box beeping.

To unset it, press any button and enter your PIN.

If it all goes wrong, remove the battery, wait a few moments and put it back again.

I’ve no idea why this is not mentioned in the manual – it is in the manual for the earlier console (albeit in slightly different form).

Summary
Great – love it.

The Pro Connect S is Kalkhoff’s top-of-the-range electric bike as it offers the best components, maximum power assistance and the most exciting riding experience. Unlike most of the other Kalkhoff models, it comes with a 10-speed derailleur gear set up, which more experienced or competitive cyclists may prefer to the hub gears found in models like the Pro Connect Disc and Agattu range.

There’s also an LCD console which is your interface with the bike’s motor system and also provides information about power output, speed, distance and remaining battery capacity. Owners of the 2010 incarnation of this bike had to make do with kilometres, but the new 2011 console displays information in English and in miles – a very welcome improvement. Lights are now supplied by Axa and powered by the main battery pack. They provide useful illumination (40 lux for the headlight) in both lit and unlit streets, plus the control console is well back-lit when the lights are switched on.

The battery is the 18Ah version of Kalkhoff’s new power pack and offers a range up to about 37 miles in high power mode (200% assistance), more in normal (100%) and eco mode (70%).

But of course the most important thing is how this bike performs with a rider on it and a street in front of it. Well, it’s amazing… and then you turn the power on and it’s even better. Fast, stable, responsive, fast-shifting gears, silent, positive brakes and plenty of power for tackling any hill you can find (just remember to turn the power up, shift down a few gears and take it easy… you’ll still win). We’ve had several 2009 and 2010 Pro Connect S owners take a test ride and upgrade immediately.