Electric Bike Reviews

Here's a small selection of reviews for our Kalkhoff electric bikes - you'll find more on each bike's own page on our site. People don't just like their Kalkhoff electric bike, they love it.

Am I delighted? Yes. Is the quality first class? Yes. Was 50cycles spot on? Yes.

I run Carnegie Lighting which is 4.5 miles from my home. My Discovery was costing around £90 a week in fuel to come to work I had trouble parking got tickets and often then had to walk 10 minutes from where I parked. Total journey time by car was about 30 minutes including parking. Sometimes this extended to 50 minutes if I had trouble finding a space. 

I tried using my mountain bike which showed I could make the distance however it was a real struggle getting on it in the rain knowing I had an uphill cycle most of the way into work. After work the thought of immediately having to walk cycle some hills were just too steep to get up back home was challenging to say the least. Being short on funds I tried experimenting with some electric bike accessories off ebay. These sort of worked and showed that an electric bike would make the journey more feasible but I couldn’t get up two of the hills and still walked the journey.

I commenced looking at electric bikes with a growing alarm that it was going to cost money. However, as part of the cost could be offset by the cycle to work scheme and the fuel saving would easily cover it within a year, I decided to forge ahead. My first choice was a light bike and I immediately came across a British bike with a hub motor. I then realised that this was not necessarily optimal for hill climbing and decided to opt for a crank motor so that I could gain use of the gears. Having discussed with Scott of 50 cycles the best option for me a local dealer offered me £300 off for the same bike ex-demo. I was just about to go ahead when I realised that it didn’t have full warranty and the software was last year's not such an issue but the local dealer didn’t know there was an update. That swung it and I paid the extra to 50cycles for a new bike. I took delivery yesterday of my Kalkhoff Agatta Impulse C8 HS a day after paying. Brilliant.

Journey time door-to-dooris now 20 minutes. Not too much exertion but I burnt 180 calories without thinking about it. It was raining but hardly noticed and never stopped once. Straight up the bad hill my disco goes into first for and averaged 13.5 mph. Am I delighted? Yes. Is the quality first class? Yes. Was 50cycles spot on? Yes. Essentially one of the few purchases I have made in life which is exactly as expected, exactly as described and fulfils my expectations immediately. Would thoroughly recommend.

Andrew, Agattu C8 HS Impulse owner

"I love it to bits. I usually ride with eco mode only as I want some exercise benefit from it, but it's wonderful to just switch up to sport mode when I get to a hill and just carry on riding effortlessly to the top. I was amazed to get over 85 miles from a full battery charge, using eco mode for the majority of the riding and well over 75 miles when I tried using sport mode a bit more. I use it much more than I thought I would, and have shaved pounds off my petrol bill and also pounds (10, to be exact) off my waistline. I am looking forward to riding it most days during the summer."

David in Shrewsbury, Agattu C8 HS Impulse owner

This bike is the finest  bike a have ever had. My knee's are not has good has they used to be and I still love cycling and now with my new pro connect bike; its great - no pain even after 20 miles cycling. Electric bike's are a thing for the future. Expensive, but you get what you pay for, reliability and performance.

Paul Jackson, Pro Connect BS10 owner

I live on a very long hill and very steep as I get near to home.  In the past in order to enjoy my bike rides I had to take my bike by car to a better location.  Now I can just set off from home.  The long battery life means I can go much long distances than previously, firstly because I can use the motor to assist where necessary and secondly because I know that at the end of the journey I will be able to reach home without having to push the bike up my hill.  I have done 96 miles so far and charged the battery once.  Brilliant, just waiting for the good weather to return.

Don near Milton Keynes, Agattu C11 Premium Impulse owner

I bought the BS10 to do a specific job. To make commuting a viable and pleasurable experience. I travel approx 8 miles to work, and this bike has halved the travel time - 22 minutes as opposed to 40 mins on my regular hybrid bike. This is 4 minutes faster than my car! It has taken me a while to get used to the Bosch  e-bike system. It worked well straight out of the box. I have tried the various modes and found SPEED mode sometimes gives too much power and is more balanced with less assist. It is nice to know that there is the power when you most need it. That said, I think that overtime I will get fitter and want to use lower assist modes.

I have covered about 40 miles so far, I thought that I would get more distance than was quoted from the battery, but this might improve as I find the right mode balance. The bike is pure quality and is what you would expect from Germany. I think that this bike is going to fundamentally change my commuting habits and help get me fit. I had tried another manufacturer's bike with the Bosch system - The Kalkhoff is a better build and a better performer (for the same price). So far it has exceeded my expectations.
Chris in Swansea, Pro Connect BS10 owner

We love our Kalkhoff bikes, we go a lot further and find it a lot of fun, now my wife is often in front, I play tennis most weeks for two hours then bike back and find it no trouble getting up the hills. It's feels great when you go by others struggling up the hills, I would recommend a kalfhoff  to anybody that thinking of getting a electric bike."

George in Leicester, Agattu C8 Impulse and Agattu C8 HS Impulse owner

A fantastic riding experience! The Agattu XXL outperformed all my expectations here in rugged and hilly southern Norway. I  biked 45 km to work  last week and the battery still had a charge (a two and and half hour  ride one way) I charged the battery and biked back for a total of 100 km in one day -an absolutely pleasurable and stress free ride. No cramps or muscle aches-a great investment in quality perfectly suited for mountainous Norway.

I am 52 years old in excellent shape and ride the bike on assist usually only up the hills so I get a rigorous work out, to boot. Again would more than recommend the Agattu! (My model is actually a 2011 XXL 8)

Per in Norway, Agattu C8 XXL owner

AM 60+ AND GETTING USED TO OPTIMISING COMBINATIONS OF GEARS AND BATTERY ASSIST FOR VARIOUS TERRAINS AND MOODS! A SOLID BIKE THAT TEMPTS YOU TO BE RECKLESS! ANY DOUBTS ABOUT PAYING SO MUCH FOR 'A BIKE' VANISHED AS I SPED AROUND TOWN AND COUNTRY FEELING YOUNGER. ME & MY AGATTU-WE CAN GO ANYWHERE I FEEL!

Ashok

I bought the Agattu 8 speed limited edition at Easter, however the bad weather put paid to my proper trip out on it until Bank holiday Monday 7/5. Wow, all I can say is it was worth the wait. A group of us did 36 miles! Normally i would have given up after a couple of miles and would have been pushing it up all the hills. But not this time! I just sailed up those hills and ended up waiting for the others to catch up for the first time ever! We got soaked in the rain but still loved it. It's so easy to ride and the gear changes so smooth. Quick starts at a junction are smooth and quick. Other than a sore bottom I didn't ache at all. Not bad for a very unfit, lazy (my husbands words) 50yr+. Worth every penny.Solidly built and nice ride position. Handle bars and seat easily adjusted. Just wish I'd got one sooner. Will certainly be having lots of trips out this summer. My friends laughed at first when I got it but now the last laugh is on them as they're all jealous. I would definitely recommend getting one. Thank you 50cycles.