Panasonic's smart Lithium ion integrated power assist management system

Reliability is the long term advantage embodied in Kalkhoff's Panasonic system. All our electric bikes now have the power to cover scores of miles per charge, inspiring the confidence you need to use yours every day. You will spend more time on one of our products than on your mobile phone, so it's worth investing in a quality piece of technology - electric assistance is broadband for your wheels.

Panasonic's 'mid-ship' motor mounting helps stabilise riding and has better handling characteristics than other electric bicycle layouts. Hub drives are prone to malfunctions by stringing the drive system along the length of the bike, leaving multiple points for failure. They also limit the choice of gears if rear mounted and make steering uneven and skittish at the front.

A Kalkhoff Agattu, Pro Connect or Tasman fitted with Panasonic's electric assist also makes for very powerful riding, especially on steep upward slopes, because the combined forces of pedaling and the motor unit are both applied to the speed gears. This is crucial.

It's also important to keep total weight as low as possible, so Kalkhoff electric bikes use Panasonic's stacked laminate Lithium ion battery. If there's a sweet spot where a low mass high capacity and ultra-high efficiency meet, this system is tuned into it.

Panasonics Lithium battery packs offer twice the power/weight performance of the older Nickel-based types, no memory effect, no refresh charge and greater safety than other types of Lithium based battery chemistries.

Combined with an easy-to-use smart charger, it's the ideal way to power your electrically-assisted bicycle.

Environmental impact

When an electric assist bicycle is used to replace a 90cc motorcycle, approximately 542kg of CO2 can be eliminated per year. A 50-year-old cedar tree absorbs approximately 14kg of CO2 per year. Calculating the CO2 reduction of one electric assist bicycle in terms of cedar trees, it is equivalent to nearly 40 of them each year.

Of course, in comparison with even a small car, the CO2 saved is enormous, quickly amounting to that locked into a small forest of trees. There's some clever engineering behind the Panasonic electric assist system that makes it such an efficient and effective means of transport.