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>> Court: This is the Kalkhoff Pro Connect C8. Eight, because its got an 8 speed internally geared
rear hub. Now this actually has a Panasonic mid-drive system. So the battery is Panasonic,
the drive system is Panasonic. And it was sort of an innovator in the electric drive
space for a while. It is kind of getting eclipsed a little bit by Kalkhoff and Bosch and some
of these others but this is a pretty cool bike. It actually offers a lot of the same
benefits that any city style ebike would with fenders and lights and everything. Kalkhoff
is this German brand um, where in Germany they have these different regulations. The
top speed there is 15, here in the US you can kind of jailbreak it and go 20 miles per
hour and get a fairly good range on this thing with the step-through design. It kind of speaks
for itself I guess. You know but I really like the quality of these Kalkhoff bikes and
it's just interesting to see a different drive system. But what's worth noting about the
drive system here is that it takes a little less pedal input to actually get that motor
responding and supporting you. So, I'd almost say this bike feels a little peppier and it
does more driving for you than some of the newer systems that are more responsive and
maybe take a little more input from the rider to get going. It's worth kind of trying and
comparing. They are all pretty good but, uh yeah. Let me get into it, its got a 250 watt
mid drive motor there. The battery is 25.2 volts, 12 amp hour pack. So, fairly decent.
It locks to the frame, you can charge it on or off which is cool. You can see the handle
over there. You've got the nice chain guard, you got the fenders that I talked about, the
lights, its even got a pump built in which is really cool. You just grab that and repair
if you need to. But you shouldn't have to do a lot of repairs on this bike because its
got that middrive, sorry, mid drive but its also got the internally geared hub so you
know, it's not like the chain is loose and changing gears and getting oil and grease
on stuff. It's all in that hub and eight speeds is decent but you know, this is kind of a,
you know it's an around town kind of bike. There's no shock or anything. Got your standard
v-brakes front and rear. And the way the computer works on this thing, you just turn it on and
pick from low, medium or high. There's not a speedometer here, it doesn't tell you your
range or anything. But they do offer this fun little bell and the ergo grips. So this
is, you know it's fairly, it's like a standard kind of a tough built bike. And it works pretty
well, um especially on a day where it's a little rainy and you want to have those extra,
those lights and the fenders and the neat thing about this middrive system, and really
all mid drives, is that you leverage that rear, the gearing essentially. So you can
kind of work with the bike and that extends range. Um, to me it doesn't feel quite as
peppy as like a hub drive system. You know, Iike to go a little bit faster and zip around
but for hills and stuff it's hard to beat something like this. And again, the range
advantage that you get is good. So its got the adjustable neck, it's like a $3,400 bike
and you know, it works pretty well. So yeah, that's the Kalkhoff Pro Connect 8 and for
the full written review on this and other bikes check out ElectricBikeReview.com keep
in mind that this bike is called Kalkhoff right now but next year I'm told in the United
States it will be rebranded as Focus. And this is all part of the Derby Cycles conglomerate
in Europe. They make really good stuff. It's neat to take some of their experience building
electric bikes and stuff and then you see it in the United States and it's a fairly
advanced piece of technology. So, I'm actually here at the New Wheel here in San Francisco
and you know, of course, in San Francisco you want bikes that can climb hills, you want
stuff that works and that's what this bike offers.