Our friends at Pete's Electric Bikes recently dropped off a Kalkhoff electric bike for us to spend some time with.  We were so completely blown away by this vehicle that we decided to do a formal product review (a first for us here at FearLess).

I've seen electric bikes around town and I've ridden several electric motorcycles.  Honestly, the idea of an electric bike was never very appealing.  On one hand, I was a bit of a bicycle purist and all that comes with it.  My passion for the aesthetic of the bike made the introduction of batteries and motors something that made my eyes bleed.  And my vain belief that my quad-zillas had no need for electric assistance made it unlikely that I'd board a motor other than my own.  Yet on the other hand I'd ridden big, loud, scary fast motorcycles my whole life.  For me, the electric bike fell in a lame "no man's land" between these two worlds.

Mama's words rang in my head as the smile spread across my face the first time I pedaled the Kalkhoff down the street, "How do you know if you don't try it?"  How often do I need to learn that lesson?

Whatever the Kalhoff is, the term "electric bike" is woefully inadequate to describe to anybody the potential that lies in this entirely new category of vehicle.  Ecycle.  BoostBike.  Unicorn-a-cycle.  Whatever you call it, the reality is that calling this an electric bike is like calling a car a horseless carriage.

It's not a bike.  But it is something equally awesome.

I'm a bike geek/nerd/dork.  I ride my bike pretty much every day.  I ride to work.  I ride to lunch.  I ride home.  Then on top of that, I probably ride for fun and exercise some time during that day.  My current commute is about a half mile.  Nothing.  Hardly worth riding so I walk it, too.  But my old commute was 9 miles and I commuted a lot less.  Admittedly, that hill to the house at the end of the day was something of a mental obstacle when it came to commuting by bike more often.

Epiphany might be a good name for this thing.  In less that 30 seconds on the Kalkoff, I realized that this vehicle has the ability to take the average American on the vast majority of their daily trips.  And without any of the second thoughts that come with taking a traditional bike.  How can that be, you might wonder?  After all, we've all seen people on electric bikes and to look at it there isn't much difference.  True enough.  You probably have to experience it to understand, but there are a couple of huge differences.

1. It's fast.  With no more exertion that walking you attain 20+ mph.  With a nimbleness and parking ease that makes pretty much makes an in-town trip faster on your e-cycle than your car.  Guaranteed.  Put pressure on the pedals and the bike reacts.  Put a bit more pressure on the pedals and the bike adds a bit more boost.  Pretty soon you and the bike are in synch and you're putting in just enough energy to get maximum power from the system.  The feeling is one of walking.  Except you're walking at 20 mph.  Yeah.  Fun.

2. Hills are essentially wiped off the map.  I live on the top of a hill and my son and I rode home the other day with me on the e-cycle while he was on his traditional bike.  When we came to the base of the steep climb he took off in a sprint to beat me home.  With the slightest of effort, I hummed a tune and pedaled past his heroic Tour de France-like bid for the summit.  (I did let my son take the Kalkhoff for a spin.  The following photo captures his reaction quite well.)

Riding the Kalkhoff is simple.  Turn it on.  Select the level of assist you want (low-med-high) and pedal away.  We spent most of our time in high. We were feeling the need for speed and curious how quickly we could deplete the battery.  The answer is that the battery was happy to put out lots of power and was more than up to the task of spending all of it's time in high power mode.

There are two common types of e-cycle.  Those with a motor contained in the rear hub and those with a center mounted motor.  There are benefits to both but cheap hub-driven models in the market have spotty performance and reliability records.  They also can't take advantage of the bikes gearing in the same way a center-drive can.  The Kalkhoff is a center-drive system. The engine and battery sit low in the frame creating a low center of gravity and better handling.  The unit is produced by Panasonic and from what the people at Pete's tell us, the reliability is very high with a failure rate of 1 in 100.  In fact, the electric drive should be one of the most trouble-free aspects of the vehicle.  The components themselves are all high quality and should be long lasting and durable.  A Shimano Alfini internally-geared 8-speed hub with rapid fire shifters might take some getting used to as you need to stop pedaling to shift.  Not the ideal set up to pair with electric boost, but it performed smooth consistent shifts.

Front and rear lights are integrated into the system and powered by a dynamo.  It's really nice to have lights when you need them.  And my suspicion is that owners of e-cycles will find themselves taking their ride out at night.

The battery pack needs to be unlocked and removed for charging.  The process is easy and would make for a simple part of any daily regimen.  Like taking your shoes off and leaving them by the door.  It would quickly become habit.  Kalkhoff suggests the range is about 50 miles per charge depending on the amount of assist, road conditions, rider weight, temperature, etc.  And a charge costs about 4 cents.

The aluminum fork and frame are well made.  The welds are clean and consistent.  But this is not a lightweight by any means.  It's listed at 46 pounds, but it might be a bit more in real life.  How heavy is that?  Imagine the heaviest bike you've ever tried to lift and then add a few pounds.  Even so, Liisa, the Cottage Commander, took the bike home to Denver for the weekend and she was able to load it on her bike rack by herself.  Yet I don't think this is the kind of bike that would be loaded on a rack very often.  You don't take this bike somewhere with your car.  You leave the car at home and take the Kalkhoff.  But what really matters is that weight disappears when you begin to ride.  The feedback from the frame is solid and the confidence inspiring.  The geometry is spot on.  Tracking straight and true without a wobble.  Even at speeds way past what the specs say should be the top speed.

Our Kalkhoff came with a Racktime rack that will accept a removable basket but no basket.  In my opinion, it should never go out the door without a basket or saddle bags.  A removable basket on a bike is it's own transformational experience.  Pop into the grocery store.  No need for a cart or a bag.  Nice.  Find yourself at the farmers market on a whim.  Not a problem because you always have your basket with you.  Bottom line is if you have a basket, you will ride more.  An e-cycle can haul plenty and it's criminal not to have some storage capacity on yours if you get one.

Speaking of speed, I'm not a person that always wears a helmet.  Before you attack me just realize that you're statistically more likely to injure you head in a car accident, so if we were truly rational beings we would be wearing helmets inside our cars.  So I wear a helmet when I'm getting sporty on my bike, but rarely for getting groceries.  On an e-cycle I would probably adjust that idea and wear a helmet.  These are fast and they quickly get up to speed.  The breaks are hydraulic disks and they handle the job well, but stopping distances will take some adjustment.  Wearing a helmet would be prudent.

Bottom line: The Kalkhoff (retail price $3,449) is a serious vehicle that can actually play an important roll not just in the life of it's proud owner, but might have the potential to help recreate a more sustainable transportation infrastructure.  If you were ever the least bit curious, all I can say is do yourself a huge favor and try it.  Your mom will be proud you did.

By Alex Bogusky