'The Kalkhoff Agattu is now the best electric bike ever' - Cycle Show

'A great machine in a class of its own'
Extracts from A to B's July 2008 review.
The Pro Connect has been awarded A to B's highest 1** rating
Back in A to B 63 (yes, the naughty one), we tested the
Kalkhoff Agattu and were impressed. We won't go over the
story again, but the new breed of bikes from the likes of
Gazelle and Kalkhoff arrived here at a crucial time - the
ground-breaking Giant Lafree had been withdrawn and
Chinese bikes were suffering a rash of battery failures. In
short, it looked as though the new and promising electric
bicycle industry was about to disappear up its own cathode.
The cavalry arrived from Europe. Dutch and Germans know a
thing or two about bicycles, and they know how to build them
light, well-equipped and reliable. These countries are also big,
big markets for electric assist, because they're pragmatic
volk, and if you ride every day to school, work, college or
shops, assistance can be of benefit.
In the UK, where people make most of their journeys by car,
electric bikes are paradoxically regarded as ‘cheating’,
whereas, presumably, a Ford Galaxy isn't. A strange attitude,
and one we will need to overcome if we are to survive in the
Peak Oil era...
The Pro Connect
Kalkhoff's new Pro Connect (pictured here on the cover of A to B July 2008) is, arguably, the perfect
machine for this brave new world. At 21kg (2.5kg battery + 18.5kg bike), it's one of the lightest electric
bikes we’ve seen and really not much heavier than a fully-equipped conventional bike. Like the
Gazelle and the Agattu, it uses the new Li-ion version of the trusted Panasonic drive unit that made
the Lafree such a delight. For anyone worried about battery life, Panasonic is offering a two-year
battery warranty. You shouldn't need it because we've heard no evidence of early failure.
Dynamically, the Pro Connect is pretty similar to the Agattu we tested back in January, but that
weighed 25.8kg, so Kalkhoff has clearly done some work in the weight department. The bike has as
really nice, rigid aluminium alloy frame of the kind that goes ‘ting’ when you tap it, as opposed to the
inferior sort that goes 'thunk'.
On the road
As the system is so similar to the Agattu, we’ll just look at the differences. Where the Agattu was a
sensible roadster, the Pro Connect is much more the sort of thing for commuting to work - flatter,
sportier hybrid-style handlebars, reduced weight, and the 8-speed hub, in place of the 7-speed fitted
to the Agattu. This is geared to give the same top ratio (it has to be to keep the assisted top speed in
the legal zone), so it effectively provides an extra gear at the bottom, and a range from 26" to 80".
As the Agattu restarted on a 1:6 hill with ease, this will only be useful if you live somewhere very hilly,
so we suspect most users will want to increase the gearing with a smaller rear sprocket. This would
give an adequate first gear in the low 30-inches, and an `overdrive` top. Technically illegal, because
assist would be available above 15 mph, but much nicer, particularly when spinning fast down long
shallow descents. Actually, the Panasonic motor seems to have had some ‘tweaking' since we last
tried it, because the Pro Connect will cruise at 16 or even17mph on the flat, despite the modest top
gear ratio.
The Nexus hub is linked to a Shimano Alfine Rapidfire Plus shifter - a double lever thing like a
dérailleur shifter. Once you've acclimatised to the dérailleur that isn't, the Pro Connect is a wonderful
machine to ride. Much of the weight-saving has come from getting rid of the suspension forks and
good riddance. The lithe frame transmits every lump and bump, and the Continental tyres roll well, with
a purposeful zizz.
Talking of speed, rolling resistance is excellent by any standards. We found 30mph coming up