KALKHOFF ENTICE 3.B MOVE

Step-through electric bicycle for routes that leave the sealed road behind. Knobbly tyres, 80 mm fork, Bosch 75 Nm drive, 500 Wh battery.

One bar is the whole difference.

Both frames carry the same motor, battery, gears and brakes. The bar is the only structural difference. You can specify a cross-bar build and wait about three months.

Will it fit me?

Australia ranges two sizes of this bicycle: Small at 43 cm and Medium at 48 cm. Two options is a decision, not a task.

The frame drops so low that the standover gap sits at roughly crank-axle height. The test is something you perform rather than something you read.

The standover test, done in ten seconds

1. Stand over the Small, feet flat on the floor, and let go of the bars.
2. Stand over the Medium the same way.
3. The right size is the one the bicycle stands beneath you, not against you.

If you need a Large or Extra Large, Kalkhoff builds them as a specified build with a wait of about three months.

How far will it go?

Up to 120 km. Kalkhoff's own published figure for this model, printed against a choice of 625 Wh or 500 Wh batteries. This bicycle carries the 500 Wh PowerTube.

Treat it as the top of a band rather than a promise, because the people who built the bicycle say exactly that. Kalkhoff's own manual for this model:

"Because a variety of factors affect range, no exact prediction is possible."

Bosch, who make the motor and the battery, say the same: range cannot be calculated accurately before or during a trip. Between them, the two companies publish what moves it:

• Assist level, and how often you change it
• Hills, surface and terrain
• Headwind and temperature
• Total weight of bicycle, rider and everything carried
• How often you stop and start
• Tyre pressure and tread
• Cadence, gear changes and seating position
• The age and condition of the battery

Two numbers hold still. The battery charges from flat to half in about 1.7 hours and to full in about 4.5 hours, on the Bosch 4 A charger in the box. Batteries age: Kalkhoff says a gradual fall in capacity over the years is normal, not a fault.

What it weighs, and what it will carry.

Two weight figures exist for this bicycle and both belong on the page. Dolomiti weighs it at 23 kg. Kalkhoff publishes 26 to 28 kg across the size range with the battery in.

The battery lifts out before you lift the bicycle, which takes about 3 kg off. Kalkhoff requires the battery out for car-rack transport.

The rear carrier is rated to 25 kg and the whole bicycle to 130 kg all up: bicycle, rider and everything carried, counted together, on Kalkhoff's own definition.

Who fixes it in three years?

The parts that cost money are the parts anyone can get. The motor, the battery and the charger are catalogue Bosch components with published part numbers, and the drivetrain, brakes and hubs are standard Shimano.

• Frame warranty: 10 years
• Electronics warranty: 2 years
• First service: Included, and booked before you leave
• Wear parts: Tyres, rims, brake pads, chains, cables and bearings are service items, not warranty claims

Three care rules protect the warranty. Clean with a damp cloth, never a hose or a pressure washer. Charge only with the original Bosch smart-system charger. When the battery retires, it goes back to a bike shop for recycling, not into household waste.

Component part numbers

• Drive unit: Bosch Performance Line, BDU3360
• Battery: Bosch PowerTube 500, BBP3750, removable
• Charger: Bosch 4 A, BPC3400

Sales and workshop under one roof at Ivanhoe.

The next step is not a checkout.

Stand over both sizes, ride the Ivanhoe hills on three assist levels, and put the tyres on the surface you actually ride. You will leave knowing your size and your own range rather than guessing at either.

Book a ride

Dolomiti Electric Bikes
1075-1087 Heidelberg Road, Ivanhoe VIC 3079
03 9497 3733

Made by Kalkhoff Werke GmbH, Emstek, Germany, building bicycles since 1919.

Conformity: EPAC to EN 15194, CE marked. Certification and power figures are stated by Kalkhoff and Bosch as the manufacturers.