Klever at Cologne: test the S-Pedelec X Speed Pinion

Imagine an industrial estate on the outskirts of Cologne, tucked away in a discreet backyard. Next to it roars the A1 motorway, one of the busiest in Germany. This is where the future lies. The Klever Mobility team is working on an alternative to the car for commuters: S-Pedelec, electric bicycles capable of speeds of up to 45 km/h and requiring a number plate, could also be a wise choice for longer journeys of more than 30 kilometres. Or rather could be. "In Switzerland, you're ahead of the game," says product manager Daniel Wilden, who hands me my test bike.

While in Germany, S-Pedelec bikes have to line up behind cars and are banned from cycle lanes, that's precisely where they have to go here. On cycle paths, if they exist at all. They can also be used to tow a children's trailer. Flyers and Stromers are also widely used. As a reminder, only 6,700 S-Pedelec were sold in Germany last year, compared with 19,000 in Switzerland - more than anywhere else in Europe. Let's hope the trend continues, because there's still a long way to go to make roads truly cyclist-friendly.

Whatever the case, my test is in any case subject to the constitution of Cologne; eleven adages elevated to the status of golden rules for the colonial population. "Et es wie et es" says the first article. That's how life goes. Let's put our cards on the table: until now I'd never heard of Klever. However, the bike that the product manager showed me caught my eye. Instead of hiding somewhere in the down tube, the angular battery like a petrol can sits in the middle of the frame, its special shape reflected by the luggage rack.

As I get used to this aesthetic, my colleague, Philipp Rüegg, who is currently looking for a bike and to to whom I showed the S-Pedelec via an interposed screen, said "noooo" with a tense look on his face. "It's clear that the design is divisive", admits Daniel Wilden.

Klever is a subsidiary of scooter manufacturer Kymco. Perhaps the original design is a tribute to its motoring roots. In any case, the X Speed doesn't try to hide the fact that power doesn't just come from the rider's legs. Most of it is generated by a wheel motor that promises plenty of power on the X Speed Pinion, with 600 watts and 49 Nm of torque. By way of comparison: the most powerful Stromer motor on the ST5 develops 800 watts and 48 Nm. Klever is also planning a variant with 800 watts.

While central motors from Bosch and co dominate the e-bike market up to 25 km/h, the wheel motor is more common on faster S-Pedelec bikes. The power is transmitted directly to the wheel at the hub, with less stress on other components. Klever's brushless Biactron system comes with a five-year guarantee. I'll be testing it out for a week across the Rhineland and telling you my impressions in the spirit of Article 2 of the Cologne constitution: "Et kütt wie et kütt" (You have to take life as it comes).

Start

In everyday life, I use a singlespeed with a wheel motor, which provides extra power when starting off or going uphill at the touch of a button. The motor is so noisy that if I want to impress other cyclists with my apparent physical superiority, I have to switch off the motor in time when I overtake them and enjoy the momentum. We also have a mid-motor electric bike at home, whose constant whirring betrays the assistance. I take the X Speed out for a spin: total silence. While the bike unleashes an impressive amount of power, all I can hear is the wind blowing.

Of course, I've already noticed that S-Pedelec's aren't noisy. And yet I'm blown away at first: the drive belt and motor are inaudible. The only noise I hear is the clatter of the Pinion encapsulated gearbox as it shifts into another of the twelve gears. And when the powerful Magura disc brakes kick in. On a dry road, they chirp, on a wet one, the noise turns into a shrill squeal.

This is enough to make pedestrians, who are crossing the road without paying attention, rush back to the pavement. A fox, who hadn't noticed me on a country road, also narrowly escaped a heart attack. Braking is painless with so much power under your bum. After a few turns of the pedals, it didn't take long for the speedometer to read 40 km/h again. You don't even need to downshift on the flat.

Sensations in the saddle

The RockShox Recon Air suspension fork mounted at the front of the X Speed provides some damping thanks to 100mm of travel and 27.5in tyres (Schwalbe Super Moto X). Nevertheless, the feel remains sporty and firm. At high speeds, the rigid aluminium frame transmits certain shocks, and I'm thinking of the optional suspended seatpost. Overall, the look, seating position and blistering start form a very coherent package.

In my opinion, with a brighter-coloured frame, the X Speed looks even better, but even so, it stands out from the crowd. The shape of the frame around the all-angled battery doesn't allow for a straight top tube or a low frame. It's like this: the seatpost sticks out a long way, whatever the size of the person in the saddle. The cables disappear into the stem and sit in the frame.

This bike undoubtedly has a unique signature. The Klever X Speed Pinion has nothing to be ashamed of in terms of its road performance. Weighing in at 29 kilos, this S-Pedelec proves to be powerful, agile and manoeuvrable. The weight is nicely distributed, but the mount needs power.

Battery

"A special battery, isn't it? "I've barely set foot on the ground in front of the cathedral on the banks of the Rhine when the first onlooker approaches. Cap backwards on his head and mask on his chin, he listens in amazement as I explain the concept and tell him about my test. "Today, I agree with him. That wasn't the case two days ago when, in the pouring rain, I was chased off a country road with my horn. At least I still had some battery left.

I'm not a fan of oversized batteries. They weigh a lot and are rarely really necessary. Autonomy should correspond to the route regularly taken. And as the S-Pedelec is aimed primarily at commuters, this is clearly defined. The distance you can travel on one battery charge depends on many factors: weight, route profile, tyre pressure, temperature and bike maintenance, to name but a few.

Don't assume that you'll be content with minimal assistance all the time. Power mode is too tempting and quickly becomes a habit. If you do, the range rapidly diminishes. Klever has 360, 570 and 850 Wh batteries in its range and - a design advantage - there's still room in the frame: a 1200 Wh variant will soon be available. My test bike is fitted with an 850 Wh battery as standard. And you'll need it. "Drinkste ene met?" (Will you have a drink?) In the spirit of article 10, the X Speed isn't told twice to drain the battery at the highest assistance level. If you really put the turbo on, it can already be tense at 40 kilometres on the flat.

My typical circuit is as follows: I reach the city centre from the suburbs fourteen kilometres away, move around town and return in the evening. Mostly with high and sometimes medium pedalling assistance. I do a few more laps around the block until the battery is completely flat. Before that, the bike automatically reduces the support levels one by one to increase the range. It reserves the remaining energy for itself to ensure the headlight lights up.

With the 80 or so kilos I weigh, including the load, I cover exactly 53.5 kilometres on the flat. The range is a little greater in town with minimal assistance, but which still gives sufficient propulsion. In 30 km/h zones, I don't need much power to slip along easily in traffic. Another day, I'm driving more economically and after 55.6 kilometres, I still have more than a third of the battery left at the finish. But you also have to know how to enjoy yourself, and that only really starts at level two.

If you're thinking of recharging the battery in the office, you're going to make enemies among your colleagues. The fast charger's fan is much noisier than the X Speed in the street. In the cellar or garage, it's not a problem. In a flat, to imagine the noise level, it's a bit like someone drying their hair for four hours behind a closed door. Klever is due to release a fanless silent charger at the end of the year.

Recovery

I need a mountain. That's not so easy in Cologne, where the cathedral overlooks everything and the highest point is the Monte Troodelöh, which towers 118.04 m (sic) above sea level. I lived here for six years and always found it annoying when people referred to me as a "mountain" to point out a supposedly difficult climb. Everything here is flat.

With the exception of eleven mounds of rubble, which were filled in after the Second World War. I use one of them as a test track. The X Speed can supply the battery with a little energy through recuperation. More to the point, recuperation during freewheeling and braking is possible and useful on corresponding terrain.

I have both set to 'Automatic'. I only notice it at speed, the rumble of the recovery is heard as soon as I stop pedalling or press the brake handle. A small bar on the screen indicates that a little energy is being sent back to the battery. To test the effect downhill, I ride to the top of the Herkulesberg, which does indeed have a considerable gradient.

In reality, I shouldn't be riding here, but the silent Pedelec doesn't disturb joggers in full effort. I ride very slowly and have to downshift so that the engine can deliver its low-speed power. At the top, I switch the freewheel recovery to level 3, which is the highest. This means I can coast back down the hill without braking at no more than 15 kilometres per hour.

On long descents, this would certainly recover some interesting amounts of energy and spare the brakes. The automatic setting is advantageous in everyday life. After a while, I deactivate it completely. On the Rhine plain, Article 4 of the Cologne constitution applies: "Watt fott es fott". What's done is done, there's no need to think about it any more. The energy used won't come back.

Safety

To start the Klever X Speed, you need a dongle. The word sounds like Cologne dialect, but it's English technical jargon for a little key that you plug into the corresponding socket on the screen. After a short wait, you remove it and the bike is ready to go. Once, the screen gave me a fright, saying 'Wrong E-Key' because I'd plugged it in too quickly. Otherwise, it works perfectly well.

As soon as you turn off the screen, the alarm is activated, unless you change the settings. If the bike remains stationary for an extended period of time, a beep will indicate that the screen is now off and security mode is activated. If someone tampers with your bike, an alarm goes off and the rear wheel locks. Daniel Wilden told me that his X Speed had spent a night in the centre of Cologne without any locks.

He was probably inspired by Article 3 of Cologne's constitution: 'Et hätt noch jot jejange' (Everything has always gone well so far.) And it did, he found it the next day twenty metres further on. He was lucky, because otherwise another adage applies: "Watt fott es fott" (What's done is done). The bike has no GPS tracking system. Instead, all the important parts are identified by their serial numbers.

I've occasionally lost my dongle in the street. Fortunately, I noticed it after a few metres. Do you leave the dongle in Cologne? Not necessarily. At least I remember that two are supplied and that they can be blocked and recoded if necessary. Security devices are useful. There isn't always a TV comedian watching over the bikes. Even if it's faked, you have to admit it's not bad.

Screen

The central control is simple. It probably won't win the design award, nor is it visionary. That's not necessarily a problem as long as it meets individual needs. Some people will say "Do laachste dech kapott" (item 11) (Laugh your jaw off) at the sight of the classic component and turn to fully integrated systems like those from Stromer. A colour screen is placed in the top tube, the bike communicates via SIM card on the mobile phone network and updates itself automatically.

Other users will invoke Article 6 at the sight of all these frills: 'Kenne mer nit, bruche mer nit, fott domet' (We don't know what it is, we don't need it, so bin it!). They don't need all those extra features and make do with an LCD display on the handlebars that they can read easily even in direct sunlight without having to twist their necks.

On the X Speed, you see the speed and the level of assistance. This is sufficient in many cases. The rubberised buttons allow you to navigate between High, Medium and Low or turn off the assistance completely. The Info button lets you toggle between daily mileage, time and other information that bike computers always display. A long press on this button takes you to the menu, where you'll find recovery modes, for example, and where you can set assistance levels as you wish.

There's also a button that, when pressed while riding, immediately provides full motor power. So you can ride with reduced assistance and press the button if you need to. Unfortunately, the horn is located just below it and I sometimes confuse the two. The slot for the electronic key is hidden behind a cover.

The Bluetooth symbol indicates that there is also an application that Klever hasn't mentioned so far. Too many users thought it was a laugh. Clearly, the company will have to work on this if it also wants to attract the target group that has embraced the technological uses of the 21st century. If you set up your toothbrush yourself via an app, you'll expect all the more to be able to do the same with S-Pedelec and unlock it via Bluetooth.

A modern colour screen is in the pipeline. It will probably be available next year and will be easy to fit to existing models. According to Article 5: "Nix bliev wie et wor." (Nothing is unchanging), although those less addicted to smartphones should also be happy with the status quo, because it's tried and tested and works well. They are inspired by Article 8 "Mach et jot ävver nit ze off" (Prioritise quality over quantity).

Verdict

Klever's S-Pedelec offers excellent road-holding qualities. I was allowed to test the deluxe version with belt drive and Pinion gearbox. It's expensive, but requires little maintenance and, above all, is extremely quiet. Equipped with other components, the X Speed is more affordable. The slightly sporty seating position, including the firm suspension, remains the same.

If a fast, quiet charger and a modern screen are high on your list of priorities, you'll have to wait or upgrade later. If the design language doesn't appeal to you at all, stay zen and stick to Article 1: "Et es wie et es."(Thus goes life).

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