VALK Electric Road Bicycle RT5 Thoughts?

Nerolex on 13/04/2021 - 12:11

Hi all

https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/valk-electric-road-bicycle-e-bi…

i was wondering if anyone has had experience with this particular bike from VALK (RT5). it is essentially a electric road bike. before you flame me, please understand my purpose for being interested in this. i am thinking of getting an electric road bike but without the big budget like GIANT or others. not only that, i am a casual rider. wanting an alternative instead of driving to work which will result in saving some cost on fuel so that instead of refueling every week, it will be atleast 2 weeks. at this point youre wondering why i dont just spend money on a decent 1k manual bike, well the ride is atleast 10km and i dont want to be that fatigued due to riding when i rock up for work. yes, weak i am. lastly, i want to reduce my carbon footprint for the world.

looking at the product itself, it does not look that bad. i know that is for small-medium sized riders which i fit in. the description says can go up to 70km but mytopia describes it as 50km. this would depend on your route of course and i am prepared to be happy with 40km atleast with the peddle assist.

it would be great help if people has had experience with this bike and can tell me how you thought of it. or even people who had bought a VALK bike could share their thoughts. i could not find any reviewers on this particular VALK RT5 bike.

Thanks

Sports & Outdoors Electric Bicycle

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Comments

  • DashCam AKA Rolts on 13/04/2021 - 12:22
    +1

    This might be better, at least you'll get your money back if it's not.
    https://www.aldi.com.au/en/special-buys/special-buys-sat-17-…

    • Nerolex on 13/04/2021 - 14:54
      +1

      7.5AH though vs 10AH.

      • Euphemistic on 15/04/2021 - 06:28

        The battery capacity is offset by the Aldi bike being much more suited to commuting at 25km/h. Sitting more upright is better for seeing in traffic and the aerodynamic advantage of a drop bar bike will be lost because of the additional work gettin over 25km/h on a low quality drop bar bike.

  • apsilon on 13/04/2021 - 12:34
    +2

    It says pedal assist is up to 25km/h which is the norm for NSW rules so unless you're very fit, don't expect to average more than that. Back when I was very fit I could maintain 40km/h on fairly flat ground on my electric. The issue is the bikes are heavy, mine is 24kg IIRC compared to my non electric bike of 8kg, that makes a big difference past the assist point.

    My biggest concern would be that the seller is Kogan and the brand is unknown here so support is a big question

    • Euphemistic on 15/04/2021 - 06:28

      Agree. You should be able to maintain close to 30km/h on a half decent road bike without electric assist.

  • o53djz7qTPY4der on 13/04/2021 - 12:42
    +3

    If you're worried about fitness, an electric bike might be harder to ride than a normal bike. The reason being, weight and the fact that you have to pedal in order to get assistance.

    Honestly, 10km will take, even a slow person 25-30 mins - if you're fast ~16 mins. If you can't do 20-30 minutes of low impact exercise, you have bigger problems than your carbon footprint.

    I don't think an electric bike will decrease the time it takes, especially not if you get faster. On my road bike, I regularly overtake e-bikes as they can only maintain 25km/h then everything else is leg power.

    Buy a normal bike, get fitter, take joy in overtaking e-bikes.

    • Nerolex on 13/04/2021 - 13:10

      thanks for the replies! really helps. i do ocassionally seek 20km rides and sometimes the hill inclined is a bit much. would electric bikes go well distance wise riding along highways which are generally flat as well as up hill? ill be honest im not a strong rider. i think the reason i was thinking of an electric road bike is some locations which do not require a car and therefore, i can ride with ease due to the motor.

      thanks

      • apsilon on 13/04/2021 - 14:56
        +1

        You do realise you need to pedal right? By law the bikes sold here are pedal assist ie they assist your pedaling, you can't just sit there and ride along. If you can't ride the hills on an unassisted bike you may well struggle on an assisted one as well. As a general rule of thumb they'll double the effort you put in up to the limited speed. Of course over time your fitness will increase allowing you to go faster etc.

        • Sickman on 13/04/2021 - 20:26

          Have you risen an Ebike Apilson. All the Ebikes I have ridden uphill have required minimal pedal assist. Just make sure you are in an easy gear.

          • apsilon on 13/04/2021 - 20:32

            @Sickman: Yeah, I've had one for about 10 years. You still need to put effort in if you want to go above walking pace, I'm just not sure OP realises you need to pedal at all. Not to mention if you get caught out and run out of juice you're suddenly pedaling a bike that weighs 3 times as much as a normal bike.

  • tsunamisurfer on 13/04/2021 - 13:10
    +1

    well the ride is atleast 10km and i dont want to be that fatigued due to riding when i rock up for work. yes, weak i am.

    10kms is short, about 30 mins of medium effort pedalling.

    I have ridden to work for about 12 years now (ranging from 11 to 18 kms each way), it is actually refreshing to ride to work instead of tiring. I feel worse (less awake) in the morning on the occasions I have to take public transport and just sit there.

    lastly, i want to reduce my carbon footprint for the world.

    True but the -bike creates a decent footprint as well.

    If possible for you to borrow a normal bike, I would try to ride to work one way per day first, ride to work, come home via bus/train, next day bus to work and ride home. This will allow you to slowly transition and improve your fitness.

  • knobbs on 13/04/2021 - 14:30

    Any reason for going that listing over this one?
    https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/fortis-700c-36v-10ah-hybrid-com…

    • Nerolex on 13/04/2021 - 14:48

      only reason is looks. :)

      but in all seriousness, have a friend that purchased a VALK mountain bike and wanted to see if any experience with this VALK road bike.

  • Euphemistic on 15/04/2021 - 06:24

    Without actual experience of this bike, I can see from the specs that it is a very cheap bike with electric assist. A very cheap road bike with bottom of the range gears and rubbish brakes. It will be hard work getting it past 25km/h due to weight etc.

    You’d be better served with a flat bar road bike, there will be no advantage with drop bars. Flat bar allows you to sit up and see traffic etc while the aerodynamic advantage of a drop bar bike won’t make any difference under 25km/h.

  • Nosboy666 on 02/08/2021 - 12:31

    I have one of these rt5 valks and the wife has a valk mtb I went in to the settings and changed them and now the rt5 easily does 35 kph with little effort and easily did 25kph before that, people saying it will struggle to do 25 are wrong.. I frequently do 40 km long rides towing my 3 year old son in his trailer and still have 50 percent battery afterwards doing at least 30 kph most of the time but getting down to about 26 when battery is down to 50 percent. It's a great bike and is what e bikes should cost instead of getting ripped off. I converted mine to a cross handlebar for about 150 bucks. Hope this helps.

  • PingProblems on 07/01/2022 - 12:45

    I have the VALK RT5. Does anyone know how to speed unlock it?

    • Meho2026 on 07/01/2022 - 21:23

      Ive got the Mx7 with the S830 controller. Just google speed hack and your controller model number. On my bike it seemed to muck up when the pedal assist kicked in so I reset it. I know someone else with the same bike who didnt have a problem. The only thing is, because the Valk bikes are a bit shit with crappy brakes etc, it doesnt feel safe riding it a hacked max speed.

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