Captain Slow
Well-Known Member
San Diego is my favourite city in the US. Love it there.
2020 Civante Review, Initial 100 mile Impressions
- Thread starter Saratoga Dave
- Start date
Oski1997
Active Member
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- USA
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- San Diego
Nice!
Hey Oski, the crankset on the Civante is a SAMCX not a Tiagra. I went to the SAM website and cannot find any info on the crank. My bet is that a Shimano 105 crankset is going to be much lighter. You can still find 10 spd 105 double cranks for a little over $100. I emailed Yamaha to see if you can change the crank to a non square taper such as the 105. I would then change the cassette to a 10 spd 105 or Ultegra and upgrade to a 105 spd rear derailleur if they are compatible with the Tiagra Brifters which will eventually be replaced with 105 if I can. 105 really shifts smoother than Tiagra. My son has Tiagra Brifters and I find them to be not as crisp feeling as 105 shifts. Hopefully Yamaha will get back with me.
It is a beautiful day here today. I wish I had my Civante as I would go for a long ride. I guess I will have to take my current roadie for a spin.
It is a beautiful day here today. I wish I had my Civante as I would go for a long ride. I guess I will have to take my current roadie for a spin.
Captain Slow
Well-Known Member
SAMCX? I've never heard of that brand before.
I like the old 10 speed system, but it's getting hard to find replacement parts for 10 speed.
I like the old 10 speed system, but it's getting hard to find replacement parts for 10 speed.
I don't have my Civante yet, it is coming in 2 weeks but the pictures on the Yamaha web site of the bike shows a SAMCX or maybe it is SAMOX. It was hard to tell from the pictures. But the website log for SAMOX looks like SAMCX
Cranks - Samox
samox.com
Oski1997
Active Member
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- USA
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- San Diego
Yeah, I think the crankset is proprietary??? Or it uses a specific shape for the motor. But I am interested in upgrading to 105s so keep me posted. Also, I’ve read that the Ultegra front derailleurs are compatible with the Tiagra group set. I’m looking into this. I was having a hard time shifting my front derailleurs but I’m getting the hang of it. I’m new to cycling so I think the front derailleurs just requires a little more finesse than the rear
Captain Slow
Well-Known Member
The cranksets are interesting. I just looked up the Giant bikes that use the Yamaha motor and they appear to be custom and not standard Shimano/SRAM or other major brand. I wonder if you can use an off the shelf crank with the Yamaha motors.
Oski please update us here if you do change your crank.
Oski please update us here if you do change your crank.
Oski1997
Active Member
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- USA
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- San Diego
Since the Yamaha/Giant cranksets seem to be a motor-specific propriety part, I’m not eager to upgrade it. I don’t think off the shelf Shimano/SRAMS were made for powerful ebikes. Especially not for our 28mph/70+ nm of torque Yamaha bikes. With time, I’m sure others will try it. I’ll let them be the guinea pigs lol haha
The square taper crank on our bikes is really several decades old technology. The spindle self is integral to the motor, it looks to have motor gear specific interface. It’s unlikely that you can use anything but another square taper crank arm and even then it probably has to be ebike specific since the drive side crank has no gears.
jabberwocky
Well-Known Member
I’ve removed the cranks from my Giant Revolt (Giants version of the pwx2 I think) and it was definitely not square taper. It was a splined interface of some sort; I’d say it actually looked like the old isis interface.
jabberwocky
Well-Known Member
Also, I don't think theres anything special about the cranks on yamaha ebikes. They aren't driven by the motor so aren't under any forces they aren't under on a normal bike. Do note that the spindle/BB is integral to the motor, so all you change is the arms; I'd guess you can save some weight there but probably not as much as you think.
I do have an old set of raceface isis crankarms in my parts bin somewhere, next time I have reason to pull the arms I'll dig them out and see if they are a match. Note that the chainring spider is attached to the motor, not the cranks (with a lockring of some sort) so if you're buying crank arms you basically need two non-drive side arms (since normal cranks have a chainring spider on the drive side).
I do have an old set of raceface isis crankarms in my parts bin somewhere, next time I have reason to pull the arms I'll dig them out and see if they are a match. Note that the chainring spider is attached to the motor, not the cranks (with a lockring of some sort) so if you're buying crank arms you basically need two non-drive side arms (since normal cranks have a chainring spider on the drive side).
Oski1997
Active Member
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- USA
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- San Diego
Wow, you’re a wealth of information jabberwocky... THANK YOU. Do you know if this power meter would work?
Left-Side PRECISION Powermeter - Ride Ready
The 4iiii PRECISION Powermeter delivers a proven-accurate powermeter in a low-profile lightweight pod for a pack-leading price. Supports ANT+ and BLE. Rugged: IPX7 waterproof, with 3 year warranty. A ride-ready powermeter preinstalled on a Shimano crank will revolutionize your cycling as soon as...
jabberwocky
Well-Known Member
No, thats for the Shimano hollowtech cranks (which have the spindle permanently bonded to the arm on the driveside and the non drive has a shallow spline/pinch bolt interface). The Yamaha is a tapered spline of some sort on both sides.Wow, you’re a wealth of information jabberwocky... THANK YOU. Do you know if this power meter would work?
Left-Side PRECISION Powermeter - Ride Ready
The 4iiii PRECISION Powermeter delivers a proven-accurate powermeter in a low-profile lightweight pod for a pack-leading price. Supports ANT+ and BLE. Rugged: IPX7 waterproof, with 3 year warranty. A ride-ready powermeter preinstalled on a Shimano crank will revolutionize your cycling as soon as...shop.4iiii.com
Not sure if anyone makes a crank power meter that would be compatible with yamaha ebikes. You could always do a pedal based power meter.
Oski1997
Active Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- San Diego
Ah ok. I’m new to cycling so I appreciate your insights... THANKS
jabberwocky
Well-Known Member
No prob! Power meters are usually used by people doing focused training because its the most reliable gauge of relative effort. Probably not the sort of thing most people on ebikes are doing, so not sure theres much market for power meters that work with ebikes. If you do want reliable power data, I'd look at a pedal based sensor (Garmin has some new ones coming out, in road cleat and mtb spd form). Expect to pay big money; accurate power meters are expensive. Like, an appreciable fraction of a thousand dollars.
Hi,
This might work
Shimano STEPS FC-E5010 eBike Crank Arm Set - 165mm, Square Taper JIS Spindle Interface, Black
The Shimano STEPS FC-E5010 eBike crank arm set is designed for use with the Shimano E5000 series drive unit. It provides normalization and unification of the chainline. <ul> <li>It features a 3-piece construction with a square taper bottom bracket axle serration</li> <li>Q-factor...
www.modernbike.com
Asher
Well-Known Member
If someone is looking for a large new Civante, from an East Coast dealer, PM me. I requested a test drive and they ordered a bike for me, but I think I'm going to hold off on buying an ebike for now. I doubt they'll have trouble selling it. The bike has not even been assembled yet.
