2021–2022 Riese & Müller Homage

[Mraverage]

Picked the bikes up from Kelly at Citrus Cycle. Took a quick test ride and now waiting for the ferry. The Nevo and Homage were a very tight fit on the Thule but it works okay

Love the power of the Gen 4 motor - noticeable difference
Glad I ordered the comfort bars. I am an old geezer and the upright riding position suits my back and neck

The X5 is new too so we are doing our bit to support the German economy.....

I’ll post more feedback after a few more rides

I have the Homage and Thule Easyfold 932 and I load it exactly as per your photo (the only way it will fit on in fact), but it has concerned me each time I use it because the grip is weak, due to the height of the rail that holds the bike holder arm being about 80mm below the lowest position that you can clamp the bike at on the seat stem, does anyone else find this a concern? I have been considering upgrading to the Easyfold 934 carrier, where the rail carrying the arm is almsot 100mm taller. With a taller rail, the jaws of the holding arm will meet the frame more squarely, meaning the jaw will get a much fuller grip on the frame (at all four edges of the clam grip), instead of just two edges due to the angle of approach, if you get my drift? If you look at my photo you will see that the jaw is about 5mm away from the frame when fully tightened, the same is true for the opposing bottom jaw, not good.

 

[mikesh]

I have the Homage and Thule Easyfold 931 and I load it exactly as per your photo (the only way it will fit on in fact), but it has concerned me each time I use it because the grip is weak, due to the height of the rail that holds the bike holder arm being about 80mm below the lowest position that you can clamp the bike at on the seat stem, does anyone else find this a concern? I have been considering upgrading to the Easyfold 934 carrier, where the rail carrying the arm is almsot 100mm taller. With a taller rail, the jaws of the holding arm will meet the frame more squarely, meaning the jaw will get a much fuller grip on the frame (at all four edges of the clam grip), instead of just two edges due to the angle of approach, if you get my drift? If you look at my photo you will see that the jaw is about 5mm away from the frame when fully tightened, the same is true for the opposing bottom jaw, not good.

I have the Thule XT2 Easyfold 933 and my Homage and Focus Thron2 only work for me if they are placed on the outer track. Both bikes at the same time is not an option. With the growth of ebikes, this style of rack would work better if the height of the rail was adjustable (Thule please note.). My previous Nevo did not fit as well the Homage.

 

[Mraverage]

I have the Thule XT2 Easyfold 933 and my Homage and Focus Thron2 only work for me if they are placed on the outer track. Both bikes at the same time is not an option. With the growth of ebikes, this style of rack would work better if the height of the rail was adjustable (Thule please note.). My previous Nevo did not fit as well the Homage.

The easyfold 932 is only about 20” from the aluminium (top surface) deck to the top of the frame, is the 933 any higher? The other thing I note is that the rail or bar on the 934 which is at least 24” tall and looks like it would be interchangeable with the 931 or 933 rail, isn’t in Thule’s spares catalog, grrr!

 

[Mraverage]

The easyfold 932 is only about 20” from the aluminium (top surface) deck to the top of the frame, is the 933 any higher? The other thing I note is that the rail or bar on the 934 which is at least 24” tall and looks like it would be interchangeable with the 931 or 933 rail, isn’t in Thule’s spares catalog, grrr!

To test the difference in the height of the 932 (not 931 as I thought I had) - I went and borrowed a 934 (XT3) and whilst its a much more cumbersome carrier, it accommodates the homage much better than the two bike carrier. Rather frustratingly, the back carrier rail looks identical and therefore interchangeable on both racks, very annoying that you cannot buy it, at least according to my local dealer, grrr! Note the grab bars sit dead level and the jaws grip at the perfect angle on the seat stem. Not sure how much over my towbar nose weight limit it will push the total weight being carried, but it’s only another 6KG in total I guess.

 

[mikesh]

The easyfold 932 is only about 20” from the aluminium (top surface) deck to the top of the frame, is the 933 any higher? The other thing I note is that the rail or bar on the 934 which is at least 24” tall and looks like it would be interchangeable with the 931 or 933 rail, isn’t in Thule’s spares catalog, grrr!

Seems to be the same. My 933 is 20.7".

Photo shows the bike on the outer track, the arm from the bar slightly angled upwards and the clamp horizontal but making good contact with the downtube.

Prior to the Homage arriving, I had pondered whether it was possible to make a bolt-on extension rail. But it is not needed as I do not use the rack with both my Homage and Focus Thron2 on at the same time.

 

[Mraverage]

Seems to be the same. My 933 is 20.7".

Photo shows the bike on the outer track, the arm from the bar slightly angled upwards and the clamp horizontal but making good contact with the downtube.

Prior to the Homage arriving, I had pondered whether it was possible to make a bolt-on extension rail. But it is not needed as I do not use the rack with both my Homage and Focus Thron2 on at the same time.

View attachment 93494

I can see that your grab arm doesn’t seem to look as angled as mine does in the same place with the 932 and the Homage on the outer track, how odd. No matter how I try I cannot get both edges of the jaw to clamp to the seat stem at all, only opposing upper and lower jaws (one each side, very iffy) due to the steeper angle I am seeing. And yet, from aluminium base to top of rear rail is 20.5” exactly, or 17.5” from the top of the black mount it is secured through. We shouldn’t need to resort to homemade mods, Thule should simply sell the alternative rails separately. It’s a bit like the way R&M won’t supply bolts and spacers so you can use the drinking bottles in their intended loc without a rack fitted. You might be able to make out that I have the bottle mounts fitted (both sides) without a rack, quite successfully, just bought longer bolts on eBay And used the RM supplied spacers. I can see from your photo that you appear to have the grab bar up on the flat of the rail and the clamp as low as possible on the stem, but I don’t think I can get my wife’s bike in the inner track quite like that. I’m going to have another look at mine tomorrow to make absolutely sure. Thanks all

 

[Mraverage]

Seems to be the same. My 933 is 20.7".

Photo shows the bike on the outer track, the arm from the bar slightly angled upwards and the clamp horizontal but making good contact with the downtube.

Prior to the Homage arriving, I had pondered whether it was possible to make a bolt-on extension rail. But it is not needed as I do not use the rack with both my Homage and Focus Thron2 on at the same time.

View attachment 93494

I tried again to be sure today and I'm definitely not able to get a happy position on the 2-bike carrier I have (Thule 932), the back rail is just too short, making the angle too great for the jaws. My Homage has a 54cm frame so that could be an additional factor here. My front wheel is only just on the carrier deck, which isn't ideal either. I'll have one last go at Thule on Monday before I buy a 934 rack, to see if they will supply the XT3/934 back rail separately, but don't hold out much hope. Will let you know the outcome, thanks again all of you

 

[Mraverage]

I tried again to be sure today and I'm definitely not able to get a happy position on the 2-bike carrier I have (Thule 932), the back rail is just too short, making the angle too great for the jaws. My Homage has a 54cm frame so that could be an additional factor here. My front wheel is only just on the carrier deck, which isn't ideal either. I'll have one last go at Thule on Monday before I buy a 934 rack, to see if they will supply the XT3/934 back rail separately, but don't hold out much hope. Will let you know the outcome, thanks again all of you

I have checked with Thule via their support ticket system and received their official response this morning - “I am sorry, but we do not supply that part separately“. This is short sighted by Thule and will result in people doing their own mods in my opinion, like getting their local engineering firm to fabricate a new one. The lack of adjustment in the rail height will lead to some people being forced to use the carrier with a poor grip on their bicycle frame. If Thule make the unboltable rail in two different sizes, why not make them available separately.

 

[Mraverage]

I have checked with Thule via their support ticket system and received their official response this morning - “I am sorry, but we do not supply that part separately“. This is short sighted by Thule and will result in people doing their own mods in my opinion, like getting their local engineering firm to fabricate a new one. The lack of adjustment in the rail height will lead to some people being forced to use the carrier with a poor grip on their bicycle frame. If Thule make the unboltable rail in two different sizes, why not make them available separately.

I have now had several conversations via email with Thule support, all sorts of excuses about not supplying structural parts of their carriers that could be misused. I suggested that they could supply it as a dealer only upgrade, but all that followed were more excuses, common sense just doesn’t exist anymore it seems, just the company mantra.

 

[smitty]

thinking pretty seriously of purchasing a new 2021 Homage in 54 frame at 6" tall. Have never ridden with a Rohloff shifting and from what I have garnered is that it takes a bit ti figure out how the shifting works, since I have used derailleurs all of my life. It sounds like that is doable if you let up when shifting?

 

[mikesh]

thinking pretty seriously of purchasing a new 2021 Homage in 54 frame at 6" tall. Have never ridden with a Rohloff shifting and from what I have garnered is that it takes a bit ti figure out how the shifting works, since I have used derailleurs all of my life. It sounds like that is doable if you let up when shifting?

I have ridden 1000km on my 2021 Homage Rohloff. Easing off the pedals when shifting is straightforward and soon becomes something that you do not think about. The Kiox shows a quick screen of the new gear selected. Changing two or three gears at a time is just as easy as changing one gear.

 

[Mraverage]

thinking pretty seriously of purchasing a new 2021 Homage in 54 frame at 6" tall. Have never ridden with a Rohloff shifting and from what I have garnered is that it takes a bit ti figure out how the shifting works, since I have used derailleurs all of my life. It sounds like that is doable if you let up when shifting?

I am 6ft and have a 54cm 2021 Homage with Rohloff. Firstly, in my experience it’s a great bike, but it’s not an easy bike to mount safely on a tow bar carrier, so keep that in mind if collecting it from your supplier by car. As already said, after a few hundred miles changing gear suddenly becomes second nature. Just like any bike, you can get caught-out in the wrong gear at the foot of a sudden slope, but unlike most bikes you can change to whatever gear you want if you have to stop. It’s quite a different riding experience to a derailleur, you have to try it extensively I think to see if it suits, and you probably won’t be able to try enough until you buy it. I bought the bike for its spine saving comfort and the Rohloff for it’s low maintenance. If you are intending to have a dropper post on your bike, make sure you try one with a dropper post before you buy, or make sure there’s enough seat post sticking out of the seat stem to accommodate your choice of dropper. At 6ft you should have about 5 inches of stem protruding from the frame, if your legs are about the same as mine, but of course we all vary. 5ft 11 inches tall is probably the minimum height any rider of your bike can be once a dropper is fitted (with dropper at full height) and I definitely do recommend a dropper.

 

[smitty]

go to

 

[smitty]

I have now had several conversations via email with Thule support, all sorts of excuses about not supplying structural parts of their carriers that could be misused. I suggested that they could supply it as a dealer only upgrade, but all that followed were more excuses, common sense just doesn’t exist anymore it seems, just the company mantra.

try

I am 6ft and have a 54cm 2021 Homage with Rohloff. Firstly, in my experience it’s a great bike, but it’s not an easy bike to mount safely on a tow bar carrier, so keep that in mind if collecting it from your supplier by car. As already said, after a few hundred miles changing gear suddenly becomes second nature. Just like any bike, you can get caught-out in the wrong gear at the foot of a sudden slope, but unlike most bikes you can change to whatever gear you want if you have to stop. It’s quite a different riding experience to a derailleur, you have to try it extensively I think to see if it suits, and you probably won’t be able to try enough until you buy it. I bought the bike for its spine saving comfort and the Rohloff for it’s low maintenance. If you are intending to have a dropper post on your bike, make sure you try one with a dropper post before you buy, or make sure there’s enough seat post sticking out of the seat stem to accommodate your choice of dropper. At 6ft you should have about 5 inches of stem protruding from the frame, if your legs are about the same as mine, but of course we all vary. 5ft 11 inches tall is probably the minimum height any rider of your bike can be once a dropper is fitted (with dropper at full height) and I definitely do recommend a dropper.

1up-usa.com will show you great rack, far better than Thule and their engineering is excellent

 

[Deleted member 18083]

A few additions…

​

• Basil trunk bag with MIK system attachment
• Peak Designs Camera Cube bag on front rack; temporary but who knows for how long
• Fidlock water bottle on down tube
• Quad Lock phone mount (iPhone removed to take the photo)
• USB–Lightning cable to Comsol 10,000 mAh power bank in front bag
• Mirrycle mirror
• Shimano GR500 platform pedals
• Schwalbe Johnny Watts 65 mm tyres with Panaracer Flataway liners + Tannus Armour inserts

The Homage actually looks blue bluish in this photo!

 

[Jay Kay]

I’d recommend considering shorter crank arms too - 160mm is possibly the sweet spot for many riders improving cadence and gaining more pedal clearance.

 

[PeterK]

I haven’t contributed for a while. It’s been a busy summer on my motorcycle rather than the Homage although I have managed to get almost 1000 kms on the bike.

I am really enjoying the Homage. It’s an overall excellent bike with very few shortcomings. The only issue for me is the weight and size of the bike particularly when it comes to transporting it and my wife’s Nuvo 3 on our Thule XT rack.

As others have said it’s a real chore to load two big bikes on the rack. In our case the bikes just fit in one specific position. The arms of the Thule aren’t quite at the right angle but they do work and lock successfully.

We had planned to transport the bikes down to California this November for the winter ( if the Border is open.....) but have decided against it. It’s a two and a half day 1500 mile trip.and I just don’t feel confident enough on the rack set up and the chore of unloading and reloading the bikes at the overnight stops. We could leave the bikes on the rack overnight (sans battery and Nyon) but I recently heard of an incident where e bikes, the rack and the car where damaged in an attempted theft.

We decided to buy bikes in California and I thought we would get an early start by ordering them now for November deliver. Turns out I was way too optimistic and, as many have discovered, there’s almost nothing available. We didn’t want to spend as much as we did on the R&M bikes ( not that any where available) and we’re looking for reasona priced mid drive step through bikes preferably with suspension and fat tires.

We liked the specs of the Caonondale Adventure Neo bikes and started looking for either the Neo 1 or 2. in a large and small size. Two days and many phone calls and voicemails later (several of which were never responded to) we learned that all the 2021’s were long gone and the provisional delivery date for a new Neo 1 or 2 is August 2022

We finally found some Neo 3’s at REI and hastily purchased them. The are a bit under specced ( Bosch Active line motors. 400 wh batteries and so so Shimano components) but a lot better than not having a bike available for the winter. I suspect we can fairly easily trade them in or sell them next year if we find they are not meeting our needs.

 

[Alaskan]

I haven’t contributed for a while. It’s been a busy summer on my motorcycle rather than the Homage although I have managed to get almost 1000 kms on the bike.

I am really enjoying the Homage. It’s an overall excellent bike with very few shortcomings. The only issue for me is the weight and size of the bike particularly when it comes to transporting it and my wife’s Nuvo 3 on our Thule XT rack.

As others have said it’s a real chore to load two big bikes on the rack. In our case the bikes just fit in one specific position. The arms of the Thule aren’t quite at the right angle but they do work and lock successfully.

We had planned to transport the bikes down to California this November for the winter ( if the Border is open.....) but have decided against it. It’s a two and a half day 1500 mile trip.and I just don’t feel confident enough on the rack set up and the chore of unloading and reloading the bikes at the overnight stops. We could leave the bikes on the rack overnight (sans battery and Nyon) but I recently heard of an incident where e bikes, the rack and the car where damaged in an attempted theft.

We decided to buy bikes in California and I thought we would get an early start by ordering them now for November deliver. Turns out I was way too optimistic and, as many have discovered, there’s almost nothing available. We didn’t want to spend as much as we did on the R&M bikes ( not that any where available) and we’re looking for reasona priced mid drive step through bikes preferably with suspension and fat tires.

We liked the specs of the Caonondale Adventure Neo bikes and started looking for either the Neo 1 or 2. in a large and small size. Two days and many phone calls and voicemails later (several of which were never responded to) we learned that all the 2021’s were long gone and the provisional delivery date for a new Neo 1 or 2 is August 2022

We finally found some Neo 3’s at REI and hastily purchased them. The are a bit under specced ( Bosch Active line motors. 400 wh batteries and so so Shimano components) but a lot better than not having a bike available for the winter. I suspect we can fairly easily trade them in or sell them next year if we find they are not meeting our needs.

FYI, Nancy and I live in Bellingham and have made two winter trips to San Diego and back hauling our Homage and Delight Mountain down the coast on a Thule Easyfold. Your experience matches mine to the extent that there is indeed just one position/arrangemene of the bikes that is sufficiently secure to safely transport those bikes on that rack.

I am 70 years old and frankly had no problem loading and unloading the bikes lifting them into place and not using the ramp. I removed the batteries, saddle and seatpost, lock and display, covering the display with saran press-n-seal, covering the battery terminals on the bike with the Bosch rubber plugs that came with the bike and plugging the downtube with the proper size plug purchased at a hardware store. I always either got first floor accommodations so I could bring the bikes into our room or was able to bring the bikes in to a looked room for overnight storage at our lodgings.

Having the bikes we know and love with us for that trip made it that much better. Here is a link to a video we did at the beginning of 2020, just before covid with Fly Rides in LA

 

[PeterK]

Good for you Alaskan I am a few years older than you and although I haven’t had the health challenges that you have (I hope you are still on the mend ) I do struggle with loading and unloading the bikes. My ailments are relatively minor including arthritic hands and knees and a a ongoing lumbar disc issue. I have done the Vancouver to Palm Desert trip a total of 26 times and have learned to dislike it and the thought of wrestling with the bikes a total of six times in three days is very unappealing.

For about a week after one of these trips I am hell bent on buying a car and leaving it in the desert. After a few days of scanning used car ads reality sinks in with the challenges of crating and flying a very timid dog as well as getting all the gear we take from one house to the other as airline baggage.

Hopefully The Neo 3’s will meet our needs but as I said with the state of the used ebike market we are probably not going to loose a ton of money if we decide to sell or trade them in. They cost less than half the R&M’s

 

[Mraverage]

FYI, Nancy and I live in Bellingham and have made two winter trips to San Diego and back hauling our Homage and Delight Mountain down the coast on a Thule Easyfold. Your experience matches mine to the extent that there is indeed just one position/arrangemene of the bikes that is sufficiently secure to safely transport those bikes on that rack.

I am 70 years old and frankly had no problem loading and unloading the bikes lifting them into place and not using the ramp. I removed the batteries, saddle and seatpost, lock and display, covering the display with saran press-n-seal, covering the battery terminals on the bike with the Bosch rubber plugs that came with the bike and plugging the downtube with the proper size plug purchased at a hardware store. I always either got first floor accommodations so I could bring the bikes into our room or was able to bring the bikes in to a looked room for overnight storage at our lodgings.

Having the bikes we know and love with us for that trip made it that much better. Here is a link to a video we did at the beginning of 2020, just before covid with Fly Rides in LA

View attachment 95188

The video is very professional and inspirational, great part of the world too I’d say. Assuming the two-bike version of the Thule rack is similar to the U.K. version (apart from the lights), the 2021 Homage must have quite different geometry to the one your wife has or something else is very different somehow, because I couldn’t mount my Homage on the front slot of my 932 easyfold, the clamp was nowhere near in the right place. I wonder how tall the bar that holds the clamping arm is from the deck of the rack, interesting different experiences. I am a bit younger than you and Peter, but I prefer to use the ramp, can’t risk another hernia, luckily my heart appears to be not too bad so once I’m on the bike I’m much better than I am on my feet, because they aren’t great at all. Many happy miles ahead to you and your good lady.