2021–2022 Riese & Müller Homage

[mikesh]

R&M Designer Sebastian Delauney …

New to me …

• How the down tube meets the head tube — the section where the front carrier bosses are located is part of the head tube and is at a different angle from the section carrying the batteries.
• Possible problems with location of Abus lock — especially when saddle is at lowest setting.
• 70 mm dropper post — appropriate for placing feet on road (mountain bikers prefer 125–150 mm drop).
• R&M's Culture (a gorgeous ebike!) has been discontinued — 'replaced' by the single-battery Homage.

Link to YouTube

Sport or Emtb mode?

With my 2019 Nevo GH Vario, I tried the Emtb mode and then had it switched to Sport mode. The reasoning was that my arthritic knee and hip are most comfortable with steady cadence and effort.

When I also bought a Focus Thron2 6.8 mtb (Bosch CX Gen 4), I kept the Emtb mode as it seems to make sense for the different type of riding and the lighter bike.

My dual battery Homage (Rohloff, Super Moto-X tyres, comfort package and dropper post) is presently on a ship to Australia. Any off-road use will be limited to easy tracks as part of bike touring.

When it arrives (early April?), should I opt for Sport mode on the Homage?

 

[bradl]

Idle musing, looking at those alternative mounting bosses for the Bordo, I wonder if someone could fabricate a spare battery carrier to mount at that location rather than lugging one in a pannier.

 

[Jay Kay]

With the Vario and eMTB mode I had to work quite hard when not on trails, so I had it switched back to Sport and it was more pleasurable. With the Rohloff (on my Mountain) eMTB seems to hit the sweet spot and I have no plans to change it to Sport. My gut feeling is stick to Sport for your Homage so the motor does the lifting and not your knee/hip. You get the best of eMTB off-road.

 

[webcurl]

Front bag …

It's odd that on the R&M (Australia) website the prices for the Front cargo options are as follows:
Charger3, SC2, Delite, Superdelite & Homage: No front carrier - +$0, Front carrier: +$159 & Front carrier with bag: +$269
But for the Multicharger - No front carrier: +$0, Cargo front carrier: +$79, Front carrier with bag: +$109

So for the Multicharger, A$79 for the rack & A$30 for the bag itself seems more than fair but for all the other bikes, A$159 for the rack (still not that bad) but an additional A$110 for the bag!?

 

[John W M]

R&M Designer Sebastian Delauney …

New to me …

• How the down tube meets the head tube — the section where the front carrier bosses are located is part of the head tube and is at a different angle from the section carrying the batteries.
• Possible problems with location of Abus lock — especially when saddle is at lowest setting.
• 70 mm dropper post — appropriate for placing feet on road (mountain bikers prefer 125–150 mm drop).
• R&M's Culture (a gorgeous ebike!) has been discontinued — 'replaced' by the single-battery Homage.

Link to YouTube

David, thanks for sharing this. Waiting on my bikes to be delivered in May. They are not letting the bag be ordered at this time for the front.

 

[John W M]

Front bag …
View attachment 79889

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I was told that you can not order your front carrier with a bag at this time. not sure when it will be available in the US

 

[Deleted member 18083]

I was told that you can not order your front carrier with a bag at this time. not sure when it will be available in the US.

John…
It seems that R&M are updating their website gradually. The front carrier with/without bag is now listed on the Australian site. US$ should be about two-thirds of the AU$ shown.

As far as I know, R&M does not permit changes to orders.
…David

 

[BMWzenRider]

Here is the how the front bag option appears on the USA website:
Looks like there are two waterproof compartments in addition to the roll-top main portion.

 

[Brian Charge]

With the Vario and eMTB mode I had to work quite hard when not on trails, so I had it switched back to Sport and it was more pleasurable. With the Rohloff (on my Mountain) eMTB seems to hit the sweet spot and I have no plans to change it to Sport. My gut feeling is stick to Sport for your Homage so the motor does the lifting and not your knee/hip. You get the best of eMTB off-road.

Thanks for this post Jay ..... others thoughts on this subject is just what i needed to know......my wife's Homage arrived at the dealer last Friday after being ordered last Sept (Vario, single battery, comfort pack, lowerable seat) from what you've said it confirms my thinking to have "Sport" rather than "eMTB" setup on her bike..... that said my Superdelite (Rohloff, GX) which came through late Oct i had setup with eMTB and this combination works well for me so far....the worst that can happen is that i have to ask the dealer to reflash....... thanks

 

[BMWzenRider]

Personally, I specifically went for the lower speed version of the Homage to get the CX motor and the eMTB mode.
I have ridden R&M model bikes with eMTB and Sport mode back-to-back, and my damaged knees really prefer the adaptive assistance of the eMTB functionality.

IMHO, if you have bad knees the eMTB mode really helps by boosting power when accelerating or climbing without needing to think about changing your assistance level constantly.

As always, YMMV.

 

[PeterK]

WooHoo!!

Despite the R&M website still showing that my bike is "due to be built between Feb 08 and Feb 12" it has arrived at Citrus Cycles and I pick it up, as well as my wife's Nevo, on Thursday.

It's been a long wait (ordered Sept 01) but we are really looking forward to getting the new bikes.

I will post my impressions after the first few rides.

 

[John W M]

WooHoo!!

Despite the R&M website still showing that my bike is "due to be built between Feb 08 and Feb 12" it has arrived at Citrus Cycles and I pick it up, as well as my wife's Nevo, on Thursday.

It's been a long wait (ordered Sept 01) but we are really looking forward to getting the new bikes.

I will post my impressions after the first few rides.

Congrats, Look forward to hearing how you like it. Gives me hope for my bikes to be built on time. End of April and early May are my build dates. They seem to be sending the bikes by air not boat. Nice to see they are trying to get them out.

 

[Brian Charge]

Congrats, Look forward to hearing how you like it. Gives me hope for my bikes to be built on time. End of April and early May are my build dates. They seem to be sending the bikes by air not boat. Nice to see they are trying to get them out.

I would like to join in saying congrats too! by chance my dealer in UK has just confirmed yesterday that my wife's Homage is ready for collection (ordered Sept 2020) ... it really is great that they are getting through the system and to all those still waiting patiently, I hope its not too much longer for you all to wait!!

 

[John W M]

some more info if you speak German, if not the pics are good

 

[PeterK]

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

 

[bradl]

Nice rides. Congrats and happy trails!

I have a white Homage and my wife is waiting for her (red) Nevo to get off a boat. Do those Basil panniers use the MIK attachment or do they velcro on?

 

[PeterK]

They use the MiK System
My wife had to change bags as the geometry of the Nevo (smallest size) is different from her old Gazelle and her existing bags interfered with pedal rotation It gave her an excuse to get new bags.....

One interesting tidbit is the the Fabric cage less water bottles don’t fit on the Homage. The attachment points (which I think are primarily designed for a front rack) are recessed and apparently the water bottle studs don’t fit.

No biggie - I got a single magnetic down tube bottle

 

[mikesh]

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 on 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

Relieved to see that the Homage fits on the Thule rack. My bike was built 5 February; hopefully it's on a ship that is making good progress towards Australia.

 

[bradl]

Thanks for confirming the panniers and also the water bottle situation. Having seen the bottles on the headtube on past models I was confused not to have them on my bike. Being fond of magnets, I'll look into those

 

[JVBulman]

On interesting tidbit is the the Fabric cage less water bottles don’t fit on the Homage. The attachment points (which I think are primarily designed for a front rack) are recessed and apparently the water bottle studs don’t fit.

That's a shame. Noticing now the hardware that mounts the Front Carrier in the configurator photo is also missing those nubs.