39,000 miles/62,000 kms in 37 countries with a Riese & Müller Supercharger

[steve mercier]

Very cool trip!

Does anyone know what this would cost if it weren't under warranty, to replace the motor? I'm trying to get a sense of e-bike costs per mile. $500-1,000? Presumably the vast majority of Bosch motor failures will be out of the two year warranty.

About a thousand dollars ..ballpark.

 

[steve mercier]

Yes, I had my rear rack broke while still in Europe. But it was probably my fault: I had about 30 pounds in each of my 2 Ortlieb panniers. This is more than the 20 kg maximum weight of the rear rack. in addition, the 2 Ortliieb panniers were not attached at both ends of the paniers but towards the center. It created an oscillating movement that ended up breaking the aluminum of the rack where it is fixed just behind the saddle. I got a new rack, changed the attachments of the paniers towards the end and reduced the weight. I now have 20 pounds in each of my 2 paniers. I could temporarily fixed the rear rack myself until I got a new rear rack. I don't have any issue anymore. I know that Riese und Muller introduced a new stronger rear rack in their 2020 Supercharger ebike.

That happened to me too. The fix was a new connector plate of steel instead of aluminium. They sent me a whole new rack and bungee so now I have free spare parts for my original RackTime setup.

 

[steve mercier]

Marci jo:
I left the batteries at the hotel as it is not possible to carry them on an airplane.

Steve Mercier:
No problem at all with the Nuvinci the entire journey.
The language is an issue as my journey takes me to very remote places most of the time.
The language issue has been a problem since I left Europe. The 3 languages I know are not spoken in the remote areas I have been too.
Ordering a tea in a small roadside cafe isn't a problem. India is actually not so bad as most educated Indians know at least a little bit of English. In Central Asia, Iran, Caucasus very few people know English.

Norm Harris:
Regarding Security, I haven't encountered any hostile behavior and haven't had anything stolen. People are often curious and happy to meet a foreigner. In Western China and Pakistan, I had the police escorting me sometimes.
Regarding safety, my main concern is the road traffic. There is not really any rules on the roads in these countries and anything goes. India was a challenge but although my Supercharger can ride to 45 km per hour, for security reasons, I usually don't ride faster than 30 km per hour and even less in cities.

Now that you have had such success with the Nuvinci I will strongly consider it on my next bike. Wow, and you are still using the original Gates carbon belt?. And are you planning to go to Australia also ? When will you end your journey?

 

[Ebiker01]

In Central Asia, Iran, Caucasus very few people know English.

Assuming you have phone reception in those remote places couldn't you use one of the many translation apps or maybe images/drawings for communicating your intent ?

With that medical issue going around in chi na , any changes to the route plans ?

 

[Asher]

Now that you have had such success with the Nuvinci I will strongly consider it on my next bike. Wow, and you are still using the original Gates carbon belt?. And are you planning to go to Australia also ? When will you end your journey?

Re Nuvinci, Priority Bicycles told me they switched from Nexus to Nuvinci because the latter offered superior durability/weatherproofing. I know some bikeshares like in Boston use them as well, presumably for that reason.

 

[Marcparis]

Steve Mercier:
Yes, I am still using the original carbon belt and it shows no sign of wear.
I have no date for the end of my journey.
I am considering Australia but there is no ferry between Asia and Australia and airlines companies do not carry the lithium batteries.
There is cargo ship offering passenger services, I will have to look into that.

Ebiker01:
No problem with the Coronavirus yet. I am getting informed every day about this issue.
I use those translation applications sometimes. They are good for simple sentences. They are known to create funny results when the sentences and vocabulary is too elaborate.

 

[AleksR]

Steve Mercier:
Yes, I am still using the original carbon belt and it shows no sign of wear.
I have no date for the end of my journey.
I am considering Australia but there is no ferry between Asia and Australia and airlines companies do not carry the lithium batteries.
There is cargo ship offering passenger services, I will have to look into that.

Ebiker01:
No problem with the Coronavirus yet. I am getting informed every day about this issue.
I use those translation applications sometimes. They are good for simple sentences. They are known to create funny results when the sentences and vocabulary is too elaborate.

Hi Marc, curious about your additional adventures. Where are you now?

 

[Marcparis]

Hi Marc, curious about your additional adventures. Where are you now?

I am currently in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I am waiting for the borders of Vietnam to reopen. I will then resume my ebike journey to South Vietnam first, then up the coast to North Vietnam and Laos.
Here are a few pictures of Cambodia:

Cambodia - An Ebike Journey

Touring the world on an electric bicycle. Pictures of Cambodia.

www.ebikejourney.com

Angkor temples, Cambodia - An Ebike Journey

Touring the world on an electric bicycle. Pictures of the Angkor temples.

www.ebikejourney.com

 

[steve mercier]

I am currently in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I am waiting for the borders of Vietnam to reopen. I will then resume my ebike journey to South Vietnam first, then up the coast to North Vietnam and Laos.
Here are a few pictures of Cambodia:

Cambodia - An Ebike Journey

Touring the world on an electric bicycle. Pictures of Cambodia.

www.ebikejourney.com

Angkor temples, Cambodia - An Ebike Journey

Touring the world on an electric bicycle. Pictures of the Angkor temples.

www.ebikejourney.com

Take care out there Marc. How many Kms have you done now? Have you had any cracks or breaks develop in your rack or rack connnecter plate?

 

[Marcparis]

Take care out there Marc. How many Kms have you done now? Have you had any cracks or breaks develop in your rack or rack connnecter plate?

48,000 kilometers/30,000 miles in 32 countries.
My rear rack broke. I could fix it with aluminum welding and adding a screw. This is probably not as strong as a new rack but ok for now.

 

[steve mercier]

48,000 kilometers/30,000 miles in 32 countries.
My rear rack broke. I could fix it with aluminum welding and adding a screw. This is probably not as strong as a new rack but ok for now.

Marc when your journey ends or even now you should write a book about your travels. I would certainly buy it. Even a flat tire repair would be a gripping moment to me when you are thousands of Kms from the Western world!.

 

[Scott Adams]

48,000 kilometers/30,000 miles in 32 countries.
My rear rack broke. I could fix it with aluminum welding and adding a screw. This is probably not as strong as a new rack but ok for now.

Your adventurous spirit and unstoppable nature are inspiring!

Not likely to be a solution for you, but the hollow tubes on some racks can be field repaired by inserting long shouldered bolts of the right diameter that have been covered in epoxy. A bit crude, but could keep things rolling in a pinch when an aluminum welder isn't available.

Thanks again for sharing your story.

 

[Squaxor]

Wow, Marc I’m greatly impressed with your journey so far. I can’t imagine how physically tough the ride is at times. My wife is from Nepal and the roads there are terrible, as are the drivers!

I can heavily recommend cycling in Japan - although you want to avoid mid summer.

I bought a 2020 superdelite HS with the 1125 battery capacity this week - an upgrade from the Tinker. I can’t wait to hit the road thanks to your inspiration.

Sorry the image is upside down! It is correct in Apple photos

 

[nate_lynch]

Really fascinating to follow your journey, Marc! Are you presently still on hold / are most of the borders closed where you are? How are you faring?

 

[Marcparis]

I am still on hold in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I plan to go to Vietnam when the country opens to tourism again. I am doing fine and spend my time visiting the surrounding area. The cambodian government has extended visas for tourists like me until the crisis is over.

Touring on an Electric Bicycle - An Ebike Journey

An ebike journey. Touring the world on an electric assisted bicycle. 39,000 miles/62,000 kilometers in 37 countries.

www.ebikejourney.com

 

[Squaxor]

Hi Mark - Here's a nice story set in Cambodia while you are chilling:

Along the Mekong: An Illustrated Travelogue (7 min read)
I really enjoyed this piece of visual storytelling which Anjali shared in this week's Storythings Show and Tell. World-renowned illustrator Christoph Niemann sketches his way through Vietnam and Cambodia and combines photos, water colour, inks and pencil. It looks gorgeous, it's playful in all the right places, and most importantly it tells a really good story of his journey.

 

[steve mercier]

I am still on hold in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I plan to go to Vietnam when the country opens to tourism again. I am doing fine and spend my time visiting the surrounding area. The cambodian government has extended visas for tourists like me until the crisis is over.

Touring on an Electric Bicycle - An Ebike Journey

An ebike journey. Touring the world on an electric assisted bicycle. 39,000 miles/62,000 kilometers in 37 countries.

www.ebikejourney.com

Marc it has been a long time since we heard from you. How and where are you?

 

[AleksR]

Marc it has been a long time since we heard from you. How and where are you?

Looks like he is in limbo:

Touring on an Electric Bicycle - An Ebike Journey

An ebike journey. Touring the world on an electric assisted bicycle. 39,000 miles/62,000 kilometers in 37 countries.

www.ebikejourney.com

 

[Alaskan]

Looks like he is in limbo:

Touring on an Electric Bicycle - An Ebike Journey

An ebike journey. Touring the world on an electric assisted bicycle. 39,000 miles/62,000 kilometers in 37 countries.

www.ebikejourney.com

I think we all have been in the past year...some of us more than others.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

This guy is amazing!
He is truly living life to the fullest. It is hard to comprehend what he has seen and witnessed during his journey in 32 different countries.

I found this interesting from his page:

My Navigation​

I use the application Oruxmaps on a Samsung tablet that is fixed on the handlebar. I create a KML route in Google Maps that I convert into a GPX file and upload it to the application. When I have internet, I download country maps in .maps format. The Oruxmaps application uses GPS to indicate the current location. It also displays the current elevation and remaining distance.