EmotionLynx6Pro
Member
I bought a R1U 700 in March of 2020, which got delivered in June 2020. Overall, its a good bike but I feel like I don't do any work at all when pedaling. I also wanted a second ebike, so that I could leave one at my place in FL, and decided to get a bike with a torque sensor. I also purchased a BH Emotion Atom Lynx 6 mountain bike from Crazy Eddie's which I received in May 2020. It is an excellent bike and sets the bar pretty high for the Chinese bikes. But a bike that nice also comes with a much higher price tag too! I want to make some comments on the Limited to help anyone considering it or the 700. I have about 140 miles on the Limited and over 500 miles on the 700 series bike and feel I've got enough experience with both to comment on them. I've got a few beefs with the Limited, so read on if it interests you.
The tires are the same Schwalbe Moto X 2.4” as the 700. However, on the 700 they measure 2.4” in width, but on the Limited they only measure 2.15” because they are mounted on a very narrow rim. They roll well and have the same flat protection, but they lose some of the visual heft that you get with the 700. Yes, the part number and size molded into the tire are exactly the same.
When I bought the Limited in late December 2020, the weight was listed as 51 pounds. They have since raised that weight to 53 pounds, but my bike was 54 pounds when I used a bathroom scale. I felt that this was pretty deceptive advertising, and it really irked me because I picked the Limited over another bike in part because it was lighter. I saw a video on Youtube by ebikeescape and he said his bike (first run) was 55 pounds 6 ounces. Wish I'd seen it before buying.
From the website description of the Limited - Powerful 1000w (peak) 750W (sustained) geared motor with 100nm torque . From the website description of the 700 - Powerful 800W (peak) 500W (sustained) geared motor with 56nm torque I think it is reasonable to conclude that the Limited has the stronger motor from those descriptions. But, having ridden both motors, I think the 700 motor feels noticeably stronger on acceleration. Additionally, when the Limited battery is partially discharged, it feels even slower. The 700 does not slow down as much when partially (half) discharged. Even the watt meter agrees with my thoughts – I've never seen 1000 watts on the meter of the Limited. The most I see is about 935 watts, and only rarely, and only with a full charge. Most of the time I see about 835 watts maximum. On the 700, with at least half charge, the watt meter will hit 999 watts whenever I hit the throttle. This was a big disappointment – I was really hoping that, with almost twice the torque, the Limited would feel noticeably stronger than the 700. Both bikes are set to 22 amps.
I think the 700 I have has a better made frame than the Limited. Most of the welds are smoothed over very well on the 700, but the welds on the Limited are pretty sloppy in many cases. There were also several nicks in the paint that looked like they were nicked, then painted over on the Limited.
That's most of my gripes with the bike. Now other, mostly positive comments.
The frame is a little bit smaller than the 700 XR. I'm 6' 0” with a 32' inseam and I have the seat post pretty high. It might go another inch or two higher. I have a Thudbuster LT that I use, but swap it between the two bikes (both 30.4 diameter), so its not a big deal to me. The Limited feels a little closer from seat to bars, probably in large part due to the shorter stem. I have a stem riser on both bikes since I want to sit upright when I ride. This is not a positive nor a negative – just mentioned in case it matters to anyone considering either bike.
The torque sensor may have gotten a bad rep from the first batch, but the one on my bike works very well. Its not as smooth as the one on my BH (which listed for 3x the price) with a Brose motor, but its fairly seamless and works the way I expected it to. Wanting a torque sensor was the #1 reason I bought this bike, so I'm happy with its performance. I can set it in level one and get assistance anywhere from 1 mph to 15+ mph. Level two and three do the same, just with more boost and higher speeds. Its easy to ride at any speed that I want, which I cannot say for the 700. The 700 (which I set for 9 levels) wants to go at a certain speed for each level and its hard to go any slower or faster than that speed. For instance, level 4 on the 700 may propel me at 15.5 mph on flat ground with a full battery (a little less as the battery drops) – if I want to go 16.5 mph it takes a LOT of work to go that extra mph. If I bump it to level 6, I will end up with 17.5 or 18 mph. Trying to match speeds with another rider is difficult on the 700; it is easy with the Limited. Plus for the Limited.
The Limited fork is decent to good for being a lower end fork with no damping. Real travel is probably two inches after the sag you get when you sit on the bike. Enough to remove a lot of road chatter. Bear in mind that my BH has a Rock Shox Yari, which has 6” of travel and costs $500-600 for the fork alone, so I'm spoiled. The RST on the Limited has a little stiction at times but usually moves freely. At 170 lbs, the fork needs about 95 psi to work properly. It has a small air chamber so it ramps up quickly compared to the Yari (160 mm travel with 55 psi). This is due to the smaller diameter stanchions (fork legs).
The gearing is pretty much spot on. Good range and you are not spinning like a wild man when doing 28+ mph. It also has a low enough gear to allow take off from a dead stop. Also, as an improvement on the 700 series, the chain line is just right.
It shifted well right out of the box. Yesterday I unscrewed the barrel adjuster near the handlebars one half twist to take a little slack out of the cable (new cables stretch ) and it shifts perfectly. Shimano is great stuff.
The brakes (or breaks, as some might write) are good to very good. A little wooden feeling at the lever, but they stop well while making minimal noise. They might become a little stronger as I get some more miles on them. I think the Shimano MT 200 brakes on the 700 feel a little better, but that might also be because I have over 500 miles on them and they are fully broken in.
The wheels – I don't know why they picked these rims. They are just way too narrow for a 2.4” tire. They are the kind of rim that should be on a 1.5” wide tire. However, the front wheel has a sealed bearing and they both were true out of the box and haven't developed any wobbles. There were no loose spokes. The nipple diameter is different than the 700 (which takes the blue Parks spoke tool).
Battery – Both are listed as 14 aH/48 volt. Perhaps its my imagination, but it seems that the Limited drops from peak voltage almost immediately. I charge both bikes until the light on the charger turns green, and they both claim 54.8 volts when topped out. The 700 holds 53-54 volts for a longer time than the Limited – I can go 6-10 miles and still be 53 volts on the 700. For instance, this afternoon I hopped on the Limited after having fully charged it yesterday and within 2 miles it was telling me that I was in the low 52 volt range.
Both bikes ride well and I can ride hands free for quite a bit of time on either one without it pulling to either side, including going through curves in the road.
On my 700 the controller limits the support to 25 mph or 40 kph. It will not allow me to raise the limit any higher. I traded some emails with support and they basically shrugged and said thats the way its designed (even though its listed as a 28 mph Class 3 bike). The Limited allows support to go to 31 mph and I've been able to get it there, but only with a pretty fresh battery. The throttle will assist to 28 (or maybe 31) mph if you are pedaling on the Limited.
The handlebars on the Limited are just a little bit narrow. What is bothersome about them is that with the rise to the bar, it leaves a limited amount of space to add things like a phone holder, lights, etc. The bar on the 700 is wider and a bit flatter and easier to add things. However, the 700 bar has almost no backsweep and is less comfortable on your wrists than the Limited. The grips on the Limited are superior to the 700 – ergo shape and rubber vs. the slippery vinyl grips on the 700. Ride on the beach in the summertime with no gloves and you will appreciate the rubber grips. Plus the rubber grips are clamp on, so they are easy to move/remove.
Thats all I can think of to comment on. I hope that all of these notes may help other buyers in the future.
Final note – I was very close to buying the Rize bike. For the same money (The Limited was $1699 in December, Rize is still $1699), I could have had a torque sensor bike with rack, fenders, lights and a 17 aH battery. I went for the R1U Limited because of the lighter weight (which was not accurate) and the stronger motor (which does not wow me). Perhaps the Rize bike stretches the truth on their specifications – I will not know since I don't have one in front of me to compare them. But, while mostly happy with the Limited (and the 700), I still wonder if I made the right choice on the Limited. Overall, I enjoy both bikes but I feel R1U over promises and under delivers. I like the other way around better.
The tires are the same Schwalbe Moto X 2.4” as the 700. However, on the 700 they measure 2.4” in width, but on the Limited they only measure 2.15” because they are mounted on a very narrow rim. They roll well and have the same flat protection, but they lose some of the visual heft that you get with the 700. Yes, the part number and size molded into the tire are exactly the same.
When I bought the Limited in late December 2020, the weight was listed as 51 pounds. They have since raised that weight to 53 pounds, but my bike was 54 pounds when I used a bathroom scale. I felt that this was pretty deceptive advertising, and it really irked me because I picked the Limited over another bike in part because it was lighter. I saw a video on Youtube by ebikeescape and he said his bike (first run) was 55 pounds 6 ounces. Wish I'd seen it before buying.
From the website description of the Limited - Powerful 1000w (peak) 750W (sustained) geared motor with 100nm torque . From the website description of the 700 - Powerful 800W (peak) 500W (sustained) geared motor with 56nm torque I think it is reasonable to conclude that the Limited has the stronger motor from those descriptions. But, having ridden both motors, I think the 700 motor feels noticeably stronger on acceleration. Additionally, when the Limited battery is partially discharged, it feels even slower. The 700 does not slow down as much when partially (half) discharged. Even the watt meter agrees with my thoughts – I've never seen 1000 watts on the meter of the Limited. The most I see is about 935 watts, and only rarely, and only with a full charge. Most of the time I see about 835 watts maximum. On the 700, with at least half charge, the watt meter will hit 999 watts whenever I hit the throttle. This was a big disappointment – I was really hoping that, with almost twice the torque, the Limited would feel noticeably stronger than the 700. Both bikes are set to 22 amps.
I think the 700 I have has a better made frame than the Limited. Most of the welds are smoothed over very well on the 700, but the welds on the Limited are pretty sloppy in many cases. There were also several nicks in the paint that looked like they were nicked, then painted over on the Limited.
That's most of my gripes with the bike. Now other, mostly positive comments.
The frame is a little bit smaller than the 700 XR. I'm 6' 0” with a 32' inseam and I have the seat post pretty high. It might go another inch or two higher. I have a Thudbuster LT that I use, but swap it between the two bikes (both 30.4 diameter), so its not a big deal to me. The Limited feels a little closer from seat to bars, probably in large part due to the shorter stem. I have a stem riser on both bikes since I want to sit upright when I ride. This is not a positive nor a negative – just mentioned in case it matters to anyone considering either bike.
The torque sensor may have gotten a bad rep from the first batch, but the one on my bike works very well. Its not as smooth as the one on my BH (which listed for 3x the price) with a Brose motor, but its fairly seamless and works the way I expected it to. Wanting a torque sensor was the #1 reason I bought this bike, so I'm happy with its performance. I can set it in level one and get assistance anywhere from 1 mph to 15+ mph. Level two and three do the same, just with more boost and higher speeds. Its easy to ride at any speed that I want, which I cannot say for the 700. The 700 (which I set for 9 levels) wants to go at a certain speed for each level and its hard to go any slower or faster than that speed. For instance, level 4 on the 700 may propel me at 15.5 mph on flat ground with a full battery (a little less as the battery drops) – if I want to go 16.5 mph it takes a LOT of work to go that extra mph. If I bump it to level 6, I will end up with 17.5 or 18 mph. Trying to match speeds with another rider is difficult on the 700; it is easy with the Limited. Plus for the Limited.
The Limited fork is decent to good for being a lower end fork with no damping. Real travel is probably two inches after the sag you get when you sit on the bike. Enough to remove a lot of road chatter. Bear in mind that my BH has a Rock Shox Yari, which has 6” of travel and costs $500-600 for the fork alone, so I'm spoiled. The RST on the Limited has a little stiction at times but usually moves freely. At 170 lbs, the fork needs about 95 psi to work properly. It has a small air chamber so it ramps up quickly compared to the Yari (160 mm travel with 55 psi). This is due to the smaller diameter stanchions (fork legs).
The gearing is pretty much spot on. Good range and you are not spinning like a wild man when doing 28+ mph. It also has a low enough gear to allow take off from a dead stop. Also, as an improvement on the 700 series, the chain line is just right.
It shifted well right out of the box. Yesterday I unscrewed the barrel adjuster near the handlebars one half twist to take a little slack out of the cable (new cables stretch ) and it shifts perfectly. Shimano is great stuff.
The brakes (or breaks, as some might write) are good to very good. A little wooden feeling at the lever, but they stop well while making minimal noise. They might become a little stronger as I get some more miles on them. I think the Shimano MT 200 brakes on the 700 feel a little better, but that might also be because I have over 500 miles on them and they are fully broken in.
The wheels – I don't know why they picked these rims. They are just way too narrow for a 2.4” tire. They are the kind of rim that should be on a 1.5” wide tire. However, the front wheel has a sealed bearing and they both were true out of the box and haven't developed any wobbles. There were no loose spokes. The nipple diameter is different than the 700 (which takes the blue Parks spoke tool).
Battery – Both are listed as 14 aH/48 volt. Perhaps its my imagination, but it seems that the Limited drops from peak voltage almost immediately. I charge both bikes until the light on the charger turns green, and they both claim 54.8 volts when topped out. The 700 holds 53-54 volts for a longer time than the Limited – I can go 6-10 miles and still be 53 volts on the 700. For instance, this afternoon I hopped on the Limited after having fully charged it yesterday and within 2 miles it was telling me that I was in the low 52 volt range.
Both bikes ride well and I can ride hands free for quite a bit of time on either one without it pulling to either side, including going through curves in the road.
On my 700 the controller limits the support to 25 mph or 40 kph. It will not allow me to raise the limit any higher. I traded some emails with support and they basically shrugged and said thats the way its designed (even though its listed as a 28 mph Class 3 bike). The Limited allows support to go to 31 mph and I've been able to get it there, but only with a pretty fresh battery. The throttle will assist to 28 (or maybe 31) mph if you are pedaling on the Limited.
The handlebars on the Limited are just a little bit narrow. What is bothersome about them is that with the rise to the bar, it leaves a limited amount of space to add things like a phone holder, lights, etc. The bar on the 700 is wider and a bit flatter and easier to add things. However, the 700 bar has almost no backsweep and is less comfortable on your wrists than the Limited. The grips on the Limited are superior to the 700 – ergo shape and rubber vs. the slippery vinyl grips on the 700. Ride on the beach in the summertime with no gloves and you will appreciate the rubber grips. Plus the rubber grips are clamp on, so they are easy to move/remove.
Thats all I can think of to comment on. I hope that all of these notes may help other buyers in the future.
Final note – I was very close to buying the Rize bike. For the same money (The Limited was $1699 in December, Rize is still $1699), I could have had a torque sensor bike with rack, fenders, lights and a 17 aH battery. I went for the R1U Limited because of the lighter weight (which was not accurate) and the stronger motor (which does not wow me). Perhaps the Rize bike stretches the truth on their specifications – I will not know since I don't have one in front of me to compare them. But, while mostly happy with the Limited (and the 700), I still wonder if I made the right choice on the Limited. Overall, I enjoy both bikes but I feel R1U over promises and under delivers. I like the other way around better.
