Civante Upgrades

[Greydog]

It has been a year since I bought my Civante and posted. I still like my Civante. I am curious what upgrades people have done. A year ago I posted that I upgraded the tires to Pirelli Cinturato Velo TLC 32c tires that I run with tubes, a Shimano 105 11-28t cassette and 105 chain along with a carbon fiber seat post. I also upgraded the stem to a lighter 60 degree stem and short reach and short drop handlebars. With a light weight seat I dropped about 2.5 pounds off the bike. The tires made the most difference as the bike feels more nimble and accelerates faster. I probably get a few more miles of range due to the less rolling resistance but I have not confirmed it. The bike will never feel like a 23 pound bike but the ride is so much better. My son occasionally rides the bike and he noticed the difference immediately. The Pirelli's are rated high for puncture resistance and so far no flats and they are wearing well.

The Shimano 105 cassette and chain does shift a little smoother for sure and I like the closer gear ratio's of the 11-28t cassette vs the stock Tiagra 11-32t. They fit my cadence comfort better. I ride mostly in the large front chain ring and occasionally the small.

 

[LarryLegless]

I upgraded the drive train to Shimano 11 speed 105. rear hub wore out and replaced wheels with Bontrager.
Made it almost to 12,500 miles but motor wore out. At Yamaha dealership getting motor replaced under warranty, shout out to Yamaha

 

[Drwhitenack]

I just hit the 2nd anniversary of my Civante purchase and have 7000 miles on the odometer. I’ve logged 139 charges on the battery. I’ve used it as a commuter and on a 700 + mile road and trail vacation from Harpers Ferry, WV to Auburn, Indiana. I added Planet Bike fenders, Axiom rack and panniers. Nothing has worn out yet. I do however keep a T30 star Allen wrench handy for regular tightening of the motor mounts. I still like the bike, but I’m wondering if I should plan to sell it at 10,000 miles and the end of the 3 year warranty. I’ve kept my non electric bike forever, but the eventual need for a battery and motor makes me think maybe it’s best to sell it while it still runs well. Any thoughts out there?

 

[Greydog]

I just hit the 2nd anniversary of my Civante purchase and have 7000 miles on the odometer. I’ve logged 139 charges on the battery. I’ve used it as a commuter and on a 700 + mile road and trail vacation from Harpers Ferry, WV to Auburn, Indiana. I added Planet Bike fenders, Axiom rack and panniers. Nothing has worn out yet. I do however keep a T30 star Allen wrench handy for regular tightening of the motor mounts. I still like the bike, but I’m wondering if I should plan to sell it at 10,000 miles and the end of the 3 year warranty. I’ve kept my non electric bike forever, but the eventual need for a battery and motor makes me think maybe it’s best to sell it while it still runs well. Any thoughts out there?

What is the cost of a new battery and motor? It has to be less than the cost of a new bike. At 7K miles you should get a new chain and cassette.

 

[LarryLegless]

my spare battery set me back $900 and a well worthwhile investment. I needed a second batter to complete a Century ride. I could get 65 miles from first battery running it conservative and go the remaining 35 miles at higher assist as I got tired. When I looked into price and availability of the motor it was about $950

Civante is a great bike and holds up strong.
I had a crash where me and the bike flipped over and only had to replace the front wheel, seat and some handlebar tape with no effect to the bike frame.
It was a few weeks later that I wore the motor out, stopped power assist, at 12,500 miles.
I would guess due to I really push it when riding, my average pace is at least 20 mph in group rides going 30 miles and up.
I got this bike because I wanted to keep up with the faster group rides and it was reasonable priced compared to Trek and Specialized

 

[Greydog]

I am 64 and got my bike so I could keep up with my 30 year old son on rides. We only go for 20-30 mile rides and we will cruise at 20-22mph. My foot goes numb if I ride any further which is a bummer.
If your bike is in good shape and you like it, replace the motor. I had a crash a year ago July. I clipped a steel pole doing 15mph due to being inattentive. I broke a brake lever. $150 to replace it. I also broke a few bones and had surgery.

 

[Neverlost99]

I upgraded the drive train to Shimano 11 speed 105. rear hub wore out and replaced wheels with Bontrager.
Made it almost to 12,500 miles but motor wore out. At Yamaha dealership getting motor replaced under warranty, shout out to Yamaha

Rare to hear of a Yamaha failure

 

[Asher]

Rare to hear if a failure

Larry did you get the motor replaced under warranty?

 

[Mike TowpathTraveler]

@Drwhitenack-7000 miles is just the warm up act for your Yamaha drive train. I've almost 19 thousand miles on my Haibike Full FatSix Yamaha PW drive system with no motor or battery or ancillary system failures. However, at 7000 miles, your chain is most likely stretched and in need of replacment & it's a fair bet that your front chain ring teeth are worn to the point of warranting replacement. Consider the chain and front chain ring as wear items to be monitored and replaced when needed. I say this through my own experience. Regards to carrying a star wrench for your motor mount bolts: Remove each motor mount bolt, one at a time and apply a few drops of BLUE LOCTITE on the bolt threads. Using a proper scaled torque wrench, torque the bolt to the noted torque found on the concave washer from which the motor bolt goes into. It's not much, I recall on my H-Bike that torque being 22 Nm.....(not foot pounds!) From that point on, you can then leave the star wrench back home.

@LarryLegless-When you state you "wore the motor out", what exactly were the signs of a failed motor? Good to know the Yamaha dealer has backed you up with a warranty claim.

 

[Japan8]

I went a little crazy on mine… swapped out the groupset for SRAM Rival AXS and converted to 1x. Changed the wheels out to DT SWISS HG 1800 spline with Pirelli Pzero SmarTube and Continental Contact Speed tires. Swapped handlebars to carbon fiber gravel bike bars with shorter 80mm carbon fiber stem for easier riding position and cut some vibration. Decided to go for broke and upgraded the seatpost to CF as well and reused my Fizik saddle from my old bike (although a Selle Italia or Brooks one do also have my attention). Running a set of MagPed pedals, replacing the Race Face Chesters I bought with the bike. The bike is MUCH faster now (average speed is up and coasting/freewheeling distance) and the shifting is flawless (electronic rocks!).

 

[Greydog]

I went a little crazy on mine… swapped out the groupset for SRAM Rival AXS and converted to 1x. Changed the wheels out to DT SWISS HG 1800 spline with Pirelli Pzero SmarTube and Continental Contact Speed tires. Swapped handlebars to carbon fiber gravel bike bars with shorter 80mm carbon fiber stem for easier riding position and cut some vibration. Decided to go for broke and upgraded the seatpost to CF as well and reused my Fizik saddle from my old bike (although a Selle Italia or Brooks one do also have my attention). Running a set of MagPed pedals, replacing the Race Face Chesters I bought with the bike. The bike is MUCH faster now (average speed is up and coasting/freewheeling distance) and the shifting is flawless (electronic rocks!).

Nice, I would love to ride your bike. Just upgrading the tires on my bike made a significant improvement in acceleration.

 

[Greydog]

I just bought a pair of titanium pedals that weight 170g for a pair off of Aliexpress (the stock pedals are about 175 grams a piece which is not that bad at all). I also bought a titanium seat post clamp and titanium stem bolts and computer bolts from Amazon. Got them in electric blue for fun. Titanium is about 1/2 the weight of steel. I had to buy a new carbon seat post (135 grams) because I noticed the bracket that clamps to the seat on my previous carbon seat post developed a crack. That led me to buy a good torque wrench so that I don't over tighten again. We will see how that titanium pedals hold up.

My next upgrade with be to replace the Pirelli Cinturato Velo TLR tires (which are fabulous by the way) for a pair of Specialized S-works Turbo T2/T5 tires which have less rolling resistance and weight but at the cost of puncture resistance, although they still have high puncture resistance but just not as much as the Pirelli's. The Pirelli's are awesome though and have the highest puncture resistance of any tire measured by-

Road Bike Tires Test Results | Bicycle Rolling Resistance

An overview of all road bike tires which have been reviewed after being tested on our rolling resistance testing machine.

www.bicyclerollingresistance.com

I wish I were able to use a pair of Continental 5000 GT tires like I have on my non-ebike. They are a true racing tire and are very fast and light with great grip. But they will not hold up to the weight and torque of an E-bike. The S-works tire will get me closer.

 

[Japan8]

Nice, I would love to ride your bike. Just upgrading the tires on my bike made a significant improvement in acceleration.

The tires and wheels will make the biggest difference. After that, things like the handlebars, steam and seatpost were more about comfort than performance. Groupset change is not for the faint of heart, but… I’m a 1x lover, so I couldn’t resist.

 

[Asher]

I wish I were able to use a pair of Continental 5000 GT tires like I have on my non-ebike. They are a true racing tire and are very fast and light with great grip. But they will not hold up to the weight and torque of an E-bike. The S-works tire will get me closer.

Why do you think the Contis are not durable enough but the S works are?

The Civante is ~20-25 lbs heavier than a pro peloton bike, it's insignificant. Torque is an issue for the drivetrain, not really the tires. And the cycling pros put out lots of torque too


I'd also be very wary of buying mystery parts off Alibaba if the part failure would mean instant crash. Like handlebar, stem, seatpost...

 

[Greydog]

Why do you think the Contis are not durable enough but the S works are?

The Civante is ~20-25 lbs heavier than a pro peloton bike, it's insignificant. Torque is an issue for the drivetrain, not really the tires. And the cycling pros put out lots of torque too


I'd also be very wary of buying mystery parts off Alibaba if the part failure would mean instant crash. Like handlebar, stem, seatpost...

E-bike tires are much more robust to be able to handle the weight. I am making an assumption that the S-works tires will hold up. They have very high puncture resistance and are heavier. I don't think that a 220 gram tire like the 5000's will hold up and they will be prone to blowout and flats which is a pain in the you know what. They were definitely not made for a 44lb bike. I have also talked to mechanics at a few local bike shops and they agree.

I have bought quite a bit from Aliexpress and I am aware of the cheap Chinese gear. Even buying from Amazon is a risk with all the Chinese gear.

If I think that the gear that I bought on Aliexpress is dangerous, then I won't use it and I will return it or just take it as a loss. Gear is so cheap there.

 

[Greydog]

The tires and wheels will make the biggest difference. After that, things like the handlebars, steam and seatpost were more about comfort than performance. Groupset change is not for the faint of heart, but… I’m a 1x lover, so I couldn’t resist.

I find it very interesting that you changed out the group set. I find that the 10 spd Tiagra shifts flawlessly. I thought about upgrading to 105 or Ultegra 11 spd but it will be too much of a pain. I upgraded my cassette to a 105 with narrower spacing. It is also much lighter than the stock cassette. I also upgraded the chain to either an Ultegra or 105. It made a difference in shifting and it is lighter than the KMC chain. I just hope both the cassette and chain hold up to the torque.

Did you have any problems with upgrading the wheels? Are they much lighter than the stock wheels? I see that those DT Swiss are Ebike wheels.

 

[Japan8]

I find it very interesting that you changed out the group set. I find that the 10 spd Tiagra shifts flawlessly. I thought about upgrading to 105 or Ultegra 11 spd but it will be too much of a pain. I upgraded my cassette to a 105 with narrower spacing. It is also much lighter than the stock cassette. I also upgraded the chain to either an Ultegra or 105. It made a difference in shifting and it is lighter than the KMC chain. I just hope both the cassette and chain hold up to the torque.

Did you have any problems with upgrading the wheels? Are they much lighter than the stock wheels? I see that those DT Swiss are Ebike wheels.

I don’t care for Shimano all that much to start with, then they pulled that BS with Di2 (which is dumb with that central weird battery) and Hammerhead/kroo2. From before I bought the bike I preferred 1x to 2x (especially on an eBike) and cost wasn’t much different to go to SRAM Rival AXS as compared to something like Shimano GRX (plus SRAM is 12 speed vs 11 speed for Shimano). It helps that for SRAM AXS you only need to worry about running the brake lines, but it definitely ain’t for the faint of heart… you’ll have to partially drop the motor (pull the first two bolts) as everything runs right over it. Beyond that is just the pain of bleeding SRAM hydraulic brakes. I love the electronic shifting… really is the best, but for those on a budget or can’t do the swap themselves, there are better places to put your money (bang for the buck).

The DT Swiss wheels… ah… there is a catch for any rear wheel… the speed sensor on the left side of the hub. There’s a disc like assembly that contains a magnet attaches to a groove on the hub end cap. I had to get it machined by a generous forum member who did that same for his wheels and works in a machine shop. So if you don’t have access to one… But I’m wondering if you order wheels from someplace like Astral or ROL, they may be able to do it for you.

I didn’t weight them, but the DT Swiss wheels with Continental eBike rated road tires and Pirelli TPU tubes felt noticeably lighter (holding one wheel in each hand).

 

[Greydog]

I don’t care for Shimano all that much to start with, then they pulled that BS with Di2 (which is dumb with that central weird battery) and Hammerhead/kroo2. From before I bought the bike I preferred 1x to 2x (especially on an eBike) and cost wasn’t much different to go to SRAM Rival AXS as compared to something like Shimano GRX (plus SRAM is 12 speed vs 11 speed for Shimano). It helps that for SRAM AXS you only need to worry about running the brake lines, but it definitely ain’t for the faint of heart… you’ll have to partially drop the motor (pull the first two bolts) as everything runs right over it. Beyond that is just the pain of bleeding SRAM hydraulic brakes. I love the electronic shifting… really is the best, but for those on a budget or can’t do the swap themselves, there are better places to put your money (bang for the buck).

The DT Swiss wheels… ah… there is a catch for any rear wheel… the speed sensor on the left side of the hub. There’s a disc like assembly that contains a magnet attaches to a groove on the hub end cap. I had to get it machined by a generous forum member who did that same for his wheels and works in a machine shop. So if you don’t have access to one… But I’m wondering if you order wheels from someplace like Astral or ROL, they may be able to do it for you.

I didn’t weight them, but the DT Swiss wheels with Continental eBike rated road tires and Pirelli TPU tubes felt noticeably lighter (holding one wheel in each hand).

How do you like the TPU tubes? I have done a lot of research on them and they seem to not hold up.

 

[Asher]

How do you like the TPU tubes? I have done a lot of research on them and they seem to not hold up.

I use tubolito, ~600 miles on front wheel, no issue. Mtb size though. S tubo

 

[Japan8]

How do you like the TPU tubes? I have done a lot of research on them and they seem to not hold up.

So far so good on the Pirelli SmartTube. I haven’t really put too much mileage on them yet though (~100mi). OTOH, the bike is heavy and I’m a big guy, so they can’t be THAT weak… I usually carry a spare with me too as well as a patch kit..