Como 4.0 first ride thoughts

[RGVCycling]

Hello everyone,

After adjusting the seat to the correct height, I did my first ride of 11 miles. One thing for sure, even without motor assist it is fast. I did most of the ride in Eco mode and with the wind, I had the motor turned off. This is what I noticed:

• Need to adjust brake levers down a little more. They were not inline with my arm.
• Need to replace grips. My hands were sore.
• Or, get a Kinekt stem for the vibrations
• Saddle was biting into my thigh. Will probably adjust back a little more to get the leg extension just right.

Other than that it will be a nice car replacement. I already canceled auto-payment on my car note. Will do the same for auto insurance.

Any thoughts?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Hi RGV!

• Adjust the brake levers' position into safe and comfortable position for sure
• Cannot comment the grips as your handlebars are very much different from mine. Have you considered riding in fingerless padded gloves?
• Regarding the stem, make sure the existing one is free of "Specialized specialties" For instance, I cannot replace the stem in my Vado as it is integrated with display holder and headlight attachment... There are unique French Baramind BAM City handlebars that include elastomer inserts, and these damp slow vibration. I use the straight BAM Trek version, and although it is none of the World Wonders, it truly helps me.
  
  Now: The best advice I can give to you is: Check the minimum inflation pressure of your tyres, and deflate to that value. Your Como has quite wide tyres of large air volume. Deflating them produces the best "suspension" imaginable. (If you find out the pressure too low though, inflate a tad more).
  
  
• The saddle... It's some never-ending matter, discussed at length. Try to tilt the saddle this or that way, shift if forward or backwards. Finding the sweet point is not easy but the proper saddle fitting is often better than trying ten different saddles in a row and not finding the Holy Grail...

 

[RGVCycling]

Hi RGV!

• Adjust the brake levers' position into safe and comfortable position for sure
• Cannot comment the grips as your handlebars are very much different from mine. Have you considered riding in fingerless padded gloves?
• Regarding the stem, make sure the existing one is free of "Specialized specialties" For instance, I cannot replace the stem in my Vado as it is integrated with display holder and headlight attachment... There are unique French Baramind BAM City handlebars that include elastomer inserts, and these damp slow vibration. I use the straight BAM Trek version, and although it is none of the World Wonders, it truly helps me.
  
  Now: The best advice I can give to you is: Check the minimum inflation pressure of your tyres, and deflate to that value. Your Como has quite wide tyres of large air volume. Deflating them produces the best "suspension" imaginable. (If you find out the pressure too low though, inflate a tad more).
  
  
• The saddle... It's some never-ending matter, discussed at length. Try to tilt the saddle this or that way, shift if forward or backwards. Finding the sweet point is not easy but the proper saddle fitting is often better than trying ten different saddles in a row and not finding the Holy Grail...

Tire pressure range was 25-50 psi so I started at 40. I’ll try the lower pressure and see if that helps with the grips on longer rides. I just threw out my old cycling gloves, time for new ones.

Thanks for the feedback,

Ray

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Just FYI: The pressure range for 29x1.75" Smart Sam tyres in my Vado is 40-70 psi. On some bumpy ride, I decided to deflate them to 40 psi. How comfortable the ride has become since! (My Vado has a rigid fork as your Como). Later, I inflated the tyres to 50 psi for less rolling resistance on pavement but found out inflating more would result in inadequate vibration dampening. Now, the 27.5x2.3" tyres in your Como are really big, so 25 or 30 psi would be very OK in your case. (I weight a tad less than 200 lbs).

 

[Marci jo]

Congrats on your new bike and many fun miles to you.
If after getting your saddle adjusted you would still want a smoother ride, consider a suspension seat post. Many brands available and tons of info on this forum. I have Cirrus Kinect seat posts on both my ebikes and love em.
Please share your adventures. And a pic!

 

[RGVCycling]

Congrats on your new bike and many fun miles to you.
If after getting your saddle adjusted you would still want a smoother ride, consider a suspension seat post. Many brands available and tons of info on this forum. I have Cirrus Kinect seat posts on both my ebikes and love em.
Please share your adventures. And a pic!

Hey Marci,

I just recently installed a Thudbuster ST on my other bike and really like it. I am looking at the suspension seat post from kinekt.

 

[RGVCycling]

For today's ride, I lowered the tire pressure on the front wheel down to 30 psi to see if that helps with the sore hands. I also bought some new cycling gloves and rode with them. After another 11 mile jaunt, I had no hand issues so I'm happy with the results. I did start hearing a squeak from pedaling. If I coast I don't hear it anymore. I am not sure what the issue is.

With the lower tire pressure upfront, it was a more plush ride but the battery drained faster. I'll have to strike a balance between the two.

With me wanting a cargo trailer, I decided to look for the thru-axle Ballz component that I will need to hook up the Burley Coho trailer. I was about to give up finding one when I spotted it on the Trek website. I got it ordered and now ready for the actual trailer. I'll probably order it from REI.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

With the lower tire pressure upfront, it was a more plush ride but the battery drained faster. I'll have to strike a balance between the two.

Do you use a lot of assistance, or was your ride long?

 

[RGVCycling]

Do you use a lot of assistance, or was your ride long?

I try to have at eco or lower

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I mean, you were able to observe noticeable shortening of the battery range on deflated tyres. So dramatic difference, Ray? Just asking.

 

[RGVCycling]

I mean, you were able to observe noticeable shortening of the battery range on deflated tyres. So dramatic difference, Ray? Just asking.

Oh yes more bars used up with the lower pressure. I started at 40 psi and dropped it to 30 psi