Hectors Ghost
Active Member
Nope. Home to Mowich lake on Mt. Rainier.
How do you define the ideal electric touring bicycle?
- Thread starter Dionigi
- Start date
john peck
Well-Known Member
Ah. well the HCRT is a nice ride if you get a chance, parts may still be under construction but I loved what I rode on my way
to the Deschutes, nice people.
Hectors Ghost
Active Member
The 1st thing you need to do is to define touring. Touring used to mean taking self-contained cycling trips for pleasure, adventure, or autonomy rather than sport, commuting, or exercise. I know several people that go bike-camping often and have never done anything more than long weekend rides. The focus being on the camping. Bike camping, bike packing, bike touring... I view touring as ride oriented longer rides. Regarless... the "Ideal eTouring bike": Any ebike that you find comfortable and that can carry the gear you want, as far as you want.
Ravi Kempaiah
Well-Known Member
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- Canada
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- Halifax
Deacon Blues
Well-Known Member
Ravi, that is one beautiful touring ebike.
Alaskan
Well-Known Member
Wow. An impressively built and equipped bike. Hard to argue with any of the component or material choices that went into this bike, given the stated purpose. If I were ever to do a cross country journey the Rehnstahl would have to be a top contender. It's a shame they do not sell in North America. So cool how they offer so many detailed choices of componentry.
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JRA
Well-Known Member
Over the years I have had several Ti bicycles including a tandem. One of the first Ti components I had was an IRD Ti fork and while cool it was pretty flexy and didn't live too long on the steel hard tail I had it mounted on at the time. Visible flex while braking, using V brakes that provide braking force much higher up than disc, was more than I could handle. It did help provide a supple ride quality though.
To that end to me using Ti for a bike like this, while cool, would not be my first choice especially the front fork which seems severely under spec to me. Disc brake forces on that skinny a Ti tube on such a heavy bike, I would suspect that bike is over 60lbs. before strapping on any touring gear, would scare me away based on my past experience.
The Ti tandem we had even with oversize tubing was very "whippy" and some that rode it even went so far as to say "noodly". It had a stout sus fork on it so that wasn't the issue Ti just inherently has more flex than Alu/Carbon as a frame material which is why it can be popular for ride quality but not what I would recommend for potentially heavy bikes like the above. YMMV of course but I for one will pass on bikes like this.
To that end to me using Ti for a bike like this, while cool, would not be my first choice especially the front fork which seems severely under spec to me. Disc brake forces on that skinny a Ti tube on such a heavy bike, I would suspect that bike is over 60lbs. before strapping on any touring gear, would scare me away based on my past experience.
The Ti tandem we had even with oversize tubing was very "whippy" and some that rode it even went so far as to say "noodly". It had a stout sus fork on it so that wasn't the issue Ti just inherently has more flex than Alu/Carbon as a frame material which is why it can be popular for ride quality but not what I would recommend for potentially heavy bikes like the above. YMMV of course but I for one will pass on bikes like this.
Explorer-1
Have bike, will travel
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- Boston North Shore
Built for purpose, might be worth testing.
john peck
Well-Known Member
Questions? Yeah, like how much for starters? I´ll wager it´s at least 5 times what I paid for my bike. The spokes look kinda wimpyFront fork mounts? Manual Rohloff option? Tire width, looks tight with the fenders/mudguards?
Questions, questions!
for a bike with no suspension yet expected to haul a lot of gear. The tires look fine for black top, but I´m not sure I´d want them on
unimproved roads.
FlatSix911
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Silicon Valley
A Beautifully designed Ebike... for a moment I thought you had posted a WattWagon Ultimate.
Ultimate Commuter Pro - Titanium (Out of Stock)
Ultimate Commuter Pro is the best in class, precision engineered, titanium ebike based on the Bafang Ultra . The Ultimate Commuter Pro is a virtually maintenance free ebike. Now with the Archon X1 controller to give you power up to 3000W ! Ultimate Commuter Pro is revolutionizing ebiking for...
wattwagons.com
Alaskan
Well-Known Member
@FlatSix911 Yeah, Watt Wagon with a Bosch motor/dual power pack...now we're talkin'.
Ravi Kempaiah
Well-Known Member
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- Canada
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- Halifax
Thanks for your comment.
There are not a lot of companies that can get the Carbon frame and Titanium right. They are much harder to work with than Aluminium or even steel.
Specialized welding tools, jigs and most importantly the person doing the actual designing and welding and their expertise matter a lot. It is this reason some people feel different about Ti bikes.
Not all frames are made equal and it applies to every material. There are some steel bikes that are stiffer than carbon. It takes a LOT of capital to get the right equipment and in the hands of the right jockey, even Aluminium bikes can be turned into excellent touring bikes. Nicolai in Germany is a fine example of that.
There are some amazing Ti-frames specifically designed for touring purposes and Rennstahl is one of them.
Van Nicholas is a well-known manufacturer of Ti touring bikes and the Bicycle Touring Pro did a few videos on them. I have linked below.
JRA
Well-Known Member
Over the years I have had the good fortune to observe a few frame builders that work with Ti at a very high level. The most time spent with this guy in CB, CO that had a company name of Willits.
While he might not look like much this guy could manipulate and weld Ti like none other. He learned alot about Ti fab from other premier builders of the time like Gary Helfrich and Ron Andrews and took it to another level. He was the #1 welder and production manager for IBIS from their beginnings and left to open his own shop in CB in 94' which is when I first met him.
www.ibiscycles.com
As noted in that article he is recognized by those that were there to be the prime instigator that led to the whole 29" wheel thing that happened back in the late 90's. He immediately started building Ti frames to suit the new wheelsize and by 9/99 had built a Ti FS model.
I rode alot of his bikes bitd, primarily the FS version which was built for me,
and listened to his speal on the benefits of Ti construction many times over the years but the general idea that I got from him was that Ti as a bicycle frame material was most beneficial for strong, light and compliant frames and if anyone came by looking for something beefy, for say loaded touring, he'd talk them into steel. Unfortunately Wes was his own worst enemy and drifted off into obscurity to battle his demons.
I 'm not trying to say that it can't be done as the one you list and in fact many will buy into it and have a great time and I wish them well.
While he might not look like much this guy could manipulate and weld Ti like none other. He learned alot about Ti fab from other premier builders of the time like Gary Helfrich and Ron Andrews and took it to another level. He was the #1 welder and production manager for IBIS from their beginnings and left to open his own shop in CB in 94' which is when I first met him.
4: Wes - Employee No.1 - Ibis Cycles Inc.
www.ibiscycles.com
As noted in that article he is recognized by those that were there to be the prime instigator that led to the whole 29" wheel thing that happened back in the late 90's. He immediately started building Ti frames to suit the new wheelsize and by 9/99 had built a Ti FS model.
I rode alot of his bikes bitd, primarily the FS version which was built for me,
and listened to his speal on the benefits of Ti construction many times over the years but the general idea that I got from him was that Ti as a bicycle frame material was most beneficial for strong, light and compliant frames and if anyone came by looking for something beefy, for say loaded touring, he'd talk them into steel. Unfortunately Wes was his own worst enemy and drifted off into obscurity to battle his demons.
I 'm not trying to say that it can't be done as the one you list and in fact many will buy into it and have a great time and I wish them well.
FlatSix911
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Silicon Valley
I agree that getting Titanium done right is a bit of science and art combined... when it is dialed in, the magic carpet ride begins.
Titanium: LIGHT, STRONG, DURABLE: PICK ALL THREE
The pragmatic reasons to buy titanium bikes - LA VELOCITA.
Ever wondered why people buy titanium? We put on our sensible pants to find pragmatic reasons to buy Ti.
www.lavelocita.cc
Titanium — Cognoscenti Cycles
Appearing on the periodic table of elements at number 22 is the metal titanium. Discovered in 1791 by the Reverend Walter Gregor, it's name came from Martin Heinrich Klaproth who chose it from the Titan's of Greek mythology. Titanium is truly an amazing metal that is used in airplanes , aer
www.cognoscenti-cycles.com
5 Reasons You Should Be Riding a Titanium Road Bike
While most road bikes are made with carbon fiber, titanium’s allure has not diminished. In fact, there is a resurgence in titanium bikes, and for good reasons.
alchemybicycles.com
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john peck
Well-Known Member
A Beautifully designed Ebike... for a moment I thought you had posted a WattWagon Ultimate.
Okay, better with a suspension fork & thud-buster, but not any cheaperUltimate Commuter Pro - Titanium (Out of Stock)
Ultimate Commuter Pro is the best in class, precision engineered, titanium ebike based on the Bafang Ultra . The Ultimate Commuter Pro is a virtually maintenance free ebike. Now with the Archon X1 controller to give you power up to 3000W ! Ultimate Commuter Pro is revolutionizing ebiking for...
View attachment 70202
Explorer-1
Have bike, will travel
- Region
- USA
- City
- Boston North Shore
The batteries look like they are photoshopped in there, i would hope the battery mounts are re-enforced in the final version and not just raised up like that on regular bottle cage anchors .
FlatSix911
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Silicon Valley
JRA, thanks for sharing Wes's story with EBR... whatever happened to him? Is he still building Ti bikes?Over the years I have had the good fortune to observe a few frame builders that work with Ti at a very high level. The most time spent with this guy in CB, CO that had a company name of Willits. View attachment 70241
While he might not look like much this guy could manipulate and weld Ti like none other. He learned alot about Ti fab from other premier builders of the time like Gary Helfrich and Ron Andrews and took it to another level. He was the #1 welder and production manager for IBIS from their beginnings and left to open his own shop in CB in 94' which is when I first met him.
4: Wes - Employee No.1 - Ibis Cycles Inc.
As noted in that article he is recognized by those that were there to be the prime instigator that led to the whole 29" wheel thing that happened back in the late 90's. He immediately started building Ti frames to suit the new wheelsize and by 9/99 had built a Ti FS model.
View attachment 70245
I rode alot of his bikes bitd, primarily the FS version which was built for me,
View attachment 70247
and listened to his speal on the benefits of Ti construction many times over the years but the general idea that I got from him was that Ti as a bicycle frame material was most beneficial for strong, light and compliant frames and if anyone came by looking for something beefy, for say loaded touring, he'd talk them into steel. Unfortunately Wes was his own worst enemy and drifted off into obscurity to battle his demons.
I 'm not trying to say that it can't be done as the one you list and in fact many will buy into it and have a great time and I wish them well.
JRA
Well-Known Member
AFAIK he is in Austin building pedicabs.
The last Ti work I saw from him that I knew immediately who had performed it were some bullmoose bars that were done in the Alchemy shop while it was in Austin that were on a post out of First Flight Bikes in NC. To me what always set him apart were his welds which were almost organic/fillet brazed in nature rather than the "stack" type made popular by Moots
This is with absolutely no filing, just welding mastery.
Moots
Not sure if anyone is interested and has nothing to do with touring bikes, so apologies to the OP, but this is what I consider to be the most accurate description of the beginnings of the 29" wheel as mentioned above: http://g-tedproductions.blogspot.com/p/beginnings-of-modern-29er-history.html
The last Ti work I saw from him that I knew immediately who had performed it were some bullmoose bars that were done in the Alchemy shop while it was in Austin that were on a post out of First Flight Bikes in NC. To me what always set him apart were his welds which were almost organic/fillet brazed in nature rather than the "stack" type made popular by Moots
This is with absolutely no filing, just welding mastery.
Moots
Not sure if anyone is interested and has nothing to do with touring bikes, so apologies to the OP, but this is what I consider to be the most accurate description of the beginnings of the 29" wheel as mentioned above: http://g-tedproductions.blogspot.com/p/beginnings-of-modern-29er-history.html
I met a girl on an online dating site https://mailorderbridesadvisor.com/ and she said she was dreaming of a new modern electric bike. I decided to give her a present and bought it. But we had a fight and I kept the bike to myself. I decided to use it. I'll tell you about my impressions later.
