My Civante reivew

[Greydog]

Oski, I went for a long ride other day and the bike definitely shifts better. I also upgraded the chain on my son's road bike with a Shimano Ultegra chain which replaced a KMC chain and it shifts smoother and quieter. A good Park Chain Breaker tool (CT-3.3) goes a long way in saving money. It is amazing on how much a chain stretches after time. My son's old chain stretched 1/2 a link.

 

[Oski1997]

Oski, I went for a long ride other day and the bike definitely shifts better. I also upgraded the chain on my son's road bike with a Shimano Ultegra chain which replaced a KMC chain and it shifts smoother and quieter. A good Park Chain Breaker tool (CT-3.3) goes a long way in saving money. It is amazing on how much a chain stretches after time. My son's old chain stretched 1/2 a link.

Yeah, I was very surprised how much better a Shimano chain works. And thanks for the update.

 

[LarryLegless]

I do just love my Civante, now have 6700 miles on it. Upgraded drivetrain from Shimano Tiagra to Shimano 105, changed the chain ring from 50 to 52. I have a want to derestrict the 28 mph limit in a big time. I only have 1 leg to pedal with, my right leg is amputated above the knee and is limited to pedal power afforded. I am only riding the group A rides wher speeds average pace is 20 mph. What gets frustrating is when the group hits a speed zone and everyone but me is going up to 31 mph in the sprint zone. I can if I push it really hard can get going to 29 mph but peter out in a short time. If I am lucky the group hits a light and I can catch up.
I have tried 2 options both the Speedbox for Yamaha and Volspeed are unable to destrict. They both throw error codes and shut down power assist. I have had contac t with Speedbox developer and they agree their product is unable to destrict the 28 mph Yamaha PW-SE motor. I have started to look at other brands that offer Class 3 28 mph bikes that have a tuning option to destrict. Any Borsch motor bike is out of the question, their motor programming prevents any way to derestict it. I was even considering a Yamaha bike that is class 1 20 mph with uses the same PW0SE motor that the Speedbox for Yamaha is advertized to be able to destrict.
Other bikes I am looking at are the Specialized or Giant, but need a version that has a 250w motor and 500w battery or offers an extended battery option. I bought a second battery for my Civante and can ride longer group A ride distances and still be able to run in Std or High mode to keep up in the pace line, that is till they are exceeding 28 mph. Sorry for the long winded reply, just frustrated with how they restrict an eboke but a regular boke can easily exceed 28 mph with a strong rider.
Anyone recommend another Class 3 28 mph ebike that has powerful motor and larger battery or extender battery that can easily be deresticted?

 

[salyavin]

Larry, any chance you could return the Civante and get an Urban Rush? While it may be a class 1 you can get a speedbox for it and that will remove all speed restrictions for assist so you can get assist at 31mph. You have one of the best use cases I have heard for a speed box. Speedbox usually works on class 1 incidentally, they often have the same or similar motors.

 

[LarryLegless]

have my first malfunction at 7636 miles, error was speed senso and it killed power assist. Sucked being 26 miles into a 41 mile ride and it stops power assist

 

[salyavin]

That is a bummer. I suppose one nice thing about Yamaha vs a random bike off the internet is at least there is dealer/repair network like many major brands. I hope they fix it for you soon.

 

[holycromoly]

Regarding the creaking sounds...

My Urban Rush creaking sound ended up being an un-greased seat tube and seat post. It was completely dry, more on this topic in a future post. The sound was traveling through the top tube and ended up be heard through the head tube area.

 

[LarryLegless]

follow up to my Civante malfunction. Turns out the wore to power sensor was rubbed bare by rear tire. Witing on replacement that will be covered by warranty

 

[salyavin]

follow up to my Civante malfunction. Turns out the wore to power sensor was rubbed bare by rear tire. Witing on replacement that will be covered by warranty

Anything we can do to avoid that happening?

 

[holycromoly]

Anything we can do to avoid that happening?

Assuming it's the rear wire to the speed sensor that travels underneath the non drive side chain stay. If that's the case, a visual inspection can reveal any potential problems. Make sure it's zipped tied in a position that avoids tire rub in the area near the motor mount, that's where rub would occur.

 

[salyavin]

Thank you, I like to know these things so I can avoid warranty issues if possible.

 

[holycromoly]

Thank you, I like to know these things so I can avoid warranty issues if possible.

You're welcome!
As a motorcycle rider and cyclist, I can say that the e-bikes that I've seen at motorcycle dealer are not as well assembled compared to a bike from a traditional bike shop. If your Yamaha was bought at motorcycle dealer, double check your bike for small things like this zipped tied wire.

I plan on writing a post about this topic soon. Stay tuned...

 

[salyavin]

I don't think there was any grease anywhere on my bike it was hilarious.

 

[holycromoly]

I don't think there was any grease anywhere on my bike it was hilarious.

Yes my Urban Rush arrived complete dry of any lube. I had to lube the seat post because it's a major source or creak.