R&M, Stromer ST2; Specialized Turbo Como 5.0 2022

[wscott]

Hi,

New member here looking to buy an e-bike for myself and wife.
Late 40's and out of shape. Looking to get back into shape and maybe make a few multi-night voyages.
I am 6'4" 250lbs; Wife is 5'6" and medium sized.
We live in Dubuque Iowa, convenient to Madison, WI.
Terrain is hilly, paved and some off road dirt and gravel (not mountain biking).
This will likely be our first and only e-bike, so we will buy once and be done.

Budget less than $7500 per bike.

step through
Stable
Low maintenance
Best motor
Best brakes
Best front suspension
Seat post suspension or full suspension
upright riding position.
Clean design with concealed wires.
Belt drive
American or European made

Have tried Specialized Como 5.0; 3.0; 4.0 - nice upright position- comfortable. Did not have suspension. no Belt. But knew bikes coming out with belt and suspension.
Specialized Vado (too upright)

Stromer ST2 with belt and front fork suspension- best performance, solid and moves well and motor is silent. Interesting tech. Not as upright as we would like. What can be done to improve the comfort of the Stromer ST2? Reliability of ST2?

Riese and Muller Nevo GT (2018) and Nevo GT rolhoff (2019). Loved the upright riding position, nimble, and diverse application. Just easy to ride. Performance of motor and fit and finish not as good as the Stromer ST2. Have not tried the 2021 version. Performance and reliability of Enviolo or Rolhoff - I've read there are concerns.

Also considering R&M Homage, and Multicharger 3 Mixte, but can't find a place to try them.

Anything else I should consider?
Advantages/disadvantages?
Which would you choose?

Thanks for your help

 

[Jay Kay]

I know the Homage well, and it gets my thumbs up as a very capable bike with a plush ride. As long as you are not mountain biking, it is close to the perfect bike, or so my wife tells me . It ticks all the boxes really - dual suspension, belt drive, dual battery with massive range, great motor, dropper post and good gearing options.

However, at 40 and once you have your own bike, you will find you will both ride more often and for longer, looking for new routes to ride. You may find yourself exploring off road trails. The Homage with a lighter rider can handle moderate off road trails, but you probably need a triangle frame bike because of your weight. I have the Superdelite Mountain and love it (at age 55). It also gets my recommendation if you are after a more adventurous can do all bike, but it does have a more aggressive riding posture. The standard Superdelite has an adjustable handlebar step (the Mountain’s is fixed) so you can adjust the riding position quite a bit to suit.

The Enviolo is intuitive and good for all but the steepest hills. They need the cable replaced every year or so due to wear. The Rohloff is cable free and has amazing gearing to get you up any climb, but is expensive. The Rohloff looks to have poor after purchase support in the US based on a few posters who have had nightmares getting faults fixed in a timely and satisfactory way. I have had my Rohloff for 6 months now trouble free (as it should be).

A good ebike will cost you a pretty penny, but for us it was a great investment in health and 2 years later we have zero regrets spending the money we did.

 

[captivaboy]

1000 miles over 1 year on my Enviola Charger 3, absolutely love it, no complaints at all.
Solid, reliable, and steady as a rock. I did not need nor want rear suspension.

 

[webcurl]

Hi,

New member here looking to buy an e-bike for myself and wife.
Late 40's and out of shape. Looking to get back into shape and maybe make a few multi-night voyages.
I am 6'4" 250lbs; Wife is 5'6" and medium sized.
We live in Dubuque Iowa, convenient to Madison, WI.
Terrain is hilly, paved and some off road dirt and gravel (not mountain biking).
This will likely be our first and only e-bike, so we will buy once and be done.

Budget less than $7500 per bike.

step through
Stable
Low maintenance
Best motor
Best brakes
Best front suspension
Seat post suspension or full suspension
upright riding position.
Clean design with concealed wires.
Belt drive
American or European made

Have tried Specialized Como 5.0; 3.0; 4.0 - nice upright position- comfortable. Did not have suspension. no Belt. But knew bikes coming out with belt and suspension.
Specialized Vado (too upright)

Stromer ST2 with belt and front fork suspension- best performance, solid and moves well and motor is silent. Interesting tech. Not as upright as we would like. What can be done to improve the comfort of the Stromer ST2? Reliability of ST2?

Riese and Muller Nevo GT (2018) and Nevo GT rolhoff (2019). Loved the upright riding position, nimble, and diverse application. Just easy to ride. Performance of motor and fit and finish not as good as the Stromer ST2. Have not tried the 2021 version. Performance and reliability of Enviolo or Rolhoff - I've read there are concerns.

Also considering R&M Homage, and Multicharger 3 Mixte, but can't find a place to try them.

Anything else I should consider?
Advantages/disadvantages?
Which would you choose?

Thanks for your help

Homage, have you looked at the prices?
You definitely won't get a R&M (Riese & Muller) with Rohloff in that price range.
You won't be able to get a HS (High Speed) R&M (like the Stromer) with Heavy Duty package in that price range.
For the price limit, you will be able to get a Nevo GT Vario or Multicharger GT Vario, with limited range for those multi-night voyages but won't be HS so therefore the motor will be limited to 25km/h.
You will be able to get a Stromer ST2 for that price range, the battery will probably have even more limited range in the hilly terrain due to the bikes motor being a hub drive, the motor will however go faster than 25km/h but on the other hand the motor will have less than half of the torque to which the R&M's have for getting your weight and voyage extras up that hilly terrain.

 

[webcurl]

Thanks for your help

You're welcome!