Raleigh Tamland IE - best sleeper value fast ebike!

[Jeffr]

Ive owned 4 bikes in 3 year - Specialized Turbo Vado, Specialized Turbo Levo, Orbea Gain, and Raleigh Tamland ie. I have also ridden the Giant Road E, Haibike, and Bafang fat tire bikes. Ive had the Tamland for 5 months and 1200 miles. By far my favorite is the Tamland. I keep the Vado for commuting, with fenders and rack, but when the weekend comes, its the Tamland I'm on.
Why - because it feels like riding a bike. Like I am an Olympic athlete riding a bike at 25 MPH up impossibly steep hills and whizzing down them at double that speed. The magic is in the Motor, the Brose TF, There are three types of Brose motor: the S (for Sport, used in the Vado and Levo), the T, for Tour, and the TF for tour fast. The Tamland is the only bike I know that uses the TF.
And it is fast. On the Vado I can barely reach 25 MPH, and cannot sustain it for long - on the Tamland, it is easy to reach 28-29 MPH and hold that speed as long as you want. And when it comes time to takes the hairpins, it sticks like GLUE to the roads. Before my heart attack I rode a Specialized S works Roubaix, which is a very nice bike, but I have never felt thrills or control at ridiculously high speeds through tight twisty roads like on the Tamland.
Best of all, it is value priced, Initial price on the Tamland was $4800 which pretty much scared every one off; marketing really blew that one. Now it's at $3700 and with discounts I picked one up for 3350.
If you are looking for an ebike that rides like a regular bike but makes you into Lance Armstrong without the dope, this is it.

 

[TForan]

That's a really good looking bike. Have fun but let's not ride 50 mph down hills.

 

[Hendrix Rocks]

Jeffr- nice to write to another Tamland IE owner! Once I rode an electric bike over 20mph I decided that drop handle bars was going to be the way to go. Not a ton of 'em out there, and I tried a few others, but I am really, really happy with the Raleigh. This bike has been a great ride for 2 years and 4,500 miles. Like you, I scored on the discounted price. I kinda spent my money back on it by putting rock shocks on the front forks. ( I felt like the only thing the bike was missing was suspension on the front). I also had a kinect (SP?) suspension put in on the seat post. I'm spoiled. Between those additions and 2.5" tires, this is the most comfortable bike that I've owned. Good thing for all the hours and miles I'm on it! All those road ruts and bumps and stuff... no issue at all. And speed? It's as you described it. I also don't hold back on the big downhills. I'm frequently hitting 42 on one of my downhills, and it feels steady and smooth. I have gotten used to being polite or saying "mine is electric" or "you're the real deal" when I drop other riders. I have saddle bags on the back that carry extra clothes, food, extra water bottle, kitchen sink... Not a problem with that great Brose engine! So, to another Tamland owner I'll explain the name I gave to the bike. Maybe a sick joke, maybe 7 degrees of separation. It's a TamLAND, and it's electric, so I started thinking Electric Lady Land, and came up with Hendrix. My son and I name all our bikes. Hope you're still diggin' the bike!

 

[WattsUpDude]

Nice bike. Never realized these were Class 3 with a 350w nominal motor and 90Nm of torque. That’s a lot of power.

 

[Jeffr]

Nice to hear from a another enthusiast. I have over 8400 miles in 2.5 yrs. Broke 2 belts; first was the early style, under warranty, the second I replaced myself (not a big job really - finding a belt is the hard part) with the improved stronger belt, but then the whole motor gave up the ghost at about 8200 miles so I bought a NEW one on eBay for $700 and all is well again.
The stock wheels are heavy, wide, slow and loud; suitable for gravel, but I found myself riding mostly road, so I bought some cheap carbon wheels on Amazon for $400 and shod them with Continental GP 5000, and that's where the speed really comes on. So far my top speed is 54 mph, but I routinely ride 48 mph down the hill from my house. It is the most bag for the buck - the closest drop bike bike Ive found that I might rather have is the all carbon Trek Domane+ HP, but it costs more than double to save about 10 lbs.

 

[Hendrix Rocks]

Jeffr- thank you for your comments. Nice to have reference for what may be coming down the road, as you had about double my miles before your repairs/modifications. Also appreciate your comments on the wheels and tires. I jump off road on occasion (no single track) so I'm a tad reluctant to switch over to roadies. Nice to have the second opinion on what a great bike this is. Did you consider the Trek crossrip? I'll have to post some pics of Hendrix to show what the front shocks look like, should you ever decide to go that route. With the shocks, and keeping wide tires on it (I did wear out the stock tires, so Drifters are on it now- still about as wide as original) I am able to take on the rails to trails that sometimes have cinder or a bit of loose rock. There is a Rails to Trails in Northern California that is KILLER! I wouldn't have lasted very long without the fatties. Thanks for your insites and comments!