Rize Leisure Step

[kahuna40]

So just for experimentation I unlocked my front suspension today. I contacted Rize and they said other than unlocking the suspension there is no other adjustment. They said the second knob is purely aesthetic so you cannot "preload" the spring. So I unlocked it and went on a 23 mile ride. I didn't really notice too much in terms of a smoother ride to be honest but one thing I did notice is that it caused a lag in the torque sensor engaging the motor.

At one point when I came to a stop I was in a higher gear but I could not get the motor to engage at all. I had to switch to another gear. It was almost like that gear was messed up or something and it wouldn't engage the motor. I locked the suspension back up after a while and did not experience any other issues the rest of the ride. I just thought I would share this and possibly get some opinions about it.

 

[theemartymac]

There are no electronics whatsoever in the fork, so it shouldn't have any impact on the drive. Since it is a basic spring suspension, you can put in softer springs if you are a light rider to try and get some better performance. You'd have to check with a local shop to see what the Leisure can take and what might be best for your weight and riding style. I know Rize themselves does not do that kind of upgrading, but I've read online that the forks are a rebranded (unbranded) version of a big manufacturers product, so if true, upgrade springs will most likely be available.

Your bike is a torque sensor model I believe, which means you must have rotation and pressure on the pedals before the sensor turns the power on. In a high gear from a stop, the rotation may not be fast enough to trip the sensor and supply power. My hub bike (Rize X) does this too from time to time, but I find just pushing a tiny bit to roll ahead about 6" as I try to start pedalling kicks it in fine every time. Also make sure you are fully off the brakes as the disconnect will override the power of course.

There might be a slim chance that the unlocked front suspension is allowing enough rotation in the frame as you lean forward to start that 'dulls' the sensors response time, but that's just a wild speculation. You can also set the responsiveness of the different sensors in the display menu (read your manual), but at a small risk of increasing the long-term wear of parts, or making the bike 'jumpier' under power.

 

[kahuna40]

There are no electronics whatsoever in the fork, so it shouldn't have any impact on the drive. Since it is a basic spring suspension, you can put in softer springs if you are a light rider to try and get some better performance. You'd have to check with a local shop to see what the Leisure can take and what might be best for your weight and riding style. I know Rize themselves does not do that kind of upgrading, but I've read online that the forks are a rebranded (unbranded) version of a big manufacturers product, so if true, upgrade springs will most likely be available.

Your bike is a torque sensor model I believe, which means you must have rotation and pressure on the pedals before the sensor turns the power on. In a high gear from a stop, the rotation may not be fast enough to trip the sensor and supply power. My hub bike (Rize X) does this too from time to time, but I find just pushing a tiny bit to roll ahead about 6" as I try to start pedalling kicks it in fine every time. Also make sure you are fully off the brakes as the disconnect will override the power of course.

There might be a slim chance that the unlocked front suspension is allowing enough rotation in the frame as you lean forward to start that 'dulls' the sensors response time, but that's just a wild speculation. You can also set the responsiveness of the different sensors in the display menu (read your manual), but at a small risk of increasing the long-term wear of parts, or making the bike 'jumpier' under power.

So I am 230 lbs so maybe I can do a little research on whether the right spring would be in there by default for my size. I ordered a suspension seat post because I have read positive things about them for making the ride more comfortable. I am surprised with the size of the tires that the ride isn't more comfortable. It is not crazy unconformable or anything it is just when I am going over some wood planks on the bike trail to get to the road you can feel the bumps a good bit rolling up your arms. When I go over potholes or bumps in the road you do feel them a good bit. It didn't really seem to matter with the suspension unlocked vs locked.

I do understand that the motor won't engage unless a proper amount of pressure hits the pedals but when it wasn't firing I would switch to another gear immediately and it would start with no more pressure on the pedals than what I was given it before I shifted. It was weird because I left it in that "bad" gear and went a couple revolutions on the pedals to see if it would eventually kick it and it would not unless I shifted out of the gear.

The ONLY thing I changed during that ride vs my first two rides of 20 + 27 miles was I unlocked that front suspension. Like you said it is only speculation but I definitely felt as though the motor had more lag with it unlocked. There was more of a hesitation with the motor engaging vs the same pressure I'd put on the pedals without it.

 

[theemartymac]

Well that's the limit of my advice. Hopefully someone else on here has more experience with the adjustment of them.

As for the seat, I have the RX Pro with the suspension seat post as well as the X without, and so far I like the seat post a lot for longer rides. The rize supplied one (Suntour NCX) has a stiffness adjustment inside the seat post from the bottom with an allen key. For just dallying around town, the fixed post with my barstool sized super cruiser seat on the X is fine, maybe even nicer.

I'm a bt heavier than you so I find the fork is a little under sprung for me, but since I ride paved roads and easy gravel, it's not a big deal. Without upgrading to a quality air over hydraulic fork with dampening, you may not be able to make a basic spring fork all that impressive, but it does take the pain out of some bigger bumps like potholes and curb transitions. With the suspension unlocked and the seat post, I find the RX Pro pretty darn cushy. Certainly when I air down to 20psi or so for gravel. I tend to run closer to 28-30 psi for my commute as it does reduce the rolling resistance and seems to help with range and asphalt handling slightly with me and my big backpack.

 

[kahuna40]

Well that's the limit of my advice. Hopefully someone else on here has more experience with the adjustment of them.

As for the seat, I have the RX Pro with the suspension seat post as well as the X without, and so far I like the seat post a lot for longer rides. The rize supplied one (Suntour NCX) has a stiffness adjustment inside the seat post from the bottom with an allen key. For just dallying around town, the fixed post with my barstool sized super cruiser seat on the X is fine, maybe even nicer.

I'm a bt heavier than you so I find the fork is a little under sprung for me, but since I ride paved roads and easy gravel, it's not a big deal. Without upgrading to a quality air over hydraulic fork with dampening, you may not be able to make a basic spring fork all that impressive, but it does take the pain out of some bigger bumps like potholes and curb transitions. With the suspension unlocked and the seat post, I find the RX Pro pretty darn cushy. Certainly when I air down to 20psi or so for gravel. I tend to run closer to 28-30 psi for my commute as it does reduce the rolling resistance and seems to help with range and asphalt handling slightly with me and my big backpack.

That is the same seat post I ordered as well. It basically has a 5 star review with over 300+ reviews on Amazon so I figured people liked it. I also ordered the heavier gauge spring that you can pop into it to support riders over 180 lbs so I will report back how that is. I am just hoping it fits my normal seat because I don't mind it. I am running my tires now at around 20 psi. My first couple rides they were at around 25 so I figured I would tinker to see if I could adjust the comfort. I didn't notice a big difference to be honest.