Rize RX - First E-bike experience and review

[Brighamdoc]

Just got a new 2020 Rize RX yesterday
I shot video of building it last night
Well my wife patiently did
I’ll try and post that tonight and a quick first ride

 

[Spatzi]

Good luck. Hope you don’t have the same problem as I did with my two new bikes: leisure and rx pro. All four sets of brake pads had to be replaced due to extreme ‘water in the plumbing‘ noise on braking. Let me know how yours do. The noise didn’t start until 20 Km. Let me know if your pads actually aligned right out of the box Without adjustment.

 

[GenXrider]

Be careful with those highest gears. I think the issue is more when using the highest gears when first taking off. That mid-drive is harder on the bike's drive train. More detail in one of the threads in this Rize section of the forum.

 

[Brighamdoc]

Thanks for the heads up!

I still haven't made it home from work so hopefully edit and post tomorrow.
Rode the bike to work and around a little today. Very solid and fun.

I understand the "too much power" thing. I am used to riding an old mountain bike so I live in lower gears.
I have borrowed and rented a couple of E-bikes before my purchase and this bike blows them away with power.
Didn't really even use 7-9 because I was riding in my little town and tried to obey the 25 MPH limit on most our roads.
In eco mode /pedal assist 2-3 / 6th gear I could easily maintain 20 MPH with very light pedaling.

I live in the foothills of our town so I spent quite of bit of time trying to bed in the brakes - never coming to a full stop and just feathering.
Spending a bit on new brake pads may be in the future but we'll see. I rode about 16 miles (25 km) and the brakes seem to be fine.

 

[WildWillie]

Brighamdoc - Ordered my Rize RX a few weeks back. Waiting on shipment. Excited to hear more about your experience and see the videos.

 

[Brighamdoc]

So here is the YouTube first installment

 

[Brighamdoc]

Part 2 of 3
Wish I had done more close ups

 

[Brighamdoc]

Part 3 mostly looking at the built bike
Beware some info may be wrong!
I’m on that steep part of the learning curve
Pardon my very amateurish video

 

[WildWillie]

Excellent. Thanks. Some good tips in there.

 

[ElevenAD]

Good luck. Hope you don’t have the same problem as I did with my two new bikes: leisure and rx pro. All four sets of brake pads had to be replaced due to extreme ‘water in the plumbing‘ noise on braking. Let me know how yours do. The noise didn’t start until 20 Km. Let me know if your pads actually aligned right out of the box Without adjustment.

I saw your video on you tube and I just subscribed to your channel,I have an RX on the way,hope there are no issues

 

[Kevin8tor]

Excellent information. I do have an RX Pro on order for September delivery, and also saw your Youtube post - thanks! If nothing else, knowing about the brakes in advance is a help. Keep posting as you break in the bike and continue to form opinions about it's performance and quirks, shortcomings, etc.

 

[Brighamdoc]

I just finished a ride tonight logging 100 miles on the RX
NOW I feel somewhat in a better position to review the bike

I’ve ridden a Trek Rail 7, Haibike Xduro cross and a Radcity Radrover each for about a week so I have some experience with other E-bikes, motors, etc.

Overall rating 4/5

1. Speed 5/5
- easily reaching long sustainable speeds of 20-25 MPH
Eco mode PAS 3, 6-7 gear
- on flat long roads with little wind 30+ MPH
Sport mode PAS 5, gear 8-9

2. Motor - power while riding 3/5
- very LOUD, the loudest of all the bikes I’ve ridden
- feel surges when trying to soft pedal
- lag in shutting down when you stop peddling
- plenty of torque on very steep hills
- You fear NO mountain!

3. Display 4/5
- bright colored display
- easy to read speed
- nice always on time of day, mode, PAS, battery percentage
- I like the trip function not resetting, lets me know miles on current battery charge
- prefer a smaller spartan


5. Battery 5/5
- usually get 30 miles from 100% to 20%
- hilly to mountainous rides often using PAS 5 and sport mode
- heavy but easy to remove and charge

6. Charging 4/5
- fast but noisy

7. brakes 5/5
- I know of the controversy but they are quiet
- NO NOISIER than any other E-bike I tested
- even after 100 miles but I took special care bedding them in
- maybe thanks to Spatzi for warning me to be nice to them

8. Suspension seat post 5/5
- I’m 230# and am using the stock spring and never bottom out
- simply love it
- I feel it sucking up all the bumps not too springy

9. Saddle 4/5
- it’s comfortable but I’ll be replacing it
- I like a cut out because I’m old and worry about “nerve” damage

10. Lights 3/5
- front plenty light for urban riding but no side lighting
- rear light is adequate but not eye catching for cars

11. Shifters, derailleur, cassette 4/5
- not great gearing for mountain trails
- more for speed than climbing (Not great for either)
- I mean it is great for what it was made for - urban mostly flat roads

12. Grips 3/5
- adequate but not my style
- I’ll switch to Ergon GP3 or GP5

13. Control pad 4/5
- it works but I wish it had a reset button for things

14. Front fork 2/5
- heavy and not easily adjusted
- I know I’ll lose the loose fitting adjuster

Overall I’m really enjoying the bike and in my opinion this may be the best bang for your buck on the market right now. I’m very disappointed in the company and the negativity felt by some customers. It makes me so happy I have a great LBS that had already helped me some adjustments because I feel so vulnerable if anything goes wrong. I will probably make a video showing all these things.

Happy riding

 

[Kevin8tor]

Brighamdoc,

Thanks for the the thorough write up. You addressed virtually all of my questions. I've been considering asking my LBS to adjust and check over the bike after I build it, I think it might be the right thing to do to ensure I maintain my relationship with them - as I may need their help throughout my ownership. I've perused many, many websites. There are lots of similar bikes out there, but the value proposition for the RX Pro is pretty strong if it delivers on most levels - and based on your review, it does. I'm willing to fettle with it and upgrade components if the foundation is worthy. If not, I'll try to look at is a stepping stone to greater knowledge and enjoyment of ebiking!

 

[GenXrider]

2. Motor - power while riding 3/5
- feel surges when trying to soft pedal
- lag in shutting down when you stop peddling

Those sounds like issues related to the torque sensor based PAS.

How long is the lag? A fraction of a second, a second, maybe multiple seconds?

 

[Spatzi]

2. Motor - power while riding 3/5
- very LOUD, the loudest of all the bikes I’ve ridden
- feel surges when trying to soft pedal
- lag in shutting down when you stop peddling
- plenty of torque on very steep hills
- You fear NO mountain!


Very loud? Surges? I would be concerned about this. I have neither of these issues, my motor is near silent and I never feel a surge. It‘s a very gradual push, but again I mostly use pas 1 on eco. Even on pas 2-4, I don’t feel anything ‘sudden’. I’m also getting gear slippage now when going up hills, around the 3-4 gear setting. Could be cable stretching?

 

[Brighamdoc]

The surging feels a lot like the Radcity bike. I don't think it's a sign of a problem rather it just is not as smooth as the Trek or Haibike torque sensors. The lag/cutting off is about 0.5 seconds. Not enough to cause a great concern but again just doesn't feel as smooth as the Bosch motor.

The noise seems the same as other motors I've listened to on Youtube. Again I seriously doubt its a sign of a problem - more likely it's just loud.

 

[GenXrider]

Thanks. The Ride1Up LMT'D is a hub drive with torque sensor based PAS as well, and it has a similar lag, 1/2 second to a second, maybe. You can definitely hear it in the new video reviews when the reviewer stops pedaling.

 

[Sheky]

I just finished a ride tonight logging 100 miles on the RX
NOW I feel somewhat in a better position to review the bike

I’ve ridden a Trek Rail 7, Haibike Xduro cross and a Radcity Radrover each for about a week so I have some experience with other E-bikes, motors, etc.

Overall rating 4/5

1. Speed 5/5
- easily reaching long sustainable speeds of 20-25 MPH
Eco mode PAS 3, 6-7 gear
- on flat long roads with little wind 30+ MPH
Sport mode PAS 5, gear 8-9

2. Motor - power while riding 3/5
- very LOUD, the loudest of all the bikes I’ve ridden
- feel surges when trying to soft pedal
- lag in shutting down when you stop peddling
- plenty of torque on very steep hills
- You fear NO mountain!

3. Display 4/5
- bright colored display
- easy to read speed
- nice always on time of day, mode, PAS, battery percentage
- I like the trip function not resetting, lets me know miles on current battery charge
- prefer a smaller spartan


5. Battery 5/5
- usually get 30 miles from 100% to 20%
- hilly to mountainous rides often using PAS 5 and sport mode
- heavy but easy to remove and charge

6. Charging 4/5
- fast but noisy

7. brakes 5/5
- I know of the controversy but they are quiet
- NO NOISIER than any other E-bike I tested
- even after 100 miles but I took special care bedding them in
- maybe thanks to Spatzi for warning me to be nice to them

8. Suspension seat post 5/5
- I’m 230# and am using the stock spring and never bottom out
- simply love it
- I feel it sucking up all the bumps not too springy

9. Saddle 4/5
- it’s comfortable but I’ll be replacing it
- I like a cut out because I’m old and worry about “nerve” damage

10. Lights 3/5
- front plenty light for urban riding but no side lighting
- rear light is adequate but not eye catching for cars

11. Shifters, derailleur, cassette 4/5
- not great gearing for mountain trails
- more for speed than climbing (Not great for either)
- I mean it is great for what it was made for - urban mostly flat roads

12. Grips 3/5
- adequate but not my style
- I’ll switch to Ergon GP3 or GP5

13. Control pad 4/5
- it works but I wish it had a reset button for things

14. Front fork 2/5
- heavy and not easily adjusted
- I know I’ll lose the loose fitting adjuster

Overall I’m really enjoying the bike and in my opinion this may be the best bang for your buck on the market right now. I’m very disappointed in the company and the negativity felt by some customers. It makes me so happy I have a great LBS that had already helped me some adjustments because I feel so vulnerable if anything goes wrong. I will probably make a video showing all these things.

Happy riding

Very strong review, thanks! Shek getting his in September and may use your rating system!

 

[gpac7778]

Thank you Brigahdoc for your thoughtful reviews and your assembly videos.
I've been trying to decide on an ebike and like many people on this site I've been "down the rabbit hole" of a zillion reviews, manufacturers, etc. While I am a bit concerned about the service side of Rize I've decided to order an RX in the silver color.
I am 61 years of age and 225 pounds and fairly healthy. I have an old schwinn 21 speed that I ride on occasion but my knees, strength, and stamina are ....well what you would expect of someone my age and weight. I am looking forward to the bike's arrival toward the latter part of September. That arrival date is based on a Rize email that I got from Jason on August 17th:

Yes, we currently have the RX coming in September, still available in Black, Red, or Silver:

We don't have exact shipping dates yet, but we do know it will be in the later half of September.

Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Thank you,
Jason
Rize Bikes Team