Sizing + Urban Rush and Wabash

[Catbiscuits]

I’m 5’ 10” (used to be 5’ 11” and I still say that on my license, but my doctor argues otherwise and I am 52 … so it goes). I am wondering about the sizing of the frames since apparently I’m between a medium and a large. I normally ride a 58cm Domane. I don’t see how to convert that to Yamaha sizes. Any thoughts? (We are talking about the Urban Rush here).

Here is the thread that has led me to be about ready to purchase the Urban Rush.

Yamaha Urban Rush or BH Atom Diamond Wave Pro

I live in a small town outside New York City near https://www.electricspokes.com/ I want to get an e-bike to haul groceries up the hill to our house. The hill is a 13% grade. Electric Spokes has a Magnum Metro+ Electric Bike City Cruiser that I liked. I do cycle recreationally and am #3 on...

electricbikereview.com

I haven’t tried the Wabash as her battery wasn’t charged. The color was lovely, but she’s heavier and I don’t see what I’d get with that switch. I’d be buying this bike to be a touring bike used as a suburban daily driver. I’m thinking I want an electric Rivendell, basically, to go to the gym, to go to town, to go to buy two pannier bags worth of groceries and so on, and then climb up the hill back to my house. I don’t commute, although I would like to ride the bike in the winter.

I’m hoping that maybe one day I won’t even need an electric bike since I’m plenty strong enough, but I could be stronger ... and I would be if I replaced 9 out of 10 car trips around town with one …

 

[StmbtDave]

Funny you should ask as I just purchased a Wabash yesterday. The shop only had the Wabash in a Medium size and I was concerned that it might be too small. I too am 5'10" (and shrinking) with a 32" inseam and both my road bikes are 58s. The Yamaha sizing chart puts me at the upper end of the Medium chart but at the lower end of the Large. I took the Wabash out for a test ride and found in the stock configuration the cockpit felt confining/cramped. That was unexpected because when standing over the bike the frame height was just right. The Urban Rush has the same frame as the Wabash and the shop had one in a Large. I rode it and it felt much more comfortable but when standing over the frame it was a bit too tight in the crotch. The Wabash being a gravel bike, I felt the shorter frame of the Medium would be more in line with sizing between a mtn bike and a road bike. The dealer added a seat post from a Large Urban Rush (350mm vs 315mm) and an adjustable 100mm (vs 70mm) stem (to add a bit of stretch and rise). I took it out again and it felt perfect! With $600 off MSRP it was too good to pass up and I brought it home.

Dave

 

[Catbiscuits]

Did you try the large Cross Core? I did and the frame felt much better to me than the medium. Also why the Wabash not the Urban Rush.

 

[StmbtDave]

Did you try the large Cross Core? I did and the frame felt much better to me than the medium. Also why the Wabash not the Urban Rush.

No, I did not try any other. I specifically was looking for a gravel bike with drop bars. The Rush, along with the vast majority of ebikes, only comes with straight bars. This bike is to replace both my road and my mtn bike. At 72 I'm no longer interested in the knarly single track but I still enjoy riding the Colorado back country. I also enjoy putting in some miles on the road. The Wabash should serve the dual purposes well.

 

[Catbiscuits]

Well if you are looking for a gravel bike, I think you can’t do better!

The Urban Rush has drop bars. I don’t expect to take it off road much, if at all, although arguably NJ roads are closer to mountain bike trails than well-groomed asphalt.

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[Amazer98]

Hi Catbiscuit, I don’t mean to complicate your bike purchasing process, but if you’re looking for an electric gravel bike, could I suggest that you check out the Bulls Grinder Evo? I bought one about two weeks ago and have ridden 300 miles on it so far and really enjoy it.

The key differentiators between it and the Rush are a front suspension fork, a Bosch class 3 motor with the top assistance speed of 28 mph, slightly flared handlebars, a 1x11 drivetrain (only one chainring, no front derailleur), and integrated power tube battery.

For what it’s worth, I get a range of 56 to 60 miles on a full charge, riding mostly in Evo and occasionally in tour mode for the bigger hills.

Previously I had taken a 25 mile ride on a friend’s Cannondale Synapse Neo and found that the 20 mph limit was very frustrating. It’s not that you will always be riding at 28, but sometimes you want to maintain a speed of 22 or 23 mph, and the cut-out is like a gooey wall that you have to fight through.

There’s a video review of this bike on this website, and in the Bulls section I wrote a lengthy review myself. Good luck with your search!

 

[StmbtDave]

I actually rode a Bulls Grinder before I was even shopping for an ebike. My wife was out test riding a bike and the shop owner suggested I take out his personal Grinder just for grins. I was quite impressed with the bike, even though it was a bit tall for me. I took it up some trails on a ski hill and I swear that if I had my clipless pedals, in Turbo I could have climbed a wall. That one ride is what got me started on my gravel ebike search. I just considered the Bulls a bit over my price point. I ended up with the Wabash at over $2k under the Bulls Grinder.

 

[Amazer98]

Yeah, I have to admit I also found the price to be a bit steep. At least the shop knocked $300 off the list price. But once the pain of the $$ wears off, there’s no looking back! The bike is just great, especially since I swapped the nasty saddle for a Brooks I had on another bike.

 

[Catbiscuits]

I looked at the Bulls bikes at the LBS. They were nice, but seem to come from a more gravel/MTB side (I'm not looking for a gravel bike, that was @StmbtDave). The Yamaha Urban Boost seems to be more a touring bike, which is what I want. Not many trails around here and I prefer to hike them to and bike them. I'm expecting most of my recreational riding will be on the road, with my Domane 5.9 Dura Ace, but who knows! Now, if I could figure out how to strap that 15 pound bike to the rack of the Yamaha to take it to good starting points, THAT would be something.

 

[Catbiscuits]

So, I bought a Wabash! I decided that New Jersey roads are closer to gravel than to smooth pavement. I liked the wider stance of the handlebars and with an ebike, a simpler drivetrain seems like a better idea. I wound up buying it at Slick eCycles in Tarrytown. Even though another ebike store is located two miles from me and this is an hours’ drive away, I had been getting more and more bad feelings and signals about the store near me. I’m 52 and have been burned too many times to not trust my gut. Slick eCycles is a beautiful and well-managed store and Ed, the owner, took me on a half hour ride prior to my purchase. I have ridden this bike a few miles, have a lot of learning to do, but love it already.

 

[Amazer98]

Congrats on your new ride! I hear that once the bike lanes open on the new Tappan Zee bridge you’ll be able to do a 35 mile loop up the Palisades, across the TZ, down through Irvington and Hastings-on-Hudson, and back across the GW bridge... I think some biking group is designing a specified (i.e., safe) route.

 

[Catbiscuits]

That’d be great! Except that since I’m in New Jersey, I could get probably get up to Tarrytown on this bike and then would have to recharge fully to make it back. I’m sure Ed would let me charge it at his store though, so it may yet happen. I’m looking forward to riding up to the GWB on this bike once I get a feel for the range. It’s 19 miles one way.

 

[Amazer98]

Yeah, we really need 1 kilowatt batteries!

 

[StmbtDave]

I’ve been tracking battery usage vs mileage on my Wabash and its been pretty consistent at 1% per mile. That’s the average over 190 miles. I ride pretty consistently in Eco (level 2 boost) but pop it into STD on a steep climb. At that rate I’d feel confident doing 60-70 miles without a fill up.

 

[Amazer98]

I’ve been tracking battery usage vs mileage on my Wabash and its been pretty consistent at 1% per mile....At that rate I’d feel confident doing 60-70 miles without a fill up.

That’s great mileage, I have to say. At best, I get maybe 55 miles on a full tank riding in Eco only, over moderately hilly terrain (today I rode 32 miles with about 2,200 vertical ft). But, to be honest, I flip on Tour for maybe 25% of the time, so realistically my range is about 40 miles. That’s with Bosch Performance Speed and a 500 wh battery.

But I do ride fast, climb moderate hills at 18 and trundle along the flats at 23-25mph.