Some questions for owners of R&M Supercharger (or Charger, Nevo, etc.).

[Hairy Pete]

I love these posts with a lot of photos! thanks Pete (and Geejay)! And I love all that geek stuff too! What a beautiful bike and personalization!
Like said in some thread weeks ago i cannot imagine to use my bike without garmin varia radar, I find it very useful and i mounted it in same position of your. And yes, front rack is superbe! I know i yet said this but in my opinion makes our bike more beautiful and you can use it for a lot of useful things (yes you know it! )
How do you find Cycliq in term of autonomy and image quality? I'm using a cheap chinese camera (fake gopro) but i'm looking for this Insta360 ONE X that seems to be a wonder, better than gopro 7...
Which saddle (superwhite) and handlebar (seems larger than the one on my bike) have you mounted on your Supercharger?
Original pedals are good with the right pair of shoes, i use Adidas Terrex Trail Cross SL that have the famous Five Ten sole with anti-slip rubber but i suppose these shoes would work better with your pedals Only thing that worries me about the type of pedals you have chosen is the possible hit to leg bones, my skin rips so easily that I can already see those teeth tattooed on my tibia.
I have some panniers similar to your ortlieb but I found them cumbersome and uncomfortable in my regular paths and I removed them in favor of a smaller and more versatile bag. I'll be back to using those big rain panniers (mines are red) when I travel longer.

The saddle is from Lidl and was on another bike and happened to be white. The bosch motor allows powered pedalling above 100 rpm so grippy pedals or spd are required if you do this.
I will offer some video clips later.

 

[GeeJay]

Pete - Nice pictures! Not sure if you meant to share your frame number with us all though......?

I’ve gone for a Gold rated Abus WBA-75 ground anchor with a Hiplock Homie (stay at home) Gold-rated chain/padlock combo. At 4.5Kg, it really is one to keep and use at home though! Apart from a Hiplock Gold level wearable chain, a free Bern Helmet and a Moon Nebula additional rear light, I’ve kept the accessories light at this stage. May well change the saddle, however need to do a lot more miles before deciding. Standard pedals seem OK, however I did briefly look at some CrankBrothers alternatives.

Nice Audi A1! Your daily driver?

Dadanka - thank you - glad you enjoyed the photos.

Dave, great news on the Homage - please post pictures when you get it - hopefully this side of Christmas!

Steve, yes the roads in London are ideal for cycling. Many roads have been closed to motorised vehicles, and are quite easy to cycle down to avoid congestion. Here’s a video of Robert Llewelyn (of TV’s Red Dwarf and Robot Wars fame) who runs a YouTube channel (called Fully Charged) riding ebikes in London with the Ben Jaconelli (owner of Fully Charged bike shop where I bought my R&M)... click link. It’s coincidence that Robert’s YouTube channel and Ben’s shop share the same name.

Happy riding!

George.

 

[Tiputus]

I have received news that my Homage is 'in the air' somewhere between Germany and Australia. Not long now.

I had the same news today of my Delite GX Rohloff HS Germany-->Finland

 

[Hairy Pete]

Pete - Nice pictures! Not sure if you meant to share your frame number with us all though......?

I’ve gone for a Gold rated Abus WBA-75 ground anchor with a Hiplock Homie (stay at home) Gold-rated chain/padlock combo. At 4.5Kg, it really is one to keep and use at home though! Apart from a Hiplock Gold level wearable chain, a free Bern Helmet and a Moon Nebula additional rear light, I’ve kept the accessories light at this stage. May well change the saddle, however need to do a lot more miles before deciding. Standard pedals seem OK, however I did briefly look at some CrankBrothers alternatives.

Nice Audi A1! Your daily driver?

Dadanka - thank you - glad you enjoyed the photos.

Dave, great news on the Homage - please post pictures when you get it - hopefully this side of Christmas!

Steve, yes the roads in London are ideal for cycling. Many roads have been closed to motorised vehicles, and are quite easy to cycle down to avoid congestion. Here’s a video of Robert Llewelyn (of TV’s Red Dwarf and Robot Wars fame) who runs a YouTube channel (called Fully Charged) riding ebikes in London with the Ben Jaconelli (owner of Fully Charged bike shop where I bought my R&M)... click link. It’s coincidence that Roberts YouTube channel and Bens shop share the same name.

Happy riding!

George.

Ha! Didn't notice the frame number... at least I have a record of it. And yes the Audi is my only car.. Which begs the question... how do you transport a supercharger in an Audi A1? Answer is.. fit a tow bar and use a carrier... But Audi want over £1500 to do it.....

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Ha! Fit a tow bar and use a carrier?

I'm toying with the idea of the next 'car' being a VW Caddy Maxi van - the most popular light delivery van around here. It would be easy to get the Homage into its alternative 'home' where it could stay safe and snug overnight before being off to adventures anew in the morning. (Note to self: think through the recharging arrangement.)

Vehicles like that are two-a-penny ex-lease. Alternatively, I could buy new and have it specced with all the delights offered by one of those website configurators. It's scary seeing the price soar skyward with every option that one hadn't previously realised was essential (puts R&M's dual battery and Kiox options in their place!).

 

[GeeJay]

I was looking at a VW California (Campervan based on a T7 Transporter), and to fit a bike rack that could take an eBike or two would need to be fitted to a tow bar. Certainly too much weight to be supported by rear doors or swing-up tailgate alone...

ATB. George.

 

[Hairy Pete]

My plan is.. tow bar to be fitted Thursday by mobile fitter.. buy thule easyfold2.. folds up like a dmall suitcase when not on use and will carry my supercharger with ease

 

[christob]

... thought I’d cycle round London... Here are some of the photos;

Love that Lego Big Ben!
I'm a volunteer tour guide at Washington National Cathedral, a massive 14th century English gothic styled church. (Perhaps you recall our Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry, who gave a little talk about love at a wedding earlier this year, over on your side of the pond...)
We're about to embark on a fundraiser that will involve building the cathedral in Lego blocks; about 400,000 total pieces expected, resulting in something like a 14 feet long model, 12 feet tall... As blocks are funded by the public, they'll get built into the larger model. One of our staffers came back from visiting England, quite excited about it after seeing several English cathedrals' completed Lego models.

 

[Alaskan]

Love that Lego Big Ben!
I'm a volunteer tour guide at Washington National Cathedral, a massive 14th century English gothic styled church. (Perhaps you recall our Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry, who gave a little talk about love at a wedding earlier this year, over on your side of the pond...)
We're about to embark on a fundraiser that will involve building the cathedral in Lego blocks; about 400,000 total pieces expected, resulting in something like a 14 feet long model, 12 feet tall... As blocks are funded by the public, they'll get built into the larger model. One of our staffers came back from visiting England, quite excited about it after seeing several English cathedrals' completed Lego models.

That will be very cool to see,

 

[Dionigi]

My plan is.. tow bar to be fitted Thursday by mobile fitter.. buy thule easyfold2.. folds up like a dmall suitcase when not on use and will carry my supercharger with ease

I carry 2 Nevo on a Honda HR-V with the Thule Easyfold 2. The only issue is when the carrier is on the car, without bikes, it does not sit flush to the car like other carriers. It looks like you are transporting a wheelchair.
My new Nevo GX Rohloff is in Brooklyn ready for shipment to California unfortunately we will not arrive in California until late January.

 

[GeeJay]

I carry 2 Nevo on a Honda HR-V with the Thule Easyfold 2. The only issue is when the carrier is on the car, without bikes, it does not sit flush to the car like other carriers. It looks like you are transporting a wheelchair.
My new Nevo GX Rohloff is in Brooklyn ready for shipment to California unfortunately we will not arrive in California until late January.

Exciting times ahead! Nevo is a great bike, and the step-through is simply awesome! I tried one initially as part of my many demo rides....

ATB. George

 

[Dionigi]

Does anyone have any experience with the eMTB mode for the Bosch Performance Line CX motor? Is it more nuisance than it is worth for R&M's Nevo, Supercharger, Homage and Delite, assuming that they are not used for mountain biking?

I had my LBS remove the eMTB level and replace it with the straight Sport mode. For riding on roads and bike paths the eMTB level is like having a variable transmission instead of a third gear on a Manuel transmission car.

 

[dadanka]

I had my LBS remove the eMTB level and replace it with the straight Sport mode. For riding on roads and bike paths the eMTB level is like having a variable transmission instead of a third gear on a Manuel transmission car.

I never tried the sport mode because i received my bike with eMTB mode yet configured. I find a good thing to have a variable transmission, expecially off road. I would like it more if it was a total variable mode that assist you from eco to turbo, actual eMTB seems to give a variable assistance from tour to turbo, giving the opportunity of a perfect variable grip when have to be careful about too much assistance on difficult paths.
Anyway, using a Nyon, with only 6€ extra you can buy a software option to configure your own 4 preferred fixed assistance values, called Custom Riding Mode. And you can easily switch between your settings and original settings from Nyon console. This was one of the reasons that make me choose Nyon.

 

[Dionigi]

I never tried the sport mode because i received my bike with eMTB mode yet configured. I find a good thing to have a variable transmission, expecially off road. I would like it more if it was a total variable mode that assist you from eco to turbo, actual eMTB seems to give a variable assistance from tour to turbo, giving the opportunity of a perfect variable grip when have to be careful about too much assistance on difficult paths.
Anyway, using a Nyon, with only 6€ extra you can buy a software option to configure your own 4 preferred fixed assistance values, called Custom Riding Mode. And you can easily switch between your settings and original settings from Nyon console. This was one of the reasons that make me choose Nyon.

The Nyon custom riding mode looks like the ideal solution. The variable power of the eMTB made me feel like I was in no-man land, the turbo level of eMTB was not the same level of assist as the true turbo mode. It seemed like the torque sensor feedback in control.

 

[Hairy Pete]

I carry 2 Nevo on a Honda HR-V with the Thule Easyfold 2. The only issue is when the carrier is on the car, without bikes, it does not sit flush to the car like other carriers. It looks like you are transporting a wheelchair.
My new Nevo GX Rohloff is in Brooklyn ready for shipment to California unfortunately we will not arrive in California until late January.

I am guessing you don't suffer much bad weather.. unlike us . It's winter here and is generally wet when its dry so am wondering about some sort of bike cover..

 

[Dionigi]

I am guessing you don't suffer much bad weather.. unlike us . It's winter here and is generally wet when its dry so am wondering about some sort of bike cover..

The bike carrier is used in Pennsylvania in the summer and fall where there is a lot of rain. I have looked st various covers but have yet purchase one. Right now I remove the battery and controller then wrap the exposed connectors with stretch plastic. I don’t have a car in California so I wrap myself in plastic when riding in the rain. goretex paints and jacket.

 

[dadanka]

the turbo level of eMTB was not the same level of assist as the true turbo mode. It seemed like the torque sensor feedback in control.

So there are two different turbo modes? the original and the one linked to eMTB one? and the turbo mode for who has eMTB configured has less power?!?

 

[Dionigi]

So there are two different turbo modes? the original and the one linked to eMTB one? and the turbo mode for who has eMTB configured has less power?!?

I’m not sure how this works but the turbo level (not from eMTB) has more zip. Maybe this should be a Bosch thread.

 

[Alaskan]

It's my understanding that EMTB, which replaced SPORT on Bosch CX equipped bikes, is an automatic variable assist mode with assistance ranging from TOUR through TURBO. The idea of EMTB mode, which stands for Electric MounTain Bike, is to eliminate the need to change assist modes when riding mountain trails, keeping your eyes on the trail ahead. My sense of it is that the maximum assist level feels a bit lower than what I get with the bike set on straight up TURBO when climbing a hill or pushing hard on the pedals at higher cadence.

 

[Dionigi]

It's my understanding that EMTB, which replaced SPORT on Bosch CX equipped bikes, is an automatic variable assist mode with assistance ranging from TOUR through TURBO. The idea of EMTB mode, which stands for Electric MounTain Bike, is to eliminate the need to change assist modes when riding mountain trails, keeping your eyes on the trail ahead. My sense of it is that the maximum assist level feels a bit lower than what I get with the bike set on straight up TURBO when climbing a hill or pushing hard on the pedals at higher cadence.

I agree