Electrarider
Member
Yes it was a 54 mile ride on Sunday I took advantage of a a couple short cuts on the way back home, still ran out of power. Still was an awesome day!
Specialized Turbo Como 3.0
- Thread starter Volts
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Electrarider
Member
Well I hit and passed the 900 Mile Mark! Como 3.0 still going strong (without the mission "impossible" control app). Didn't ride too far today the winds were brutal here! Without the pedal assist I would've hated riding and probably not even rode to the end of my street before turning around on my regular bike. The e-bike looks like it will extend my riding season even with the brutal winds it seemed to make the ride acceptable, I know the die hard bike guys will start talking crap about how lazy I am but I want a bike that I can have fun on and don't have to worry about clipping in and wearing a spandex monkey suit. I have that bike in the garage and you know what, I haven't riden it in years because it is a pain in the ass to get all suited up and ready to ride, I was so focused on speed and form that I never took in the scenery. I guess things seem different when you get older. I can guarantee you that my road bike does not have 900 miles on it and I have owned it for 10 plus years. People can call me lazy for owning an e-bike but this bike has been a game changer for me, 900 miles of Pedal Assist is better than no miles on a regular bike, I feel better and have actually lost a little (very little) weight and have had miles of fun on my e-bike! When I purchased my bike I told my wife my goal was 1,000 miles before the end of the year (she laughed at me and said that will be hard while sitting on the couch watching TV). I really had doubts that I would make it to 1,000 miles before the year end, but it looks like I will have no problem (and I'm not including the miles on my wife's bike!) I think I would have surpassed the 1,000 mile mark already if I wasn't out of town so much! So glad I purchased this Como 3.0 e-bike it has made biking fun again!
Volts
Active Member
That is good motivation for me to get up and ride.
I see the American Specialized web site is listing a new Como 5.0 (here).
Bigger battery, our motor is listed as 1.2 rev, this is 1.3, I'd be interested to hear if any pedal characteristics changed and how much. It's interesting to see that the Comos are enough of a success that they introduce an even more deluxe version and raise the prices on all of them.
Volts
Active Member
For my Como riding partner and me, the gearing is good. She lives in the west hills of Portland Oregon and there are many neighborhoods with long steep climbs that we will be in low gear for a quarter mile and more stretches and have to stop and take breaks. But I get that if you're in the flats of the Arizona desert. I've heard of some switching to a bigger front chainring for more effortless high speed cruising. (whoops, I reread and see you said you have some pretty good hills and you still dont use the low lows.)
Electrarider
Member
Hi Mutiny, I personally have not used the lowest gear on my Como 3.0, I do have some steep hills where I'm riding but still haven't shifted all the way down yet. Even a couple weekends ago on my longest ride to date (54 Miles) the last part of my ride home is uphill and I was out of power and no assist I still didn't need the lowest gear (wasn't fun!!). I have actually asked my LBS to see if the Vado 6.0 Chainring would bolt onto the Como 3.0, it has a 48 tooth chainring versus the 40 tooth on the Como 3.0. I don't want to change the Crank Arms because I think the Cadence sensors are in one of them(not sure about that though), but I still haven't gotten a response from the LBS on that yet! I feel by doing that you will have a better range of gears, Unless of course you're riding in hills all day every day then I would leave it alone.
Volts
Active Member
One of the Specialized bike shops here told me he could switch out my chainring.
Electrarider
Member
Yesterday I did something a little different on my bike. There was a car show fairly close to my house where they actually shut down about a mile long stretch of a road and cars can park or cruise around a little bit, as most of you know I'm really big into building older cars, and this is a show I never usually miss. Well this year I didn't bring my truck, instead I rode my bike there. People that know me acted very surprised when I didn't bring my truck, and started to make a little fun of me for riding a bike there I heard jokes about saving gas, etc. I explained to them this wasn't an ordinary bike and that there is a motor in it, now I had their attention! I let one of my friends ride it and almost didn't get it back, he came back with a huge smile! My bike almost became the focal point of the show (where all my friends were anyway), may have some new e-bikers in the near future. Also while riding around a couple CHP officers stopped me to ask about me about my bike, they actually picked up that there was something different about the bike and I told them about it and they didn't seem to know such a bike existed, I told them there are hundreds of e-bikes hitting the market now. Its funny to see people's reaction when you tell them about e-bikes, they either are very curious or think you are really lazy. Any way while riding around a lot of the car guys commented by saying cool bike, they didn't really ask about it just liked the way it looked, plus it's flat black, so it's a fairly popular color for car guys. Didn't get a lot of miles in yesterday but had quite a lot of fun with the Como 3.0!!
Electrarider
Member
I heard you can switch out the chain ring, but I like having the guard. Is he saying the Vado 6.0 will work?
Electrarider
Member
Yeah I'm curious about the New Como 5.0! Looks like pretty much all the Gears are the same, they are using different brakes but the Rotors are are the same size (must be for the extra weight). I want to try one out to see how different the motor is. I would like the bigger battery for my bike.
chriskmee
Active Member
Cruiser style saddles and bikes are generally not comfortable for such long distances. One thing that might help is getting a suspension seatpost (Body float is a really nice one). This will stop most of the constant pounding/vibrating from your seat to your butt, which could improve comfort. I know the Como has some suspension in the saddle, but I don't think its enough to be very effective. I know at least one person in this thread installed the BodyFloat post and loved it, so I think you should at least consider it.
rich c
Well-Known Member
How long have you been riding? If you are a new rider again, it takes time. Look for some biker shorts or under liners with padding.
Just started riding again with the purchase of the Como...I do have biker shorts with the padding....just came back from a 20 mile ride and ugh my butt is sore!
chriskmee
Active Member
Another thing you can try is adjusting the saddle height, position, and angle. It might not fully solve your problem, but it should help. I am not sure if this rule applies to cruiser bikes, but for mountain/road bikes generally a good place to start is a level saddle at a height that gives you close to full leg extension. The back/forward positioning is a little harder to figure out, so that might just be trial and error.
I would bring the tools needed to adjust the seat with you, should only need a hex wrench or two. If it starts getting uncomfortable you can adjust things on the trail and see if it helps. Just be mindful of the seat post minimum insertion point and the saddle position limits (should be etched onto the saddle rail).
I had to go through some trial and error on my bike as well because it was uncomfortable after a little while. I ended up changing my saddle (stock seat was way too narrow for my sit bones) and spent a lot of time making minor adjustments until I got it almost perfect. For me, the bodyfloat post also helped a lot since it got rid of almost all the road vibrations constantly pounding my butt.
Have been doing some reading online about sore butt! My sit bones don't hurt it is more of where the inner part of my upper thigh attaches to my butt....it looks like my upper thighs are rubbing on the saddle and causing the chaffing...I will try your suggestions about the height, position and angle....thanks for your input!!
Uburoibob
Active Member
This week I bought and installed the Como Fenders. Had a snag where I thought I'd cross-threaded one of the Plug and Play set screw holes in the fork, but my LBS was able to get it right. Also added a Topeak quick-release rear rack today. I had a rack bag at home, but grabbed these photos on the way back from LBS. It's a Como 2.0, but thanks for letting me play here. I've got 250 miles on it. I alternate every other ride with my RANS Stratus Recumbent, still. Longest ride for me on Como, so far, is 35 miles. Here are six photos I shot today. It's been a little muddy here, so she's not all gussied up...
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Very nice....what frame bag do you have? I could not find anything that worked at my LBS
