Supercharger 2

[AshleyD]

Hi all,

I just ordered my supercharger 2. And i was wondering what things to look for (weak Points, maintenance schedule, little things that i should keep in mind)

I have ordered the normal version with derailler as the vario or rohloff ones were to expensive for my leasing company.

Do they ride Well? And what range can i expect with the standard 1000wh?

Did anyone try the RX connect system?

Hope you have some helpfull insight!

Thank you

 

[AleksR]

I have supercharger2 with derailleur, purchased June 2020. It rides great, very stable, shifts smoothly and looks fantastic. I live in the San Francisco Bay area and my rides are usually 60+miles, longest covering 100 miles, range determined by how fast you ride as well as the mode you are in. The Bosch website, https://www.bosch-ebike.com/us/service/range-assistant/, gives very accurate range estimates. Mine was 1000Wh (2x500Wh) batteries. I thought the newest ones have a total of 1250Wh? I usually ride in Eco or Tour mode and use Speed or Turbo on steep hills and/or the end of the ride when I am feeling tired. I did change the derailleur after 2000 miles, which is relatively standard, and also changed brake pads after 1000 miles (front pads), but again, my terrain is hilly with a lot of braking. The bike is heavy, over 60 pounds, which gives it stability, but also when it drops, drops hard. I havent had any issues with falls, my only damage was side mirror. I probably wished I purchased it with a belt drive, primarily due to lower maintenance. See post from Marc who has supercharger2 and traveled close to 20,000 miles from Paris to Asia on the same belt drive. Pretty impressive. Overall I am happy with the bike, but wished that it wasnt that expensive. Some issues I had: the charging port has useless rubber cover that will easily fall off and is difficult to replace. The tops of water bottles cracked after 6 months and I tossed them. But hey, it is an addicting bike, that helped me stay active and optimistic during the pandemic!!!

 

[AshleyD]

I have supercharger2 with derailleur, purchased June 2020. It rides great, very stable, shifts smoothly and looks fantastic. I live in the San Francisco Bay area and my rides are usually 60+miles, longest covering 100 miles, range determined by how fast you ride as well as the mode you are in. The Bosch website, https://www.bosch-ebike.com/us/service/range-assistant/, gives very accurate range estimates. Mine was 1000Wh (2x500Wh) batteries. I thought the newest ones have a total of 1250Wh? I usually ride in Eco or Tour mode and use Speed or Turbo on steep hills and/or the end of the ride when I am feeling tired. I did change the derailleur after 2000 miles, which is relatively standard, and also changed brake pads after 1000 miles (front pads), but again, my terrain is hilly with a lot of braking. The bike is heavy, over 60 pounds, which gives it stability, but also when it drops, drops hard. I havent had any issues with falls, my only damage was side mirror. I probably wished I purchased it with a belt drive, primarily due to lower maintenance. See post from Marc who has supercharger2 and traveled close to 20,000 miles from Paris to Asia on the same belt drive. Pretty impressive. Overall I am happy with the bike, but wished that it wasnt that expensive. Some issues I had: the charging port has useless rubber cover that will easily fall off and is difficult to replace. The tops of water bottles cracked after 6 months and I tossed them. But hey, it is an addicting bike, that helped me stay active and optimistic during the pandemic!!!

Thank you for the detailed explanation!

The price is the same reason i have ordered it with a derailler, the new ones come standard with the 1000wh but are upgradeable to 1250wh ,what is the average speed you get in the eco, tour mode? Also the battery Cap has been changed and it's now fitted on the top of the bike instead. The water bottles... I was thinking of replacing them with straw varients so i don't have to loose sight of the Road While drinking , i was thinking about taking the drive belt , but i went to several bike shops and they all say the best was the derailler as with the belt ,the upper speeds were hard to reach, but i guess that wasn't true after all?

Does your bike have the RX chip or does it not exist in the us?

Do you have a carrier bag(s) on the rear transporting rack? If so which ones?

 

[AshleyD]

PS. Do you think it's possible to upgrade to a vario drive system over time?

 

[Alaskan]

If you keep the chain clean and well lubricated, it will last longer. Investing 300-500 Eu in a decent work stand and some tools will help you keep the chain in good shape and get more life out of the chain and derailleur. I clean my chain after every 100-150 miles and have to change it out for a new on at 1000-1400 miles at which point I pull the cassette clean it thoroughly, along with the front chain ring and the derailleur cogs and reinstall and lube the whole drive train. I also change out the first two smallest cogs on the cassette every two chains and replace the whole cassette every four chains. I also check the brake pads every 500 miles and usually get between 2000-3000 miles out of the pads and twice that out of the rotors.

Before you actually need these things, it would be wise to source and purchase them now as many bike parts are hard to find these days while shipping is delayed almost everywhere. I would recommend you have on hand:

1. 3 chains
2. replacement cassette
3. replacement two smallest cassette cog (likely 11&13 tooth- the ones with the fewest teeth wear out quickest)
4. two sets of brake pads
5. two break rotors
6. replacement derailleur hanger
7. replacement derailleur
8. Pedro's BIke lust silicone bike wipe down
9. Rolls of Blue paper shop towels
   
   There is a wealth of good instructional videos on youtube on doing all these tasks, some of the bet are by Park Tool, the Snap-on of bike tool companies, other good bike tool makers are Pedros and Bikehand (more of a discount brand).
   
   If you can find a corner of a garage or basement to set up a work station for your bike where the tools are handy and you have the right rags and fluids to keep you bike clean and smooth running, you will be glad you took the time and resources to set that up, A good radio or freestanding streaming speaker is a good thing to have in your shop along with a wall clock, as time can really get away from you when you're having fun giving your Pride & Joy the TLC she needs.
   
   I find with a dual battery bike that I like to have a second charger so that I can charge them both off the bike (or one off and the other in the bike).
   
   It is important to learn how to take off and put back on both the front and rear wheel and then learn to take off the tire, repair and/or the tube and put it all back together. If you practice this at home 3 or 4 times, it will take you only 15 minutes or so to doing it in the field when you get a flat. Being self reliant on these things take cycling up another level.

 

[Alaskan]

PS. Do you think it's possible to upgrade to a vario drive system over time?

Hard and expensive to get a change that big done and likely have to get it done at a R&M shop, after the warranty expires. You might have a hard time getting R&M to provide the proprietary parts needed to do that change over.

I have had a belt drive with a Rohloff on a 2018 Homage and now ride two bikes with derailleurs, a Delite Mountain and a Trek Allant+9.9S. The belt drive Rohloff or Vario had a much longer belt life with way less care required and the rear IGH hubs are normally very low maintenance. However if something goes wrong with either gear, getting it fixed and back on the road can sometime take months. For me that wipes our the value of the convenience offered. I would rather have a drive train that I or any decent local bike shop can get back on the road later today or tomorrow, with parts generally available everywhere, than an exotic, legendary drive system that can cost you three months of riding for an oil leak.

 

[AshleyD]

If you keep the chain clean and well lubricated, it will last longer. Investing 300-500 Eu in a decent work stand and some tools will help you keep the chain in good shape and get more life out of the chain and derailleur. I clean my chain after every 100-150 miles and have to change it out for a new on at 1000-1400 miles at which point I pull the cassette clean it thoroughly, along with the front chain ring and the derailleur cogs and reinstall and lube the whole drive train. I also change out the first two smallest cogs on the cassette every two chains and replace the whole cassette every four chains. I also check the brake pads every 500 miles and usually get between 2000-3000 miles out of the pads and twice that out of the rotors.

Before you actually need these things, it would be wise to source and purchase them now as many bike parts are hard to find these days while shipping is delayed almost everywhere. I would recommend you have on hand:

1. 3 chains
2. replacement cassette
3. replacement two smallest cassette cog (likely 11&13 tooth- the ones with the fewest teeth wear out quickest)
4. two sets of brake pads
5. two break rotors
6. replacement derailleur hanger
7. replacement derailleur
8. Pedro's BIke lust silicone bike wipe down
9. Rolls of Blue paper shop towels
   
   There is a wealth of good instructional videos on youtube on doing all these tasks, some of the bet are by Park Tool, the Snap-on of bike tool companies, other good bike tool makers are Pedros and Bikehand (more of a discount brand).
   
   If you can find a corner of a garage or basement to set up a work station for your bike where the tools are handy and you have the right rags and fluids to keep you bike clean and smooth running, you will be glad you took the time and resources to set that up, A good radio or freestanding streaming speaker is a good thing to have in your shop along with a wall clock, as time can really get away from you when you're having fun giving your Pride & Joy the TLC she needs.
   
   I find with a dual battery bike that I like to have a second charger so that I can charge them both off the bike (or one off and the other in the bike).
   
   It is important to learn how to take off and put back on both the front and rear wheel and then learn to take off the tire, repair and/or the tube and put it all back together. If you practice this at home 3 or 4 times, it will take you only 15 minutes or so to doing it in the field when you get a flat. Being self reliant on these things take cycling up another level.

Very Nice advice! I am going to set up a small working spot in my garage, and i am going to look up all the tools that are needed for the bike including the spare Parts

Thank you so much! Very helpfull

 

[AshleyD]

Hard and expensive to get a change that big done and likely have to get it done at a R&M shop, after the warranty expires. You might have a hard time getting R&M to provide the proprietary parts needed to do that change over.

I have had a belt drive with a Rohloff on a 2018 Homage and now ride two bikes with derailleurs, a Delite Mountain and a Trek Allant+9.9S. The belt drive Rohloff or Vario had a much longer belt life with way less care required and the rear IGH hubs are normally very low maintenance. However if something goes wrong with either gear, getting it fixed and back on the road can sometime take months. For me that wipes our the value of the convenience offered. I would rather have a drive train that I or any decent local bike shop can get back on the road later today or tomorrow, with parts generally available everywhere, than an exotic, legendary drive system that can cost you three months of riding for an oil leak.

Good to know i made the right choice

 

[Alaskan]

Good to know i made the right choice

the grass is always greener. Good to know and learn to appreciate the advantages (besides the savings) of what you bought. Makes it so much easier to live with and be satisfied instead of always looking over the fence at what you might have and maybe should should have bought paid out another 1,500 euro, Love the one your with

 

[AshleyD]

the grass is always greener. Good to know and learn to appreciate the advantages (besides the savings) of what you bought. Makes it so much easier to live with and be satisfied instead of always looking over the fence at what you might have and maybe should should have bought paid out another 1,500 euro, Love the one your with

Thank you, really looking forward to the bike

 

[sammcneill]

Example of range with camping gear on my SuperCharger 2

Waitangi Weekend eBike Wandering – February 2021

Sharing my eBike Touring journey around Banks Peninsula on Waitangi Weekend 2021

samuelmcneill.com

Evaluation criteria here:

Reflections On Owning A Riese & Muller SuperCharger 2 eBike

eBikes are a big investment and there is growing choice - in this blog post I share my selection journey towards the Riese & Muller SuperCharger 2

samuelmcneill.com

I have Vario but want Rohloff.... couldn’t afford it and Vario was available on discount.

hope this helps

Sam

 

[Stefan Mikes]

what is the average speed you get in the eco, tour mode?

Do you own a regular Euro version (25 km/h) or the HS one?

 

[AshleyD]

Do you own a regular Euro version (25 km/h) or the HS one?

Mine Will be delivered 7th of april and Will be a HS

 

[AleksR]

PS. Do you think it's possible to upgrade to a vario drive system over time?

I was quoted $2,000 to upgrade from derailleur to belt system, and it sounded like it will be a major undertaking.

 

[AleksR]

Thank you for the detailed explanation!

The price is the same reason i have ordered it with a derailler, the new ones come standard with the 1000wh but are upgradeable to 1250wh ,what is the average speed you get in the eco, tour mode? Also the battery Cap has been changed and it's now fitted on the top of the bike instead. The water bottles... I was thinking of replacing them with straw varients so i don't have to loose sight of the Road While drinking , i was thinking about taking the drive belt , but i went to several bike shops and they all say the best was the derailler as with the belt ,the upper speeds were hard to reach, but i guess that wasn't true after all?

Does your bike have the RX chip or does it not exist in the us?

Do you have a carrier bag(s) on the rear transporting rack? If so which ones?

My bike doesnt have RX chip

I purchased the following carrier bag: https://mybikeshop.com/products/top...ith-expandable-panniers-22-6-liter-black.html

Speeds in Eco reach to 19 mph if you are on a flat, in tour mode I can easily hit 23 mph or more, but it all depends on your effort. My bike is also HS, which will shorten your range especially if your ride fast.

 

[Moony]

congrats on your supercharger 2. They are epic bikes. Be careful on the paint. It’s not good. The pannier rack paint is terrible. My pannier is covered in tape on the contact points. I will get it powder coated at some point. Just need to get the dealer to take the rear light off as the cable goes through the tube, powder coat the rack and have the dealer the install the light again.
Belt drive is the best. Not sure what the dealers where in about regarding speed and belts. Really low maintenance and very clean.
1000 w batteries should get you 80 miles on tour if flattish.

 

[AshleyD]

congrats on your supercharger 2. They are epic bikes. Be careful on the paint. It’s not good. The pannier rack paint is terrible. My pannier is covered in tape on the contact points. I will get it powder coated at some point. Just need to get the dealer to take the rear light off as the cable goes through the tube, powder coat the rack and have the dealer the install the light again.
Belt drive is the best. Not sure what the dealers where in about regarding speed and belts. Really low maintenance and very clean.
1000 w batteries should get you 80 miles on tour if flattish.

I've got the chain version as the belt one was too expensive for my leasing company thanks for mentioning the panniers Paint is not so good, i Will try to take extra Care, hope they fixed it in the 2021 version

 

[sl91]

Hi all,

I just ordered my supercharger 2. And i was wondering what things to look for (weak Points, maintenance schedule, little things that i should keep in mind)

I have ordered the normal version with derailler as the vario or rohloff ones were to expensive for my leasing company.

Do they ride Well? And what range can i expect with the standard 1000wh?

Did anyone try the RX connect system?

Hope you have some helpfull insight!

Thank you

Hi,

Mine was delivered in mid january 2020, Rohloff version + Kiox + front rack. I use it nearly everyday for home to office drive (2 x 10.5 kms). The bike is very reliable.:

Positive side:
-Rohloff + Carbongates is a must have ! clean and reliable:
-I can drive for more than 100 kms in sport mode
-The general feeling is of very good overall quality

Negative side:
-The price is high but not that high considering the components
-The bike was delivered to me with one useless battery. The dealer didn't proceed with the mandatory Bosch tests just before delivery
-The drive unit is a little bit loud, from day 1
-The crankarm axle is too low. It is really very easy to touch the ground with the pedal when turnin. One has to be very careful with that.
-After one year of driving, I discrovered a very strange thing. One part is oxidized despite the bicycle is always stored in a closed place (garage at home and my private office at work). I live far from sea (Paris area). I have attached a picture. How is this possible, I mean the use of a part made from very poor quality material.

What I have done myself:
-Changing the Rohloff oil one time. This is very easy. I will do it again when needed
-Replacing the belt guard. Il has been bended by a strong wood part in the forest. I bought the newone from Universal transmissions in Germany. They are very kind and give many technical tip, as needed
-Replacing the rear wheel tube.....this was really painfull. Many tips to know. Youtube is your best friend.

Best regards

sl91

 

[JVBulman]

@sl91 that is a bit irksome - seen it on quiet a few R&Ms that come in for service - It's a just a steel rod that wasn't coated with a weather-proof paint. Luckily, it's not structural and is just there to keep the cables up and out of the way. If you're interested, it's a pretty plainless process to replace it with a piece of alloy tubing of the same diameter - you can find these at most hardware stores for cheap.

 

[Alaskan]

@sl91 that is a bit irksome - seen it on quiet a few R&Ms that come in for service - It's a just a steel rod that wasn't coated with a weather-proof paint. Luckily, it's not structural and is just there to keep the cables up and out of the way. If you're interested, it's a pretty plainless process to replace it with a piece of alloy tubing of the same diameter - you can find these at most hardware stores for cheap.

Is there a threaded hole on one side the rod slides out of with a set screw to hold the rod in place?