Tamland iE review comment followup

[bruceT]

Cort,

As requested on the review comments for the Tamland here are some pictures of my bike. Flipping around the control pad allowed be to add a cell phone mount and light to the cockpit. After 28 miles of 50% cruise and 50% tour the battery is down just 2 ticks. The plug for the charging port already had a little hole in it - I cut the end off a lens tether threaded in through the hole and it works great - I think I got the idea from you. I also changed the saddle for a 142 wide volt vs the 135 standard - great saddle. I tried my $200 leather Sella seat but the volts were more comfortable. Also added some crank brothers candy 7 pedals and a redshift shock absorbing stem - will get their seatpost this fall as part of a kickstarter. After a couple of rides in the wet and dirt, I also added some sks beavertail XL mud guards - could not use the rear "vertical" fender boss on the bike since the fenders are designed for a horizontal screw - 4 tie wraps solved that problem. I always dread / avoided riding on "top of the world" road in the white mountains - it's still a workout but much more fun / less hot and buggy due to riding faster uphill. Instead of turning around to head home when I reach the peak, I now have enough energy left to keep riding and discovering new views. I went from riding my roadbike 10-15 miles in the mountains on carefully selected routes to riding wherever I want on the Tamland for 30-40 miles – while still being able to Kayak in the afternoon! Once again thanks for all your work in these reviews.

 

[drewberz]

sweet bike! i've been eyeing this because i love the Brose motor, but unfortunately, it's a little too small. any issues come up yet for you?

 

[bruceT]

sweet bike! i've been eyeing this because i love the Brose motor, but unfortunately, it's a little too small. any issues come up yet for you?

It's been great for ~4mo / 1500 miles - it's napping for the winter. I was a bit concerned there was no XL since I'm 6'3" - I've found the L to be super comfortable - I've got the seat post at max. I like riding fairly fast mostly on the mid assist level and range has been great.

 

[drewberz]

great to hear! i'm 6'3" as well and test rode the large a week ago. did you make any stem/handlebar/crank modifications? i'm about 2300 miles on a giant road-e+ that i commute to work with, but i really like this bike. what's the max range you'd get on the middle setting and what kind of riding do you do?

 

[bruceT]

I had also considered the road e+ / tough road e - needed something for gravel and didn't like that tough road-e was limited to 20 mph. The 1x11 drive train seems like a perfect match for me. I've found the Brose motor to be nearly silent - can only hear it if your cranking away on sport mode. I also really like the way the torque curve is - the assist seems to come on and drop off very gradually / naturally. The only mod I made was to add a redshift suspension stem to raise the bars up a bit. I either ride a fairly flat routes (~ 200-400 ft change in elevation) ,mostly paved some dirt or on mostly dirt / some paved roads up in the white mountains (1500+ ft elevation change with some 10-12+ % grades). On a flatter ride 40+ miles (level 1-2) with around 1/4 battery left. On the steeper rides more like 30+ miles - 50 % level 2 and 50% sport (level 3) assist for the climbs. This bike is fun on the flat routes but was a real game changer in the mountains - basically doubled my range. On my road bike on the slow climbs I would often be accompanies by mosquitos, deer flies, etc. – while dripping with sweat as I trudged up the hills. With the higher speed on this bike no bugs tag along and I stay much cooler. It's still a lot of work climbing those hills - but way more fun. Also took the fear of climbing the next hill on the horizon away - I feel much more comfortable exploring new back roads with names like "top of the world" and "mountain road" – without worrying about a painful ride home.

 

[drewberz]

I had also considered the road e+ / tough road e - needed something for gravel and didn't like that tough road-e was limited to 20 mph. The 1x11 drive train seems like a perfect match for me. I've found the Brose motor to be nearly silent - can only hear it if your cranking away on sport mode. I also really like the way the torque curve is - the assist seems to come on and drop off very gradually / naturally. The only mod I made was to add a redshift suspension stem to raise the bars up a bit. I either ride a fairly flat routes (~ 200-400 ft change in elevation) ,mostly paved some dirt or on mostly dirt / some paved roads up in the white mountains (1500+ ft elevation change with some 10-12+ % grades). On a flatter ride 40+ miles (level 1-2) with around 1/4 battery left. On the steeper rides more like 30+ miles - 50 % level 2 and 50% sport (level 3) assist for the climbs. This bike is fun on the flat routes but was a real game changer in the mountains - basically doubled my range. On my road bike on the slow climbs I would often be accompanies by mosquitos, deer flies, etc. – while dripping with sweat as I trudged up the hills. With the higher speed on this bike no bugs tag along and I stay much cooler. It's still a lot of work climbing those hills - but way more fun. Also took the fear of climbing the next hill on the horizon away - I feel much more comfortable exploring new back roads with names like "top of the world" and "mountain road" – without worrying about a painful ride home.

1x11 does make a lot of sense given the range you get these days. i'll probably convert over once i where out the rings which won't be too much longer i feel. that power delivery you described is just amazing, plus i noticed that it seemed to have a lot less resistance when pedaling without any assist. that range is really good too. i've been getting about 24 miles for the middle setting with me (200lbs plus gear).

glad you love it! it'll be pretty cool once they have 100+ ranges-imagine how much exploring you can do then.

 

[bruceT]

The range on cruise is impressive — 76 miles /5k ft total elevation gain and still 1/4 battery left!