Unboxing: Took delivery of the Frey Savannah Ultra - Cross Country.

[Tom@WashDC]

I ordered a Frey Savannah Ultra - Cross Country for my wife. She has been riding a cadence sensing Aventon Level step-thru since Sept 2020. I've been riding a full suspension, torque sensing, carbon fiber Luna Z1, powered by a Bafang Ultra. I felt she deserved a full suspension step-thru with torque-sensing. I ordered the bike from "Kathy" at Frey Bikes. I added the brake light and shift sensor options. I wanted to to get one that was specifically in their warehouse in the U.S. as I did not want to wait for one to arrive on a slow boat from China. Kathy said they had my bike in stock in the U.S. and I would get a tracking number within 3-4 days of my order. Within three days she gave me a tracking number. The bike shipped out by air from San Francisco airport to Dulles International airport which is 15 minutes from my home. The bike was delivered this morning, about 10 days after receiving the tracking number.

The box arrived in flawless condition with the bike and components well protected with foam padding. Straight forward assembly with no instructions needed. Once you register the bike online, Frey sends you the unlock password for the display. The fit and finish are very nice. The Candy Apple Red paint shimmers in the sunlight. Nice ride, it feels very much like my Luna Z1 Enduro. I'll give a full review in a couple of days.

 

[AHicks]

Congrats to Tom's wife!!!! That's an awesome looking bike. Best of luck with it!

I don't know if you have a lot of experience with those Super Moto's, but I have them on everything. Would just like to share they don't need a lot of air pressure to work right (2.4" or 2.8") I run something close to 20 psi in the front and 25 psi in the back - for use in mostly urban riding with a little grass and hard packed trail. It would seem like there would be a lot of rolling resistance at that kind of pressure, but there's not! Give it a try! -Al

 

[Tom@WashDC]

Congrats to Tom's wife!!!! That's an awesome looking bike. Best of luck with it!

I don't know if you have a lot of experience with those Super Moto's, but I have them on everything. Would just like to share they don't need a lot of air pressure to work right (2.4" or 2.8") I run something close to 20 psi in the front and 25 psi in the back - for use in mostly urban riding with a little grass and hard packed trail. It would seem like there would be a lot of rolling resistance at that kind of pressure, but there's not! Give it a try! -Al

Thanks for the advice Al. I was wondering about that. I'll run them low pressure and give it go.

On another note, Rohloff approved the rear measurements for my Luna Z1. I'm going to install the Thru Axle IGH Speedhub 14. They put me through a bunch of hoops. They won't sell the thru axle version of the Rohloff Speedhub 14 unless you use their measuring kit and get approval from their engineer. So that's my next project. Expecting delivery of the hub mid April.

 

[AHicks]

Tom I don't know a thing about that hub, but I have learned that the variable ratio hub I have cannot be up shifted when there's any load on it. You literally have to stop pedaling for an up shift (even with a shift sensor). Down shift not nearly as bad as you are unloading the gears with the lower gear you are going to. That's easily done just as you would shift a derailleur based system - just take a little pressure off the pedals while shifting.

Likely OK for some riding styles (cruising?) but I've found it enough of a PIA where mine will be for sale as soon as the weather breaks. I find the need to stop pedaling completely for that up shift a PIA for my riding style, which demands the bike be in the right gear pretty much always. Going back to derailleurs here....

For whatever reason, that "feature", that demands you have to stop pedaling to up shift, isn't something you see much about..... -Al

 

[Tom@WashDC]

Tom I don't know a thing about that hub, but I have learned that the variable ratio hub I have cannot be up shifted when there's any load on it. You literally have to stop pedaling for an up shift (even with a shift sensor). Down shift not nearly as bad as you are unloading the gears with the lower gear you are going to. That's easily done just as you would shift a derailleur based system - just take a little pressure off the pedals while shifting.

Likely OK for some riding styles (cruising?) but I've found it enough of a PIA where mine will be for sale as soon as the weather breaks. I find the need to stop pedaling completely for that up shift a PIA for my riding style, which demands the bike be in the right gear pretty much always. Going back to derailleurs here....

For whatever reason, that "feature", that demands you have to stop pedaling to up shift, isn't something you see much about..... -Al

Thanks Al. Yes I remember I queried you about the Enviolo hub before. The Rohloff appears to be extremely robust. Just change the oil every 5km. I've spoken to a lot of owners, some guys using 2.0-2.5KW on their e-bikes with a Rohloff. I won't be using a shift sensor. This guy in the video gives a good review of the Rohloff on an Electric MTB after 7,000km. This install will be another learning journey for sure!

 

[Tom@WashDC]

And for those that inquired, the Savannah Cross Country is UART protocol.

 

[AHicks]

See 12:10.....

A scenario a little more urban - you're accelerating from a dead stop to cross a busy road and your path to do that is going to be slightly up hill. You take off in 2nd or 3rd to take advantage of you motor's available torque - but you are unable to shift up when reaching full speed in that gear, unless you stop pedaling (with all that traffic coming at you)- limiting your top speed to whatever you have available in the gear you selected for this road crossing. You know how quickly a derailleur can be shifted, so this same crossing I'm thinking of will let you up shift a couple of times.....

As long as you are aware Tom. I don't want to labor the issue.

I will agree that the Rohloff is a pretty cool option..... -Al

 

[Tom@WashDC]

See 12:10.....

A scenario a little more urban - you're accelerating from a dead stop to cross a busy road and your path to do that is going to be slightly up hill. You take off in 2nd or 3rd to take advantage of you motor's available torque - but you are unable to shift up when reaching full speed in that gear, unless you stop pedaling (with all that traffic coming at you)- limiting your top speed to whatever you have available in the gear you selected for this road crossing. You know how quickly a derailleur can be shifted, so this same crossing I'm thinking of will let you up shift a couple of times.....

As long as you are aware Tom. I don't want to labor the issue.

I will agree that the Rohloff is a pretty cool option..... -Al

Yup. I think it won't be too much different that what I am doing now with a cassette. I don't have a shift sensor so when I do shift up, under load, I always pause for a split second, but I still get some chain skip across the cogs if I'm under too much power. I will find out the real world scenario with this hub. Certainly hoping I can do away with bent derailleurs, tuning, thin chains that snap and wear out too quickly, new cogs, clutch pawls, etc.

I'm in for a penny, in for a pound!

 

[AHicks]

Same approach I generally take/have with something new. Generally, it works out well. However, there are those expensive lessons.....

-Al

 

[Kayakguy]

Tom I don't know a thing about that hub, but I have learned that the variable ratio hub I have cannot be up shifted when there's any load on it. You literally have to stop pedaling for an up shift (even with a shift sensor). Down shift not nearly as bad as you are unloading the gears with the lower gear you are going to. That's easily done just as you would shift a derailleur based system - just take a little pressure off the pedals while shifting.

Likely OK for some riding styles (cruising?) but I've found it enough of a PIA where mine will be for sale as soon as the weather breaks. I find the need to stop pedaling completely for that up shift a PIA for my riding style, which demands the bike be in the right gear pretty much always. Going back to derailleurs here....

For whatever reason, that "feature", that demands you have to stop pedaling to up shift, isn't something you see much about..... -Al

The Shimano Nexus 7 on my Ariel Rider C class seems quite tolerant of shifting while pedaling. It downshifts easily, and needs just a little easing off pedaling to upshift. So far no problems with this after 1500 miles. I still prefer to anticipate the gear shift before it becomes really necessary, just as I'd do with a derailleur, which must help.

 

[Tom@WashDC]

The Shimano Nexus 7 on my Ariel Rider C class seems quite tolerant of shifting while pedaling. It downshifts easily, and needs just a little easing off pedaling to upshift. So far no problems with this after 1500 miles. I still prefer to anticipate the gear shift before it becomes really necessary, just as I'd do with a derailleur, which must help.

Thanks for chiming in. Looking forward to riding with a IGH

 

[Tom@WashDC]

Confirmed that the Savannah CC Ultra that I received is UART protocol. Connected to the laptop today and checked out settings.

 

[Tom@WashDC]

Thanks for chiming in. Looking forward to riding with a IGH

The Shimano Nexus 7 on my Ariel Rider C class seems quite tolerant of shifting while pedaling. It downshifts easily, and needs just a little easing off pedaling to upshift. So far no problems with this after 1500 miles. I still prefer to anticipate the gear shift before it becomes really necessary, just as I'd do with a derailleur, which must help.

Kayakguy, I just finished my install of the Rohloff on my Luna Z1. I love it. spent yesterday test driving for two hours. My right thumb is still instinctively looking for the trigger shifter!

Installed a Rohloff Speedhub 14, IGH on my mid-drive Luna Z1 Ultra Mag

After a year of researching, speaking to owners and dealers of the Rohloff Speedhub, I've decided to ditch my 12-speed cog/derailleur system and install the Rohloff Speedhub 14 IGH on on my carbon fiber Luna Z1 Ultra Mag. The kit arrived by UPS today. I'm very excited to build the wheel, install...

electricbikereview.com

 

[ElevenAD]

I ordered a Frey Savannah Ultra - Cross Country for my wife. She has been riding a cadence sensing Aventon Level step-thru since Sept 2020. I've been riding a full suspension, torque sensing, carbon fiber Luna Z1, powered by a Bafang Ultra. I felt she deserved a full suspension step-thru with torque-sensing. I ordered the bike from "Kathy" at Frey Bikes. I added the brake light and shift sensor options. I wanted to to get one that was specifically in their warehouse in the U.S. as I did not want to wait for one to arrive on a slow boat from China. Kathy said they had my bike in stock in the U.S. and I would get a tracking number within 3-4 days of my order. Within three days she gave me a tracking number. The bike shipped out by air from San Francisco airport to Dulles International airport which is 15 minutes from my home. The bike was delivered this morning, about 10 days after receiving the tracking number.

The box arrived in flawless condition with the bike and components well protected with foam padding. Straight forward assembly with no instructions needed. Once you register the bike online, Frey sends you the unlock password for the display. The fit and finish are very nice. The Candy Apple Red paint shimmers in the sunlight. Nice ride, it feels very much like my Luna Z1 Enduro. I'll give a full review in a couple of days.

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Wow! That red looks killer!