Video Review

[Ebiker33]

Review of one of the models.

 

[Buddy Shagmore]

He covered it all! A super fine e-bike! Mine is charging up and I will hit the bike path soon...

 

[Gmanx]

Yeah, a lot of the video reviews out are mostly the Rush/CTY ,step through and Mosh/CTY. There has been very little reviews of the Rush/CTY Speed. A couple of reviews touch on it and I think its more about lack of availability of units. Right now you can essentially get 3/4 bikes right now, with the Speed showing summer 2021.

The more reviews i see of this bike, other bikes and what is coming out, the more i feel comfortable with the purchase. I'm looking forward to the same @Buddy Shagmore - charging up and charging out!

 

[Buddy Shagmore]

Gmanx, you will not be disappointed! I have the Rush/CTY, and am fine with the 20mph governor. I am past my prime, and just enjoy the world passing me by at 15-20mph.
Plus I am not commuting, so there is no hurry for me. Let us know when yours arrives. The assembly is easy. Soon you will be on the road, and your grin will be unstoppable!

 

[Gmanx]

Thanks @Buddy Shagmore , I am looking forward to it and putting it out of my mind as well. I opted for dealer installation. Not that I couldn't do it, i watched the youtube video about 10 times already. With a purchase like this, I want the dealer to be on the hook to be the ones to put it together, than I can decide if I want to accept it.

RE: Speed - I just like having the option to move at a little brisker pace as I am planning to do some urban driving and having that extra level of speed is nice (former motorcycle driver). I agree though its semantics. Based on my research, it appears these things disappear beneath you because of the balance. What has been your experience?

 

[Buddy Shagmore]

The very low center of gravity makes for a nimble handling machine. I can even ride with my hands off the bars, but I am not a big risk taker (also a motorcycle rider), so I don't do that for very long. The balance is good, it is quiet, and the torque off the line really gets you in motion from a dead stop.

 

[Gmanx]

what kind of range have you been getting and what modes you primarily ride in? I'm interested to see what real world range looks like from my local area. I have already started planning some 20-30 mile bike rides and was wondering what you were seeing in terms of real world. There is such a wide spread in the estimates, I'm hoping for 50-60 miles of real world usage using pedal assist in touring/ sport modes and 30-40 with some boost in there.

ETA : I'm in my 40's. I primarily got an ebike because I love the idea of more of what i love about riding bikes. This bike will be in the new england area, which is why i went with a more commuter/urban bike because I wanted to get a bike that I could ride 6-9 months of the year around here. I also live near public transportation and near a city. I'm looking to do long bike rides using bike paths/ roads and side walks (responsibly) as well as move around the city. Not every one who is stoke about ebikes has mobility issues or is a retiree.

I think it will be silly in 20-30 years to look back at the backlash ebikes initially faced.

 

[Buddy Shagmore]

The longest ride I've done was 16 miles, using a combo of sport and a lot of boost modes. It was fun to see how zippy it is on boost for no good reason...there were no hills...and I used up about 1/5 of the battery. For sure if you are on tour most of the time you will get your 30-40 miles no sweat. I am 69 y.o, but pretty fit. Mods I've done are putting on a Kinekt suspension seat post and a Brooks Cambium C19. The seatpost helps a lot, but I am now questioning the Brooks seat, as it is really hard. I also added a strap on water bottle holder to the top of the frame.

 

[Gmanx]

Did a test ride this week for both the mosh and rush city (non-speed).

Bottom line - the mosh is hella fun and I’m more convinced the speed is worth waiting for.

I’ll post a more detailed response later.

 

[Gmanx]

Test ride thoughts:

I test rode both the Mosh/CTY and Rush/CTY bikes, this dealer (and most) didn't have the Rush/CTY Speed available. I tested out the Mosh first then Rush to see what I was missing and what I was getting.

Mosh/CTY - I think the word hooligan from this review came to mind. First off, the bike is lighter than i thought. Granted, i'm an able bodied man in my 40's but I would have no problems getting a good lifting position and being able to put this in a truck's bed or lift up onto a train.

Pedaling - One of the things I loved is the just pedal and go aspect of the bike. No thinking about what gear to be in, just mash on the pedals and go. I found myself looking for off the beaten path trails to ride with the mosh. It was hella fun and had me questioning if the Rush/CTY Speed was the right call, even had me thinking of a strategy to try and get the previous price for a swap. The bike can handle most urban / path's / trails out there in addition to urban traffic/ construction. The bike is nimble but not dainty that you have to baby it. The best compliment I can give to the bike is I didn't think about the bike itself and was just riding it.​

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Ride comfort - the seat was way lower than I would ride it so I didn't get a chance to see what it would be like to ride sitting down. I may or may not get a new seat if I ended up getting a mosh, time will tell. it wasn't the worst seat and again, the bike is so much fun I was out of my seat for most of it anyways.​

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Balance / ride - I was able to go no hands essentially immediately with this bike. Its stable, smooth, easy to maneuver bike.​

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Cockpit - I appreciated the slim down electronics and once i figured out what it was saying, could use it. Lets be honest though, i kept it in boost mode!!​

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I probably did 10-12 miles? and on the Mosh, which was fully charged, it didn't even reduce a bar on the battery, mostly flat terrain but pretty much at the 20 mph limit.​

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One thing i didn't like about the mosh was the need to constantly pedal to keep it at the 20 mph. On boost, it was not hard to achieve, but you had to keep a higher cadence to maintain that speed.​

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Overall - Just lots of fun. I walked away from the test ride thinking they need to make a eMTB ASAP!! I was interested to see how the CVT compared to the single gear.​

Rush/CTY - The bike is heavier but again manageable. This is something I could see myself still being able to lift up into a truck or onto a train with no platform. Until i get a bike rack, i will be removing the front tire and putting into the station wagon to transport if needed. Its a sexy looking bike. It was the non-white version of the Rush and I'm looking forward to the speed's unique color as the one i tested and white look sexy as hell (i didn't go white as i was scared it was going to be a theft magnet more than it is!)

CVT/Enviolo - this thing is a dream! For me, this solidified the choice, was riding the CVT for the first time. Some folks have mentioned it would take getting used to, for me that wasn't the case. You pedaled like normal, the only thing you had to consider was the assist levels. If you wanted more power early on, go higher assist and you will get to cruising speed quicker. The best way to describe it is always being in the right gear when you need it and never having to worry about shifting.​

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Cockpit - After riding the mosh/ i appreciated the digital display on the Rush models. It had useful things like mode, range estimates and battery. I did take the battery down to 0 mile range and it was fun to see if the bike was going to go out on me. I did pedal without any assist to get the feel for it.​

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Hill - I was able to find a short but pretty steep hill to test out the assist levels and even off. I was able to easily get up the hill in boost with no sweat. Eco and off were what a normal bike would feel like. As long as you have charge, you will be fine and if you lose it, you could probably make it back on flat ground without too much more effort. If you want to get a good workout, turn the assist off on inclines or most of the time.​

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Breaks : For both they were good, the Rush/CTY breaks were better. Another thing about the single gear/CVT, you never had to worry about coming to a complete stop and then being able to haul ass outta there if needed and not having to worry about your gearing. For the CVT this is even better because you are always finding the right gear and never have to worry about it​

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Riding position - This to me was the better riding position than the Mosh. Again the seat wasn't raised to my level but it was still a more laid back riding position and comfortable. Getting the bike up to the 20 MPH limit was trivial and also solidified my decision to go with the speed / class 3 bike for those extra 8 MPH's of assist. 20 MPH left me wanting.​

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Fenders - This is my first bike with fenders and I can appreciate them! I remember flinching riding over water with them even after i realized that is what they are for! While i did turn my mosh/cty back with the down tube covered in mud and grass, i didn't so much as feel a drop on the rush due to the fenders, which is what i appreciate as this bike is going to be used much more often and in that type of weather so i can extend the riding season here in the north east.​

Both - Kick stand works super easy and is strong. Bikes maneuver well. The bell is useful to let people know you are coming up and quick. Belt drive and pedaling was super quiet albeit i have no other frame of reference to compare.

The low maintenance appeal, clean lines with really no cables showing, CVT and integrated lights, plus the dealership footprint, i'm loving the decision.

I also spoke with the local rep and they mentioned that simarily how the live wire helped create the tech for serial 1, they are creating an electric adventure platform that should help create the right tech for an eMTB. I'm hoping Serial 1 goes all 1 because if their CTY is any indication, they are going to be serious players in this space.

Bottom line - can't wait until mine gets here and i see myself riding this bad boy daily for years to come.

 

[Gmanx]

I believe this is the platform the rep was mentioning in relation to building out an electric adventure platform