Full suspension touring bike with panniers and mud guards

[Woosh]

this vendor says it's for 25kgs

https://www.tweekscycles.com/uk/thule-pack-n-pedal-tour-rack-xt-madthp100090/

The rack is rated to 25kg load capacity and like all products it is covered by Thule's usual 5 year warranty.

 

[Trevormonty]

The official Thule site pack n pedal is rated 11kg, this is probably just the top base max weight rating. Third party sites say 25kg kg if you use panniers and the top base.

The rack with side bars combo is strong and stand s up to a bit of abuse and so far has survived my off road rides on fs mtb laden with side panniers.

I've kept it to 11kg, but might worth try with both rails fitted and using 2 panniers. Only occasionally need these loads for a commute. If I was touring would use front handle bar bag and spread the weight around..

 

[git-r]

Thanks again for all the help

If I can get the pro cycle to work scheme then I’ll probably get the R and M delite as it seems the safest bet for long term reliability.

If I can’t get that scheme I’ll provably just go for another hard tail bike as there’s so much choice and they’re so much cheaper.

Fingers crossed I’ll get a test ride tomorrow.
Will keep you all updated.

 

[RobF]

Riese and Muller are nicely made, although as you've observed you will be getting the same motor/battery as you would in a £1,750 Cube.

Have you sorted secure parking at work?

Any bike left in almost any street in the country for any length of time will get stolen/vandalised, sadly it's just a matter of how long it remains untouched.

At the very least you need good insurance.

A mate of mine had his C2W bike nicked after a month or so.

I think he'd made one payment and was, of course, still liable for all the remaining payments.

Insurance paid in his case.

 

[git-r]

Riese and Muller are nicely made, although as you've observed you will be getting the same motor/battery as you would in a £1,750 Cube.

Have you sorted secure parking at work?

Any bike left in almost any street in the country for any length of time will get stolen/vandalised, sadly it's just a matter of how long it remains untouched.

At the very least you need good insurance.

A mate of mine had his C2W bike nicked after a month or so.

I think he'd made one payment and was, of course, still liable for all the remaining payments.

Insurance paid in his case.

I’ve been cycling then ebiking for several years and touch wood never had a problem but have always had insurance. Over a year of that was with a nice carbon road bike. The R M is in another league price wise to any bike I’ve owned though.

It seems my employers aren’t willing to do the pro cycle to work scheme, I’ve asked them to look into it further as being a Big British Company it’s the sort of thing they should.

As much as I like the idea of owning the RM the thought of having to pay full price spoils it, one of the traders here is selling one with discount but it’s still nearly 4K.

Does anybody know how common it is to get discounts on these?

 

[git-r]

I tried a haibike endure trekking 9 today with the Moto x tyres, front suspension and Bosch cx. It felt so much nicer than what I’m used to, so much more comfortable which must in large part be down to the tyres. No creaks or groans either.

Next I tried the RM Delite GT Nuvinci (belt drive). It was the first time I’ve used a bike with this type of gear system and liken it to using an automatic in a car. Seamless gear changes.
Goinf from the hardtail to this, it was even more comfortable. It felt like riding a comfortable motorbike. Tested it over speed bumps and it just soaks them up, no need to even take your weight off the saddle.
Very impressed with the ride, got up to around 22mph and without doubt it’s the nicest riding bike I’ve been on. So relaxing, so quiet and so comfortable; ideal for my intended use and fingers crossed will be able to use the battery from my current bike for longer trips.
Also, my other half likes the colour of the bike they have in stock that’s been used as a demo - it’s orange! Plan is to do some rides with her on the ebike and me on my road bike

The only thing is cost

Just don’t want to spend that much but know I’ll get good use out of it and will definitely appreciate how nice it is after thousands of miles I’ve done without full suspension.

I’ve asked them to see about doing a discount on their demo bike, fingers crossed we can come to an arrangement

 

[git-r]

It is possible to get substantial discount on the RM bikes. Dual battery delite gt Nuvinci with 2 batteries for £4K.

There’s a few bikes available but please nobody buy mine!

 

[Nev]

It is possible to get substantial discount on the RM bikes. Dual battery delite gt Nuvinci with 2 batteries for £4K.

There’s a few bikes available but please nobody buy mine!

I probably would have bought it first and then let everyone know about the large discounts available.

 

[git-r]

I probably would have bought it first and then let everyone know about the large discounts available.

My bike is reserved already

Hopefully pick it up Monday!!!

 

[Nev]

My bike is reserved already

Hopefully pick it up Monday!!!

Great news I bet you can't wait. Let us know how you get on with it when you get a chance.

 

[git-r]

Great news I bet you can't wait. Let us know how you get on with it when you get a chance.

Thank you!

Yes quite excited to have a working ebike and even more excited to have a very nice full suspension one! It’s amazing how much I’ve missed having an ebike whilst mine’s been getting fixed.

I left a refundable deposit but don’t see why I wouldn’t buy that one, somehow spending 4K to get the bike plus 2 batteries is slightly easier to stomach.

I noticed 50cycles are advertising the rohloff version for 4.8k so these deals are available, not sure if that will come with the second battery though.

I’m buying through Fudges in Epsom which isn’t too bad for me to get to and they offer 2 year courstesy ebike if necessary.

I’ll start a review thread in case anyone’s interested.

Thanks again for everybody’s help

 

[RobF]

Thank you!

Yes quite excited to have a working ebike and even more excited to have a very nice full suspension one! It’s amazing how much I’ve missed having an ebike whilst mine’s been getting fixed.

I left a refundable deposit but don’t see why I wouldn’t buy that one, somehow spending 4K to get the bike plus 2 batteries is slightly easier to stomach.

I noticed 50cycles are advertising the rohloff version for 4.8k so these deals are available, not sure if that will come with the second battery though.

I’m buying through Fudges in Epsom which isn’t too bad for me to get to and they offer 2 year courstesy ebike if necessary.

I’ll start a review thread in case anyone’s interested.

Thanks again for everybody’s help

Riese and Muller offer models that almost no one else does - as you've discovered.

My Charger - twin battery and Rohloff - doesn't have any direct competition as far as I know.

Having screwed a decent discount from the supplier, the cost of it wasn't that high given the extra battery and Rohloff would add about £1,600 retail to a 'standard' Bosch ebike.

R&M bikes are sturdily made and well put together.

Everything is good or excellent quality, and it's all repairable/replaceable.

That's not important in the first year or two, but you will be glad of it as the years and miles mount up.

 

[git-r]

Riese and Muller offer models that almost no one else does - as you've discovered.

My Charger - twin battery and Rohloff - doesn't have any direct competition as far as I know.

Having screwed a decent discount from the supplier, the cost of it wasn't that high given the extra battery and Rohloff would add about £1,600 retail to a 'standard' Bosch ebike.

R&M bikes are sturdily made and well put together.

Everything is good or excellent quality, and it's all repairable/replaceable.

That's not important in the first year or two, but you will be glad of it as the years and miles mount up.

Thank you for your reassuring words

There’s a member here (Croxden) that’s covered nearly 10k miles on his and it’s mostly original which is also good to know.

My mileage will vary but imagine should clock up at a faster rate than my last bike. I didn’t get much enjoyment from that as it always sounded like a bag of spanners, always something rattling or creaking or breaking after about 2 years lol!

I should’ve spent more on my last ebike, I should’ve also learnt my lesson from road bikes as I did the same. Bought a cheaper bike, had a year of bother and unreliable travel before getting a full refund (excellent LBS) and buying a much more expensive carbon road bike that was much better and no problems.

For me, it’s the hassle and time that goes with fixing them that’s the problem. Being late isn’t an option so if anything goes wrong it’s heugely stressful too. And expensive in taxis.

I’ve bought nice cars for less money than this ebike but it should be worth every penny. In about 20 months it will have paid for itself then every journey after will save about £13 a day.

All the other great things about ebike ownership remain the same of course, and we all know what they are

 

[RobF]

I've ridden Croxden's bike and it's certainly a good advert for Riese and Muller, not least because he doesn't baby his bikes.

Commuting is hard use for any bike, commuting in London is even harder, so your bike is in for a good test.

R&M bikes are heavy, even for ebikes, but that translates into sturdiness so the frame ought to take London roads hammer.

The Alex MD40 wheels on mine have been bombproof, not sure what make you are getting, but they should be well-built which is just as important, if not more so.

 

[git-r]

Yes, same as cars, mileage when commuting in London isn’t easy.

With the extra battery I’ll intend to use the bike for fun too, it will need the extra range to get somewhere interesting. Looking forward to some off road adventures

 

[RobF]

One thing I didn't mention is how stable Croxden's bike felt.

I don't descend quickly, but recall hitting a couple of undulations at about 30mph which would have been sketchy on a hard tail.

The Delite wasn't put off line and felt very planted.

I was a bit suspicious of full-sus for the road, but R&M has done an excellent job of it.

 

[TZC]

I got one of these for when leaving mine around. 6 kilos
I don't take it shopping!

 

[git-r]

One thing I didn't mention is how stable Croxden's bike felt.

I don't descend quickly, but recall hitting a couple of undulations at about 30mph which would have been sketchy on a hard tail.

The Delite wasn't put off line and felt very planted.

I was a bit suspicious of full-sus for the road, but R&M has done an excellent job of it.

Exactly, the faster you go the more necessary suspension is.

The current crop of fat tyres do a very good job at this as I found out when I tried the haibike hardtail with them fitted. Then trying the full suspension RM was a huge improvement over this.

It’s much safer in terms of road holding but also much more comfortable, normally I’d spend nearly 2 hours a day on an ebike. For thousands of miles I’ve wondered how much better my time in the saddle would be with decent suspension, now I’ll find out

 

[Nigel01]

that lovely Scott costs about £4,500, the OP saves only £2,500 on train fare.
To make it worth the effort, the bike should really cost under £1,250.

Yes but their spokes don't snap.