Are Reiss & Mueller worth the extra cost?

Electrically assisted bikes, trikes, etc. that are legal in the UK
colin146
Posts: 42
Joined: 21 Jan 2009, 4:53pm
Location: South Derbyshire

Re: Are Reiss & Mueller worth the extra cost?

Post by colin146 »

When I recently retired I treated myself to the R & M Supercharger 2 with battery upgrade giving 1250 Wh. Currently my ‘go to bike’ and have covered a shade over 2000 mls with only a puncture to date.

Pro’s. Supremely comfortable, handles most surfaces very well (but see below), even in eMTB mode no range anxiety, will easily give me > 100 mls.

Con’s. Heavy beast, caution when selecting tires re surfaces you intend to ride on as when it goes, slips, slides etc
given its 30 kg or so it can take some handling. Similarly manoeuvring around restrictive stiles on cycle paths.

I think you said you’re Cheshire way. Have you contacted Peak Cycles at Macclesfield?, they have the facility to allow you a test ride.
532330D6-B8EF-4645-8678-07570299426A.jpeg
Tiberius
Posts: 799
Joined: 31 Dec 2014, 8:45am
Location: North East England

Re: Are Reiss & Mueller worth the extra cost?

Post by Tiberius »

octave531....

Great pic'...I'd set off for anywhere on that thing. 8) 8) 8) .......
saudidave
Posts: 583
Joined: 16 Jan 2009, 12:22am

Re: Are Reiss & Mueller worth the extra cost?

Post by saudidave »

colin146 wrote: 23 Apr 2022, 12:08am When I recently retired I treated myself to the R & M Supercharger 2 with battery upgrade giving 1250 Wh. Currently my ‘go to bike’ and have covered a shade over 2000 mls with only a puncture to date.

Pro’s. Supremely comfortable, handles most surfaces very well (but see below), even in eMTB mode no range anxiety, will easily give me > 100 mls.

Con’s. Heavy beast, caution when selecting tires re surfaces you intend to ride on as when it goes, slips, slides etc
given its 30 kg or so it can take some handling. Similarly manoeuvring around restrictive stiles on cycle paths.

I think you said you’re Cheshire way. Have you contacted Peak Cycles at Macclesfield?, they have the facility to allow you a test ride.532330D6-B8EF-4645-8678-07570299426A.jpeg
Yet another delighted owner! I'm getting some great feedback here, it is very tempting for sure, however I only started thinking down this route a few days before starting this thread and on Tuesday of last week I tested +ve for Covid so things are on hold till I get rid of it. Apart from a snotty nose I have absolutely no symptoms b.t.w.
I need to get a few quid together to top my pension back up so any major purchase has got to wait a while, hence there is no rush. I had allocated some cash from my pension pot to replace a bathroom and fascias/gutters in the house before I retire but the Ukraine situation has decimated that sum by a factor of 4 so 'er indoors won't be too pleased if I want to buy one now.
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The Grange Gardener
Posts: 15
Joined: 4 Feb 2021, 5:39am

Re: Are Reiss & Mueller worth the extra cost?

Post by The Grange Gardener »

I bought a R & M Supercharger 2 with 2 x 500 batteries in March 2021 - 8000km later and a year to the day it was delivered, something went wrong with the motor so Bosch replaced it free of charge. My previous bike, a Cube Acid One 500 also had to have a new Bosch motor within a year - I hope I've just been unlucky! The R&M bikes are great quality and in my humble opinion are worth every penny - like a lot of things, you get what you pay for. I've been delighted with mine and have done quite a bit of multi day touring on quiet lanes and back roads and found that the 2 batteries are enough for me, my legs and aged joints wouldn't want to go any further than 100km in a day! My next bike will definitely be an R&M!
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saudidave
Posts: 583
Joined: 16 Jan 2009, 12:22am

Re: Are Reiss & Mueller worth the extra cost?

Post by saudidave »

Yet another satisfied purchaser. A pattern is emerging here. I think you have simply been unlucky with the Bosch motor failures. Mine has been bulletproof despite sitting overnight submersed in murky water when our house was flooded in July 2019.
Having recovered from Covid I've had three 15/20 mile rides on my Raleigh Motus GT over the last few days and it's running fabulously, quiet and efficient. I'm getting serious grief from my wife about potentially spending £7k on a R & M and to be quite honest I can appreciate where she is coming from. I've decided that for the moment that I'm shelving the idea and spending £2.5k or so electrifying the two Bromptons we own and buying a 500Wh battery for the Motus to augment the 400Wh one it already has.
Lodge
Posts: 142
Joined: 28 Feb 2016, 8:59pm
Location: Staffordshire Moorlands

Re: Are Reiss & Mueller worth the extra cost?

Post by Lodge »

If anyone is interested, I am offering my R&M Rohloff Delite GX for sale at half the price paid for it. For details and reason please see the for sale section.
saudidave
Posts: 583
Joined: 16 Jan 2009, 12:22am

Re: Are Reiss & Mueller worth the extra cost?

Post by saudidave »

Thanks Lodge,

As much as I'd like your R & M, it would be too large for me too, not to mention too expensive.

To update, I have had a 46cm Raleigh Motus GT for three and a half years and like it, now I've modified all the design issues that Raleigh got wrong! I'd concluded that I wouldn't buy an R & M as 'er indoors was grumbling about the cost but she did conclude that a new step thru bike would be acceptable due to my having had prostate surgery just over a year ago.

Because of this I started tracking Raleigh Motus GT prices on ebay to gauge the sale price I could expect for mine. As a result of that ebay notified me of a 2020 Raleigh Centros "new other" for sale less than 30miles from me. It was for sale due to ill health and I bought it, subject to inspection for £1800.00, a massive saving on the new price of £2900.00. It is a step thru, 500Wh battery, and Gates belt drive, ticking all the boxes I wanted. Inspection showed it to be absolutely as new and 14 miles on the clock. The gentleman selling it had developed Parkinsons over lockdown and was in a bad way. He had never charged the battery after it was delivered to him and it had retained 90% charge over a 2 year indoor storage period so I took the plunge. The Motus has a 400WH battery, now delivering approx 90% of it's original range, which is still more than acceptable for the average user and the upgrade was intended to give me the range I needed plus the advantages of the Centros, at no more cost than a new battery for the Motus, when I'd sold it..

Bottom line; I prefer my Motus! The Centros is a 50 cm frame which according to all the sizing charts is ideal for me, however I find it a bit too big. The stretch to the bars when seated is little too far for me personally, something only a long ride or two revealed. I've now done 130 miles on the Centros and I'm going to sell it on and cut my losses.I'm going to keep the Motus for now then sell it next spring and buy a smaller step thru with a bigger battery than I have now. A Cube with a 625Wh can be had new for arond £3,000.00 and my management needs to be kept happy!
saudidave
Posts: 583
Joined: 16 Jan 2009, 12:22am

Re: Are Reiss & Mueller worth the extra cost?

Post by saudidave »

Just an update from the OP to wrap up this thread, as it were.

Due to the massive hit the current economic climate, particularly the Ukraine atrocity has had on my pension funds and retirement plans, I've reluctantly accepted that I can't go throwing money at new ebikes for a while, particularly given that I picked up a virtually new Raleigh Centros for a song a month ago and have a Swytch conversion for my Brompton on it's way in a few weeks. I'm carrying on working, albeit part time 2/3 days a week as well, since my working class brain can't accept dependence on a decimated pension pot and the possibility of funds running out and causing poverty after a lifetime of hard graft.

I'm keeping the Centros and swapping the coaster braked hub for a standard one as it's doing my head in! C'est la vie.
DiggyGun
Posts: 17
Joined: 21 Mar 2021, 9:00am

Re: Are Reiss & Mueller worth the extra cost?

Post by DiggyGun »

Which model are you looking at?

Both Mrs DG and me have the Nevo3 GT Vario GX eBikes.

These are not our first eBikes, but of the ones we’ve had, they are certainly the best. They are easy to ride, comfortable, battery lasts well, nothing seems to stop them and the Enviolo hub is a joy to use.

I don’t know where you are based, but we got ours from Fully Charged Silverstone in Northamptonshire and can fully recommend them.

Please PM me if you’d like further information.
saudidave
Posts: 583
Joined: 16 Jan 2009, 12:22am

Re: Are Reiss & Mueller worth the extra cost?

Post by saudidave »

DiggyGun wrote: 29 Jun 2022, 11:22am Which model are you looking at?

Both Mrs DG and me have the Nevo3 GT Vario GX eBikes.

These are not our first eBikes, but of the ones we’ve had, they are certainly the best. They are easy to ride, comfortable, battery lasts well, nothing seems to stop them and the Enviolo hub is a joy to use.

I don’t know where you are based, but we got ours from Fully Charged Silverstone in Northamptonshire and can fully recommend them.

Please PM me if you’d like further information.
Hi, You obviously didn't read my last post, (the post before yours) or indeed many of the others. I concluded a few weeks ago that I wouldn't go down the R & M route as my wife was objecting to the cost of them and I decided a few days ago that I couldn't really justify any ebike upgrades at the moment as my pension fund has take a hit of tens of thousands of pounds because of the Ukraine situation & I currently have an almost new (in terms of use) Raleigh Centros and a Brompton that I''m waiting delivery of a Swytch kit for. Thanks for the response anyway
rjb
Posts: 7200
Joined: 11 Jan 2007, 10:25am
Location: Somerset (originally 60/70's Plymouth)

Re: Are Reiss & Mueller worth the extra cost?

Post by rjb »

colin146 wrote: 23 Apr 2022, 12:08am When I recently retired I treated myself to the R & M Supercharger 2 with battery upgrade giving 1250 Wh. Currently my ‘go to bike’ and have covered a shade over 2000 mls with only a puncture to date.

Pro’s. Supremely comfortable, handles most surfaces very well (but see below), even in eMTB mode no range anxiety, will easily give me > 100 mls.

Con’s. Heavy beast, caution when selecting tires re surfaces you intend to ride on as when it goes, slips, slides etc
given its 30 kg or so it can take some handling. Similarly manoeuvring around restrictive stiles on cycle paths.

I think you said you’re Cheshire way. Have you contacted Peak Cycles at Macclesfield?, they have the facility to allow you a test ride.532330D6-B8EF-4645-8678-07570299426A.jpeg
That looks like the toll road at Porlock Hill. Did you say the password to avoid paying the toll.? (It used to be Minehead Cycling Club). :lol:
At the last count:- Peugeot 531 pro, Dawes Discovery Tandem, Dawes Kingpin X3, Raleigh 20 stowaway, 1965 Moulton deluxe, Falcon K2 MTB dropped bar tourer, Rudge Bi frame folder, Longstaff trike conversion on a Giant XTC 840 :D
reohn2
Posts: 45158
Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: Are Reiss & Mueller worth the extra cost?

Post by reohn2 »

At the risk of comparing apples with oranges,from an engineering POV e-bikes and particularly Reis and Mueller are grossly overpriced IMO compared to motorcycles either electric or ICE powered.
I'm aware of economies of scale for m/cycles to e-bikes but even so a modestly powered say Japanese motorcycle comes in at between £4,500 and £5,000 whilst a decent e-bike cost £2,500> and Reiss and Mueller prices start at £4,000>
It doesn't stack up considering the engineering that goes into both.
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"All we are not stares back at what we are"
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hemo
Posts: 1438
Joined: 16 Nov 2017, 5:40pm
Location: West Sussex

Re: Are Reiss & Mueller worth the extra cost?

Post by hemo »

The ebike cost looking and being over priced is likely down to fewer sales volumes, however the brand is a niche brand and they charge knowing that some avid disciples ae willing to pay the asking price.
As with most mid drive bikes the warranty is only short (2 years) and then should an electric component go wrong one is at the mercy of the brands quite exceesive repair/replace policy.
PH
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Re: Are Reiss & Mueller worth the extra cost?

Post by PH »

reohn2 wrote: 30 Jun 2022, 11:23am I'm aware of economies of scale for m/cycles to e-bikes but even so a modestly powered say Japanese motorcycle comes in at between £4,500 and £5,000 whilst a decent e-bike cost £2,500> and Reiss and Mueller prices start at £4,000>
It doesn't stack up considering the engineering that goes into both.
Is it any different to comparing a perfectly adequate £700 Halford Hybrid and one of the touring bikes you'd choose?
The comparison is slightly wrong, another E-bike with the same battery and motor is likely to be £3,000+ and even then it'd usually possible to see where economies have been made.
reohn2
Posts: 45158
Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: Are Reiss & Mueller worth the extra cost?

Post by reohn2 »

hemo wrote: 30 Jun 2022, 12:41pm The ebike cost looking and being over priced is likely down to fewer sales volumes, however the brand is a niche brand and they charge knowing that some avid disciples ae willing to pay the asking price.
As with most mid drive bikes the warranty is only short (2 years) and then should an electric component go wrong one is at the mercy of the brands quite exceesive repair/replace policy.
Italics are mine.
Bosch must be turning out a lot of mid drive units with associated electrical kit etc,so IMO I don't think it's that,and the rest of the bike is pretty standard kit,obviously the frame is specialist R&M exclusive
Bold mine
I think this is more likely R&M have carved a niche and are now exploiting it to large degree IMO.

I think a 2year warranty on the Bosch kit is standard as is the cycle parts and sus fork but the frame should carry a much lomger ome.
That said the big four Japanese motorcycle manufacturers as do many other only have a 2year warranty,though their bikes are likely to do many more miles than an e-bike.
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"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
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