u/a_halla

And what new authors should fill up the empty space? 😁

Stoner and Son of Shadows were absolute perfection for me, both very different but beautiful books and a delight to read! Aside from Graceling, a very nice month of reading 😁

Left Hand of Darkness and Winged Histories were my most recent reads, and I'm currently working through Anna Karenina and Falling in a Sea of Stars. After finishing Green Rider and Sevenwaters series, I'm not sure if I should start Prince of Nothing or maybe start tackling Malazan, which has been on my TBR forever!

Wanted to share my thoughts and experience with the Tempo, and I'm happy to answer any questions!

Overall, I think the Tempo is positively DELIGHTFUL! It is super lightweight for an ebike, which is critical for me because (as a small-ish person) I need to load it in and out of my truck by myself. I love how it feels and handles; very nimble and zippy feeling! I also think it's quite gorgeous and elegant, especially for an ebike. It's a phenomenal bike in flat areas, and still makes you feel like a superhuman on hills (compared to a non-ebike!) as long as you don't mind working a bit harder to maintain higher speeds. I do think it's important to recognize this as a ~fitness~ oriented ebike; if you want to go fast, you're gonna have to work for it.

My use case/experience:

I use the tempo daily for commuting (11 miles total, 1000 ft elevation total), and I can easily maintain max speed of 28 mph in class 3 mode using Eco mode on flats or slight incline. I use Boost going up the hills, and with good work put in, I can maintain 20-23 mph. This is not a bike that will carry you blasting up hills with throttle alone; it needs a strong effort to maintain higher speeds uphills, but of course it is still a big boost compared to a non-ebike.

On the weekends when going for longer, relaxed rides (~10-17 mph, bike paths) I will often ride with it powered off, and I really appreciate that you can treat the Tempo like a regular bike in those cases, not having to worry about range or lugging around a monster.

Downsides/observations:

• Again, fitness oriented ebike. It will not pull you at high speeds with zero/low effort. I ended up just completely removing the throttle cause it doesn't do that much, and I prefer to pedal anyways.
• Out the gate, I had a very consistent issue with the bike dropping the chain when going over bumps. After a lot of research, troubleshooting, etc. the "band-aid" solution was to replace with a 116 link chain. However, the root cause of this problem seems to be the stock derailleur--it really has hardly any chain tension (and I have compared this with several other Tempos; it's not just a defect with my bike). Even after replacing the chain, when going over bumps there is a lot of slop in the chain, because the derailleur simply does not exert enough tension, and the tension adjustment screw doesn't do anything. Down the road, a derailleur upgrade is definitely in order.
• This is a nonsuspension bike, and if you like in a city with roads as shitty as mine, you will absolutely notice. This causes problems with the above (poor chain tension), but also if you want a very comfortable cushy ride, this bike isn't it.

Modifications:

• PNW Cascade Dropper Post (externally routed): I love this thing. I know it's not necessary, but the dropper post on my MTB has me so spoiled, and it really makes stop and go commuting in the city much more comfortable for me. There's no option for internal routing on this bike. A suspension seat post would be a fantastic alternative for this bike!
• Terry Raven Ti Gel seat: seats are super personal, but this seat is absolutely phenomenal and I barely notice it while riding. Great for ladies with narrow-ish sit bones and who like a narrow nose (really helps with chafing/discomfort) and probably a good saddle for some men too!
• 152 mm Square Cranks: the Tempo comes with 170mm cranks which are (imo) surprisingly very long. I'm 5'7" and my MTB has 160mm cranks, and I tried out both 160mm and 152mm cranks and preferred the 152!
• Fifty Fifty MTB pedals: very nice upgrade over the stock pedals, which had my feet slipping all over the place. And the gum/peanut butter pedal goes really nice with the bike!
• SOLODRIVE ergonomic MTB grips: slight upgrade over the stock grips, they definitely do feel better, plus color matching
• ALMSTHERE 0.5L saddle bag: works with the dropper post and fits the essentials!
• Finally, I could not for the life of me find a water bottle cage that matched the color of the sidewalls/pedals/grips, so I found TINMORRY glass fiber PETG in frosted brown color and my boyfriend 3D printed me a bottle cage 😂

Thanks for reading! This bike is honestly a dream for me and perfectly fits my use case, but I recognize it's not for everyone. Eager to hear others' thoughts!

Coming up, I'm really looking forward to continuing the Sevenwaters trilogy as well as reading more of Butler's and Le Guin's works (just picked up some more at some local bookstores this weekend!)

I'm at my wit's end searching - maybe you fashion-minded folks can help me find a water bottle cage to match the gum/light brown color of these pedals? Closest I could find was this but alas, it's too light of a brown and doesn't match. Beautiful people, please help me complete my fashionable accents 🙏