Riese & Müller Nevo Electric Bike Review Part 2: Ride & Range Test [VIDEO]

The Riese & Müller Nevo GH NuVinci is a high quality, sturdy, smooth, and comfortable step thru electric bike. 

Its has an easy get on and go step thru design that has a very solid feel with its robust design and central weight distribution. 

A comfortable upright riding position with stable balloon style tires and front and rear suspension provides a very smooth ride. 

That smooth ride feel is continued with the high quality drive system combination of Bosch motor, Gates Carbon Drive belt, and NuVinci CVT. 

There are 6 different models of the Riese & Müller Nevo available and they range in price from $4,649 to $5,549.

The Nevo GH NuVinci in this test is priced at $5,349. 

In this second part of the full review you will get an idea of the ride characteristics, range test results, pros, cons, and overall thoughts on this electric bike.

Make sure you check out part 1 of this review with large pictures and specifications to get a detailed look at this e-bike.

What you can expect from the Riese & Müller Nevo:

To get acquainted with the Nevo GH NuVinci, checkout this video:

Riding the Riese & Müller Nevo:

Overall there are some characteristics of the Riese & Müller Nevo that really stand out when riding this comfortable touring/commuter eBike. To summarize they are: 

• Sturdy and balanced easy get on and off step thru design
• High quality, comfortable, smooth, and efficient ride feel
• Clean and easy to use Bosch, Gates Carbon Drive belt, and NuVinci CVT drive system

The Look & Feel of the Riese & Müller Nevo

The most noticeable highlight of the Riese & Müller Nevo is its sturdy and innovative step thru frame design.

Riese & Müller focused a lot of attention on making this a no compromise step thru eBike by creating a frame with minimal side to side flex and by placing the battery in a central location for a balanced ride. 

A lot of step thru eBikes on the market do have some side to side flex with the missing top tube. The Nevo uses a lot of large section rectangular tubing to make this step thru frame feel much like a traditional triangle frame. 

This ride characteristic makes the Nevo a good step thru for all sorts of riding; commuting, errand running, touring, dirt road adventuring, and all around fun cruising rides. 

Riese & Müller is so confident in this sturdy design that the Nevo GH NuVinci is designed for a maximum overall (rider + gear) weight of 353 pounds (160kg). 

The wide step thru area is 17″ off the ground which makes it easy to get on and off the Nevo and that is a big difference when compared to throwing your leg over a triangle frame with a high top tube. 

The wide step thru area is made possible by the connection of large aluminum tubes that have been shaped to place the material where it is needed for strength and stiffness. 

These unique tube shapes also add some style to the bike with their solid structural look. 

You can see this solid construction in the step thru area where the downtube meets the chain stays at the mid drive motor area.  

Riese & Müller took the more challenging design route of placing the battery on the main downtube of the frame for central weight distribution.

Most step thru eBikes place the battery in the rear rack which creates a back heavy eBike. 

This central battery location is good for overall bike handling and it also adds to the unique style of the Nevo.

The central location is good but it would have been nice to see the battery mounted further down the downtube by the motor for even better weight distribution. One reason for the higher location is that you could accidentally kick the battery as you step onto the bike if it was near the step thru area. 

Large rectangular chainstay tubes provide stability for the rear wheel and the design cleanly works with the Gates Carbon Drive belt.

The Gates belt drive will keep your pant legs clean because it doesn’t need to be lubricated like a chain. More on the Gates Carbon Drive belt in a bit. 

Many of the cables disappear from the handlebar area into the large downtube for cable protection and a clean look. 

Continuing the rectangular tubing theme, the seatstays have a unique shape as they extend up from the seat tube intersection to create a sold attachment point for the rear rack. 

Overall the large rectangular tubes, large step thru area, frame battery, and the swooping seatstay tubes with rear rack give the Nevo a bold and sporty look. 

Depending on the model there are 2 or 3 different size options available: 17″ (43 cm), 18.5″ (47 cm), 22″ (56 cm).

The bike tested in this review is the 18.5″ (47 cm) Nevo GH NuVinci in the Midnight Blue color. There is also the Racing Red and White color options. 

The riding style of the Nevo is very easy going with its approachable step thru design, upright ride position, and comfortable assortment of suspension and balloon style tires. 

It has a very high quality ride feel that is smooth, solid, comfortable, and fairly quiet. 

That high quality ride feel is due to its sturdy frame and impressive collection of components from Bosch, Gates, NuVinci, Magura, Schwalbe, and more.

The Nevo is in the efficient commuter and adventure touring eBike categories. It is great for comfortably cruising around the city and it is can handle moderate dirt road explorations. 

It comes with a full assortment of high quality accessories (lights, rack, fenders, etc.) that set up the Nevo for any kind of weather and it is ready for any kind of basket, bags, or panniers that you want to add. 

Now let’s take a closer look at the ride position of the Nevo.

The upright handlebar position is very comfortable and it is also helpful for easily seeing what is around you. 

The handlebar has a moderate width and slight rise and the Ergon ergonomic grips give you a feeling of stability. Their larger platform provides a significant amount of wrist support. 

The Selle Royal Nuvola saddle has a mid width profile and it does feel very comfortable.

The Cane Creek Thudbuster ST suspension seatpost further helps to take the edge off of rough roads. It has a parrallelogram design with an elastomer spring that provides 1.3″ of travel. 

The Nuvola saddle and Thudbuster ST combination does a good job of eliminating a lot of the small bumps and cracks in the road. 

One of the big highlights of the Nevo GH NuVinci is the smooth, easy to use, and maintenance free drivetrain. That is the combination of the Bosch motor, Gates Carbon Drive belt, and NuVinci continuously variable transmission (CVT).

It is a very cohesive system that gives the Nevo a high quality feel and the overall shifting experience matches well with the ease of use when riding this solid step thru. 

Riese & Müller Nevo does offer the Touring models that are equipped with a Shimano Deore 10 speed drivetrain with traditional chain at a more economical price. 

On all models of the Nevo you will find the Bosch Performance Line CX mid-drive motor that was designed for eMountain bikes but also works well on this touring/commuter style eBike. It gives a bike like the Nevo a performance ride style.  

The CX motor has additional torque (up to 75Nm) for help with getting going at the lower speeds and it has higher assist amounts (up to 300%) when compared to the standard Performance Line motor. 

There are 4 levels of pedal assist with the % of assistance:

• Eco 50%
• Tour 120%
• Sport/eMTB 120% to 300%
• Turbo 300%

As you can see based on the percentages of assist each level gives you a distinct difference in ride feel.

Eco gives you a mellow assist for getting more of a workout or when navigating congested urban areas where you don’t want a lot of assist. It will give you the most range as it sips from the battery. 

Tour at 120% is a moderate amount of assist for when you are touring around town or country. 

The new eMTB mode is a blend of the Tour (120%) through Turbo (300%) modes and as the name indicates it is designed with eMountain bikes in mind. This mode does work well for eBikes like the Nevo because you can set it in eMTB mode and forget about changing it to the other levels, unless you want maximum range (Eco mode). It automatically adjust the assist through the range based on your pedal power. 

Turbo at 300% assist is a lot fun and it is a good setting for using on the way to work to minimize sweat or when you really need that extra boost after a long days ride. 

There is also the walk mode that will power the bike up to a couple of mph to help with climbing steep hills. For instance if you are walking with the bike up a hill in a crowded area in the city or walking up stairs. There is a walk mode button at the top of the control pad and once that has been activated you add the walk assist with the (+) button on the control pad. 

Like all Bosch motors, the Performance Line CX motor uses a torque sensor, cadence sensor, and wheel speed sensor to detect how much assist to provide and when. 

Torque sensing motors blend the motor power with your pedal power in a very intuitive way by following your lead based on your pedal power. 

If you are soft pedaling the system adds just a little assist, if you really pedal hard the system give you a lot of assist, and everything in between. 

The transitions of adding assist and stopping assist are very smooth and they blend in well with your pedal power.

Like many mid-drive motors the Bosch Performance Line CX motor does create some noise. It is more noticeable at the higher pedal cadences and less when you are pedaling slower. 

From the Bosch motor the power (your pedal power + electric assist) is transmitted to the rear wheel via the Gates Carbon Drive belt. 

Gates belt’s are a nice upgrade from the traditional chain because they are clean, smooth, quiet, and they don’t require any maintenance. 

The Gates Carbon Drive belt does not require any lubrication like a chain does so it stays clean and you don’t need to worry about getting your pant legs dirty. Riese & Müller added a belt guard over the Gates front sprocket on the Bosch motor to keep your pant leg from getting caught. 

These belt’s are also amazingly smooth and quiet. It is a much different riding experience when compared to a chain.  

Belts are also touted to last at least twice as long as a typical chain according to Gates. 

Here is a video from Gates with a closer look at their Carbon Drive belt.

https://youtu.be/6kqaMgUUWLc

From the Gates Carbon Drive belt the power is then leveraged through the NuVinci N380 continuously variable transmission (CVT).

At first glance the NuVinci CVT looks like a rear hub motor but inside is a system that is similar to an internally geared hub except that it does not have any specific “gears”.

It has a 380% gear range from low to high to fit your preferred pedaling cadence. There is a grip shifter on the handlebar that you turn (like a volume dial on a radio) to dial in the best gear ratio for you at the moment and you can make big or small changes with a simple twist of the grip. 

NuVinci CVT’s are a good match for electric bikes because they are designed to handle a lot of power (your pedal power & motor power) and they shift smoothly under that power. 

Also, the NuVinci N380 does not require you to be pedaling in order to shift (like traditional cogs & derailleur systems), you can twist the shifter to get into the best gear ratio for when you start to pedal again. 

This is helpful when you want to get into the best gear ratio for accelerating from a stop or when transitioning from downhill to uphill terrain. 

Here is a video from NuVinci with more info on their CVT system:

According to NuVinci, the N380 hub is a self-contained system and it does not require any maintenance.

The blend of the Bosch Performance Line CX with the Gates belt drive and NuVinci CVT creates a smooth, clean, and easy to use drive system that has an overall high quality ride feel. 

Powering the pedal assist and lights is the Bosch PowerPack 500 which is a 36V 13.4ah lithium battery that has a 500 watt hour capacity. 

As mentioned before Riese & Müller has done a nice job of placing the battery on the downtube of the frame of this sturdy step thru. This is a nice central location for the battery compared to the typical rear rack location on most step thru eBikes. 

When standing out of the saddle and pedaling I did notice that my legs occasionally bumped the battery. After a few rides I adjusted my riding style to minimize that. 

The PowerPack 500 weighs 5.75 pounds and it is removed by unlocking it with the supplied key (2 keys are supplied with the bike) and lifting it up and off the frame. 

The battery can be charged on or off the bike and it takes 2.25 hours to charge 50% and 4.5 hours to charge 100%. 

The Nevo GH NuVinci weighs 56.9 pounds without the battery and that makes it a little easier to load onto a car rack. 

Next up is a closer look at the control center on the Riese & Müller Nevo.

The Bosch Intuvia display is front and center on the handlebar and it has a large format layout.

It provides a lot of good information without being overwhelming; the pedal assist level, speedometer, odometer, trip distance, battery level, and estimated range. 

The estimated range feature is nice because it can really help with planning your ride and adjusting the assist levels as needed to make sure you don’t run out of assist.

The range is estimated based on the assist level you are using, the current battery level, and what kind of terrain you have been riding on.

If you have been riding for a while in a high assist level going up hill the estimated range will be given assuming those conditions will continue. Once you are over the hill and pedaling in a lower assist on relatively flat terrain is will recalculate the estimated range based on the assumption that those conditions will continue. 

After some time with the system you can see the estimated range patterns and be able to estimate how the bike will perform on regular ride routes. 

A backlit on the display makes it easy to see day or night and the light button on the lower right side of the display will turn on the front and rear lights that are powered by the PowerPack 500 battery. 

It is nice to have lights that are powered by the eBike’s battery because you don’t need to worry about charging separate light batteries or replacing them. 

The control pad on the left side of the handlebar adjusts the pedal assist levels with the (+) and ( –) buttons and the information on the display is cycled through with the center (i) button. 

Keeping the speed in check is handle by the Magura MT4 hydraulic disc brake levers that have 180mm rotors front and rear. 

These are designed for mountain bikes and they fit the use and style of the Nevo well. 

The MT4 brake levers are large and easy to grab and the reach of the lever can be adjusted to fit the size of your hand with the set screw. 

Braking power is substantial and the modulation provides a lot of variability between just a tap on the brakes to full stop.  

The quality and feel of these brakes matches the overall high quality feel of the Nevo. 

The Schwalbe Super Moto-X 27.5″ x 2.4″ tires are an impressive part of the overall Nevo ride feel because they have a large air volume for a bit of built in suspension effect while having a relatively smooth tread for an efficient ride. 

These tires have a recommended pressure range from 30 to 35 psi to absorb some of the rough bumps and cracks in the road. 

They are also built to be tough with 3 mm Green Guard puncture protection and reinforced sidewalls. 

To help with being seeing in low light conditions there are reflective stripes on the sidewalls of the tires. 

The Schwalbe Super Moto-X 27.5″ x 2.4″ tires give the Nevo the smooth and efficient ride feel and the puncture protection helps to minimize flats. They work pretty well on dirt for easy gravel road exploring also.

If you want to do a bit more dirt road adventuring the Nevo has enough clearance in the frame and fork to handle some mountain bike tires as well. 

Riese & Müller went all out with the accessory package on the Nevo and the look of these accessories matches the bike well.

The Supernova E3 E-Bike headlight casts a nice solid beam of light in front of you for good visibility when you are cruising at 20 mph. It has a solid quality construction of aluminum outer casing. 

A Busch & Müller Toplight Mini LED tail light is attached to the rear rack and it has a solid beam with reflector.

It would be nice to have the ability to have a flashing mode because that helps with being seen out on the road. It never hurts to have an extra rear light mounted to the bike or to the back of your helmet.

Both the front and rear lights are powered by the eBike battery. 

Full coverage SKS B65 front and rear fenders have a sturdy look and feel to them. 

The Racktime rear rack matches the rectangular tubing look of the Nevo frame and the connection points at the frame are very solid. The rack is rated for 44 pounds (20 kg) of load and it comes with a rubber top strap to secure cargo items. You can also use bags, panniers, and baskets with this rear rack for errand running and carrying gear on longer rides. 

An ABUS Shield Plus frame lock comes stock on the Nevo and this is a good lock for short periods of time.

A ring extends from one side of the lock to the other and locks the rear wheel from moving so that it is hard for a thief to ride or walk away with the bike. 

This isn’t a lock for leaving your bike unattended for long periods of time unless you live in an area with no crime! 

The ABUS Shield Plus is keyed to work with the same key that unlocks the Bosch PowerTube battery and that is all very convenient. Also, if you want to get a more robust ABUS lock they can match that new lock to the bike’s key. 

Finally, the Pletscher Comp 18 Flex kickstand has an adjustable height with a solid bolted attachment to the frame. 

Okay, let’s see how the Riese & Müller Nevo did out on the open road!

Riese & Müller Nevo Range Test Results:

Here is the real world information on how the Riese & Müller Nevo electric bike performed on a riding circuit that includes hills, flats, traffic, wind (when available) etc.

While testing these bikes I like to put them through the toughest conditions to see where their bottom line is in regards to range and speed. I tested the Riese & Müller Nevo in the highest pedal assist level (Turbo) with average pedaling on paved roads.

Range: As you can see from the GPS info that I recorded, the Riese & Müller Nevo traveled 30.3 miles and did a total elevation gain of around 2,400+ ft. Considering that I weigh 190 lbs and I pedaled an average pace this is good range for a 36 Volt 13.4 ah battery pack (~500 Watt Hours) with a 250 watt motor assisting up to 20 mph. 

Watt hours are the total energy in a battery pack and it is based on the volts x amp hours of a pack. This is a way to compare the size of the “gas tank” of electric bikes.

Please keep in mind that if you pedal more, weigh less than me, ride slower and/or you use the bike in terrain that is not as hilly you will get more range. These results are from tough testing.

Speed: The Riese & Müller Nevo GH NuVinci will assist up to 20 mph with pedal assist. There are also 28 mph pedal assist models available. 

Weight: The Riese & Müller Nevo tips the scales at 62.65 pounds which is on the heavier side for an electric bike. Removing the battery brings it down to around 56.9 pounds which makes it a little easier to load onto a car rack.

The weight distribution of the Riese & Müller Nevo is good because of the low and centered mid drive Bosch motor and the relatively centered frame mounted Bosch battery. The central weight distribution is good for overall bike handling and it is a impressive to see the frame mounted battery instead of a rear rack mounted battery found on most step thru eBikes. 

Pros:

Sturdy Step Thru: The Nevo is an impressive step thru because it has such a sturdy frame design with minimal side to side flex. The frame mounted battery location is good for central weight distribution and overall bike handling. 

Good Range: 30.3 miles with total elevation gain of around 2,400+ ft. is impressive considering this was using the highest assist level. In easier riding conditions the Nevo will go further and this can allow for a long commute and fun adventures. 

Smooth Drivetrain: The high quality mix of the Bosch Performance Line CX mid drive, Gates Carbon Drive belt, and NuVinci N380 CVT creates an easy to use, smooth, and clean riding experience. And its basically maintenance free so you can focus on riding. 

Cons:

Heavy: At a total weight of 62.65 pounds the Nevo GH NuVinci is on the heavier side of electric bikes. That is probably due to the sturdy frame design and complete accessory package. 

Motor Noise: At the higher pedal cadences there is some noise from the Bosch mid drive motor. 

Conclusion:

Overall the Riese & Müller Nevo GH NuVinci is a very sturdy, high quality step thru that can handle a wide range of riding.

It is a very comfortable eBike with its easy get on and go step thru design, upright position, and suspension systems.

The Bosch, Gates Carbon Drive belt, and NuVinci CVT is an easy to use and very smooth drive system experience. 

The Nevo GH NuVinic is a step thru that can handle a wide range of riding from around town commuting to back country adventures. 

There are 6 different models of the Riese & Müller Nevo available and they range in price from $4,649 to $5,549. The Nevo GH NuVinci in this test is priced at $5,349. 

Please keep in mind that this is a relatively short term test. This testing can’t really give you the long term review of durability and reliability. My thoughts on the quality of this bike are from previous experiences with similar bikes. If you own this bike and have some input on the long term durability, please share your comments with the Electric Bike Report community below.

Where to buy a Riese & Müller Nevo? Check with Riese & Müller for a dealer near you.  

Do you have any questions about the Riese & Müller Nevo?  Do you own a Riese & Müller Nevo?  Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Thanks!

-Pete

Review Note: Each company pays a fee for a review on Electric Bike Report because of the considerable amount of time that it takes to provide an in-depth review of each eBike. A lot of time is spent on the full range test with distance & elevation profile, the wide variety of detailed pictures, in-depth video, and the write up with the specifications, ride characteristics, pros, cons, and overall thoughts. The reviews on Electric Bike Report are focused on providing you with a detailed “virtual” look at each eBike to help you determine if it is the eBike for you.

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