Zen Samurai Diamond

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Hi EBR community,

You guys are smart and you understand the world.
Building a startup in the middle of a pandemic is undergoing open-heart surgery and root canal at the same time. We are currently in talks with some investors and to be able to build high-quality bikes at scale, we need capital.
So, the team is tied up a little and I will respond to everyone's questions but in the meantime, I wanted to thank everyone who chimed in and let you know we care deeply and we read every single comment and take suggestions seriously.

 

[wabaseballfamily]

Hi EBR community,

You guys are smart and you understand the world.
Building a startup in the middle of a pandemic is undergoing open-heart surgery and root canal at the same time. We are currently in talks with some investors and to be able to build high-quality bikes at scale, we need capital.
So, the team is tied up a little and I will respond to everyone's questions but in the meantime, I wanted to thank everyone who chimed in and let you know we care deeply and we read every single comment and take suggestions seriously.

I think a lot of people are excited of you and your crews offerings in the near future. I, for one, like your attitude in doing it right and doing it right the first time around.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

If you see an all-black batmobile moving fast like a ninja on the roads of Milwaukee, it might be one of the Zen Samurai bikes ...
Zen has been fortunate to attract EV enthusiasts and bike riders of a certain caliber. Thanks to the EBR community for supporting the mission.

 

[pushkar]

@Ravi Kempaiah this is excellent stuff. Congratulations.

 

[Mulezen]

Unlike my Allant it looks as if you have a kickstand that works

 

[Weaselander]

Just waiting for the snow to melt...

 

[PDB415]

Unlike my Allant it looks as if you have a kickstand that works

The kickstand is a beast. Like the rest of the bike, it is very stable and works great. Here is a side by side with my wife's Specialized Como.

 

[Weaselander]

Well I was finally able to give my new Samurai Diamond a proper ride. Starting off into a stiff 17 mph headwind, I headed downtown using the Sport mode along a paved bike trail. I was able to maintain about 20-22 mph while using about 50% of the battery to cover 12.5 miles. Heading home I switched the power level down to Tour. Going with the wind I was riding at 22-25 mph when conditions allowed. The 12.5 miles home only used 30%. Overall the bike is extremely quite and felt solid. The Enviolo gearing is perfect for my application, plenty of gearing available to keep a comfortable cadence at top speeds. While I didn't purchase the bike for Sunday rides, rather commuting to work, it was a thoroughly enjoyable first ride of the season.

Well done Ravi and Paul, you built an great bike at an amazing price.

 

[Johnny]

Looks like you have a similar kickstand to haibike. Good pick, that is probably my favorite kickstand design.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Overall the bike is extremely quite and felt solid. The Enviolo gearing is perfect for my application, plenty of gearing available to keep a comfortable cadence at top speeds. While I didn't purchase the bike for Sunday rides, rather commuting to work, it was a thoroughly enjoyable first ride of the season.

Super!
Do you know how much time you can save by switching to the Zen vs. regular bike? I am guessing at least 15 mins. Riding into a headwind on a regular bike can be quite taxing physically.
More than the time, I think getting to the office without exhausting oneself makes E-bikes perfect commuter for distances < 20 miles.

 

[FezUSA]

More than the time, I think getting to the office without exhausting oneself makes E-bikes perfect commuter for distances < 20 miles.

That, and not needing a shower!!

 

[Hintrod]

I have been following the zen ebike story closely and I am an interested future customer but I have tried a dozen times to use the website on my mobile devices iPhone and IPad and have never been able to see a functioning site it usually comes up with garbled text and nonworking links. Please let us know when the website will be functional. I had tried Safari and chrome both.....

 

[Marrduk24]

spoke to @Ravi Kempaiah today. It is hard being an entrepreneur, and even harder to start a business in the midst of Covid, particularly when that business is so dependent on a complex supply chain, which hasn’t yet been able to recover from a combination of surge in demand and reduction in capacity.

He is an absolute gentleman. I have gone in 12 hours from not even knowing about zen bikes fo seriously considering a samurai. Otherwise I was going down the path of Bulls.

I love the idea of getting the absolute best parts at half the price of what R&M would offer.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

I have been following the zen ebike story closely and I am an interested future customer but I have tried a dozen times to use the website on my mobile devices iPhone and IPad and have never been able to see a functioning site it usually comes up with garbled text and nonworking links. Please let us know when the website will be functional. I had tried Safari and chrome both.....

Apologies for the inconvenience.
Because there is a lot of activity going on in the background, we had to take it down. It will be back up when we test all the functionalities of the website.
Meanwhile, happy to chat here on EBR via message or have a chat offline. Please do not hesitate to reach out.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

spoke to @Ravi Kempaiah today. It is hard being an entrepreneur, and even harder to start a business in the midst of Covid, particularly when that business is so dependent on a complex supply chain, which hasn’t yet been able to recover from a combination of surge in demand and reduction in capacity.

He is an absolute gentleman. I have gone in 12 hours from not even knowing about zen bikes fo seriously considering a samurai. Otherwise I was going down the path of Bulls.

I love the idea of getting the absolute best parts at half the price of what R&M would offer.

Thank you for your trust and cooperation!
Our Samurai line is the premium version whereas the Shakti model line is much more affordable. Glad you were able to find us here!

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

The weekend of April 9th-10th, another gentleman is picking up the Zen Samurai in Madison, WI [small frame, fits anyone from 5ft 3 to 5ft 8]
If any of you folks who live nearby want to test ride it before he picks it up, please feel free to reach out.

 

[Marrduk24]

The weekend of April 9th-10th, another gentleman is picking up the Zen Samurai in Madison, WI [ small frame, fits anyone from 5ft 4 to 5ft 8]
If any of you folks want to test ride it before he picks it up, please feel free to reach out.

Please please save that only piece of large frame

 

[Marrduk24]

I am somewhat of a newbie to bikes and have been learning a lot for the last month or so.
More I learn about Ravi’s design and component choices, more hooked I become.
Originally I ruled out Rohloff E14. I thought given my use case it wasn’t worth spending so much more. But electronic shifting feels awesome, particularly automatic downshifting. In start & stop NYC traffic that could be a game changer. You could just stop at the light, not bother about downshifting and then just get going without any struggle.
Like it.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Originally I ruled out Rohloff E14. I thought given my use case it wasn’t worth spending so much more. But electronic shifting feels awesome, particularly automatic downshifting. In start & stop NYC traffic that could be a game changer.

The gearbox itself is really an amazing piece of engineering. Rohloff has been working Bosch for many years and now they started working with Panasonic as well.
The gearbox communicates very closely with the drive system and ensures there is just enough pause (few milliseconds) in the power application for the shift to occur.
If you have used XTR Di2, the feeling is pretty close to that. Once you get used to it, it is awesome.

 

[Marrduk24]

I have been reading more about Rohloff to get myself better educated and came across this review of RM Homage with Rohloff from ebike-mtb, which was less than flattering.

Ravi and @PDB415 what’s your experience been like?

Riese & Müller Homage GT Rohloff GX review

The Riese & Müller Homage GT is the only full-suspension step-through bike currently on the market. You can even customise the build to include a dual-battery option. Alongside the bombproof build quality, the optional security package with GPS tracking and insurance cover should give you...

ebike-mtb.com

“
However, the relatively slow shifting interrupts power transfer, which makes the motor cut out. Because of this, you quickly lose momentum on steep climbs and annoyingly, often have to shift down even further. The shifting also feels rough and loud and there is no haptic feedback from the shifter. The ability to shift several gears at once is great but doing so takes even more time. For better shifting performance we’d actually recommend the more affordable touring version with a Shimano SLX derailleur, even if it means having to do without the belt drive.
“