Co-motion Americano vs Norwester Tour

[pptouring]

Tourista829 wrote: "...He is getting two in next week for another customer. I will get a chance to look at them, possibly ride one."

Hello Bob, I highly doubt the dealer will let you test ride someone's bike like that.  I mean, if I dropped over $4k on a bike, waited nearly 3 months for it and then
found out the dealer let some other customer take it for a test ride, I'd be a little pissed, but that's just me.  You're better off doing some research, asking a lot of
questions, and then take the plunge. Call Co-motion direct and see what they say.  

[pptouring]

Oddly enough my wife and I picked up two NorWester Tour Co-Pilots last night.  

We plan on doing a short (~140 round trip) fully loaded (tent, stove, sleeping bags, etc...) two nighter this weekend. However, last night we rode them around the
neighborhood (unloaded) and mine felt very solid and smooth. Of course, this was around the block and unloaded, so we'll see how they feel once we're on them for a
couple hours with a load. After this weekend I'll be able to give a better report. Both bikes weighed in with racks & fenders installed at 28.03 and 28.04 pounds.

It's been a long journey just to get to this point, but I'm sure we're going to enjoy these bikes for several years!

Many thanks to my LBS and Co-Motion for helping us put this together. The bikes look freaking AWESOME!!!

Stay tuned for the full report...

[Tourista829]

Congratulations, you certainly did your homework. I actually saw your bikes. They looked awesome!! Were you colors pearlized? You can not appreciate how beautiful the Comotions look and attention to detail, until you actually see them. I realized for my weight, type of touring I will be doing, and the clearance for SKS fenders/Tubus racks, the Norwester Tour may be the way to go. I appreciate your update and look forward to your further reports:)

[Tourista829]

Sorry this took so long to send back. My Apologies, you are correct and I agree with you. If there is interest, I would like to correspond with you by email. My address is: robertschneck@earthlink.net. As you know by my posts, I am about to decide on either a Comotion or Surly LHT. Due to my accident, I thought I would replace my bike with the Surly, get better, and purchase the Comotion later. However, by the time I upgrade the crank, handlebars, and a few other things the Comotion is pretty much within range. I am looking for racks and panniers and have narrowed them down to Tubus, Arkel, and Ortlieb. Any feedback, would be appreciated.

[pptouring]

Hello Bob,

No worries, it's all good; however, I would have been a little upset if Manny let you ride my bike without my ok and I'm sure you & everyone else can understand that.  

Yes we went with the Pearl colors (TruBlue & Cinnamon), Tubus racks (rear = Cargo, front = Tara),a full setup of Ortleib panniers (rear = Bike Packer Plus, front = Front Roller Plus, & handlebar = Ultimate Plus w/ map case), & SKS P-45 ChromoPlastics fenders. Next week we'll be taking them back over to UBC, so Manny can put them on display for a couple weeks and hopefully snag a few more people into the touring world. They'll be setup complete with panniers installed and our Bob Ibex trailer, so you can get a good look at them then. No rides though!

Next week I'll post up a link to some photos of our little trip from this weekend.

[Tourista829]

Thanks for understanding and the information. We know you will have a blast. Manny Jr. is great. When we came by yesterday, Manny Sr. was having a melt down. It didn't matter, our mouths dropped when we saw your bikes. Drop dead gorgeous!

I am in the final stages of deciding on a touring bike. I would be very interested in your evaluation, when you do your fully loaded shake down tour. If you ever want to do some touring let us know. Regards Bob & Dottye

[pptouring]

The bikes seem to ride great with a decent load; however, the BOB Ibex trailer has to go! I barely had anything in it (gallon of water, 1.5 liter of wine, 2 Therm-a-Rest Pro 4 rolls, 1 pair of shoes) and it made the whole bike wobble. Noticable while sitting and extremely noticable when standing to stretch, almost uncontrolable! BOB says it's rated to 75 lbs but .... there is no way I'd try that.

Anyone have any thoughts about the trailer issue?

[Tourista829]

I have a trailer. It is a Nashbar that I purchased for next nothing. I use it for touring and errands. It has a capacity of 45 pounds max. I used it for a trip from Sunrise to Wesley Chapel. It worked fine. Very stable and I never knew it was there. Weight 38 pounds + trailer. I find I have to do a couple of things to work with my bike. It must be balanced, front to back and side to side. Couplers at hub equal distance. It works best between 45-85% weight capacity. It would feel more stable with a wider handle bar. I need a 44c. I never felt stable hunking up hills with the trailer.

Jack Goertz, of Tandems Ltd., Birmingham , Ala.
(205) 991-5519. He is a Comotion dealer for single and tandems and tours with a Burley Nomad two wheel trailer. He has been doing this for 25+ years, very knowledgeable, nice guy, and could help you. I may purchase my next tandem from him. (We have a Santana)

How do you like your Ortlieb bags? I am also in need of new bags. I like the Ortliebs, compact, clean looking, and should provide enough wheel clearance. My older Kirklands had lots of outside pockets. Manny say I could purchase an additional small bag to attach to the outside.

Manny is great!!! He found a custom show bike, Norwester Tour, that may fit me. It is a 54c with a 53c top tube. I am close to purchasing one and would like to talk to you. If interested, my mobile # is (813) 598-6741.  
Thank you for your forum updates, they have been very helpful. We are glad you both are enjoying your new bikes. Bob & Dottye

[pptouring]

Hello Bob,

I'll try and give you a ring this week sometime. Right now we are still in Inverness camping, but we'll be riding home tomorrow. I took another look at the trailer today and noticed the rear end was a little loose, so I'm thinking that may be the issue. I tightened everything up today, so we'll see tomorrow how it handles. We really like the Ortliebs. They have plenty of room and yes you can order the pockets that attach to the outside of the panniers. I am carrying my MSR fuel bottle in one and bike repair stuff (tubes, patches, tools, air, etc...)in the other.

[Tourista829]

Ron,

Wheel alighnment on bike, bike trailer, everything equadistant, tight, proper weight distribution, and correct tire pressures. Also keep the center of gravity as low as possible. Thanks for the info on the Ortliebs. Have fun and ride safely. Look forward to talking to you. Regards, Bob

[don quixote]

Amercano. You will not regret it. It is about as bomb proof as they come and certainly nimble enough. If you plan on flying with it, check the current extra airline charges for a bike (wow!!) then get the S and S couplers, but skip the Co-Motion soft case and get the S and S 10" edge pull hard case" with 4 compression members and the mesh bag. http://www.sandsmachine.com/ac_hard.htm If I am flying in and out of different cities, I just Fed-Ex Ground ship the empty case to the final city (friend, motel, bike shop, whatever). Co-Motion has a free fit kit instructions which worked well for me. Don't worry about never having ridden one. Here are 2 other articles to look at: http://www.sandsmachine.com/m_ac_1.htm and http://www.adventurecycling.org/resources/comotion.pdf

George
San Diego

[centrider]

I've owned a Norwes'ter co-pilot for about 3 years.  I bought it through a dealer which was able to put me on a bike measuring tool (for lack of a name).

This is the bike I call my, "Go Anywhere, Do Anything" bike.

It is the bike I take on trips which involve flying as I can pack it into a standard size suitcase.

Wait!  There's more!  I've done light touring (7L Carradice Barley bag and small Acorn handlebar bag.)

I've used tires from 25 mm to 35mm on it.  I've put it on roads and rail-trail conversions.

And More!  Because the bike has cable disconnects, I'm able to easily change for drop bars to flat.  I'm considering putting 'cross levers on the drop bars for the coming year.

I got a lot of bike for my 4 grand +.

[Tourista829]

Yes you did get a lot of bike for the money! I purchased a Norwester Tour Custom. It was a show bike that they had at the bike show in Las Vegas. It was a custom frame 54c with a 53c top tube. Fit should be perfect, price was right, and I don't have to wait 8 to 12 weeks. It should be at my lbs early next week. Unfortunately, it does not have S&S but Bilenky in Pa. does it as a retro fit for maybe $450. So if I start traveling again, I will do it. Thanks to Robenne for ordering two beautiful Norwesters, that he has on display, at our local bike shop, I will get the Tubus racks. I still not sure which bags I will go with. I like the Ortleibs but I am use to bags with outside pockets. I like waterproof/resistant, clean lines, big reflectors, and may not need the raincovers on the Ortliebs. The color grey is perfect to go with my lusty red bike. "Sort of" an Ohio State undergrad color scheme. I plan to take it on a trip to Bradenton, Fl. between Xmas and New Years, approximately 135-150 miles round trip. My girlfriend and I plan to ride from St. Augustine to the Florida Keys on the Adventure Cycling route. Thank you for your input and send me a picture of your bike. Please have a happy and safe riding New Year.

[centrider]

Sounds like you got a good one.  I think that the NW is less a touring bike and more a road, tho mine came with the Shimano XTR grupo.

Now I'm looking to put 'cross levers on the drop bars.

I'm looking to do the the top half of the UGRR this summer supported by my wife.

I'd send a pict but don't know where to send it.

[pptouring]

Centrider - do you own the NorWester Tour or just the NorWester? I don't want to disagree with you, but my NorWester Tour handles nothing
like my road bike. I've only done one weekend trip so far on mine, but I estimate I was carrying about 65 lbs of crap plus me and the bike
handled very, very nice. In fact, if I didn't have to return home and to my job, I would have just kept going and going. There is no way I could
have done this with my Merlin, which is designed for very long road rides and/or credit card touring.

Tourista829 (aka Bob) - Thank you for the compliments. They do look a lot better in person, setup with the bags and trailer. Did Manny show
you the pics of the clearance between the Toe/Heel & panniers? There's plenty of room unless your sport'in a size 14" foot! :-)

 







This message was edited by robenne on 12-27-08 @ 8:09 AM