Cafe

2nd year with my cafe, commute is still a blast. I wore through the original tires, tried slightly knobby, big mistake! A huge reduction in battery range. Put on some Schwalbe Marathons, and the battery loves them. Earlier, I had an issue with the original battery, I think. Vintage was awesome about taking care of it.

I bought it in January and started riding in February. Now my commute is a high point of my day. It's 22.5 miles, a 45-mile round trip. There's a 1400 ft elevation gain on the homeward leg and a 1000 ft elevation gain in the AM. I use levels 1-3 on the way, and 1-4 going home. Each way I run through at least 60% of the battery, so I bring the charger. I can get to work in 70 minutes, and 90 minutes going home. I do this twice a week. I'm 61, 6'1", 195#, so I bought the large. I'm right at the minimum insertion line, so I wish the seatpost were a little longer. So will you if you are taller than 6'. An aftermarket post won't cut it, I like the rear light. Is there a way to keep the lights on even in daylight? There seems to be an automatic shut-off. You've got to understand, this is the most fun I've ever had in my long history of commuting by bike. You should buy one of these.

Just so happy I got one..

Loving the Cafe- took a leap of faith since I couldn’t test ride and couldn’t be happier. It’s every bit as beautiful in person as in the pictures and an absolute joy to ride for my bike commute. Seeing as how I’m nowhere near a dealership, the team in CA was able to help me with sizing and accessories over the phone and responded quickly when I had a minor issue with the charger, overnighting me a replacement. The bike was delivered to my doorstep in perfect condition thanks to the good folks at Kitzuma. Great experience all around.

I purchased a Cafe because I wanted to get back to riding a bicycle. I'm an engineer, getting upward in age and I gave up on riding regular bicycles. When I purchased this ebike it changed my lifestyle. I ride almost every day. My neighbor bought a Cafe and we both are hooked on riding. It' nothing but fun to ride. This bike is well engineered for stability and speed, and looks cool to boot. I've had it for 1-1/2 years and it got me through Covid. Like the Vintage brochure says, "it has smile inducing speed'. And the controller combined w/ torq/cadence sensor is the best on the market for a rear wheel drive in my opinion. It's very adjustable and senses when you want to back off on power to get more exercise, or if you are wanting to add power to help climb hills or cruise along for the enjoyment of riding. My only suggestion for improvement, which is minor, is possibly increasing the battery size, although I rarely exhaust a full charge.

And the components hold up extremely well. Vintage backs up their bicycles with their warranty and service department. I have only changed brake pads and rotors so far and they were very responsive to my needs.
My hats off to Vintage for a great product.