Riese & Müller Tinker Vario on test – The folding bike with added comfort

The Tinker Vario is the only compact ebike in Riese & Müller’s portfolio and comes equipped with front and rear suspension. Does an urban ebike even need that? Or would a more powerful motor have been the better choice? We put it to the test to find out and tell you all about it!

Get an overview of the grouptest here: Big city life on 20/24 inches – 4 hot compact ebikes on test

Apart from clean air and greenery, what’s the rarest asset you’ll find in the metropolises of this world? Space. There is an acute lack of space, wherever you look. The streets are narrow as is, not to mention all the cars, buses, taxis, trams, bicycles and pedestrians fighting for right of way. It’s a miracle that these completely overloaded systems don’t collapse more regularly. With their full suspension Load 60 cargo bike, German bicycle brand Riese & Müller show that today’s world requires creative, out-of-the-box thinking to come up with practical solutions. The Tinker Vario ebike is the latest addition to an impressive range of urban problem solvers. It rolls on small 20″ wheels and should be compact enough to fit on the tram or squeeze through the narrowest gaps in a rush-hour traffic jam. We put it to the test to find out whether it can deliver on this promise.

Components and details of the Riese & Müller Tinker Vario

No matter which component of the Tinker you look at, it will most likely be attached with a quick-release clamp. As such, the Riese & Müller is the undisputed quick-release king of the group test. What does that mean day-to-day? Whether it’s the saddle height, handlebar reach or handlebar height – you can adjust it all to your personal preferences in just a few simple steps and without any tools. This makes it the perfect ebike to share with the family, capable of being adapted to suit each family member as required. Incidentally, the narrow handlebar can be folded down onto the top tube, in which case the bike measures just 86 cm in height when the saddle is lowered or 81 cm when you remove the saddle and seat post entirely. Of course, this is very convenient when stowing the bike in a cramped apartment, transporting it in your car or taking it on the train. However, you shouldn’t think for a second that the Tinker is a lightweight bike, weighing in at surprisingly high 26.8 kg despite its small size and wheels. And at almost 1.60 m long, it’s not super compact either. So, if you’re thinking that this ebike is as compact and easy to transport as a classic Brompton folding bike or the titanium Brompton T-Line model, get ready to be disappointed.

The version of the Tinker Vario on test is priced at € 4,598.90 and doesn’t need to shy away from the competition in terms of workmanship and finishing quality. Despite the thick weld seams, it looks very high-quality. Unfortunately, the Racktime luggage rack is only approved for loads of up to 20 kg, so you can’t mount a child seat, which is a pity! However, there’s a convenient cargo-hauling attachment available as an optional extra in Riese & Müller’s configurator, which we’d recommend adding together with the RX chip for comprehensive theft protection. For more information about the RX service and digital theft protection, check out this article. Our test crew was impressed with the performance of the brakes, which brought the bike reliably to a halt, despite the comparatively small rotors and hefty maximum permissible weight limit of 135 kg for the bike, rider and cargo! Although a belt drive must always remain tensioned, the rear wheel is easy to install or remove thanks to the vertical drop-outs. To do so, you can simply pull the wheel out. On many other belt-driven bikes, removing the wheel is a much fiddlier task and often a case for your local bike shop.

Size	ONE SIZE
Top tube	555 mm
Head angle	72.0°
Seat angle	73.0°
Chainstays	455 mm
Wheelbase	1,070 mm

Motor and battery system of the Riese & Müller Tinker Vario

As usual, Riese & Müller rely on Bosch for the motor, but they didn’t go for the flagship Performance Line CX model for the Tinker Vario. Instead, they specced the slightly less powerful Performance Line motor, which puts out 65 Nm as opposed to 85 Nm of torque. However, doing so makes perfect sense in this case and it suits the little bike perfectly. Despite the lower torque output, the Tinker is surprisingly quick to accelerate, and it does well on the climbs too. The 500 Wh external battery isn’t the biggest model either but turns out to be sufficient for a dedicated urban bike like the Tinker Vario. It provides sufficient range even for outings beyond city limits and is easy to remove for charging. Although the Bosch Intuvia display provides the most important data, it’s not up to date in terms of connectivity and doesn’t offer any smart features such as navigation. The completely connected VanMoof X3 sets the standard here.

Magic carpet ride, anyone? Aboard the Riese & Müller Tinker Vario, you glide over cobblestones, rough asphalt and gravel roads like you’re in a Citroën.

Tuning tip: wider handlebars for more stable handling

Riding the Riese & Müller Tinker Vario

If you’ve ridden any bike from Riese & Müller, you won’t be surprised by the handling of the Tinker Vario ebike. Thanks to its low centre of gravity and narrow handlebars, the handling feels direct and precise as you wind through narrow streets and corners. It’s the most dynamic of all 20″ bikes on test. On the flip side, the bike lacks stability and composure at high speeds, which will rob newcomers of confidence in tricky situations. A slightly wider handlebar would have helped to remedy this, and it wouldn’t limit the bike’s generally dynamic character. On a positive note, the Tinker Vario is the comfort king of the compact class, at the back as well as the front. It’s the only bike on test that comes with a suspension fork, making it feel like a magic carpet ride. At the rear, you’ve got the suspended Cane Creek seat post, which offers excellent damping and never changes the distance from the saddle to the bottom bracket due to the parallelogram design. It’s easily the best seat post on test and definitely worth the € 149.90 surcharge you pay for this upgrade in the configurator!

Our conclusion on the Riese & Müller Tinker Vario

Whether as a bike for inner-city life, suburban commutes or your next camper holiday, the Tinker Vario is the perfect compact bike for all those who value comfort, direct and agile handling as well as adjustability. Thanks to all the quick-release clamps, it can be folded down to a compact height for transport and quickly adjusted to fit any member of the family. The only downer is the slightly too narrow handlebar, which makes it feel nervous at high speeds.

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You can find out more about at r-m.de

The testfield

Get an overview of the grouptest here: Big city life on 20/24 inches – 4 hot compact ebikes on test

All Bikes in this group test: FLYER Upstreet1 (Click for review) | Riese & Müller Tinker Vario | QiO EINS P-5 (Click for review) | VanMoof X3 (Click for review)

Words: Photos: Benjamin Top