Riese & Müller Supercharger2

The Riese & Müller Supercharger2 is the speed pedelec for Dutch riders who refuse to compromise on range or comfort — and are willing to pay a German flagship price for it. Like the Stromer ST3 and Gazelle Marathon S11, this bike is also legally a moped under EU L1e-B: license plate, NTA 8776 helmet, WA insurance, AM driver's license minimum. The typical buyer is the professional covering 40-50 km one-way every day — a lawyer commuting Zutphen to Arnhem, an IT consultant from Roermond to Eindhoven, a healthcare worker on rural home visits. For them it is no longer a bike replacement but a car or train replacement. Compared with the Stromer ST3 the Supercharger2 offers more range and real comfort thanks to full suspension, while losing the seamless OMNI connectivity. Compared with the QWIC RD11 Speed and Gazelle Marathon S11, the Supercharger2 sits in a completely different league in terms of finish, price and ambition.

The big argument for this bike is the dual-battery system: two Bosch PowerTube 625 packs (the standard version comes with 2 × 500 Wh; the Supercharger2 GT HS upgrade gives 2 × 562.5 = 1,125 Wh). In practice that delivers a realistic 150-200 km at a sustained 45 km/h — enough to cover a full working week without touching a power outlet at the office. That is roughly double the Stromer ST3 and three to four times the range of the Gazelle Marathon S11 or QWIC RD11 Speed. The Bosch Performance Line CX Speed mid-motor puts out 85 Nm and pulls smoothly to the 45 km/h cut-off; the full suspension (air damping front and rear) transforms the ride on rough Dutch roads and uneven bromfiets-paths — you can sustain 45 km/h without your back begging you to stop after 40 km. That is the real difference versus the Gazelle Marathon S11, which relies only on a sprung seatpost and hits harder over distance.

The legal reality does not change here either. A license plate means ‘forbidden for mopeds’ on most Dutch fietspaden — you share the main carriageway with cars. For someone commuting between two mid-sized towns that is fine, but buying a Supercharger2 for intra-city riding in Amsterdam or Utrecht is a waste of money: you are banned from most fietspaden, so you can barely use the power reserve. WA insurance on a €5,999 machine runs €200-€300 a year with most insurers, and R&M dealer maintenance is steep because full-suspension damping and dual-battery diagnostics are not on every local shop's workbench — budget €500-€700 a year. The verdict is clear: if you cover 40-50 km one way over mostly non-urban routes and want extreme comfort, this is your machine. If your commute is under 25 km one way, the Gazelle Marathon S11 is a better buy; if you are mostly riding in town, you do not belong in the speed pedelec category at all.