Aventon Pace 500.3 E-Bike: A Sweet Electric Cruiser For Town & Country — CleanTechnica Tested

One of many latest e-bikes out of the Aventon steady is the Pace 500.3, a cruiser-style metropolis bike that’s chock-full of options for each informal and severe riders, whether or not it’s used for commuting or grabbing groceries or simply tooling round city.

It’s no secret that Aventon’s e-bikes are amongst our favorites over right here at CleanTechnica, as we’ve ridden and reviewed numerous totally different Aventon fashions in recent times, and all of them have handed muster with the group. In truth, out of the entire totally different bikes in my barn, from mountain bikes to street bikes to e-bikes, the Aventure is just about my go-to bike for each on- and off-road driving.

The entire Aventon e-bikes we’ve had an opportunity to trip up to now have been actually well-built and effectively thought out, and the Pace 500.3 is not any exception. The brief model of this overview is that in the event you’re in search of a every day driver e-bike that rides and handles like a champ, is snug, and appears sharp as effectively, then the Tempo is your huckleberry.

So far as first impressions go, after receiving the bike and on the brink of unbox it, I used to be ready for the same old excessive quantity of plastic wrap, styrofoam packaging, and a zillion zip ties that appear to come back with e-bikes as of late, however I used to be completely mistaken in my expectations, and was very pleasantly stunned that the Tempo had a really minimal quantity of non-recyclable packaging. Upon opening the outer cardboard field, I used to be instantly impressed that the body and handlebar meeting and entrance wheel have been wrapped in kraft paper and paper ‘tape’, and as an alternative of zip ties, pure cordage/twine was used to safe the elements contained in the field. That meant that apart from a number of small plastic bits, virtually the entire packaging was recyclable, which is a giant win in my ebook.

As soon as the bike was put collectively and dialed in for me, which was a reasonably brief course of, I took it for a fast spin across the neighborhood, which in my case is a mud street among the many juniper and oak scrub within the excessive desert of southwestern New Mexico. My first impression was that the Pace is a stable machine — not too heavy for cruising over bumps or tooling by way of free sand, though because it has fairly commonplace tires (27.5″ x 2.1″) and no suspension, I wasn’t underneath the phantasm that this may substitute my singletrack mountain bike on the spicier trails anytime quickly. Nevertheless, for a hybrid-type driving scenario, with some grime, some gravel, after which ultimately pavement, it carried out very well, and I used to be pleased with the gearing choice and pedal-assist modes out there on the bike.

For my subsequent trick, I put a full cost on the battery, paired the Tempo with the Aventon app (sure, there’s an app for that…), after which headed into city to run some errands and hit the espresso store to satisfy a good friend. So far as the app goes, I’m not actual huge on utilizing a lot of the options out there, as a result of after I trip, I typically simply wish to pedal like mad and really feel the wind in my face, and never monitor my rides or accumulate stats on my journeys. That being stated, for individuals who do prefer to quantify their biking for no matter motive, the app will seize stats like miles traveled, biking time, max and common velocity, and so forth., plus issues like energy burned and the quantity of CO2 decreased by selecting to cycle as an alternative of drive. And there are some tweaks to the bike’s configuration which can be out there solely by way of the app, such because the velocity restrict for the electrical motor (in case you reside someplace that has a legislation about velocity limits for e-bikes, AND you wish to adjust to stated legislation). The Tempo comes with a high velocity of 28 mph for the pedal help configuration out of the field, however you may tweak that decrease in order for you.

My second impression of the Pace 500.3 — even earlier than I started pedaling this time — was that I couldn’t consider there weren’t any water bottle mounts (braze-ons) on the bike, which was type of a bummer, seeing as how I get fairly dang thirsty driving within the dry summer season warmth, and having a water bottle proper at hand is crucial in my ebook. And as this bike was purely inventory — no entrance or rear rack – there wasn’t a helpful place to place a water bottle (or a software package, extra on that later), apart from sporting a backpack. Including a entrance or rear rack, or each, could be one of many first issues I might do to the Tempo if it was going to be my every day commuter bike or common grocery-getter, as a result of I really feel prefer it’s far more snug to load the bike with my stuff than to load myself with a heavy backpack. Clearly, your mileage might differ, however I believe if the Tempo was kitted out with a rear rack and a few panniers (and a water bottle cage mounted someplace, perhaps on handlebars?), it will undoubtedly verify a lot of the packing containers for me.

And now on to the great things, specifically, the snug trip that the Tempo provides, due to its actually plush seat, its upright stance, the swept-back handlebars, and adjustable handlebar stem that makes becoming different-sized riders a lot simpler than a typical mounted stem. The grips are snug, and the location of the shifter, the throttle, and the show are such that it’s nice to trip and straightforward to crank the pedal-assist degree up or down (or off, as is admittedly helpful when in low-speed environments or tight areas that aren’t conducive to having electrical help on — belief me, if you expertise the unintended acceleration from pedal help if you don’t want or need it, you’ll admire the OFF operate of an e-bike).

All of that apart, or perhaps on high of all of that, the massive game-changer on the Tempo is the addition of a torque sensor, as an alternative of simply the usual cadence sensor. It truly is all of that. I’ve obtained a number of e-bikes that solely have cadence sensors, and I’m tremendous with that — they work simply tremendous when you get a really feel for a way and when the electrical motor kicks in (or out) — however the torque sensor is the particular sauce that makes an e-bike actually really feel like an everyday ol’ analog bike. For these not acquainted with the phrases, a cadence sensor senses the cadence (duh), that means it basically acts like a swap to show the motor on if you’re pedaling, and off if you’re not, and a few e-bikes have actually clunky cadence sensor methods (on the next degree of pedal help, some e-bikes will really feel very jerky when the motor kicks out and in). Clearly, there’s a bunch extra nuance to how a cadence sensor works, however the level is that it doesn’t account for the quantity of torque the rider is placing on the pedals, and so it will possibly really feel a bit mechanical (sure, I do know it IS mechanical, however bear with me right here).

A torque sensor, alternatively, measures how a lot power the rider is placing into the pedals, and the e-bike’s motor responds appropriately. In different phrases, if you mash down on the pedals, the torque sensor makes the bike behave much like a non-electric bike, and actually kicks in proportional to the quantity of torque being utilized to the pedals. And the primary distinction (the brief model, anyway) is that an e-bike with an excellent torque sensor acts very organically, very very like a non-electric bike (effectively, apart from the truth that the e-bike provides you a very good additional little one thing one thing by way of precise energy the place the rubber meets the street, which is strictly the purpose of getting that battery and motor on board). The Tempo was a complete pleasure to trip when utilizing pedal help (I’m not a giant consumer of the throttle function, apart from the occasional have to speed up quick off the road, akin to at a busy intersection), largely as a result of seamless nature of the torque sensor and motor controller. It actually felt ‘pure’ to trip, and never as if I used to be driving a low-speed moped or a scooter with pedals or one thing. And as a lifelong bike owner, that feeling is admittedly vital to me.

One other couple of options that I actually appreciated have been the built-in headlight (goodbye, click-on headlights with replaceable batteries), and the brake lights that work similar to a automotive’s. Understanding that the drivers or cyclists behind you’re getting a heads-up that you just’re slowing down provides to the sensation of security when in and round visitors. And the Tempo is the primary bike I’ve ridden that has built-in flip indicators on the body, which is one other nice security function, though coaching my mind to make use of the flip indicators as an alternative of signaling with my arm may take some time.

One factor to pay attention to on many e-bikes, and the Pace 500.3 is not any exception, is that you just actually actually wish to up your flat-proofing recreation, as a result of most of them should not have fast launch skewers on the wheels, and so altering a flat in the course of the trip is nearly unimaginable in the event you don’t have a wrench to take away the wheel or a tire pump (or a flat restore package) with you. The Tempo has “puncture resistant” tires, however that definitely doesn’t imply that you just gained’t ever get a flat, so my go-to has all the time been so as to add a bunch of tire slime to every tube, and if I trip in numerous locations the place flats are tremendous frequent, to additionally add a tire liner between the tube and tire. And now again to the dearth of braze-ons on this bike — I’ve discovered that carrying a small software and flat package and a tire pump with me on lengthy rides is a great observe, so with out a straightforward option to connect them, like a water bottle cage or different mounting level, you’re caught with a heavy backpack, except you do have a rack and/or panniers to haul them with.

My total impression of the Aventon Pace 500.3 is that it’s a superb selection for a every day commuter bike, a grocery-getter, or simply for some good clear leisure enjoyable. The upright cruiser-style body is snug and straightforward to get used to, the battery has sufficient juice for many anybody’s wants (as much as 60 miles of vary), and the 500-watt motor has loads of kick for many functions. If I used to be frequently driving a bunch of steep hills, or if I used to be a a lot bigger human, I’d perhaps need a extra highly effective motor, however I didn’t have any points by any means (and pedaling HARDER is the best way to beat any hill or distance, so there’s that). Once more, I’d advocate for including a rack or two, and in the event you do reside in a local weather with numerous rain, you’ll most likely be happiest with entrance and rear fenders for it.

The Aventon Pace 500.3 e-bike is out there by way of the corporate’s web site for $1699, and there are a bunch of moderately priced equipment for it as effectively.

This text is sponsored by Aventon. The Tempo 500.3 was supplied to the writer for the needs of this overview.

All photos by Derek Markham / CleanTechnica.

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