On the downhills, I went to 0 assist and flew down, hitting 36 mph on one of them. In each case I pedaled unassisted part way up the next climb, moving to a numbered assist level only when gravity began to bite. But getting on our step-thru frame electric bike is very gentle and elegant. Even with the step-thru structure, the overall structure is still very solid. The motor is also very powerful, so don’t worry that such an elegant electric bike won’t give you the power you want. Oh, are you going pick up some groceries or go to a friend’s house and pick something up?
On a subsequent test climb, I experimented with the throttle while not pedaling at all. The throttle kept the bike moving, but as I neared the summit, the speed became so slow that I would have fallen over had I not started pedaling. That struck me as about right, for as I said before, I wasn’t looking for a free ride.
It’s not super fast or overly nimble, but it romps around like no other and feels like it won’t let you down. All these small things add up into an e-bike that feels much more expensive than it is. It rides stable and inspires confidence in rougher terrain, and did we mention it’s really quick? Electric Bike Report has reviewed both the standard Aventure and the Aventure Step-Through and both put up some of the quickest times we’ve recorded on our test hill and our test circuit. As with every list of best e-bikes, ours has some nuance as to why a specific bike was picked — ranging from value and componentry to overall ride feel.
This keeps the rear wheel attached, and also prevents someone from biking off with it. It’s no substitute for a chain, but in a friendly community (such as a retirement community on a lake somewhere), it’s probably good enough. It’s a good blend of “comfortable while sitting mongoose bmx on it at the store” without being horrendous to actually ride. It’s, obviously, 3D – I really hate those 2D seats, so this is a good one. I’ll start at the front interface to the drivetrain. The pedals are nice metal units, with a grippy rubber strip around them.
And when it comes to serious hills, the Coston gets left far behind other e-bikes. The Aventon Soltera.2 is the successor to our previous top pick among the best budget electric bikes. mongoose excursion This modestly priced model costs less than $1,500, yet sacrifices very little in the name of economy. In our tests, we found it very comfortable to ride, and it looks great, too.
If you have a key on an electric bike with an expensive, exotic battery pack, it might make sense to lock the pack into the bike somehow. Downsides include complexity, lack of repairability, and adequate braking at best if you have hills. The braking feel is also very springy – there’s no real feedback in the lever, just an increasing force that goes all the way to the bars, and increases braking effort. It might lock the rear wheel up on ice, but that’s about it. There are four or five pieces of plastic that clip together to seal this thing up very well.
If they’re steep hills (Seattle style), get another bike. For running slowly on flat terrain, the brakes are just fine. The rear brake, if a bit springy, will get you stopped, and the front chimes in quickly to bring you down in a hurry if you need to. The most obvious thing about riding this bike is the riding position.