Aventon Tempo 500.3 E-Bike: A Candy Electrical Cruiser For City & Nation — CleanTechnica Examined

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 critical 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 a lot of completely different Aventon fashions in recent times, and all of them have handed muster with the workforce. In actual fact, out of the entire completely 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 using.

All the Aventon e-bikes we’ve had an opportunity to journey to this point have been actually well-built and effectively thought out, and the Pace 500.3 isn’t any exception. The quick model of this evaluation is that for those who’re in search of a each day driver e-bike that rides and handles like a champ, is comfy, 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 standard excessive quantity of plastic wrap, styrofoam packaging, and a zillion zip ties that appear to return with e-bikes lately, however I used to be completely incorrect in my expectations, and was very pleasantly shocked 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 had been wrapped in kraft paper and paper ‘tape’, and as an alternative of zip ties, pure cordage/twine was used to safe the parts contained in the field. That meant that aside from a number of small plastic bits, virtually the entire packaging was recyclable, which is a giant win in my guide.

As soon as the bike was put collectively and dialed in for me, which was a reasonably quick 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 strong machine — not too heavy for cruising over bumps or tooling via unfastened sand, though because it has fairly normal tires (27.5″ x 2.1″) and no suspension, I wasn’t underneath the phantasm that this is able to substitute my singletrack mountain bike on the spicier trails anytime quickly. Nevertheless, for a hybrid-type using state of affairs, with some filth, some gravel, after which finally 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 buddy. So far as the app goes, I’m not actual massive on utilizing many of the options out there, as a result of once I journey, I typically simply need to pedal like mad and really feel the wind in my face, and never observe my rides or gather stats on my journeys. That being stated, for many who do prefer to quantify their biking for no matter purpose, the app will seize stats like miles traveled, biking time, max and common pace, and so on., plus issues like energy burned and the quantity of CO2 diminished 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 via the app, such because the pace restrict for the electrical motor (in case you reside someplace that has a legislation about pace limits for e-bikes, AND you need to adjust to stated legislation). The Tempo comes with a prime pace of 28 mph for the pedal help configuration out of the field, however you possibly can tweak that decrease if you would like.

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 using within the dry summer time warmth, and having a water bottle proper at hand is crucial in my guide. 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 device equipment, extra on that later), aside from carrying a backpack. Including a entrance or rear rack, or each, can be one of many first issues I’d do to the Tempo if it was going to be my each day commuter bike or common grocery-getter, as a result of I really feel prefer it’s far more comfy to load the bike with my stuff than to load myself with a heavy backpack. Clearly, your mileage could range, however I feel 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 could positively examine many of the containers for me.

And now on to the great things, specifically, the comfy journey that the Tempo provides, because of 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 normal mounted stem. The grips are comfy, and the position of the shifter, the throttle, and the show are such that it’s nice to journey and simple to crank the pedal-assist degree up or down (or off, as is actually helpful when in low-speed environments or tight areas that aren’t conducive to having electrical help on — belief me, whenever you expertise the unintended acceleration from pedal help whenever you don’t want or need it, you’ll admire the OFF operate of an e-bike).

All of that apart, or perhaps on prime 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 received a number of e-bikes that solely have cadence sensors, and I’m fantastic with that — they work simply fantastic when you get a really feel for the 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 a daily ol’ analog bike. For these not conversant in the phrases, a cadence sensor senses the cadence (duh), that means it primarily acts like a swap to show the motor on whenever you’re pedaling, and off whenever you’re not, and a few e-bikes have actually clunky cadence sensor techniques (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 drive the rider is placing into the pedals, and the e-bike’s motor responds appropriately. In different phrases, whenever you mash down on the pedals, the torque sensor makes the bike behave just 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 quick model, anyway) is that an e-bike with an excellent torque sensor acts very organically, very very similar to a non-electric bike (effectively, aside from the truth that the e-bike provides you a extremely good additional little one thing one thing by way of precise energy the place the rubber meets the street, which is precisely the purpose of getting that battery and motor on board). The Tempo was a complete pleasure to journey when utilizing pedal help (I’m not a giant consumer of the throttle characteristic, aside from the occasional have to speed up quick off the road, similar to at a busy intersection), largely because of the seamless nature of the torque sensor and motor controller. It actually felt ‘pure’ to journey, and never as if I used to be using a low-speed moped or a scooter with pedals or one thing. And as a lifelong bike owner, that feeling is actually vital to me.

One other couple of options that I actually favored had been the built-in headlight (goodbye, click-on headlights with replaceable batteries), and the brake lights that work similar to a automobile’s. Understanding that the drivers or cyclists behind you might be 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 alerts on the body, which is one other nice security characteristic, though coaching my mind to make use of the flip alerts 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 isn’t any exception, is that you just actually actually need to up your flat-proofing sport, as a result of most of them shouldn’t have fast launch skewers on the wheels, and so altering a flat in the midst of the journey is just about inconceivable for those who don’t have a wrench to take away the wheel or a tire pump (or a flat restore equipment) with you. The Tempo has “puncture resistant” tires, however that actually doesn’t imply that you just gained’t ever get a flat, so my go-to has at all times been so as to add a bunch of tire slime to every tube, and if I journey in a whole lot of 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 device and flat equipment and a tire pump with me on lengthy rides is a brilliant follow, so with out a straightforward technique to connect them, like a water bottle cage or different mounting level, you’re caught with a heavy backpack, until 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 alternative for a each day commuter bike, a grocery-getter, or simply for some good clear leisure enjoyable. The upright cruiser-style body is comfy and simple 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 purposes. If I used to be repeatedly using a bunch of steep hills, or if I used to be a a lot bigger human, I’d perhaps desire a extra highly effective motor, however I didn’t have any points by any means (and pedaling HARDER is the way in which to beat any hill or distance, so there’s that). Once more, I’d advocate for including a rack or two, and for those who do stay in a local weather with a whole lot of rain, you’ll in all probability be happiest with entrance and rear fenders for it.

The Aventon Pace 500.3 e-bike is out there via 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 evaluation.

All photos by Derek Markham / CleanTechnica.

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