One of many latest e-bikes out of the Aventon secure is the Tempo 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 a variety of completely different Aventon fashions lately, and all of them have handed muster with the workforce. Actually, out of all the 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.
The entire Aventon e-bikes we’ve had an opportunity to trip up to now have been actually well-built and nicely thought out, and the Tempo 500.3 isn’t any exception. The brief model of this evaluate is that when you’re searching for a every day driver e-bike that rides and handles like a champ, is snug, and appears sharp as nicely, 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 come back 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 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 couple of small plastic bits, nearly all the 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 Tempo is a stable machine — not too heavy for cruising over bumps or tooling by means of unfastened sand, though because it has fairly normal tires (27.5″ x 2.1″) and no suspension, I wasn’t beneath the phantasm that this may change my singletrack mountain bike on the spicier trails anytime quickly. Nonetheless, for a hybrid-type using state of affairs, with some filth, some gravel, after which ultimately pavement, it carried out rather well, and I used to be pleased with the gearing choice and pedal-assist modes obtainable 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 fulfill a good friend. So far as the app goes, I’m not actual huge on utilizing many of the options obtainable, as a result of once I trip, I typically simply need to pedal like mad and really feel the wind in my face, and never observe my rides or acquire stats on my journeys. That being mentioned, for individuals 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 many others., plus issues like energy burned and the quantity of CO2 lowered by selecting to cycle as an alternative of drive. And there are some tweaks to the bike’s configuration which are obtainable solely by means of the app, such because the pace restrict for the electrical motor (in case you reside someplace that has a regulation about pace limits for e-bikes, AND you need to adjust to mentioned regulation). The Tempo comes with a prime pace of 28 mph for the pedal help configuration out of the field, however you may tweak that decrease if you would like.
My second impression of the Tempo 500.3 — even earlier than I started pedaling this time — was that I couldn’t imagine there weren’t any water bottle mounts (braze-ons) on the bike, which was sort 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 important 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 device equipment, extra on that later), apart from carrying a backpack. Including a entrance or rear rack, or each, can 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 fluctuate, however I believe if the Tempo was kitted out with a rear rack and a few panniers (and a water bottle cage mounted someplace, possibly on handlebars?), it will positively examine many of the containers for me.
And now on to the great things, particularly, the snug trip that the Tempo offers, 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 regular fastened stem. The grips are snug, and the position of the shifter, the throttle, and the show are such that it’s nice to trip and simple to crank the pedal-assist stage 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 recognize the OFF operate of an e-bike).
All of that apart, or possibly on prime of all of that, the large 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 couple of e-bikes that solely have cadence sensors, and I’m effective with that — they work simply effective 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 an everyday ol’ analog bike. For these not acquainted with the phrases, a cadence sensor senses the cadence (duh), which means it basically acts like a change 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 techniques (on a better stage 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 may possibly really feel a bit mechanical (sure, I do know it IS mechanical, however bear with me right here).
A torque sensor, however, measures how a lot drive 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 similar to a non-electric bike (nicely, apart from the truth that the e-bike offers you a extremely good further 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 must speed up quick off the road, resembling at a busy intersection), largely because of the seamless nature of the torque sensor and motor controller. It actually felt ‘pure’ to trip, 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 admittedly necessary 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 automobile’s. Figuring out 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 would possibly take some time.
One factor to pay attention to on many e-bikes, and the Tempo 500.3 isn’t any exception, is that you just actually actually need to up your flat-proofing recreation, as a result of most of them wouldn’t have fast launch skewers on the wheels, and so altering a flat in the course of the trip is just about inconceivable when you 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 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 shortage 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 observe, so with out a simple strategy 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 general impression of the Aventon Tempo 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 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 functions. If I used to be frequently using a bunch of steep hills, or if I used to be a a lot bigger human, I’d possibly need a extra highly effective motor, however I didn’t have any points by any means (and pedaling HARDER is the way in which to overcome any hill or distance, so there’s that). Once more, I’d advocate for including a rack or two, and when 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 Tempo 500.3 e-bike is obtainable by means of the corporate’s web site for $1699, and there are a bunch of fairly priced equipment for it as nicely.
This text is sponsored by Aventon. The Tempo 500.3 was supplied to the creator for the needs of this evaluate.
All photographs by Derek Markham / CleanTechnica.
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