Aventon Soltera.2 or Ride1Up Roadster V3?
I continue researching relatively lightweight and moderately priced hybrid/urban/gravel e-bikes in an effort to find the best one for me. So far, I have decided against Velotric T1, because it does not work without a connected smartphone and cellular connection. The T1 ST Plus does not require mobile connection, but like the ST it has an integrated battery, which is a pain to replace if need be, so I pushed it down my list.
The two remaining bikes to compare are Aventon Soltera.2 and Ride1Up Roadster V3.
Aventon Soltera.2
The Aventon Soltera.2 can be found in a local bike store, which is great if you want to try the bike before committing to buy it. I rode two miles on the Soltera.2 and liked it a lot. Granted, this was my first experience with e-bikes, but I think I started my search at the best possible time, when torque sensor have just replaced cadence sensor across brands and models, this includes the Soltera.2. I found the assist to be very natural, and I never experienced ghost pedaling, which can happen with a cadence sensor.
Overall, I liked the traditional frame geometry, the size — I tried the large frame, which was perfect for me, I liked that the battery can be quickly removed, and I liked the price: the original $1,399 price had been reduced to $1,199 and now to $999, which I think is unbeatable.
At the same time, there are some things that I want to highlight.
The Soltera.2 has disc brakes, which require more caution and better care than traditional rim brakes. The front brake squealed loudly on the bike I rode. The brakes are cable-operated, not hydraulic, which has its pros and cons.
Hydraulic brakes are generally more effective, but require regular bleeding. Mechanical brakes do not need brake fluid, can be adjusted on the go, also the bike can be inverted without worrying about air bubbles in the system. Well, actually you cannot invert the bike without risking to damage the display. I would prefer the bike to have old-school rim brakes, because it is not a high-speed bike after all, the assist turns off when 20 MPH is reached.
38-mm tires are too narrow for most urban or gravel usage. According to Aventon, the Soltera.2 can fit 40-mm tires, not wide enough in my opinion.
The Shimano Tourney group is a relatively low end system. It works, but I experienced a couple of mis-shifts. I don’t know how it will hold over time. The bike’s motor is only 350W, it encourages frequent shifting.
The stem is not adjustable, although the height was perfect for me.
Cable management is a big messy. The screen, the control panel and the throttle are three different interconnected boxes. There are lights in the seatstays, which need additional cables. From the handlebar, the cables are grouped into two bundles, and then are channeled into the lower frame tube.
The battery can be quickly removed, for example if it has to be charged, or replaced with another battery. The replacement battery is quite expensive — half the price of the bike.
Ride1Up Roadster V3
The Roadster V3 has just replaced the Roadster V2. Two major changes are: cadence sensor has been upgraded to torque sensor, and an integrated battery has been changed to removable battery, so in this regard the Roadster V3 caught up with the Soltera.2.
All other specs and features are better than of the Soltera.2:
- 39 lbs weight vs 46 lbs.
- Hydraulic disc brakes vs. mechanical disc brakes.
- 10-speed Shimano Deore groupset vs a cheaper 7-speed Shimano Tourney on the Soltera.2
- 45-mm tires vs 38mm.
- The V3 has the front fork with integrated wiring, which makes for a very clean look.
- The V3 has a single compact unit combining the screen, control panel and throttle, the Soltera.2 has three different components.
- The V3 has removable battery just like the Soltera.2, but it looks a bit cleaner without a lever underneath the lower tube. The battery has similar capacity as on the Soltera.2 battery, 10 Ah, but is $200 cheaper.
- The V3 costs $1,295, but it just has been released, whereas the Soltera.2 is more than one year old. I expect the Soltera.2 to be replaced with a newer model any time soon with the price going up, while the V3 will likely see some discounts by the springtime.
Clearly, the V3 is a better bike than the Soltera.2, but there are some gotchas.
- The advertised weight of the V3 is 39 lbs, with the battery and fenders, but Electric Bike Report measured 44 lbs, a whopping 5 lbs heavier and very close to 46 lbs of the Soltera.2, which weighs 46 lbs, exactly as spec’d.
- The previous model, the V2, had a motor with 350W nominal power and 40 Nm of torque. The current model is advertised having a 500W motor, no mention whether it is nominal or maximum power. A Ride1Up’s sales representative explained the motor uses a 350W shell, however, it was modified to run closer to 500W nominal, and to peak near 700W.
- In their blog, Ride1Up admits that they publish their specs “in the same format that has become the industry standard”, following the trend “some larger companies have created” by specifying “only the peak power and often not listing the brand of motor”. This is a rather dubious explanation for “adopting a simplified motor rating”, in any case, if they specify only the peak power, should not they specify 700W power for the V3?
- A Ride1Up’s sales representative denigrated Aventon as a brand (“Aventon is a dealer brand… Any time you walk into a store that sells bikes you’re looking at 60+ percent in markup”), and the Soltera.2 as a competitor to the V3 (“They look fancy, but they are very much budget bikes that do not come close to comparison to Ride1Up”). I find this un-sportsmanlike.
- The 30-day return policy has many limitations, in particular the returned bike must have fewer than twenty miles on the odometer. Ride1Up promises 100% refund as long as the bike arrives back to them in the condition it was delivered. Buyer is responsible for the cost of return shipping, and Ride1Up “reserves the right to provide a prepaid shipping label to the customer” in which case “$200-$350 (varies by model and shipping cost) will be deducted from the final refund amount”. Meaning, that the customer will have to compensate Ride1Up for the return shipping, this is not how I think a prepaid shipping label works.
In the end, I am still torn between the two bikes.
The Soltera.2 is good enough, it is significantly cheaper, and I can buy it at a physical bike store. Also, I can find a third-party battery for it for $300 and even for $200, which gives me hope that five or ten years down the line the bike will still be usable.
The Roadster V3 is a sleeker, cleaner-looking bike with better components, I wish the company were more honest with its specs and less condescending towards its competitors. ■
