Aventon, the San Diego-based electric bike brand known for pushing the budget electric bike market into higher quality territory, has just announced its highest-performance model yet. The new Aventon Ramblas is the brand’s first dedicated electric mountain bike and features an Aventon-developed mid-drive motor with impressive torque and power.
Despite Aventon being known largely as a lower-cost electric bike company, the Ramblas looks set to compete with e-bike models well outside of Aventon’s normal stomping grounds.
The move makes sense for Aventon though, which has spent the last few years rolling out progressively more refined and higher-quality models that focus on bringing more features into the budget category.
The Ramblas takes that initiative further than ever for Aventon, especially with the company’s new powerplant. For the first time ever, Aventon is showing off its A100 mid-drive motor with torque sensor, which was developed in-house by the company to power the new Ramblas electric mountain bike.
The IP67-rated motor comes with personalized tuning capabilities via the Aventon app and features a total of 15 pedal assist levels made up of three profiles (eco, trail, and turbo) each with five levels. The motor carries a 250W continuous power rating, a 100 Nm torque spec, and can also be completely submerged in water.
Don’t be worried about that supposed “250W” designation on the motor. Nearly every mid-drive motor on the market is rated at 250W, which helps offer the widest distribution options, including in countries with lower power limits. As the company explained, the real peak output power maxes out at 750W:
Ramblas’ motor maintains a nominal output of 250w, where “nominal” signifies the sustained power output during a standardized test over a specific time. Depending on the motor type, turbo mode with full power can deliver peak power of 750 watts. This is great for climbing hills and on trails, as well as rolling through city streets.
The 100 Nm torque rating provides the real “oomph” info, as torque ratings are not regulated and thus motor manufacturers don’t have to play underrating games with the spec sheet in order to slip them past regulators. Since torque values can tell the real deal, they’re the best way to gain insight into a motor’s actual performance from the spec sheet.
In this case, 100 Nm puts Aventon’s new mid-drive motor near the top of the list for retail motors, surpassing essentially all the various motor models offered by industry heavyweights such as Bosch, Brose, Yamaha, and Shimano.
Powering the motor is a 36V 708Wh battery comprised of 21700-format LG battery cells. The company claims it can support a range of up to 80 miles (130 km).
The 56-lb (25.4 kg) 6061 aluminum e-bike includes a RockShox 35 fork with 130mm of travel, SRAM NX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain, KS dropper seat post, and 4-piston SRAM hydraulic disc brakes with a 200mm rotor in the front and 180mm rotor in the rear. LED lighting is also built into the chainstays to keep the bike visible from the rear.
The bike is available in four frame sizes of S, M, L, and XL. All models feature 29×2.4″ Maxxis tires except for the S frame size, which includes 27.5×2.4″ Maxxis tires.
The e-bike lacks a throttle and maxes out at 20 mph (32 km/h), keeping it within Class 1 designation in the US and ensuring access to the largest number of mountain bike trails possible.
The Aventon Ramblas carries an MSRP of $2,699 and is already available from Aventon’s site as well as the company’s wide network of local dealers.
Read the full article here