At one point, I smelled burning plastic when it hit me that the smell came from the motor, which was burning hot from overuse. If you’ve ever had a job then you know that it can really cut into your day. I was still very into mountain biking so I got myself some lights and I’d ride the trails at night. Yeah, there’s animals but you know they are mostly more scared of you than you are of them and riding a trail by the light of a full moon is pretty much a magical experience. Now I ride mostly for recreation/activity (health), and when possible I commute. With a price of $1,498, Kent’s mid-drive e-bike certainly isn’t competing with the several thousand dollar models that use German mid-drive motors, and so it likely opts for a Chinese motor.
I don’t know the answer to this problem, but the city and the company need to ensure the sidewalks are clear and safe. Since the bikes are electric, everyone can do it, even those who don’t like/or are not used to cycle. There are several interesting things to visit Air Museum, Vineyards, Castle, beautiful farms, etc.
In low power mode, the battery is sufficient for 15 miles (25 km) of range. Of course, if the battery ever runs out, the e-bike simply turns back into a standard pedal bike. There’s even a six-speed transmission that makes the bike extra pedal-friendly even without any electric assist. The LED display offers three levels of assistance. There are medium and low power modes that provide even softer assistance.
They cost less to produce, and they are basically bulletproof in terms of user error. Shimano Tourney TX800 8-speed derailleur and shifters are paired with a no-name crank and mechanical disc brakes. Front and rear fenders and a rear rack come standard kent road bike on the Electric Cruiser, which was a bit of a surprise, given its relatively low price. Most of the people buying this bike will love the wide, padded saddle and upright ride position, but adjusting the saddle angle was next to impossible.
For just a bit more at $1,799, the dual batteries, significantly higher power/speed, hydraulic disc brakes, and a pile of other features blow this Kent bike away. But Lectric’s model is also a folding fat tire e-bike and won’t fulfill the trail bike role that Kent’s offering here claims to satisfy. On my test ride, I chose a 5-mile path that alternated between asphalt and gravel. On the gravelly bits, the ebike performed well, kicking in enough power to keep the momentum going on the climbs and cutting off on the downhills. Everything was going great until I encountered a 11%, 6-degree incline. Even while pedaling and in the highest level of assist, the bike barely had enough torque to push me up the hill.
(Luckily, my local bike co-op was able to hook me up with the needed parts!) But that was really the only major problem with assembly. I’m not an influencer, and I don’t want you to visit my website or youtube channel. I’m just a guy who kent hybrid bike rides MTBs and wanted to get an ebike bc I’m tired of pedaling uphills on long trails. Even so, I ran the purchase past Christine and she said OK. I called the guy up, met him at the corner, took the bike for a test ride and bought it.
You probably want to be careful around that deer head I left you. With Japanese motors, Taiwan-made frames and U.S. assembly, the bikes largely bypass the recently imposed tariffs on Chinese-made e-bikes and other bike products. Just a handful of parts will come from China, Kamler said. Kent’s specialty brands, Van Dessel and Univega, this spring will launch the company’s first e-bike models incorporating new Panasonic mid-drive systems. The e-bikes will be assembled in Kent’s South Carolina factory and sold in North America and Europe.
That isn’t a bad thing, as many riders (including myself) have been very happy with lower-cost mid-drive motors. I have a Truckrun motor on my daily rider city e-bike, and it works wonderfully. The Kent Electric Cruiser’s 350W rear-hub motor was more than capable on the flat roads and bike paths around my home, easily reaching and staying at 20 mph. But when the bike was pointed uphill, the performance was much less impressive. With me pedaling and the power assist at maximum, my speed frequently dropped down into the single digits on steep hills. Cheaper mid-drive electric bikes tend to opt for Chinese-made mid-drive motors like those from Bafang, Truckrun, Tongsheng, and others.
And the mechanical disc brakes are likely plenty for a 250W bike that isn’t going to get up to 20 mph (32 km/h) very quickly. Mid-drive motors are one of the two most common electric bike drivetrains, with the other being hub motors. Most low-cost electric bicycles use hub motors – or a motor housed in the center of a wheel – simply because they are cheap and easy.
The e-bikes and e-scooters will be available to the entire Kent community. With nearly 10 years of experience with electric bikes, we are one of the leading experts on e-bikes in Kent. Electrek reports that the steel-framed Torpedo sports a 180W 24V rear hub motor with a 125Wh battery. Needless to say, it’s pedal assist, so it’s definitely a bike and not a mini e-motorbike thing.