Correction: we stated that the Avadar C3’s torque is 85 Nm; that should be 80. Also in the video, we simplified the criteria for classifying electric bikes. There are variations based on location and manufacturer. For example, a bike in Class 2 may have a Pedal assist feature in addition to the throttle, but it may function more like an on/off switch to activate the motor. The Avadar C3 is a Class 3 (similar to S-Pedelec in Europe), combining the Pedal Assist feature of Class 1 with a higher maximum speed. With any electric bike, we must be sure to confirm restrictions such as rider age and registration.
Regarding the battery "sag," all batteries will drop voltage when loaded with a high current drain. The difference is that not all software which converts voltage into percentage of capacity left, will have this built in and sample the voltage at different times, in order to correct for this transient voltage drop. The voltage drops for a number of reasons including drain, but also temperature, chemistry and age. It would be great if you could do a video about the Van Moof X3 (I think Allô Vélo sells it.) as well as Mahle e-bike motion and Switchbike options even though they are not compact folding bikes. Greg Lemond is introducing an all carbon fibre e-bike (yes even carbon wheels) for commuting. Costs over $4,5K!
Indeed, battery sag seems to be a fact of life. However, the software displaying power status could certainly do more than just duplicate battery voltage. Our drone, for example, computes remaining flying time in real-time (even initiating a “return to home” alert when it considers it has only enough power to do so). With winter snow fast approaching, further test rides will probably be on hold for a while. Testing some quality folding e-bikes would be interesting.
I see two major cons to traveling with electric bikes in general (not this one in particular): you can't take the battery in a plane and theses bikes are very cumbersome. It is a no-go to me. Cheers from France!
Bonjour du Québec. Totally agree. We do find regular full size bikes too large already for air travel, so an even heavier ebike is out of the question (not to mention regulations regarding lithium battery in airplane). Having said that, we did see a lot of (local) cyclists on France’s Velodyssée using eBikes. I think the ideal use case is local travel and/or commuting (aka car replacement)
Thanks for the review! This makes commuting across the Champlain bridge seem possible. I'd only use it if I had a secure area at work to store it though. The Brompton electric would be great because you could bring it inside to the office but I've seen videos on its wonky battery interface and hub motor reliability issues. That would annoy me if I paid 5k. I'm thinking of getting a locally made ebike just so I can get it repaired in case something happens.
Pont Champlain is a breeze with this kind of bike (I did get out at Ile des Soeurs however). The issue, as with all full size bikes (electric or not), is where to store it safely when at your destination. We will try to test some alternative folding electric bikes (besides the Brompton) once weather permits.
@@2Bikes4Adventure have you any experience with Citizen folding bikes? I'm looking for a spare bike for when I've got company but not spend $2,000 on a second 6 speed Brompton. I see Citizen have an electric bike or two on the market and it would be nice to have an electric bike for the spare. There is not a lot of info online but people seem to like Citizen... Thank you again! 😊
Unfortunately, we never had the chance to test ride a Citizen bicycle. Having tested a full-size mid-drive eBike, we would like to compare it with a hub-drive folding one. Maybe once winter is over.
We have had no response from them in two years. The website is active, but not sure they are still in business. Shame, great bikes. There is a reddit post about this, and their FB page hasn't responded in two years. Any idea what's going on?
@@2Bikes4Adventure we are planning on taking a drive to the location listed on their site. Will update folks at what we discover, or most likely don't find.
This is a really nice bike, but customer service is non-existent. I've had the C3 for three months now (600 miles) and my current issue is that the charger no longer works. I'm getting no response from Avadar. Very frustrating. Ended up buying a generic one on line. Also replaced the seat, cut down the handlebars, changed the tires to Surly. Overall a nice ride, but be prepared to make many adjustments and if something goes wrong, you're on your own.
