Aventon Level.2 Review | Electric Commuter Bike 

So much better than the black/gold combo of the 1st gen.

Beautiful Color but i do wish they would make the step thru models colors available on the top tube model & Vice Versa

I actually liked the color of the previous version but of the 2 colors in the Level 2, I like the clay better.

The blue looks good to me.

Blue is nice ! I am wondering if im 5'10 regular frame & 200lb. Would you suggest that I get a large or medium. I see the medium size tops at 5'11 . Or do I just need to test one in a shop ? Thanks great review!

How hard is it to pedal without assist?

@@SnoopyReads with 0 pedal assist its pretty hard. bike weighs almost 60lbs but its not meant to be pedaled with no power

@@mikec4308 I bought one a week ago, it's fairly easy to pedal on flat ground without assist, but I'd hate to try a climb if the battery died

Great to hear!

Thanks for watching!

How tall are you. I’m 6 ft 4 inch, shopping for larger bike?

@@tommwarneke396 I'm 5'9 & I have the normal version I suggest the larger one with the frame

Right on! Thanks for watching.

I also bought a Level in 2019 and although I am a total recreational rider, I will get the Level 2 strictly because of the torque sensor add. From day two I wanted the bike to work as hard as me, not push me around and attempt to achieve 12 mph when all I need is a little help, especially when I am navigating an incline that is crowded or riding a packed dirt trail uphill. I say from 'day two' because whoever rides their very own e-bike for the first time will most likely not find any faults on day one because their head is swimming with how much fun they are! I guess I'll have two Levels....in case I find a friend.

We used to change class settings but that resulted in quite a few complications. Thus the policy of we'll test them as they ship them.

In terms of PAS on the hill they are pretty similar. But yeah, the throttle result was a surprise and we get the disappointment there.

@@ElectricBikeReport Thanks for this info and for the quality RU-vid channel and content!

The tires will wear just like a regular bike, you'll probably spend a couple hundred in maintenance a year. The 2 year warranty covers bad batteries or motor issues. So it's basically like having a regular bike

@@SnoopyReads thanks for that.

Washington, UT

I had a RadRunner that was just stolen too. RIP our bikes. I just purchased the Level 2 to replace it. Hope you got something you love!

My understanding is that due to the significant weight difference between the Level 2 and the Aventure 2, cycling the latter w/o assist is really difficult. I did see another review of the Level 2 where they start off pedaling w/o assist on level ground and had no issue.

I have one. The pedal assist is going to feel completely different than the Sinch and Adventure, because those have a cadence sensor (boo! hiss!) and this has a torque sensor. There is very, very little delay in either the PAS, or the throttle, I find.

It kicks on nearly instantly

We did that unofficially. It did improve it thanks to just hitting the hill at a higher speed, but we don't have any official data for it (we test em as they ship em which in this case was class 2).

@@ElectricBikeReport Thanks... That's all I wanted to know.

Always recommend you get it straight from the bike brand so you know they are compatible and you don't void any warranties

Yes, it can. And no, you don't. 🙂

Relatively upright for a speedy commuter. As upright as a cruiser? No.

I so agree with you. I have a Rize RX with the Befang 1000 watt mid drive and I love it. I would never get a hub drive now.

@@stevebailey2781 good to know your opinion after having both. I am still researching my first ebike and I'm pretty certain it's got to be a mid-drive with a good torque sensor. I live in an area that are very steep Hills in the Ozarks. Not big mountains but very choppy and steep. It seems like 80% of peddling is either giving it everything you've got to get up a hill or breaking all the way down to the last 50 yards of the Hill. I stopped pedaling when I moved here years ago because it's just too brutal to have a casual enjoyable pedal once in awhile. With the new ebike technology I think it is quite possible and now I'm thinking that it's got to be a mid-drive with good reviews on its torque sensor. I wish they had quality regen breaking but from all the reviews I've seen. Regen breaking on bicycles is just not a practical or efficient option yet.

I just wish more mid drives had throttles.

@@Andrew-it7fb I wish there was more aftermarket support and options for operating systems. The free open market would definitely Supply the consumers with options for throttles and speeds and tunes but I'm afraid we're living in an era of proprietary systems and government regulations. I find it bizarre that even bicycles are already regulated into categories.

@@Andrew-it7fb a throttle would force your legs to peddle. Are there any mid drives with a throttle?

If memory serves correctly, the Level 2 claim on the website didn't include the battery weight but the Level 1 did include it. So with battery, the Level 2 is basically the same as the Level 1 at 60+ lbs.

@@ElectricBikeReport I ended up asking Aventon support and they told me it had to do with the frame and they couldn’t divulge frame manufacturing process. I thought that sounded strange. Thanks for responding 👍

Whats wrong with the Chain/Derailleur?

@@theclickbaitdetective9196 I just don't want the maintenance of a chain/derailleur. It's very dusty and dirty where I live. Went with a mid drive bike with a belt and CVT internal rear hub.

@@WanderingAroundAZ Have you seen the VVolt Sirius? Totally agree with you on the IGH; better solution than a typical derailleur.

I ended up solving that problem by buying two bikes-- a middrive e-mtb for the trails and the Ride1Up LMT'D for the street. Ride1Up gives you a nice air shock fork instead of the typical cheaper, heavier spring fork. The Hyper E-Ride is a pretty good deal for an emtb with a decent mid drive at $1500. The Paselec GS9 tries to conquer the streets and the trails and it does ok, although some will not like the cadence sensor on trails.

its because US law limits pedal assist to 28 mph and throttle alone to 20 mph for ebikes. Pretty much every e-bike is thus going to limit their bikes to that, since the US is the 2nd largest e-bike market behind China, which actually regulates e-bikes to not be able to exceed 15 mph. So no bike companies care about speed over 28mph, since a vast majority of their possible buyers legally wont be able to go faster

I’m pretty sure they put a torque sensor on the Aventure 2

@Olga Snelling Yes they did. I may have to upgrade now!

It was shipped to us as a class 2 e-bike, but can easily be adjusted to class 3 in the app that pairs with the bike.

@@ElectricBikeReport can you switch it back and forth between 2-3 easily?

you can once you unlock the motor

We've seen a few, but it is indeed too rare.

Is it an issue specific with the level 2? Are there issues with thr Pace 500.3 too?

Don't underestimate the importance of how people set up the controller to govern what the motor can and can't do.

On sale for $1499US with a FREE extra battery on their website right now

its the same amount of exposed wiring as every other hub drive ebike.

I weighed mine and it came in at 59.2 pounds (step-through, size S/M). I guess they are giving the weight w/out the battery, but I think it's really duplicitous of them not to mention that. The only thing I don't like about the bike is that the company's pants are on fire.

That is the frame weight. But the battery is another 7-8 lbs.

the website is in error. we weighed them and seeing 59 to 60 lbs depending on frame size. battery is 7.7 lbs. aventon always used to (and still does for all the other models) put total weight with battery, but maybe its some marketing gimmick to lead people to think its lighter than it is, unless they find the 'fine print.'

To you.

@@otterishly777 to anyone with a brain- a 500 watt motor should run about $900…otherwise your getting ripped off

look, the motor with rim is around $200, and even if you put a 750 watt motor on it, that would only add maybe $ 50 to $75. But its just not worth it as you would also need to increase controller amps as well. majority of people dont understand that most ebike brands that are importers only, dont design, nor engineer nor make their ebikes, use a 750 watt nameplate rating, that when you open it up, turns out to be 350 to 500 watt motor in coil and winding size. Those brands are just buying from a chinese 3rd party factory and slap their logo on it. (examples are Rad, Ride1Up, Heybike, Velotric, Mokwheel, Himiway, even Sondors.) Aventon owns their factory does all their own design and engineering, which others like Ride1up try to copy, and so the on line sold brands only claim the 750 by using the controller amps multipled by volts. Just because you see it advertised on a website with these on line sold brands, Does not mean its a real 750 watt, and I guarantee you if you run most of them versus the Level.2, the Level.2 motor is stronger with a higher torque rating, and faster in accelerating as well. People are easily duped buying on line, because they dont get to test ride those models and ride them side by side with ebikes that have true 750 watt motors on them. we run these tests all the time with multiple brands, and let customers try them out and they are shocked to find that most brands claiming 750 watts, especially those that are sub $2000 are way weaker than the Level.2. besides the Level.2 will get you up to the max legal speed, so all's a cheap 750 watt motor is going to do is eat up more watts in every level of assist versus Aventon's 500 watt (that peaks at 750 and is more efficient with larger coils and stronger magnets.) Its sad to see so many people get sucked in by looking at mis-leading specs such as watts that tell you nothing about how strong the motor actually is. Ebike brands are guilty of the games, and easily can lie and overhype when they are selling at arm's length and not in any local shops where you can see and try them in person.

@@specialist-in-tech OK, but i needed to a bit of digging to find out that it's motor is "only" 60 Nm, I am a big guy, but fortunately the only significant inclines in town are over the freeway....

If you look around it's a lot for the price without being shoddy quality.