Aventon Launches The Ramblas, A Mid-Drive Electric Mountain Bike
Aventon, a leading US e-bike company, has just announced two firsts for the brand, both of which are about the same model, the recently launched Ramblas. The first first, if that’s a thing, is that Aventon has developed its own mid-drive motor in-house, and the second first is that the company is branching out a bit from its city and cruiser bike offerings with its first electric mountain bike. I guess there’s a third first as well, which is that the first first is integrated into the second first — in other words, Aventon’s mid-drive motor is what drives its first e-MTB.
The Ramblas is a hardtail mountain bike with 29″ wheels (29-ers are also a first for the company, I believe) and a front suspension fork from RockShox with 130 mm of travel, powered by a 36V 250W mid-drive motor and a 708Wh battery. The 6061 aluminum alloy-framed Ramblas weighs in at 56 pounds when fully kitted out, has most of its cables internally routed (the front brake cable is not) for a clean look, and employs Sram DB8 mineral 4 piston hydraulic disc brakes for maximum stopping power.
It is a Class 1 e-bike, meaning it is pedal-assist only (no throttle) and has a maximum assisted speed of 20 mph, but along with its 29″ x 2.4″ tires and suspension fork, its mid-drive motor and Sram NX 12-speed drivetrain make the Ramblas up- and downhill-ready. And the A100 mid-drive motor is rated IP67, which means that it is essentially waterproof when immersed in water for short periods, so stream crossings should be no big deal for the Ramblas.
One interesting feature of the Ramblas is the ability to personalize the tuning on the motor through the Aventon app, which allows riders to adjust the assistance, torque, and acceleration provided by the motor in each of the three pedal assist levels in order to match the intended use. For example, the torque can be decreased for a more natural-feeling ride, and along with reducing the acceleration and assistance, can help maximize the range of the battery, while boosting those levels will turn the Ramblas into a quicker, more powerful bike. Being able to tune the motor to better suit the route is a neat feature, and riders can ‘tame’ the bike down for casual riding around town and then later tune it for the best performance when climbing hills on a singletrack.
Another cool feature on the Ramblas is the inclusion of a quick-action dropper seat post, which allows the rider to easily drop the seat down and out of the way when desired (such as downhills) by way of a lever on the handlebars, and then quickly return the seat to its original position when pedaling the flats. For many casual riders, this isn’t a big deal, or even necessary, but for those who want to get the most out of their bike and who tackle some serious terrain, it could be the difference between staying on the bike and bailing off it.
I just received and assembled a review unit of the Ramblas, so you can look forward to some hands-on coverage of this e-bike in CleanTechnica in the near future, but I can say that I’m thoroughly enjoying this bike already. The MSRP of the Ramblas is $2699, and the full specs are on the Aventon website.
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