Aventon Aventure - a new owner's first impressions and review

[mudcamper]

Update: Aventon has interesting and innovative designs. But the sad reality is that the bikes they deliver have poor quality assurance, defective parts, and it is difficult and time consuming to try and get any help from customer support. Buying Aventon is a roll of the dice. You may get a bike that works, or you may get a lemon. And even those that are lucky enough to get a bike that works, one day you will have problems (as is normal), and Aventon will take weeks or months to help you.

I already own an eBike. It's the Harley Davidson Serial 1 Mosh / CTY. I've had it for three months, and have been riding it every day. The Mosh is a mid-drive, torque sensor, very high quality bike, so I can't help but see the Aventon through this lens. It's not fair, but it's my perspective. So why did I also buy the Aventon, you may ask? It's for a different function. It's to be my utility bike, the grocery store runner, and get to town for supplies bike.

Minor issues, but there were a few problems when it arrived. A plastic mounting bracket for the rear fender is broken. The front brake line was routed wrong. It looks like they stuck the front fork right in between a wire harness and brake line when assembling it, and I couldn't install the handlebar. I had to remove the brake caliper to get it sorted out. And they didn't include the front rack that I ordered, although they said they did. Looks like they just forgot to put it in the box.

The power and feel is very different than the Mosh, which feels like a bicycle. This feels like something else, a motor vehicle of some kind.

The power assist setting isn't a power assist setting. It's basically a max speed setting when peddling.

The cadence sensor isn't. It's an on/off switch that activates when peddling. How fast you're peddling is irrelevant.

It takes some getting used to. But I'm figuring it out. It's just so different than other ebikes. You need to choose your speed with the power setting, and then change to a gear that matches it. On other ebikes the power setting has nothing to do with speed, but just how much work you have to do.

The throttle has an annoying and unnecessary long delay before it kicks in.

The brakes were very weak, especially the front. I re-adjusted the front caliper, did a brake bed-in procedure, and they are better, and improving as I use them more.

The seat was moving around when riding. I tightened it more and it seems to be good now.

To my amazement, the fat seat is less comfortable than the small seat on my Mosh. I will try a Thudbuster to see it it helps.

The peddle hits the ground when making banking turns while pedaling. This happened to me several times. It's jarring and scary. I am probably just cornering too aggressively for this style of bike, from habits I've picked up on the Mosh.

Most annoying of all, your foot hits the front fender on slow sharp turns when pedaling. I'm going to scuff and bend the fender doing this.

OK it sounds like I'm complaining a lot. Now for positives.

It's a beautiful bike. (I got the green step-through.)

It's pretty powerful.

It's fast! And I haven't even enabled Class 3 yet.

It's pretty smooth on bumpy roads.

It's got a relaxed cruiser style seating position.

It's good at going long distance really fast, and really easily. It feels right at home in traffic and on the bike lane in town. It's much better than the Mosh here. It would make a good commuter, except for the limited battery life.

I'm loading it up with front rack, rear rack, basket, and pannier bags or racks, so it will make a good utility vehicle.

It's also good at putting around on slow relaxing cruiser rides. It's a lot of fun.

Edit Update: Unfortunately Aventon customer support is very difficult to reach and very slow to act so as a result I have to give this bike a thumbs down. Details in post below.

Edit Update again: Now the battery is has failed. The bike is not usable. See more posts below.

Final Update: At some point while communicating with Aventon's customer support, they offered as an option that I could return the bike for a full refund. I decided to take them up on this. I boxed up the bike and shipped it back. (They paid and sent me a shipping label.) I received the refund. I am satisfied with this outcome.

 

[Katzenjammer]

Good review. I had never been on an e-bike before I got my Aventure, so my only point of reference for comparisons is the analog bikes I've been riding for 60 years. Reading about your issues makes me glad I found mine at a local shop that sold it to me completely assembled and adjusted. What I wasn't ready for was the power from the motor pushing me along. It took me several rides to get comfortable with it but now it's really a joy to ride. I learned to pause pedaling when taking a steep turn back when I was riding road bikes and am glad I don't get pedal hits with this beast. Now I'm trying to re-learn track standing for stop signs and yielding to traffic - it might be the extra weight, but it seems to be a different skill on this bike.

 

[mudcamper]

What I wasn't ready for was the power from the motor pushing me along. It took me several rides to get comfortable with it but now it's really a joy to ride.

Yeah the powerful hub motor with basically on/off functionality has an unnatural feel. The torque sensing mid-drive motors feel totally natural, no different than riding a normal bike, except you feel like you have super-human strength. It's very different.

 

[moondoggie]

Agree, the cadence sensor on the Level is the same way. It's a binary on/off mechanism with a max speed regulator based on PAS. I had tired a few torque sensor bikes before purchasing the Level, and I do prefer that mechanism for sure, a much more natural ride. That said, once you get used to the cadence sensor and the gears, it's fine, and still a lot of fun to ride. You just have to manage the PAS level and gears. I did also take an Aventure out for a test ride, and man, that bike is a beast. It felt very heavy to me, more off-roady than I needed, but still a lot of fun to ride.

Do you ride the Mosh for mostly city / street riding? Doesn't seem like an ideal off-road bike.

Thanks for the review!

 

[mudcamper]

Moondoggie yes the Aventon did take a little getting used to, but I've already got the hang of it. Set the "speed setting", set the matching gear as you peddle up to that speed. And yes it sure does feel like a heavy beast. But since I'm using it as a truck, I like that.

I ride the Mosh strictly for fun and exercise. Yes I said exercise. You get as little or as much as you like by setting the power level accordingly. I ride it mostly road / sidewalk / parkling lot / back alley / developed bike trail, but maybe 20% dirt trail also. Yeah it doesn't have any suspension (other than the Thudbuster I put under the seat) so it's not really good for brutal mountain bike trails. But it is light and nimble compared to the Aventure. It's a curb jumping wheelie machine if you want.

 

[Amishman]

I have a Priority Current bike in addition to the Aventure. The design differences give you a different biking experience in each bike. With PA2 and in 8th gear, I pedal as hard as I can for as long as I can. I get a rush doing that while going along at 20+ an hour. The Aventure gives you a power experience especially going up steep hills and I find the battery life to be about 35-40 in the hilly terrain of Pennsylvania and 45-55 in the flats of coastal, NJ.

 

[mudcamper]

Update: Unfortunately I have to report another negative. It's a problem with customer support. The bikes are not perfect, they have problems, and when they do, it is very difficult to get support from Aventon. My first 2 issues were minor, a bracket that holds on the rear fender arrived broken, and they didn't send me the front rack that I ordered with the bike (but said they did). When you try to contact support, it takes 3 days via email to get a response, and then many more days to get a "resolution" (i.e. until they agree to send you the needed parts). Then it takes 10+ days before they will even ship you a warranty part.

So in my example, I ordered the bike on 7/10, with an expected ship date of 8/16. It shipped late, on 8/27, and arrived 9/1, with broken and missing parts. It took another week to get in contact with customer support and get them to agree to take action, and "order the parts" on 9/7. But this is not like a "normal" order. They say it will take at least 10 days to process warranty orders. So best case I will have everything I need by 9/21. Update: 10 days came and went and they still have not shipped the parts.

Now I am having trouble with the battery. Some days it just won't come on, at all. I dread contacting their support about it. I am just living with it for now. When it won't come on, I just ride my other bike. Of course this is a luxury most people probably don't have. But I dread the week long email support process, followed probably by a month or more without a battery at all. When it gets worse, or fails completely, I'll try and deal with this.

They could make it right. They could hire more support people, and get parts orders out quickly. But they don't. That is a choice on their part. They are choosing to offer bad service. It is not the support personel's fault. They appear to be understaffed and overworked. This is a bad management decision by Aventon. I suspect it is because they are not profitable. Worse, they have disconnected their support phone number. That is not a good sign.

Given all this, I have to say I regret my decision to buy Aventon, and would recommend against anyone buying one.

 

[mudcamper]

Given all this, I have to say I regret my decision to buy Aventon, and would recommend against anyone buying one.

Contrast this with my brother's recent experience with his bike. He has a Specialized electric mountain bike. After 2.5 years, his Bosch mid-drive motor failed. He took it to the bike shop. They replaced it for free, and had it ready within 24 hours.

 

[Katzenjammer]

Sorry to hear of your problems - maybe being unrealistic, but I'm hoping things are going to get better. Seems so many sectors of the economy are experiencing such similar problems at the same time that there's an underlying issue that will affect a lot of things when it gets resolved. I don't want to get political here (can you tell?).
I've had occasional problems getting my battery to come on right away and have found that if I use the key to just release it and then snap it back in that the lights come on every time. Worth a try.

 

[mudcamper]

Seems so many sectors of the economy are experiencing such similar problems at the same time that there's an underlying issue that will affect a lot of things when it gets resolved.

Electric bicycle sales are booming thanks to COVID, but now there's a new problem

While the COVID-19 pandemic shook the world and the e-bike industry with it, the pandemic also led to a huge...

electrek.co

According to this electrek article, Rad Power hired 70 customer support staff (a year ago). I bet Aventon has less than 5.

And I need parts - parts that they have in stock - parts that I could buy new from them more quickly. But they make me wait a month because they already have my money. It's a bad policy.

 

[mudcamper]

I've had occasional problems getting my battery to come on right away and have found that if I use the key to just release it and then snap it back in that the lights come on every time. Worth a try.

At first I tried all kinds of voodoo like that, remove the battery, plug in the charger, etc., hoping it's a software glitch that I can work around, and not a physical switch problem. What I have found most recently (until it fails again and I am proven wrong) is if I make sure and turn off the battery right after I turn off the bike, and not let the battery time out and turn off itself, it seems to always come back on. If I leave the battery on and let it turn off by itself, it won't come back on until I try holding it for 8+ seconds, removing it, or who knows what until it decides to come back on.

 

[theemartymac]

I'd have to also say, that with a number of builders providing torque sensors on their hub drives now, I can't see many reasons to recommend the models that have not chosen to go that route yet. Your experience would likely be a fair bit closer to your HD if that was the case. These bikes are always going to be in an 'economical' category, and I feel you need to be able to troubleshoot/fix a mail order bike to some extent, but you are right that Aventon seems to be lacking in the customer service based on the posts here on EBR. Ultimately, the cost to physically build and assemble an Aventon is not that much less than the cost to build and assemble a Specialized, but you are paying for Specialized's vastly improved research, development, support, and warranty program.

 

[mudcamper]

Well the battery has stopped working at all. I have a $2000, 75 pound manual peddle bike.

I figured that once Aventon customer support eventually gets around to reading my email, they are not going to believe me, and ask me stupid questions like, "Have you charged it?" and "Did you try plugging it in?" in an effort to delay doing anything. So I made a video to demonstrate the problem:

 

[WildCatFan60]

Update: Aventon has interesting and innovative designs. But the sad reality is that the bikes they deliver have poor quality, defective parts, and it is difficult and time consuming to try and get any help from customer support. Buying Aventon is a roll of the dice. You may get a bike that works, or you may get a $2000 boat anchor. And even those that are lucky enough to get a bike that works, one day you will have problems (normal), and Aventon will not be there to help you or get you the part, or will take weeks or months to do so.

I already own an eBike. It's the Harley Davidson Serial 1 Mosh / CTY. I've had it for three months, and have been riding it every day. The Mosh is a mid-drive, torque sensor, very high quality bike, so I can't help but see the Aventon through this lens. It's not fair, but it's my perspective. So why did I also buy the Aventon, you may ask? It's for a different function. It's to be my utility bike, the grocery store runner, and get to town for supplies bike.

Minor issues, but there were a few problems when it arrived. A plastic mounting bracket for the rear fender is broken. The front brake line was routed wrong. It looks like they stuck the front fork right in between a wire harness and brake line when assembling it, and I couldn't install the handlebar. I had to remove the brake caliper to get it sorted out. And they didn't include the front rack that I ordered, although they said they did. Looks like they just forgot to put it in the box.

The power and feel is very different than the Mosh, which feels like a bicycle. This feels like something else.

The power assist setting isn't really a power assist setting. It's basically a max speed setting when peddling.

The cadence sensor isn't. It's an on switch that activates when peddling. How fast you're peddling is irrelevant.

It takes some getting used to. But I'm figuring it out. It's just so different than the Mosh. You need to choose your speed with the power setting, and then change to a gear that matches it. On the Mosh the power setting has nothing to do with speed, but just how much work you have to do.

The throttle has an annoying and unnecessary delay before it kicks in.

The brakes were very weak, especially the front. I re-adjusted the front caliper, did a brake bed-in procedure, and they are better, and improving as I use them more.

The seat was moving around when riding. I tightened it more and it seems to be good now.

To my amazement, the fat seat is less comfortable than the small seat on my Mosh. I will try a Thudbuster to see it it helps.

The peddle hits the ground when making banking turns while pedaling. This happened to me several times. It's jarring and scary. I am probably just cornering too aggressively for this style of bike, from habits I've picked up on the Mosh.

Most annoying of all, your foot hits the front fender on slow sharp turns when pedaling. I'm going to scuff and bend the fender doing this.

OK it sounds like I'm complaining a lot. Now for positives.

It's a beautiful bike. (I got the green step-through.)

It's pretty powerful.

It's fast! And I haven't even enabled Class 3 yet.

It's pretty smooth on bumpy roads.

It's got a relaxed cruiser style seating position.

Its good at going long distance.

It's good at going long distance really fast, and really easily. It feels right at home in traffic and on the bike lane in town. It's much better than the Mosh here. It would make a good commuter, except for the limited battery life.

I'm loading it up with front rack, rear rack, basket, and pannier bags or racks, so it will make a good utility vehicle.

It's also good at putting around on slow relaxing cruiser rides. It's a lot of fun.

Edit Update: Unfortunately Aventon customer support is very poor and as a result I have to give this bike a thumbs down. Details in post below.

Edit Update again: Now the battery is has failed. The bike is not usable. See more posts below.

I have a Himiway Cruiser and just received my Aventure. Also my wife has a Lectric XP 2.0....

Definitely differences in the way the PAS and Throttle works. Not sure one is better than the other, but just different. I used my throttle a lot more on the Himiway, mainly as a Pedal Assist "boost". Rarely use the throttle on the Aventure as the motor just seems to do what its supposed to do. Less ghost pedaling on the Aventure than Himiway. The HImiway PAS seems to kick in immediately.. the aventure takes a turn or two of the crank. Maybe there is a way to change this in settings?

Aventure motor is equal in terms of power and torque, but just slightly more noisy.

Aventure is of course a nicer looking bike. And its also more solid than the Himiway. I love my Himiway, but it makes a lot of noise and has more vibration when riding. Aventure is rock solid.

My Aventure rear brakes barely work. (mine shipped with Zoom brakes) I think they need a brake bleed. Brake handle almost touches the grip when squeezing. Front ones seem fine.

21 miles so far on first charge... PAS 2/3 on rolling hills. 59% left on battery. I'm a heavy guy. So looks like about 45 miles on a charge. Very similar to my Himiway, even tho it has a larger battery.

Aventure had bent fender support arms. I had to straighten them after unboxing. Will probably hit Aventon up for some new ones.

 

[webopus]

Update: Aventon has interesting and innovative designs. But the sad reality is that the bikes they deliver have poor quality, defective parts, and it is difficult and time consuming to try and get any help from customer support. Buying Aventon is a roll of the dice. You may get a bike that works, or you may get a $2000 boat anchor. And even those that are lucky enough to get a bike that works, one day you will have problems (normal), and Aventon will not be there to help you or get you the part, or will take weeks or months to do so.

I already own an eBike. It's the Harley Davidson Serial 1 Mosh / CTY. I've had it for three months, and have been riding it every day. The Mosh is a mid-drive, torque sensor, very high quality bike, so I can't help but see the Aventon through this lens. It's not fair, but it's my perspective. So why did I also buy the Aventon, you may ask? It's for a different function. It's to be my utility bike, the grocery store runner, and get to town for supplies bike.

Minor issues, but there were a few problems when it arrived. A plastic mounting bracket for the rear fender is broken. The front brake line was routed wrong. It looks like they stuck the front fork right in between a wire harness and brake line when assembling it, and I couldn't install the handlebar. I had to remove the brake caliper to get it sorted out. And they didn't include the front rack that I ordered, although they said they did. Looks like they just forgot to put it in the box.

The power and feel is very different than the Mosh, which feels like a bicycle. This feels like something else, a motor vehicle of some kind.

The power assist setting isn't a power assist setting. It's basically a max speed setting when peddling.

The cadence sensor isn't. It's an on/off switch that activates when peddling. How fast you're peddling is irrelevant.

It takes some getting used to. But I'm figuring it out. It's just so different than the Mosh. You need to choose your speed with the power setting, and then change to a gear that matches it. On the Mosh the power setting has nothing to do with speed, but just how much work you have to do.

The throttle has an annoying and unnecessary delay before it kicks in.

The brakes were very weak, especially the front. I re-adjusted the front caliper, did a brake bed-in procedure, and they are better, and improving as I use them more.

The seat was moving around when riding. I tightened it more and it seems to be good now.

To my amazement, the fat seat is less comfortable than the small seat on my Mosh. I will try a Thudbuster to see it it helps.

The peddle hits the ground when making banking turns while pedaling. This happened to me several times. It's jarring and scary. I am probably just cornering too aggressively for this style of bike, from habits I've picked up on the Mosh.

Most annoying of all, your foot hits the front fender on slow sharp turns when pedaling. I'm going to scuff and bend the fender doing this.

OK it sounds like I'm complaining a lot. Now for positives.

It's a beautiful bike. (I got the green step-through.)

It's pretty powerful.

It's fast! And I haven't even enabled Class 3 yet.

It's pretty smooth on bumpy roads.

It's got a relaxed cruiser style seating position.

Its good at going long distance.

It's good at going long distance really fast, and really easily. It feels right at home in traffic and on the bike lane in town. It's much better than the Mosh here. It would make a good commuter, except for the limited battery life.

I'm loading it up with front rack, rear rack, basket, and pannier bags or racks, so it will make a good utility vehicle.

It's also good at putting around on slow relaxing cruiser rides. It's a lot of fun.

Edit Update: Unfortunately Aventon customer support is very poor and as a result I have to give this bike a thumbs down. Details in post below.

Edit Update again: Now the battery is has failed. The bike is not usable. See more posts below.

Hi Mudcamper,

I've had a nearly identical situation. My battery died after only 347 miles. It quit in the middle of a short 3-mile ride. I submitted a Warranty Form on August 30, 2021. And over the next four weeks, I provided proof of purchase, serial numbers, as well as images and videos of the problem. Despite dozens of emails, phone calls and online tech support chats, I STILL have not received a new battery. They keep telling me the battery is in the cue to be shipped, but it never does. I have posted a complaint/review with the Better Business Bureau. Maybe that will shake something loose. My patience is at an end.

Also - 2 screws were missing from the Lock Assembly and the battery guide was in danger of falling out. All I needed was two 2.5mm machine screws. Instead, they sent me 2 entire Lock Assemblies. I guess I'll donate them to some needy Aventure owner with a bad lock.

 

[mudcamper]

Final update: At some point while communicating with Aventon's customer support, they offered as an option that I could return the bike for a full refund. I decided to take them up on this. I boxed up the bike and shipped it back. (They paid and sent me a shipping label.) I received the refund. I am satisfied with this outcome.

 

[Dwiniger]

Well the battery has stopped working at all. I have a $2000, 75 pound manual peddle bike.

I figured that once Aventon customer support eventually gets around to reading my email, they are not going to believe me, and ask me stupid questions like, "Have you charged it?" and "Did you try plugging it in?" in an effort to delay doing anything. So I made a video to demonstrate the problem:

Do u know where I can pick up a new AVENTURE BATTERY COVER and screw? Need badly…thanks

 

[Amishman]

I find Aventon customer service very responsive. My experience with the Aventure has been uniformly positive. The Bafang motor is incredible.