Aventon Level: which replacement larger knobby tires

[flyingjack]

Newby six months into ebikes. Lots of motorcycles in youth; now 70 and want to take my Aventon Level off road a "little" more. Anybody know what the widest knobby that will fit my 27.5"X2.2 stock Aventon Level tire/wheel.
Thanks
Jack

 

[Tom@WashDC]

3" will fit on the front, 2.8" in the rear.

 

[flyingjack]

3" will fit on the front, 2.8" in the rear.View attachment 138101

 

[flyingjack]

Tom, thank you so much for posting. BTW, is there a reason for going with larger front tire as opposed same size front/back? Do you change was worth the effort? Thanks again

 

[Tom@WashDC]

Flyingjack, I had originally purchased a set of 3" tires for my one Level (I have two). The 3" did not fit the back so I split them and put them on the front of both bikes, and purchased the 2.8" for the back of both bikes.

 

[rpr]

Hey guys, I was seriously looking at a step through Level.2 but I eliminated it from my short list primarily because Aventon as well as my local dealer both told me that the absolute largest tire they would think would fit on this bike is a 2.25” (comes stock with 2.1” tires). The dealer even sent me pics of one of his flood that didn’t have much remaining clearance with the 2.1” tires.

Tom: Do you have the 1st Gen Level or the Level.2? I can’t tell from the pics.

Flyingjack: Which Gen Level do you have and did you upsize your tires? If so, what size did you go with and did you have any issues?

 

[Tom@WashDC]

I have the first gen. You should be able to measure the clearance. Also it will depend on the tire style. The front fender had to be removed.

 

[flyingjack]

rpr: haven't changed tires yet. Will be doing an RV trip this winter with a lot of ebike (mostly paved trails) riding so staying with stock tires until we get back.
Bought our Levels July 2022; how do I know if 1st or 2nd gen? Wife's: M/L step through, tires 2.1, my L with top tube stock tires are 2.2. I agree if we add larger front tire the fender will need swapped out. Please keep the forum posted as I am very interested in a more off road tire for next spring.

 

[Tom@WashDC]

rpr: haven't changed tires yet. Will be doing an RV trip this winter with a lot of ebike (mostly paved trails) riding so staying with stock tires until we get back.
Bought our Levels July 2022; how do I know if 1st or 2nd gen? Wife's: M/L step through, tires 2.1, my L with top tube stock tires are 2.2. I agree if we add larger front tire the fender will need swapped out. Please keep the forum posted as I am very interested in a more off road tire for next spring.

2nd gen has torque sensing

 

[rpr]

Might not be so easy to actually ID a torque sensor on the bike if you don’t know what you’re looking for. The easier way to distinguish between a 1st Gen Level and a Level.2 might be by the display. The 1st Gen has a black & white display with just a bar indicator for battery charge. The Level.2 has a color display that (I think) shows a percentage readout for % remaining battery life:m.

 

[flyingjack]

Black and white display; so, apparently 1st gen. Must have bought right at the new gen arrival and my wonderful local bike shop sold the older version. Just the way it goes..........

 

[Tom@WashDC]

Black and white display; so, apparently 1st gen. Must have bought right at the new gen arrival and my wonderful local bike shop sold the older version. Just the way it goes..........2nd Gen has torques sensing and

2nd Gen is about $300 more

 

[flyingjack]

What do you get for $300 besides color display?

 

[Tom@WashDC]

What do you get for $300 besides color display?

Torque sensing

 

[flyingjack]

OK, should have asked a better question: what does torque sensing do?
Thanks

 

[rpr]

Pedal assist systems (PAS) generally work using cadence sensors (the PAS turns on after you start rotating the cranks) or torque sensors (the PAS turns on when you apply pressure to your cranks). Some mid drive motors use a combination of both, but Aventon doesn’t use mid drives.

Cadence sensor systems can give you an abrupt feeling of the PAS system turning the motor 100% on or 100% off, with no in between. That’s in fact generally what’s happening with cadence sensor systems. The PAS levels generally don’t provide different ramp ups of power, all they do is provide different max speed cutoffs. If the motor and programming is well matched to the weight of the bike, the all in on/off sensation may not be that noticeable.

Torque sensor systems provide a more natural power delivery ramp up based on how hard you’re pressing on the pedals (how much torque you’re applying). It generally provides a more natural feel, and you don’t need to start pedaling on your own before it kicks in as it senses the pressure before the cranks start rotating.

I’m sure there are a lot more technical explanations with varying degrees of subtleties from system to system, but generally speaking that’s how I would summarize the primary differences.

 

[rpr]

…and in response to a question I submitted to Aventon on their website they just responded and said there is no differences in the frames between the 1st Gen Level and the 2nd Gen Level.2. I specifically asked about the tire clearances and they said there was no difference.

Now if they use a different front suspension fork that could create a marginal difference, but that would not be frame related.

Tom, it really looks like you have absolutely no remaining clearance on your 3.0” and 2.8” tires based on your pics. Since you have pretty aggressive knobbies I’m assuming you ride off road (which is my plan as well). Can you comment on trail performance (tires as well as the bike as a whole)? Is there any rubbing? What about in wet/muddy conditions?

Regardless, since you’ve somehow been able to fit 3.0” tires on the front and 2.8” tires on the rear of your Gen 1 Level, there should be no issue with 2.4” or preferably 2.6” knobbies on the Level.2, which is my tentative strategy.

I was thinking I might have to try a 24” step through fat tire bike for my wife, but they are much heavier. The Level.2 step through, with more aggressive tires, will likely be easier for her to handle.

Thanks for all the feedback, this new info brings the Level.2 back into top contention.

 

[Tom@WashDC]

I do not really ride "off road" with my Level. In the beginning I did ride on the grass a lot, but on wooded trails it was a "bone-shaker". When I did go "off the paved trail", sporadically and I wanted larger knobby tires because they could offer a softer ride (when run at lower pressure), and they offer more control when transitioning from sidewalks, roads, grass, curbs ,etc. They are safer in that regards. I wanted my wife to have a softer ride, with more control. I also use the Suntour Suspension seatpost on both bikes which makes a huge comfort difference. The clearance on the tires is fine. Clearance will depend on the type of tread you get on the tire. The tread pattern on the front tires would never work on the rear even when I removed the rear fender. I do not experience any rubbing and they work fine. I wouldn't go with a 24" wheel bike. The lower diameter makes negotiating (rolling over) obstacles more difficult. A larger diameter is smoother. The seatpost suspension is a game changer on paved or hard packed dirt trails, but it cannot compete with rear suspension. On my Fat bike below I run with 7-10lbs of pressure.


I wanted to ride aggressively off road, so I built my mid-drive Fat Bike 5 months after purchasing the Level. Now I exclusively use my dual suspension Luna Z1 Enduro for all of my riding. My Aventon and Fat Bike have been retired and relegated to being used by the occasional guest rider.

 

[rpr]

Yes, everything is a compromise. My wife is very petite and her inseam is only like 25” to 26” so full suspension ebikes are really not an option for her. The top bars are just too high so she really needs a step through which just don’t come in full suspension (with one or two rare and kind of strange exceptions which are still large heavy bikes).

That’s why I’m stuck between a 24” fat tire setup (about a 32” tire dianeter) or something like the Level.2 with 2.6” knobbies on the 27.5” wheels (only slightly larger than a 32” tire diameter).

The 24” fat tire approach provides some additional cushion and stability, but at the expense of being heavier. The 27.5 Level.2 Step Through with larger more aggressive 2.6” tires can be ~20lbs lighter than most 24” fat tire bikes, but at the expense of a harsher ride.

 

[rpr]

If I do go with the Level.2, in addition to the larger more aggressive tires, an upgraded air fork as well as a suspension seat post like you use would likely be money well spent.