Aventon Level: which replacement larger knobby tires

[Tom@WashDC]

My wife is 5'1", she rides the small level. She's rather timid and conservative when it comes to riding, and the Step Thru Level works well for her.

 

[rpr]

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".

Tom: Was the bone-shaker observations when riding your Level on wooded trails before or after the additions of your larger knobby tires and suspension seat upgrades?

 

[Tom@WashDC]

Tom: Was the bone-shaker observations when riding your Level on wooded trails before or after the additions of your larger knobby tires and suspension seat upgrades?

Post suspension seatpost, pre-larger knobby tires.

 

[Carrida2010]

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.

Did you end up going with the Level.2 and the 2.6” tires? If so, what do you think? I am in a similar situation of thinking the level.2 would be a good bike but wanting something with 2.6” tires.

 

[rpr]

I went with a Ride1up step through LMT’D. I felt it had better components and it was lighter weight (53lbs with battery). I put 2.4” Maxxis Minon DHR2 tires on it. Don’t think 2.6” would fit. We’re happy with the purchase.

 

[flyboy]

I'm jumping in a little late on this thread, but I recently bought a Level.2, and my first priority is to get rid of the factory tires. I've ordered Bontrager Lt4 2.4's for the front, and thinking Specialized Armadillo 2.3 for the rear (two bikes). I assume that I'll need to remove the fenders? I'm pretty pleased with the bike, but can't imagine it being used on mountain bike trails, gravel & bike paths for me.

 

[flyboy]

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

I just got finished installing Bontrager 2.4 in Lt4 experts on my Level.2. Lots of room to spare (even with fenders on), and wow, what an improvement!

 

[Tom@WashDC]

I just got finished installing Bontrager 2.4 in Lt4 experts on my Level.2. Lots of room to spare (even with fenders on), and wow, what an improvement!

Yeah, amazing what different tires will do, on any bike, but the the performance capabilities on my Aventon Level were significantly improved.
Certainly a safer ride when encountering bumps, small obstacles and veering off paved surfaces.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

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.

One small addition to a nice summary of a complicated topic. My torque-sensing rear hub-drive bike also senses crank rotation and only delivers power when the cranks are turning.

I see this as an important safety feature. Think about waiting at a red light with one foot down and the other pressing on the up pedal, ready to go. No power wanted in that common scenario, and none delivered on my bike.

My torque sensor is bolted into the right rear dropout. The strain gauge part monitors chain tension via dropout distortion. (Since chain tension is proportional to crank torque, that makes it a torque sensor.) The built-in magnetic cadence sensor detects cassette rotation, which of course requires crank rotation.