Limited Edition Aurora

[HTXrider]

The highest I have ever gotten on full throttle is 20mph, even with it set to 25 in the display. I am currently troubleshooting some gear and motor issues with Evelo and I hope this is resolved as part of that. But so far I have been pretty dissapointed with the speed, all of my road bike buddies just leave me in the dust after the motor cuts off at 20 even while pedaling.

I wish I would have been aware of this before my purchase and have begun looking for a new bike after only 100 miles. I have yet to figure out what I am going to tell the missus.

 

[jaizon]

I'm sure this problem can be solved, but will 25mph be enough for you? I think maybe you did buy the wrong bike. As far as your wife goes...tell her you made a mistake. She'll love that.

 

[FlatSix911]

Here's a quick summary of the recent EBR evaluation.

EVELO Aurora Limited Review | ElectricBikeReview.com

Price: $3999.00 | Model Year: 2020 | An approachable but sturdy electric bike, supporting up to 350lbs of combined rider and cargo weight. The deep step-thru frame is easy to mount and stand-over. Comfort-oriented upright riding position is achieved through a long steep stem and swept back...

electricbikereview.com

Summary​

• An approachable but sturdy electric bike, supporting up to 350lbs of combined rider and cargo weight. The deep step-thru frame is easy to mount and stand-over. Comfort-oriented upright riding position is achieved through a long steep stem and swept back handlebar. Fully adjustable spring suspension fork and high volume 2.8" wide plus sized tires smooth out the bumps and increase stability.
• Smart and powerful mid-drive motor from Dapu offers 105 newton meters of torque and ranges from 750 to 1,000 watt performance. The motor controller measures bicycle speed, pedal speed, and pedal torque for smooth intuitive activation. Very few mid-drive ebikes offer throttle on demand, and this one is setup very well because the throttle offers full power in any of the five assist levels.
• Clean, quiet, and reliable drivetrain thanks to the Gates carbon belt vs. a chain and the Enviolo 380-degree continuously variable transmission hub. Shifting is easy and there's even an automatic shifting option that lets you pick a comfortable cadence and let the bike do the rest. Quality fenders, chain cover, integrated lights (with bright mode when braking), and rear rack make this a solid commuting platform.
• To achieve the step-thru wave frame without introducing frame flex, EVELO used thicker hydroformed tubing and added gussets in several places which increased the overall weight of the bike. The display has limited readouts and no USB charging port... but the battery pack does have a charging port. The bike is primarily sold direct to consumer, so there's some effort and assembly required to unpack it and get things going. Only one frame size option here, consider the EVELO Galaxy 500 for a smaller, less powerful, very similar product.

 

[Derail]

Excellent review, I’ve owned same since spring, 1500 miles. Two comments that I took notice.
Your review bike came across as having noisey motor. Mine is nearly silent.
2nd, rear fender rattle, if you look, a knob at the bottom of taillight is striking top if fender. I flipped light, problem solved.
I've been searching for my next “better bike” and as it stands, appears I’ll be riding my Ltd for years to come. Wish list.....
More range, dual battery? Improved monitor/app would be nice.

 

[Aurora Maven]

Continued tire discussion.

I spoke with an Evelo rep regarding a tire that would perform better off-road than the ALE factory street tire for my 70% off-road/30% on-road intended use. I had been looking online at the 26X2.50 Maxxis Minion DHF and 26X2.30 Maxxis High Roller II tires, among others. The Evelo rep thought the DHF tire would provide a very bumpy, unsatisfactory ride on-road and suggested I look at tires at least 2.60 in width for comfort and compatibility with the ALE setup. The Evelo rep likes WTB brand tires and suggested I look at the 26x2.8 WTB Ranger, which he has measured and verified it will fit under the ALE fenders. The WTB website writes that the Ranger is an "excellent do-all tire that excels in various conditions ranging from hardpack to wet trails". I watched a number of YouTube videos about the WTB tire, and found glowing reports. So, I have purchased four 26x2.8 WTB Ranger tires for our two new ALEs on order. Looking forward to exploring trails in our area.

After my Innova 26x2.8" rear tire suffered a slow leak due to a thorn, I replaced both tires with Schwalbe Super Moto-X 26x2.4" because I wanted something with better puncture resistance. The Super Moto-X tires have a Level 5 GreenGuard puncture resistance rating (out of 7) so I hope that helps. I also installed thorn-resistant Sunlite inner tubes.. The one drawback is that it this new combination has a higher rolling resistance than the Innovas and I lost about 10% of my battery range (from 33 to about 30 miles). But the increased peace of mind for minimizing getting a flat while riding was worth it to me.

 

[FlatSix911]

After my Innova 26x2.8" rear tire suffered a slow leak due to a thorn, I replaced both tires with Schwalbe Super Moto-X 26x2.4" because I wanted something with better puncture resistance. The Super Moto-X tires have a Level 5 GreenGuard puncture resistance rating (out of 7) so I hope that helps. I also installed thorn-resistant Sunlite inner tubes.. The one drawback is that it this new combination has a higher rolling resistance than the Innovas and I lost about 10% of my battery range (from 33 to about 30 miles). But the increased peace of mind for minimizing getting a flat while riding was worth it to me.

Good choice on the Super-Motos!

 

[Aurora Maven]

Initial update after the first 35 miles. So far, I am thrilled with a few minor quibbles. First being I am experiencing the belt slipping issue other owners went through earlier in the thread, not a fun thing to experience when crossing a street with cars coming. I have sent an email to evelo and hope it is an easy fix.

Next today I did a long and fast ride with a buddy who was on a road bike and found myself often running out of power around the 20mph mark (I have raised the limit to 25) the pedals just become super easy to turn, and nothing happens, this could be normal though not sure.

The final quibble was as I returned home, it was becoming dark, and I realized the headlight is useless. Does anyone have an upgrade recommendation that will run off the integrated wiring/battery?

I don't have a recommendation of a headlight that will run off the existing wiring but I simply bought a rechargeable Light & Motion (Urban 500) headlight that is super bright and easily attaches to the handlebars. Also, it is not normal for your motor to kick out after 20 mph when you set the limit to 25 either by pedaling or using the throttle. However, if your battery is less than 3 bars you probably won't be able to hit 25 with the throttle anyway because your running out of juice.

 

[Aurora Maven]

Excellent review, I’ve owned same since spring, 1500 miles. Two comments that I took notice.
Your review bike came across as having noisey motor. Mine is nearly silent.
2nd, rear fender rattle, if you look, a knob at the bottom of taillight is striking top if fender. I flipped light, problem solved.
I've been searching for my next “better bike” and as it stands, appears I’ll be riding my Ltd for years to come. Wish list.....
More range, dual battery? Improved monitor/app would be nice.

Your fix for a noisy rear fender was clever. My fix was not so clever; I put a piece of adhesive foam pipe insulation between the light and fender . Your wish list for your next bike will certainly come true in the next couple of years as I expect continuing advancements in battery, motor and display technology. My only concern is the poor resale value of older generation electric bikes.

 

[Nycturne]

Excellent review, I’ve owned same since spring, 1500 miles. Two comments that I took notice.
Your review bike came across as having noisey motor. Mine is nearly silent.
2nd, rear fender rattle, if you look, a knob at the bottom of taillight is striking top if fender. I flipped light, problem solved.
I've been searching for my next “better bike” and as it stands, appears I’ll be riding my Ltd for years to come. Wish list.....
More range, dual battery? Improved monitor/app would be nice.

Can I ask what seat you put on your Aurora?

 

[Aurora Maven]

Can I ask what seat you put on your Aurora?

My two cents: I put on a Cloud 9 Extra Deep Relief Zone seat:

11x11 - Extra Deep Relief Zone Exercise Bike Seats

. I've tried half a dozen different seats and this is the most comfortable for me. Please note that the two large springs beneath the seat are essentially non-functional unless you weigh 400 lbs. Because my spine doctor told me to minimize impacts to my back, I also installed a Kinekt 2.1 suspension post, which is quite good though very pricey. A less expensive alternative would be the long-thow (LT) thudbuster post. I used the ST version and it just didn't absorb the bumps as well. There are some purists who absolutely would never ride a bike with a wide, padded cruiser seat because they claim it really doesn't support the sitz bones and will actually cause more pain and discomfort over time. That has not been the case for me but I wanted to mention it.

 

[smorgasbord]

The highest I have ever gotten on full throttle is 20mph, even with it set to 25 in the display. I am currently troubleshooting some gear and motor issues with Evelo and I hope this is resolved as part of that. But so far I have been pretty dissapointed with the speed, all of my road bike buddies just leave me in the dust after the motor cuts off at 20 even while pedaling.

If you've done the settings right, the motor should continue up to the new cutoff limit, at least when pedaling. Make sure you have the right tire size in settings as well (which wasn't 26in. in the original batch, but they may have newer firmware that includes it now). The other thing you might be able to do is to fool the bike into going faster by setting it with a smaller wheel size. The MPH readout on the display will be wrong is the consequence there, but you can use your phone gps for speed and mileage reporting. We never used just the throttle so I don't recall how fast one could actually go on throttle alone - that just wasn't of interest as we wanted a bicycle, not a small electric motorcycle.

As for the skipping thing, neither I nor a R&M dealer experienced with the Enviolo hub could fix ours, even at very high belt tensions. As our rides include steep roads, we replaced the ALE with another, more expensive, bike.

 

[Aurora Maven]

If you've done the settings right, the motor should continue up to the new cutoff limit, at least when pedaling. Make sure you have the right tire size in settings as well (which wasn't 26in. in the original batch, but they may have newer firmware that includes it now). The other thing you might be able to do is to fool the bike into going faster by setting it with a smaller wheel size. The MPH readout on the display will be wrong is the consequence there, but you can use your phone gps for speed and mileage reporting. We never used just the throttle so I don't recall how fast one could actually go on throttle alone - that just wasn't of interest as we wanted a bicycle, not a small electric motorcycle.

As for the skipping thing, neither I nor a R&M dealer experienced with the Enviolo hub could fix ours, even at very high belt tensions. As our rides include steep roads, we replaced the ALE with another, more expensive, bike.

With a fresh battery, I can easily hit 25 mph using throttle only on the ALE (I weigh 210 lbs). And just for grins I wanted to see how far I can ride using only the throttle and no pedaling, answer: 20 miles.

Does your new bike have a gates belt and Enviolo hub?

 

[HonoraryOrange]

With a fresh battery, I can easily hit 25 mph using throttle only on the ALE (I weigh 210 lbs). And just for grins I wanted to see how far I can ride using only the throttle and no pedaling, answer: 20 miles.

Does your new bike have a gates belt and Enviolo hub?

I was hoping to see a bit further - I've got another bike now and am looking at the ALE, but the battery is a bit small for me and no speed increase (my current big heavy hub drive bike will take me 25-30 miles at 25mph, and I've got 100lbs+ on you weightwise). Still, the low maintenance and torque sensor and all are super tempting.

 

[Aurora Maven]

I was hoping to see a bit further - I've got another bike now and am looking at the ALE, but the battery is a bit small for me and no speed increase (my current big heavy hub drive bike will take me 25-30 miles at 25mph, and I've got 100lbs+ on you weightwise). Still, the low maintenance and torque sensor and all are super tempting.

When using a pedal assist of 2 (out of 5) I can usually get close to 30 miles before the battery is almost drained. To solve my range anxiety for those occasional instances when I want to travel more than 30 miles, I bit the bullet and bought a spare battery that I secure to the back rack using heavy duty Velcro straps.