Pace 500 1st review

[DavidinFL]

Received our Pace 500's yesterday and immediately began the assembly process. Not bad, about 1 hour per bike.
Only issue was a minor gash on one of batteries, emailed Aventon waiting on a response. Packed very well though.
Checked the wheels, tighten up numerous spokes (thanks to this forum as I would of never thought to check that!)

Wow...this was our 1st time on an ebike and can see why they are taking off. So much fun...our 1st ride yesterday was 12 miles and didn't want to come home but it was getting dark. We are now in the farkeling stage....lots of stuff on order.
The power of this 500w motor is really impressive, PAS 1-2 is more than enough to cruise casually. Of course did take it to PAS 5 a few times to check out the 28mph - that is really fast for a bicycle!


We plan on a longer ride today and look forward to many fun miles!

 

[Angela M.]

That's awesome! Hope you continue to enjoy your bikes

 

[TumaloTed]

I'd like to do a short test ride on the mid-frame step thru 500 before I buy. I'm on the coast this week (Lincoln city to Tillimook, and back home in Central Oregon after 8/20. anyone in this area have a step thru 500 I could see & short ride?? Second question, I'm 5'11" and wanting to know if the mid-frame is comfortable for that height?? Thanks!

 

[Movie Star]

I'd like to do a short test ride on the mid-frame step thru 500 before I buy. I'm on the coast this week (Lincoln city to Tillimook, and back home in Central Oregon after 8/20. anyone in this area have a step thru 500 I could see & short ride?? Second question, I'm 5'11" and wanting to know if the mid-frame is comfortable for that height?? Thanks!

Medium size frame step thru is perfect for 5'11", plus the seat and handlebars are very adjustable on the 500. I bought 2 for us without seeing one in person and couldn't be happier.

 

[TumaloTed]

Got the 500 medium size step thru and love it! One does get used to the sudden acceleration at PAS 1. I've added a bike rack with commuter bag, a rear light, and bike dealer found a front fender that fits for $35. I had a hitch welded on the back of my travel trailer and bought a Swagman RV rated bike rack and have driven from Oregon to Florida with no problems, trying to hit rails to trails bike trails when I can.

 

[Browneye]

I liked the Pace bikes. Nearly bought one for the wife. Her hub drive went out so I've gotten a little gun-shy.
Happy trails!

 

[robrob]

"Nearly bought one for the wife. Her hub drive went out so I've gotten a little gun-shy. "

Was it a Pace rear hub that went out or another brand? I haven't heard of a single Pace hub failure.

 

[Browneye]

Ours was Bafang. Not sure if it was hall sensors or some other electrical gremlin, but proved to be impossible to troubleshoot. Just throw parts at it 'till it works I guess, 'cept we don't have extra parts to throw at it. The entire drive system was sent back to the supplier for testing and repair under warranty. So far it's been a month. We bought another bike.

Aventon uses Shengyi.

Here's review of the popular drive motor brands and styles in case you're interested:

ELECTRIC BIKE HUB MOTOR REVIEW AND COMPARISON. BAFANG, DAPU SHENGYI AND HENGTAI

The reason we conduct such test is as market is full of false claimed electric bikes and motors and sorry to say there isn’t any exception to it. Before getting into further details I need to explain some basics here.

ebikereviewer.com

 

[scout592]

browneye, great article regarding hub motors. I liked the explanation of what effect the controller has on the output of the motor. Do you know of a similar article for mid motors? I would like to read same details about mid motors.

 

[Browneye]

browneye, great article regarding hub motors. I liked the explanation of what effect the controller has on the output of the motor. Do you know of a similar article for mid motors? I would like to read same details about mid motors.

There are a number of good blogs and youtube vids on mid-drive comparisons and specs. Google up 'mid-drive motor comparison' for lots of results.

I've test-ridden them all except for the BBS series from Bafang. The bafang drives are the defacto conversion unit - the only viable option. They also do have a more integrated option for manufacturers - again, I have not tested them myself.

For the big-four - Bosch, Brose, Yamaha, and Shimano, they're all very nice options, with varying reputations for reliability. They all put out similar assist levels, some a little more than others, all are very nice to ride.
The Brose new s-Mag version is the most powerful and the quietest - it has an internal belt drive from motor to output, instead of gears. The Yamaha and Shimano are similar with most sound output, none are offensive. Seems Yamaha has upped the game a little more again, their newest 2020 version is quieter and provides higher cadence support. If I'm not mistaken, Bosch has the greatest numbers of units sold, along with the greatest number of warranty claims. All of them are introducing extended battery capacities for greater range, and more integrated into the frame designs.

 

[Alex M]

Was it a Pace rear hub that went out or another brand? I haven't heard of a single Pace hub failure.

There was a failure report a few weeks ago. I read in several sources that Shengyi are lower quality than Bafang, the article liked above confirmed this again. But, at that price, and given that this is not an aircraft, who cares... In the worst case you'll pedal all the way home, and Pace models are quite pedal-able.

 

[scout592]

Thanks Browneye, I will do some more searching. I should have mentioned I will only be looking at mid motors that have throttle capabilities which narrows the field quite abit

 

[Alex M]

An offtopic here, but mid with a throttle would limit the choice to Bafang. Also, mid Dapu - more expensive, way less common in bikes and similarly rare in kits. In fact, I haven't heard about Dapu kits, be it a hub or mid - this article is the first one that says such kits exist.