Kevin Purdy
“City” bike has many meanings. It may be cheap, so you don’t have to worry if it gets stolen. With a short commute and relatively flat terrain, it may be simpler with less gear and add-ons. Or maybe a lightweight bike that makes it easier to climb curbs and stairs in your apartment or office.
Vanpowers’ City Vanture is just cheaper and lighter than other e-bikes (fully assembled, it costs $1,750), but it’s a little simpler with a belt drive, internal hubs, and five levels of assist. increase. Also, the lack of accessory mounts and poor gear and motor setup make frequent starting and stopping in heavy traffic and climbing steep hills difficult. I’m here. For the right kind of rider, it might be a good choice.
Oh, and if you want to save a few bucks, you can build one yourself. This bike is a collection of articulated tubes connected by mortise and tenon construction and bolt collars. Assemble the tubes, run the cables, bolt everything else, and put the wheels in place. More on that later.
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City Vancher off-roading just a few feet off the Mount Vernon Trail in Gravely Point, Washington, DC.
Kevin Purdy
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The City Vanture’s handlebar display shows battery level, speed, mileage (trips and totals), and power level (a little LCARS-style bit).
Kevin Purdy
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Left handlebar up/down control for adjusting motor assist.
Kevin Purdy
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City Vanture chainrings, just a belt instead of a chain.
Kevin Purdy
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City Vanture rear hub. If you buy the DIY version, you’ll put all this together yourself.
Kevin Purdy
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City Vanture pedals.
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City Vanture handlebar detail.
Kevin Purdy
bicycle
The City Vanture is a 21″ (53 cm) stepover frame and weighs 34 lbs. The “ideal rider height” is between 5’8″ and 6’3″. Ars Science editor John Timmer found he was 6 foot 2 and found the Vanture too small for his long-legged build. “I feel like my knees are up to my ears,” Timmer said after a 15-minute casual ride, and I’m 6-foot-2, and have more shoulder and core muscle than a bike. I felt that the comfort matched my height. Experience with different physiques can vary, but if you’re tall, be careful. A Vanpowers representative said the company is working to offer more model sizes in the future.
There are only two main options when purchasing City Vanture. It’s a matter of color and whether you build the bike yourself and save $90 or ship it mostly assembled. I went the DIY route. Your color choices are the relatively stable ‘Infinite Silver’ and ‘Shining Black’, the two-tone ‘Chalk Blue’ and ‘Ruby’, and a mile away Spot It A Mile Purple/Pink/Aqua/Seaweed. ‘s “Neon”. purple. “
The only other option is to add accessories. Custom rear rack, frame bag, anti-theft horn and water bottle style battery for extra range. If you’re considering a rear rack for this bike, you should buy it from Vanpowers. Due to the way the bike is built and the lack of traditional accessory mounting points (not even bottle cage bolts), I’m not sure if third party racks will fit the City Vanture’s bolt size and placement. There is very little clearance above either tire, and Vanpowers doesn’t offer its own fenders. A light is anything you can strap on.
The bike that arrives (or is finally assembled) has a motor rated at 36 volts, 350 watts and a 252 watt hour non-removable battery made from LG cells. Both are controlled by three buttons near the left handle and a waterproof display mounted between the head tube and handlebars. Vanpowers lists a maximum assist speed of 25 miles per hour and a standard range of 50 miles (80 kilometers), or 80 miles/130 kilometers with a bottle battery. These numbers look accurate. After driving 44 miles, the display showed 1 or he 2 bars out of 5, alternating between low and heavy power assist.
The motor is powered by a cadence sensor and instead of generating force, it is activated when the pedal crank starts rotating. That choice, combined with the gearing of the hub/motor combination, is my main gripe about this bike.
