Vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians should be aware of the increasing eBike and eScooter traffic on campus. EBike and eScooter operators must review and adhere to the following rules and safety tips. It held a 155-lb adult flying through the air, even though I was half expecting a pedal to snap off on my repeated landings. But no, the thing is overbuilt for its ratings, just like Kent’s lawyers surely insisted that it should be. The V-brakes similarly aren’t incredibly high quality, but then again, they work just fine.
Simple front and rear suspension offer a bit of spring without costing an arm and a leg. A 7-speed Shimano transmission may be low-end, but it is at least a name-brand component. And the mechanical disc brakes are likely plenty for a 250W bike that isn’t going to get up to 20 mph (32 km/h) very quickly. kent electric bike Then one day, a fellow mountain biker asked if I wanted to ride his bike around the parking lot. After a few seconds of strenuous pedaling, the bike suddenly took off with explosive force. It was an e-bike, an electric pedal-assist MTB with a motor that engages when an internal sensor encounters a hill.
With a price of $1,498, Kent’s mid-drive e-bike certainly isn’t competing with the several thousand dollar models that use German mid-drive motors, and so it likely opts for a Chinese motor. That isn’t a bad thing, as many riders (including myself) have been very happy with lower-cost mid-drive motors. I have a Truckrun motor on my daily rider city e-bike, and it works wonderfully. Mid-drive motors, unlike hub motors, actually power the bike through the standard gears on a bicycle. Hub motors, on the other hand, are single-speed drivetrains that bypass the gears and chain altogether, allowing them to be controlled quite simply as there are no gears to worry about. This is a gross oversimplification, but you can kind of think about it like automatic versus manual transmission cars, at least in terms of simplicity and ease of learning or use for the driver.
Kent’s specialty brands, Van Dessel and Univega, this spring will launch the company’s first e-bike models incorporating new Panasonic mid-drive systems. The e-bikes will be assembled in Kent’s South Carolina factory and sold in North America and Europe. Panasonic intends to announce partnerships with other U.S. and European brands in the coming months. It’s safe to say that not everyone’s entirely on board with the idea of children’s e-bikes.
For our third eMTB trip, I chose a 16-mile gravel forest service road in nearby Helen, Georgia. The first half was mainly uphill and the bikes performed magnificently. The last 7 miles turned into an obscure, unmaintained dirt/gravel downhill road covered in sticks, pinecones, sharp rocks, and other precarious tire-popping rubbish (along with a wild turkey I almost ran over).
Once funding is completed via the company’s Indiegogo campaign, production is expected to begin in May with shipping slated for October. There is an old 7.6-mile NORBA Championship course at Unicoi State Park that was abandoned several years ago. Reviews claim this trail is the most wild and most raw ride in the area due to extremely steep ascents and descents, boggy mud, sharp switchbacks, and dangerous washouts. To combat some of the weight issues and to beef up the ruggedness of my bike, I added higher-end front forks and installed new “run flat” tubes.
Without the battery, the Kent Torpedo is easy enough to pedal, though it will definitely feel a bit heavier than a typical kid’s bike. The geared motor doesn’t provide any extra resistance other than adding a couple pounds of needless weight. There’s also a 6-speed shifter that makes it easier for kids to climb hills in the proper gear, even without electric power. If the battery does die on a ride, the shifter definitely makes it more manageable to pedal. A new partnership with SPIN, an electronic bike and scooter service, will provide 100 electric bikes and 100 electric scooters within the city of Kent.
The bike comes about 75% pre-assembled, and I only needed to attach the front wheel and fender, handlebars and saddle. Things started off on the wrong foot when I realized some of the seat post assembly pieces were missing. (Luckily, my local bike co-op was able to hook me up with the needed parts!) But that was really the only major problem with assembly. Speaking of steps, the step-thru frame comes in only one size but should fit most riders five feet and taller.
Walmart has long offered an interesting array of low-cost electric bicycles. Some of the bikes have even dipped down into ultra-budget territory with prices below $400. It can be a good option for those that want the utility of an electric bicycle but don’t have a lot of spare cash.