To run the forums, host the website, and travel, I charge a universal service fee for my reviews. This review was sponsored by Ariel Rider. My goal is to be transparent and unbiased, this video and written review are not meant to be an endorsement of Ariel Rider products.
Back in 2011, Ariel Rider released the N Class, a powerful hub-drive retro inspired take on the eBike. It has been one of their signature offerings and today I got to check out the new 2019 version. This is now the 3rd generation and a lot of improvements have been made. The bike has come a long way and has been refined over the years to the version we see today. For those already familiar with the N Class, the main additions are the improved saddle, motor, and riding position from the handlebars. As technology has improved, cost has gone down. Back in 2011, this was a $3,000 bike. Today, even with all the improvements, it is only $1,699. The bike is a real head turner, you will notice these brown accents, like the stitched leather handlebars, padded comfort seat, and brown high volume comfort tires. Another eye catching feature is this top tube integrated battery. It is somewhat modeled a bit after a gas tank and is narrower toward the seat so as to stay out of the way of your legs if you decide to pedal. The bike only comes in 1 frame size, but two color schemes for that battery, red or beige. You may also notice this springer suspension fork in the front which has an amazing vintage aesthetic to it, but doesn’t exactly provide a whole lot of travel. It is primarily there for looks, but to be honest, it is steel so it does provide some vibration dampening qualities. As mentioned before, the tires are a point of comport thanks to that higher air volume. The are CST brand and have nice reflective sidewall stripes. The brown tires are complimented well with the black rims and all together, you have 13 gage spokes in the front with stronger 12 gage spokes in the rear to handle that powerful motor. The tires also sport included fenders with mud flaps, great for keeping you dry as well as alleviating toe strikes if you hit the fenders while turning. The saddle is comfortable with a stitched patter and even has springs underneath for added support. The seat post here is 27.2mm, so you could swap that out if you want with a suspension seat post for even more comfort. The last point of comfort here I will mention is this tool-free adjustable stem. This means you can adjust your riding position on the fly, great for multiple riders sharing the same bike, or dialing in your personal comfort level. I love the battery integrated lights here… there is a retro inspired headlight (although the front cables do kind of overlap it somewhat) and in the rear you have an active brake light that gets brighter as you engage the brakes. Other features include a full plastic chain cover, flick bell, and Wellgo aluminum alloy platform pedals.
Driving this bike is this 750watt hub-drive motor. This is new for the 3rd generation as it was previously a 500watt motor. The 750watt is very powerful and very capable and it is complimented well by the twist throttle. Another interesting talking point is this Dapu torque sensor. Whenever you see value priced hub-drive eBikes, they typically use a more basic cadence sensor for cadence based pedal assist. With this bike having torque based pedal assist, that means you will have a much more sophisticated and natural power delivery as you pedal, usually something reserved for more high end eBikes. I should also mention, they went with hydraulic brakes on this bike, again another feature of typically higher end eBikes. They are using 160mm disc brakes in the front and 180mm in the rear. Last but not least, you have a Shimano Altus 7 speed system with an 11-32 tooth cassette with that larger low gear for climbing. For shifting, you get a SIS index thumb shifter. These work great with gloves, but I personally prefer trigger shifters, although I am told that to maintain a twist throttle setup, manufactures chose the thumb shifter for space on the handlebar.
Powering the bike is this large frame integrated battery. It is a 48v 12.5ah at roughly 600watts. So I would defiantly consider this a high capacity battery. Although it is possible to remove the battery, it is not at all easy. Most people will be charging the battery directly on the bike itself, which is great since the charging port is on top and in the front so it is nice and away from the pedals and other things. However, if you live in a very cold or very hot area, this could be a problem as I usually advise you remove your batteries and bring them indoors for optimal battery life. Ariel Rider gives you a 2amp charger with the bike, so not the fastest charger, but it should help maintain a good battery life. The battery has a power button, so turning the bike on is a 2 part process since you also have to turn on the display to get going as well. To really care for this and other lithium-ion packs, I have heard that storing in a cool dry location vs. extreme heat or cold will extend the life and try to keep it about 50% full when not using for long periods so you won’t stress the cells. Try not to let it run down to zero, because that’s really hard on the cell chemistry.
Operating this ebike is fairly comfortable and intuitive. The display panel is clean and compact, with only three buttons to interact with. It isn’t removable, so it could take some damage at public racks, but it will swivel a bit to reduce glare if you don’t over-tighten the mount. Once the battery pack is charged, mounted to the frame, and the key is turned to on, just hold the little power button at the top left corner of the display panel to power it up. The monochrome LCD blinks to life fairly quickly, showing your current speed, power meter, assistance level (0-6), battery charge level, and some trip stats below. You can change the readouts by tapping the power button once, and this will show average speed, max speed, odometer, and trip time. Most of your interaction will probably be clicking the plus and minus keys to raise or lower the pedal assist level. I love how the throttle can override the different assist levels for a quick boost of power and speed. That said, it’s always hot, so you could get an unexpected boost when loading, mounting, or dismounting. During the ride tests, I pulled the handle bars up and back using the tool-free adjustable stem for a more upright body position, and that also made the display closer and easier to read. It’s nice that the wire for this display was long enough to accommodate such big comfortable bars! You can activate the display backlighting by holding the + button and activate walk mode by holding the – button (for ~6 km/h, ~4 mph assistance). Walk mode is nice to have if you’ve added a rack with gear or a child seat on the back. There are even more settings to explore in the menu system by double tapping the power button, as mentioned earlier. This is where you can change units, adjust backlight brightness, and raise or lower the top speed by entering password 1919 at the last screen.
It is great to see the technology go up and the price come down on this fan favorite. I really enjoyed riding it and I love the higher end features like integrated lights, high capacity battery, hydraulic brakes, and torque based pedal assist. A lot has been done to refine and dial in this bike over the years. So much so that there is hardly any vibration noise! However, as well as it has been improved, there are still some points where it could progress further. Some of those tradeoffs include no rack bosses, no bottle cage bosses, and pedal lock when reversing with the kickstand down. The largest trade off however comes from the battery itself. I am grateful that Ariel Rider tapered the battery so you don’t rub your legs on it when pedaling, but to be honest, during my test ride it did rub a bit, so this bike may be more up your ally as a throttle cruiser. Additionally, you cannot easily remove the battery, so not only is it exposed to possible elements, but it makes it hard to take the battery inside the office for example and charge it up while you work. All tradeoffs considered, this is still a great offering. The bike as a whole is very quiet and very stable. Ariel Rider also offers a lifetime frame warranty, 2 year warranty on the motor and controller, and 1 year on the battery. So it is pretty well covered by a company that has been around for years and years. A big thank you to Arda for letting me check out this new N Class, it was a ton of fun.
As always, I welcome questions and feedback in the comment section below. Whether you own the bike, have taken a test ride, or are brand new to the space, my goal is to provide an objective and honest resource. You can also join the Ariel Rider Ebike forums and share your own photos, videos, and review updates to help others! Have fun out there, and ride safe :)
Pros:
- A vintage inspired powerful hub-drive eBike with tons of style and comfort like fenders, plush saddle, integrated lights, adjustable stem, and stitched grips
- This is the 3rd generation of this bike, technology has come up over the years and the prices have gone down, this improved version of the bike is now $1,699
- A head turning feature is this top tube integrated battery, it is somewhat modeled a bit after a gas tank and is narrower toward the seat so as to stay out of the way of your legs if you decide to pedal
- I love this springer suspension fork in the front which has an amazing vintage aesthetic to it, although it is mostly for looks, it is steel so it does provide some vibration dampening
- The included fenders also have mud flaps, great for keeping you dry as well as alleviating toe strikes if you hit the fenders while turning
- This year gets this tool-free adjustable stem, this means you can adjust your riding position on the fly, great for multiple riders sharing the same bike, or dialing in your personal comfort level
- There is a retro inspired battery integrated headlight and in the rear you have a battery integrated active brake light that gets brighter as you engage the brakes
- 750watt hub-drive which is an improvement from the previous generation using a 500watt hub-drive
- Torque based pedal assist is a rarity on entry priced eBikes, it helps pedaling feel a lot more smother and natural even with the electrical assist
- Hydraulic disc brakes are also rare on value priced eBikes and Ariel Rider includes them here
- The 14v 12.5ah battery here looks beautiful with it top tube integration and is a battery I would consider high capacity, definitely capable of taking you the extra mile and then some
- The bike has been so well dialed in over the years, it now has almost no vibrational noise as illustrated in the video review
- The bike has a lifetime frame warranty, 2 year warranty on the motor and controller, and 1 year on the battery, great peace of mind by a company that has been around for years and years
Cons:
- No rack bosses, so you can’t attack racks to the fame, however, Ariel Rider does offer a seat post mounted rack on their website
- Also, there is no bottle cage bosses anywhere on the frame which is good for adding a hydration option, but they also have things like folding locks and even a GPS lockout tracker that would be great on a bike like this so it doesn’t get stolen
- The starting process is a 2 step process, which is a little annoying if you just want to get on and ride, you have to turn on the both the battery and the display separately
- The kickstand is located near the crank arm, so that means if the kickstand is down and you are reversing the bike, the pedals will strike that kickstand creating pedal lock
- I noticed during my overview of the bike that the wire loom in the front is very large and obstructs the headlight easily, something to be aware of
- My knees did rub a little bit on the battery when pedaling, the battery is tapered to alleviate this, but for some riders and their geometry it could be better or problematic
- The battery is technically removable, but it is by no means easy, so battery charging will likely be only done on the bike and storing the battery away indoors is difficult
- The suspension fork does provide a little vibration dampening, but is primarily for looks
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