2019 Electric Bike Company Model C Review

To run the forums, host the website, and travel, I charge a universal service fee for my reviews. This review was sponsored by Electric Bike Company. My goal is to be transparent and unbiased, this video and written review are not meant to be an endorsement of Electric Bike Company’s products.

UPDATE: All models now come standard with a color display, there’s a 7-speed drivetrain option for $99, tire options, an 80mm spring suspension fork with hydraulic lockout can be added for $149, there are 25 color options for the frame, rims, and battery box (or send a Pantone Code to match over 10k color options), handlebars can be changed from cruiser to upright, and they are using a CLICK back rack system that’s compatible with the MiK carrier plate.

Many of you might remember seeing my previous reviews for Electric Bike Company and watching me become impressed with their attention to detail and customization. You may also remember a quote from the founder of the company saying: “One of the main things that differentiate our company from other brands is that we 100% factory build custom ordered bikes in California, USA. We have our own factory with all of the parts, expertise, and knowledge to assemble, repair, troubleshoot, maintain, and replace parts. This also allows us to to do custom branding and graphics on our frames.” Well, since their line has been updated this year, I wanted to check them out as well as give you guys more of a ‘behind the scenes’ look as to really what goes on when you get one of these bikes made to order. Make sure to check out the tour in the video review if you have the chance to do so as well.

The Model C (high-step) cruiser in this review and Model S (step-through) cruiser maintain many of the popular features as in years past but also receive upgrades. For that reason, you may see some parallel information as to my previous review, but I will try to call out newer features as we continue along. Both of those cruiser models only come in one frame size, and they leverage the same powerful hub motor and rear-rack battery, but you do get two battery capacity choices, along with several classy colorways. I was lucky enough to check out the actual local paint shop they use to get the custom colors on the bike frame and applicable accessories. I think it is cool that although some of the parts come from China, there is an entire group of US factories and employees that help make this bike a reality. At the paint shop, Electric Bike Company tells me they offer a massive selection of 24 colors to choose from! I think this is fantastic, but I did worry about what that means when you get the paint scratched or knicked. I asked one of the painters on the tour and they said “Touch up paint is your friend!”. In the main factory, they have a room dedicated to 3D printing new parts as well as a room for making spokes and rims. These innovations allow you to chose even the color of your spokes down to your kickstand! I was impressed by the many choices for colors and accessories, so it made sense when one EBC employee even described it using Burger King’s slogan “Have it your way”. You can see that with their optional color matched steel fenders (that include reflective mud-flaps, really great detail!), front basket, suspension seat post, … even a surf board mount! The little details definitely add up. I noticed the matching leather grips and saddle visually but also appreciated that the grips have two locking rings and the saddle is actually comfortable and forgiving with rubber bumpers below. Everything is branded… you see the Electric Bike Company logo on the display, the grips, the saddle… it really does communicate an attention to detail and customization that other brands seem to disregard or compromise on. Notice how all of the metal parts are silver? Even the optional suspension seat post from SR Suntour. And these are not bottom-of-the-barrel components either, the pedals were chosen for performance as well as aesthetic and safety while the adjustable stem aims to accommodate riders of different heights. Even the way the saddle can go all the way down without hitting the rear rack, to allow for a more stable and confident ride for those with shorter inseams. I don’t mean to gush too much here, it’s just worth noting that these guys really seem to care. You can see that in their outstanding 5-year warranty, individually fused battery cells, unique integrated charger, high-quality front basket with light mount, e-bike specific puncture resistant tires, slimed inner tubes, and international shipping. None of that comes for free, but the $1,999 price point is very reasonable for such a powerful, beautiful product. The one thing you really don’t get here, is gears. This is a single-speed electric bicycle with the option to add your own derailleur post-purchase. The company does offer two rear sprocket choices, 16 tooth for comfortable high-speed riding or 18-tooth for easier starts and slower riding. With only one gear, the chain stays tight and on track, there’s less grease, less chain slap and noise, less weight, and a cleaner-simpler handlebar. Without the fenders, this ebike weighs about 56.8lbs, which is not super light… but the double-tube design keeps it stable and can support loads up to 360lbs versus the average 250lbs. You can purchase their models at the factory or you can order online… which comes with a bit of added cost. The flat-rate shipping for the USA is $229, but Electric Bike Company also sells to Canada and will work with international companies. This is where the shipping price can really start to rise. The good news is, I am told that the bikes come fully assembled and nearly ready to ride (I’m guessing that there is some handlebar adjustment to be done). And that is another important point to cover. The extra-long handlebars provide an upright body position and dampen road vibration, but they also stick out quite a bit. This could make navigating between cars or through doorways a bit tricky. I have definitely scraped walls and door frames with ebikes similar to this one when walking bikes out of shops to do test rides. So definitely something to keep in mind and be careful of.

Driving this bike is a planetary geared hub motor rated at 500 watt nominal and 1,280 watt peak. They didn’t provide a Newton meter torque rating, but I’m guessing it would be in the 50nm to 60nm range because it feels VERY powerful. The Model S and C are both speed pedelecs, meaning that they can be pedaled up to 28mph with motor support. You can definitely lower that top speed by entering into the settings menu of the display (discussed later on), and the throttle will only ever support up to 20mph for legal reasons. Being geared, the motor is compact and lightweight, but it does produce more zipping noises under full operation. I reached 25mph with no problems when testing on a limited stretch of road. Something new this year is an upgrade from an 8 magnet cadence sensor to a much more smooth and responsive 12 magnet sensor. On top of that, they sealed the sensor itself so debris and gruff doesn’t get caught inside creating potential problems with the electrical system. Another win from the previous years here is braking. Electric Bike Company has updated the Tektro Auriga brakes to a set of Tektro Dorado large 180mm rotors hydraulic brakes with impressive quad piston calipers. The brake levers here are full 4 finger levers and even have ball ends, a safety and comfort cue taken from motorcycles. This makes them much more consistent and easy to pull, especially for people with limited hand strength. Both levers have motor inhibitors that instantly cut power to the drive system when activated. It’s the right choice, and adds to the sense of control and durability.

Powering these cruisers, their integrated LED lights, the backlit display panel, and an integrated USB port (below the display) is a 48v rack-mount battery. This pack comes in two sizes, and is actually rated higher than what EBC advertises… They call it a 48v, but the display indicates nearly 52v. Standard, you get an upgraded 11.6ah or can spring for the 17.4ah configuration to increase your range, and both fit into the same rack space. The batteries are one area where the Electric Bike Company has really positioned itself as a leader. Apparently they have a tight partnership with a manufacturer which custom builds each battery to have individually fused cells along with two temperature sensors. I asked Sean about this, and he explained that they wanted to make the best battery on the market so that it could hold up to extreme environments… like what they might face in parts of South Africa. That makes sense! My own experience and learning has revealed that batteries last the longest and perform the best in cool, dry environments. You want to avoid extreme cold or heat, and keep the pack charged above 20% whenever possible because the Lithium-ion chemistry is most stable there. To make charging as reliable and easy as possible, the battery mounting dock in the rack has an integrated fan and retractable cord (like you might see on a vacuum cleaner). Whenever you stop for lunch or visit a friend’s house, just pull the cord and plug-in for a quick top-off. Yes, this does add some complexity and weight to the bike. But, it saves you the hassle of forgetting the charger at home. For those who cannot park near charging outlets or simply prefer to store the pack in a more stable environment (since the bike might not easily carry up stairs), they do offer a $99 portable fast charger that puts out more than twice the energy for even faster fills. The only real downside to all of this, is that the battery position is high and towards the back of the bike vs. low and center for optimal handling and stability. With such a rear-heavy design, these bikes do suffer from a bit of frame flex. I did not experience speed wobble, the larger tires felt comfortable and stable, even when riding with no hands. In order to have the batteries all be interchangeable and allow for the deep step-thru design of the Model C, the rear rack battery was chosen.

Operating the bike is a bit of a trick. Simple, once you’ve learned all of the steps, but a little more involved than some. So, once the battery has been charged, mounted, and locked into the rear rack, you need to make sure the toggle switch on the bottom is set to on (the I, not the 0 symbol). This is yet another safety feature, and a handy way to prevent tampering at bike racks. Next, you need to hold the center button on the control pad, which is mounted near the left grip. Now, the display LCD will boot up. At this point, the trigger throttle mounted near the right grip is active and offering full power. BE CAREFUL not to bump this trigger, or the bike will take off. You can use the little up and down arrows to raise or lower assist, but that doesn’t really do anything in throttle mode (unless you configure that as I will mention soon). You can click down to zero, and this will turn the throttle off, while leaving the display and lights accessible. You can activate the lights by holding the up arrow for a few seconds. This also turns on the LCD backlighting feature. And, as mentioned earlier, there is a full-sized USB port built into the backside of the LCD screen. This is a great way to keep your phone charged while using GPS or run the portable Bluetooth speaker that the Electric Bike Company sells separately. One thing I do want to mention here, is that the display has been upgraded to this nice color display. It is still large and easy to read, and the color makes it even better. As many manufactures are upgrading to new and color LCD displays, many are also ditching the older battery infographic with tick marks for battery level and going with an actual percentage readout so you don’t have to guess how much battery you have left in a single tick. Unfortunately, the new display here does not follow that trend, and instead you get a 4 bar infographic. The percentage you do see listed here is for voltage. To its credit though, I will say it boots up very quickly and has a many different readouts and features. For example, there is a temperature display that will either tell you the ambient temperature outside, or you can cycle it to read out the temperature of the motor. Other readouts include a motor inhibitor icon, motor power in watts, current speed, average speed, max speed, overall time, odometer, and trip. There is a deep dive here too with lots of options. Holding UP and DOWN quickly after booting up the display will take you there. Here you can do things like set it up for a full throttle override (no matter what assist level you are in), or bind the throttle power equal to the level of assist mode you are in. It is a pretty intricate system, it even remembers what your last level of pedal assist used was and will default to that when you boot it up. But that intricacy can be intimidating, you really want to rely on a manual or some customer service from Electric Bike Company if you plan on doing some major tinkering.

There’s a lot to say about this product, and I’ll admit that the successful stability of the company over the past several years, the emphasis on global empowerment, and the well-chosen components and accessories has won me over. There are a few trade-offs here with the lack of bottle cage bosses, mid-mount kickstand that gets in the way of the left crank arm if left down, and protruding power cable from the right side of the hub motor, but overall the bike just works, and these are not unique issues to EBC. It’s interesting that pedal assist is not enabled by default here, but perhaps that makes the bike safer to approach? Trigger throttles are very intuitive and less easy to activate by mistake (compared to half-grip twist throttles). It’s still best-practice to leave the bike powered off, until you are mounted and ready to ride. I just love how low that saddle can go, and appreciate how comfortable the bike felt, even without a suspension fork. Steel offers some vibration dampening qualities as well as durability… the chain cover and fenders are sturdy, but could rust if you get scratches over time, so touch up paint will come in handy. Finally, you get a wireless remote with the bike that activates a motion sensor on the bike and triggers an alarm when bumped. This feature has grown on me and might be a real handy feature in some neighborhoods to protect your investment. I do appreciate how nicely the wires and cables are organized at the head tube and that they are internally routed for protection and aesthetics. When you consider all that is going on here combined with a 2 year comprehensive warranty and a 10 year warranty on the motor and frame, it is easy to see why this is such a solid pick. I want to thank Electric Bike Company for giving me all access to show their factory and process, it has been really informative for both myself and the consumers, thank you!

As always, I welcome questions and feedback in the comment section below. Whether you own a previous version of 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 Electric Bike Company ebike forums and share your own photos, videos, and review updates to help others! Have fun out there, and ride safe :)

Pros:

• The founder of this company is super friendly and authentic, they are easy to get ahold of via phone or online (in my experience), their 2 year comprehensive/10 year frame and motor warranty is one of the best that I have ever heard of (and they have been around since 2013), they are working on an ebike program for South Africa based on the products being sold in America, and they are partnered with their battery supplier to bring a higher level of reliability and safety to each pack (cells have individual fuses vs. just one for the entire pack)
• I love attention to detail and aesthetic upgrades (silver stem, handlebar, cranks, chainring, pedals, kickstand, seat post (and optional suspension seat post), locking grips and matching saddle, paint-matched chain cover and optional fenders)
• These details can be custom chosen by the user, from 24 paint colors to even getting down the colors of your spokes or kickstand
• This electric bike is very powerful, and fast… that’s a great thing for heavier riders, people who live near hills, and those who intend on carrying cargo with the rear rack and optional front basket
• The new color display panel is large, easy to see, easy to navigate (thanks to the remote button pad), and has an integrated USB port for charging your phone, the optional Bluetooth speaker, or another portable electronic device
• The integrated lights work pretty well and run off of the main battery pack, so you don’t have to fiddle around with extra buttons or disposable batteries, I love that the Electric Bike Company sells an upgraded high-capacity battery for people who want to go further or use the lights at all times
• The battery choices have been upgraded to coming with a standard 11.6ah or you can opt for the 17.4ah configuration to increase your range
• New this year is an upgrade from an 8 magnet cadence sensor to a much more smooth and responsive 12 magnet sensor, they also now sealed the sensor itself so debris and gruff doesn’t get caught inside creating potential problems with the electrical system
• For as powerful and heavy as this e-bike is, especially with the optional battery upgrade, fenders, and basket, it’s really nice that they upgraded the 180mm hydraulic disc brakes to quad piston calipers
• The brake levers here are full 4 finger levers and even have ball ends, a safety and comfort cue taken from motorcycles, both have motor inhibitors built-in, so the motor will stop immediately whenever you need to stop or even start applying the brakes, that’s an important safety feature considering the upgraded 12 magnet cadence sensor and trigger-throttle
• The stock tires are fatter than average (which offers stability and comfort), they offer SilkWorm puncture protection, and the inner tubes have puncture sealant installed so you won’t get flats as easily or have to wrangle with the bike to change the inner tubes as often… just keep them inflated between the recommended PSI to avoid pinch flats
• The saddle can go very low on this bike, making it easier to approach and stabilize for many riders, because the rear rack is pushed out a bit and doesn’t block it
• To further strengthen the wheels and provide a stable ride, this bike has wider rims and uses thicker spokes, the rear spokes are 13 gauge which helps to handle the weight of the rack, any additional cargo, and the force of the motor pushing the wheel, I was told that it can handle up to 360lbs! which is way more than most ebikes that are rated for 250lbs
• To help protect the bike when parked, there’s a built-in alarm system, similar to a car alarm, that will sound a siren if the frame is jostled, it’s a neat little extra… and you get a wireless remote to arm and disarm the system

Cons:

• These bikes are a bit heavier at 56.8lbs (without the fenders and baskets) because they come with a sturdy welded-on rear rack, integrated battery charger, longer handlebars, fatter tires, and bigger comfort-oriented saddle and grips
• You’ll probably rely on the throttle and electric assist more heavily because they only come with one gear, that keeps the bike simple but makes it difficult to start from standstill without a bit of help… and could be a real bummer if you drain the battery all the way down to zero
• I like how the kickstand looks, appreciate the adjustable length, and feel that it supports the bike well, but it is positioned in the center of the frame so you could get pedal lock when reversing the bike
• The fork, handlebar, chain cover, and optional fenders are all made from Steel… which is strong and tends to be quiet, but can start to rust if it gets scratched, the optional front basket is aluminum alloy (along with the main frame and integrated rear rack)
• Minor consideration, the headlight does not point where you steer because it’s mounted to the head tube or front basket by default, this can be a little disorienting when making sharp turns in the dark
• The frame only comes in one size, but at least there’s a step-thru and high-step option, as well as an adjustable-angle stem to dial in fit
• Despite the double-tube design of the step-thru frame, there is still some frame flex when you pedal hard or turn quickly, the rear-mounted battery and motor make the bike rear-heavy and contribute to this flex
• You can angle the display to reduce glare but it isn’t removable, this means that it could get scratched at the rack or take more weather wear when parking outside
• I think the integrated battery charger is neat, but it only offers a basic 2amp flow and might take a bit longer for the big battery option, you need to spend even more money ($99) to buy a stand-alone charger if you want to charge the battery off-bike but at least it puts out 5amps which will fill the pack super fast
• Be careful with the right side of the rear axle because the motor cable protrudes here and could get snagged or bent if the bike tips over, this is a design vulnerability than many hub motors experience and just something to be considerate of
• Minor consideration, with extra-long handlebars like this, the bike just cannot fit between cars or through doors as easily and might scrape them if you aren’t especially careful… I recommend turning the bike off when walking it so you don’t accidentally activate the throttle or pedal assist