ElectroBike Light Review

The ElectroBike Light is a streamlined city bike with a basic geared hub motor and average sized bottle style battery pack. At first glance it appears similar to a kit you could install yourself like the EBO Commuter Kit but there are actually a handful of great upgrades here including a two speed Kick Back Sturmey Archer internally geared hub and a custom ebike-specific frame with internally routed cabling.

This is kind of e-bike that can probably be knocked over, banged up at bicycle racks and neglected without worry because it’s so simple and I love that there aren’t a lot of stickers or extra colors ruining the style. It’s similar to the Easy Motion EasyGo Race in appearance but offers throttle mode and can go a touch faster topping out at ~18 mph. It’s also similar to the Riide but less powerful (and a lot less heavy).

I would love to see bottle mounting points and a way to put a rear rack on this thing without resorting to a beam rack because those are easily bumped from side to side and just don’t feel as sturdy as a four-point carry rack. It would also be nice to have a way to adjust pedal assist level or even turn it off but still use the throttle. For what it is and at the very reasonable price of $1,400 I was impressed, especially given the year long comprehensive warranty. You get four color choices but only one medium frame in high-step that can feel abrasive on longer rides because it’s so stiff. This is just the style of city bikes and I get that, it’s tough and simple :)

ElectroBike had 30 franchise outlets at the time of this review and that makes it easier to test ride and buy without paying shipping but if you live somewhere that’s not near a shop I was told that it only costs $50 to ship within the continental USA which is pretty sweet! I believe they also ship internationally and given the lower watt motor this should be legal in many geographies where throttles are accepted.

Pros:

Very light weight, simple, durable and affordable… I love that this is not a single speed, having a second gear to pedal with is nice but it’s great that it’s internally geared vs. using a derailleur because the chan can be tighter and maintenance tuneups will be less frequent
Four fun colors to choose from including light blue, light orange, light yellow and white all fairly visible, the colors are almost pastel and have a satin finish vs. being super glossy
Even though this is more of a city style bike I love that it comes with a kickstand, it’s easy to take off if you want to save a touch of weight but saves money vs. having to buy your own aftermarket, it matches nicely
The battery is mounted low and centered along the downtube for improved weight distribution and handling, I like that the controller is integrated into the mount so you don’t end up with an extra box and wires
Purpose built ebike specific frame with wires run through the downtube so it looks a lot cleaner than a DIY kit with similar specs
The battery is easy to take off the bike to reduce weight during transport or if you want to pedal around unpowered at times
Super clean handlebars… no shifters or LCD panels here, just the twist throttle (which is the entire grip on the right), I like that you can de-activate the twist throttle with the little red button in case you’re worried about accidentally twisting while riding over bumpy terrain
This is one of the more affordable electric bikes I’ve reviewed at under $1,500 an you get a decent one year comprehensive warranty, shipping is only $50 in the continental USA or you can pick up free at one of the 30 dealers in the US and Mexico
V-brakes front and rear perform well and tend to be more powerful than drum brakes seen on other ElectroBike products and easier to tune up yourself (like replacing brake pads) than hydraulic disc brakes, I noticed these ones have dampeners inline to avoid skidding
Should deliver good range given the larger diameter 700c wheelset, hybrid tires, efficient 250 watt geared hub motor and standard 36 volt 9 amp hour battery

Cons:

Only available in one medium-sized frame ~19.5″ and the traditional high-step diamond frame, may be difficult for shorter riders to mount but it’s going to be easier to hang on some types of bicycle racks
Stiffer aluminum frame with no suspension fork or seat post shock, a benefit is improved responsiveness and toughness… the slightly lower top speed of ~18 mph reduces impact and the steel fork does absorb some vibration vs. aluminum
Very limited readouts, no LCD display panel to communicate your speed or range and no way to change pedal assist level, it’s just always on at “medium” when the battery is clicked to on, there is a small LED readout for battery voltage at the top of the pack to help communicate when power is running low
The brakes levers do not include motor inhibitors so pedal assist may run slightly long after you stop pedaling, thankfully the cadence sensor is very responsive with 12 magnets
It may be possible to add a pair of fenders to this e-bike but there are no bottle cage bosses or rear carry rack bosses on the seat stays (though there were threaded eyelets down by the dropout so you could probably get something to work or use a beam rack like this on the seat post)
Because the motor is mounted in the front wheel steering is somewhat impacted and maybe not as responsive as a lighter spoke-only wheel
The folding plastic pedals don’t offer a lot of surface area and aren’t as stiff as aluminum or something like these Wellgo Magnesium pedals but I could see how some city riders might want to save space and folding pedals would help with that, consider something larger though like these aluminum MKS FD-7 folders
The throttle didn’t feel especially powerful, it accelerated slowly and I noticed that this bike has a lower top speed of ~18 mph but that should help to increase range and I love that you can override assist with the throttle at any time

Resources:

Official Site: http://store.electrobike.com/products/light-electric-bicycle
More Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/X4kuj6riNvPfcctU8

Pros:

Very light weight, simple, durable and affordable… I love that this is not a single speed, having a second gear to pedal with is nice but it’s great that it’s internally geared vs. using a derailleur because the chan can be tighter and maintenance tuneups will be less frequent
Four fun colors to choose from including light blue, light orange, light yellow and white all fairly visible, the colors are almost pastel and have a satin finish vs. being super glossy
Even though this is more of a city style bike I love that it comes with a kickstand, it’s easy to take off if you want to save a touch of weight but saves money vs. having to buy your own aftermarket, it matches nicely
The battery is mounted low and centered along the downtube for improved weight distribution and handling, I like that the controller is integrated into the mount so you don’t end up with an extra box and wires
Purpose built ebike specific frame with wires run through the downtube so it looks a lot cleaner than a DIY kit with similar specs
The battery is easy to take off the bike to reduce weight during transport or if you want to pedal around unpowered at times
Super clean handlebars… no shifters or LCD panels here, just the twist throttle (which is the entire grip on the right), I like that you can de-activate the twist throttle with the little red button in case you’re worried about accidentally twisting while riding over bumpy terrain
This is one of the more affordable electric bikes I’ve reviewed at under $1,500 an you get a decent one year comprehensive warranty, shipping is only $50 in the continental USA or you can pick up free at one of the 30 dealers in the US and Mexico
V-brakes front and rear perform well and tend to be more powerful than drum brakes seen on other ElectroBike products and easier to tune up yourself (like replacing brake pads) than hydraulic disc brakes, I noticed these ones have dampeners inline to avoid skidding
Should deliver good range given the larger diameter 700c wheelset, hybrid tires, efficient 250 watt geared hub motor and standard 36 volt 9 amp hour battery

Cons:

Only available in one medium-sized frame ~19.5″ and the traditional high-step diamond frame, may be difficult for shorter riders to mount but it’s going to be easier to hang on some types of bicycle racks
Stiffer aluminum frame with no suspension fork or seat post shock, a benefit is improved responsiveness and toughness… the slightly lower top speed of ~18 mph reduces impact and the steel fork does absorb some vibration vs. aluminum
Very limited readouts, no LCD display panel to communicate your speed or range and no way to change pedal assist level, it’s just always on at “medium” when the battery is clicked to on, there is a small LED readout for battery voltage at the top of the pack to help communicate when power is running low
The brakes levers do not include motor inhibitors so pedal assist may run slightly long after you stop pedaling, thankfully the cadence sensor is very responsive with 12 magnets
It may be possible to add a pair of fenders to this e-bike but there are no bottle cage bosses or rear carry rack bosses on the seat stays (though there were threaded eyelets down by the dropout so you could probably get something to work or use a beam rack like this on the seat post)
Because the motor is mounted in the front wheel steering is somewhat impacted and maybe not as responsive as a lighter spoke-only wheel
The folding plastic pedals don’t offer a lot of surface area and aren’t as stiff as aluminum or something like these Wellgo Magnesium pedals but I could see how some city riders might want to save space and folding pedals would help with that, consider something larger though like these aluminum MKS FD-7 folders
The throttle didn’t feel especially powerful, it accelerated slowly and I noticed that this bike has a lower top speed of ~18 mph but that should help to increase range and I love that you can override assist with the throttle at any time