I recently got my hands on a Vanpowers City Vanture and since they seem to be a newer brand I wanted to post my thoughts on the bike. The bike is a "Stealth" 36V 350W hub, single speed belt drive. It very much looks like an analog bike and compared to my 80lbs XPremium it feels like it weighs nothing.
I got mine mostly assembled but it comes with a fairly unique (optional) assembly style where you assemble the entire frame from essentially a handful of tubes. It's about an Ikea table level of difficulty to put together. I'll be taking advantage of their modularity to DIY an optional second battery (which the company provides clear instructions on how to do).
The belt drive and hydraulic brakes are great. It rides and feels like a bicycle rather than a moped. I've done so much chain and brake work between my XPremium and my wife's RadRunner+ that it's much appreciated to not have to mess with a chain or derailleur on the City Vanture. If you want a fixed belt drive under $2k you're pretty much looking at the Ride1Up Roadster V2 which is cheaper but has mechanical brakes, the VVolt Alpha which weighs 20% more for similar specs, and the City Vanture.
Vanpowers is a brand that's seemingly flown under the radar so far. I think if they were just 10-20% less expensive they'd probably be pretty competitive. The City Vanture is a good looking ebike that makes great sense as a city commuter. As I'm writing this they have a $850 off of two bikes bringing the price down to around ~$1300. At that price I'd say it's a pretty dang good deal, but the normal price is still pretty fair. Once I've tested the range of my battery modification I'll maybe post an instructional on how to do that. I believe the process is similar to other bikes.
I got mine mostly assembled but it comes with a fairly unique (optional) assembly style where you assemble the entire frame from essentially a handful of tubes. It's about an Ikea table level of difficulty to put together. I'll be taking advantage of their modularity to DIY an optional second battery (which the company provides clear instructions on how to do).
The belt drive and hydraulic brakes are great. It rides and feels like a bicycle rather than a moped. I've done so much chain and brake work between my XPremium and my wife's RadRunner+ that it's much appreciated to not have to mess with a chain or derailleur on the City Vanture. If you want a fixed belt drive under $2k you're pretty much looking at the Ride1Up Roadster V2 which is cheaper but has mechanical brakes, the VVolt Alpha which weighs 20% more for similar specs, and the City Vanture.
Vanpowers is a brand that's seemingly flown under the radar so far. I think if they were just 10-20% less expensive they'd probably be pretty competitive. The City Vanture is a good looking ebike that makes great sense as a city commuter. As I'm writing this they have a $850 off of two bikes bringing the price down to around ~$1300. At that price I'd say it's a pretty dang good deal, but the normal price is still pretty fair. Once I've tested the range of my battery modification I'll maybe post an instructional on how to do that. I believe the process is similar to other bikes.