ronniebellie
Member
- Local time
- 4:33 AM
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2022
- Messages
- 89
Does anyone own a Velotric Discover 1? I'm thinking about getting one and would like your honest opinion.
Your opinion
- Thread starter ronniebellie
- Start date
We bought two of them for the wife and I. I have ~50 miles on mine and feel comfortable providing some info. Keep in mind that I am new to E-bikes although I have two regular road bikes and one hybrid (i'm getting older...).
The bikes came shipped in perfect condition with no scratches or misaligned parts. Assembly was straight forward. They provide a tool kit for the assembly with simple tools however I used my 'better quality' bike tools. Total time to put it together was about 1hr. A few test rides and I dialed-in the seat and bars along with front and rear fenders and display. The paint and fit was better than I expected and operation is smooth and without stress noise cheaper bikes have. I think the company is providing a well thought out unit that someone took time to design. I've had several compliments on the 'looks' given by other riders, -It is an attractive bike. I have the step over frame and the wife has the step through frame, both in Mango. I found the step through frame kind of cramped, I am 6' tall, but I liked the handlebars. The Step over frame suits me perfect although the bars need to be higher, I plan on working this out later.
Not knowing anything about E-bikes, I jumped on and started peddling. WTF almost crashed, the power comes on after one crank rotation and stays on for a second or two after you stop peddling. Wow, learning curve. I rode the bike on an empty parking lot and learned its ways. Power is not variable like on a volume control, the bike is On or Off Period. How long it's on depends on the PAS level. The five PAS levels top out a different speeds, 1 is the lowest ~5-6 mph, 5 is the highest ~15-21 mph. You can also just use the throttle without peddling and it gives you the same PAS speeds depending on what PAS you have set. Now that I know what it's doing and how it works the beast is tamed.
The brakes are great on this bike, they are hydraulic and stop on a dime. No brand name on them but they work great. can't talk on pad life but that may be an issue when they wear out. Applying the brake, front or rear kills the motor instantly.
The display is easy for my old eyes to see. In sun or shade it works. It also has a USB port on the bottom under a cover.
Cons:
The bars are too low on the step over frame and not sure how much adjustment there is or how long the fork tube is.
The control for display, PAS, turning bike on/off etc. is not tactile, each of the 3 buttons need to be unique and easy to find.
The gearing is too low for me. 7th gear feels like 3rd or 4th on my other bikes. This is probably good for non-bike riders.
I don't like the gear selector. I am used to Shimano 105. I prefer click shifts up and down, not click up and ratchet down, (if that makes sense). I understand why it was selected though, $.
Pros:
Fit and finish and beauty
Can be peddled much better than I thought an E-bike would be. I would have no problem riding this bike a distance with a dead battery.
I don't know the battery range but " you just seem to wanna peddle this bike" as such the battery should last for many miles between charges.
Price. After a lot of research, I think this is one of the better deals out there.
Whatever team designed this bike knew what they were doing for the price point given. Unlike other bikes I looked at, thought was used here.
The bikes came shipped in perfect condition with no scratches or misaligned parts. Assembly was straight forward. They provide a tool kit for the assembly with simple tools however I used my 'better quality' bike tools. Total time to put it together was about 1hr. A few test rides and I dialed-in the seat and bars along with front and rear fenders and display. The paint and fit was better than I expected and operation is smooth and without stress noise cheaper bikes have. I think the company is providing a well thought out unit that someone took time to design. I've had several compliments on the 'looks' given by other riders, -It is an attractive bike. I have the step over frame and the wife has the step through frame, both in Mango. I found the step through frame kind of cramped, I am 6' tall, but I liked the handlebars. The Step over frame suits me perfect although the bars need to be higher, I plan on working this out later.
Not knowing anything about E-bikes, I jumped on and started peddling. WTF almost crashed, the power comes on after one crank rotation and stays on for a second or two after you stop peddling. Wow, learning curve. I rode the bike on an empty parking lot and learned its ways. Power is not variable like on a volume control, the bike is On or Off Period. How long it's on depends on the PAS level. The five PAS levels top out a different speeds, 1 is the lowest ~5-6 mph, 5 is the highest ~15-21 mph. You can also just use the throttle without peddling and it gives you the same PAS speeds depending on what PAS you have set. Now that I know what it's doing and how it works the beast is tamed.
The brakes are great on this bike, they are hydraulic and stop on a dime. No brand name on them but they work great. can't talk on pad life but that may be an issue when they wear out. Applying the brake, front or rear kills the motor instantly.
The display is easy for my old eyes to see. In sun or shade it works. It also has a USB port on the bottom under a cover.
Cons:
The bars are too low on the step over frame and not sure how much adjustment there is or how long the fork tube is.
The control for display, PAS, turning bike on/off etc. is not tactile, each of the 3 buttons need to be unique and easy to find.
The gearing is too low for me. 7th gear feels like 3rd or 4th on my other bikes. This is probably good for non-bike riders.
I don't like the gear selector. I am used to Shimano 105. I prefer click shifts up and down, not click up and ratchet down, (if that makes sense). I understand why it was selected though, $.
Pros:
Fit and finish and beauty
Can be peddled much better than I thought an E-bike would be. I would have no problem riding this bike a distance with a dead battery.
I don't know the battery range but " you just seem to wanna peddle this bike" as such the battery should last for many miles between charges.
Price. After a lot of research, I think this is one of the better deals out there.
Whatever team designed this bike knew what they were doing for the price point given. Unlike other bikes I looked at, thought was used here.
ronniebellie
Member
- Local time
- 4:33 AM
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2022
- Messages
- 89
Thank you gandude for the feedback on the Velotric Discover 1. Very helpful!
