Velotric Summit vs Aventon Ramblas: Round 2

[@porterbrass]

I bought the Aventon Aventure.2 for myself and Level 2 for my wife. Love them both. No regrets.

[@scotthardesty]

Good choice!

[@LarrysViews]

Good video Scott. For a grand less I'd have to do the Velotric. If and when the components wore out, I'd replace them with better than what the Aventon has.

[@scotthardesty]

I understand. Thanks for the input.

[@richarde1355]

Some good logic there.

[@thegman1313]

Aventon has a first responder discount code that helped me out. I almost went with the Summit. After looking at the Ramblas in person I felt that it was a better deal. I am sure they are both great bikes. Great job Scott.

[@scotthardesty]

That's right! I forgot about that! Thanks for commenting!

[@thegman1313]

I had been waiting round 2. 👍👍

[@scotthardesty]

@@thegman1313 I hope I didn't dissapoint.

[@garneet]

did you do it before velotric added their own discount?

[@ebaake]

Love the series Scott! I finally got my Summit 1. I wish I had more trials near me but with mostly pavement/gravel I feel like the Summit 1 was the way to go. If I used it for 80% trails then Ramblas all day. Looking forward to a video on your Summit 1 upgrades!

[@scotthardesty]

For your situation, the Summit 1 was the right choice.

[@desrosij]

As a Ryder who has 1 EMTB mid drive and one hard tail hub drive , the answer was obvious before your test. The Ramblas is made for mountains, trails from fairly technical to somewhat very technical (for a hard tail). The Velotric will be much more vulnerable to doing the same things as the Ramblas because the fact that the engine is at the back, the wheel will not be able to withstand all the blows in the long run. On the other hand, for light trails and commuting it would be the best choice; for knee problems, a rear engine is ideal.

[@scotthardesty]

I 100% agree with you.

[@TheCoupleThatShootsTogether]

We have two Summits and love them. Looked at the Ranblas but for the price point it would have been just me getting a bike vs my wife and I both getting a bike . Even if we upgrade some of the components on both Summts we will still come out better price wise. I am 300 pounds (solid muscle of course lol ) and the Summit has held up nicely on trails.

[@scotthardesty]

I totally understand. Now you know what it can handle.

[@ts3871]

How does the summit do climbing long, steep hills? I’m reading a lot of comments on other YT videos saying that it doesn’t do well under those circumstances.

[@southernebiking]

May also be worth mentioning. If someone is planning to ride at an off-road park often, check the rules there as many places are only allowing a class one so the Velotric would not be allowed there.

[@duckhunter295]

The Velotric can be changed to class one.

[@scotthardesty]

I put the Summit 1 in Class 1 status. They wouldn't be able to say anything about it.

[@scotthardesty]

@@duckhunter295 and it was for this test.

[@thebauminater]

Great comparison. Will be interesting to see the comparison once you have done the upgrades on both. Thanks again for the info!

[@scotthardesty]

Thank you. I also think it will be interesting.

[@solomonswine]

I think the point about the better components on the Ramblas is probably the biggest decider. The other would be rear drive vs mid drive. If only Aventon would unlock the bike to 30mph for commuting - then it would be perfect.

[@scotthardesty]

Agreed.

[@caddy2long]

I agree . I have the summit because I wanted the extra speed. It's fun running 30mph down gravel roads.

[@FatYokel]

@@caddy2long That and the reliability of the hub motor is more desirable to a beginner like myself.

[@IHatePikeys]

the price difference can be used for way better upgrade parts off ebay😂…a fox kashima fork in the Summit and Zee derailleur as well as Lite Bike carbon rims..😂

[@scotthardesty]

@@IHatePikeys hard to put carbon rims on a bike with a rear hub motor.

[@glucoseatplay2828]

Great video! (the production quality is really high). Great riding too. Keep it up!

[@scotthardesty]

Much appreciated!

[@jojoaspi7398]

Nice meeting you guys there at Andres. Hope you had a blast!

[@scotthardesty]

We did. What a great bike park this is!

[@user-gn5uy6lx7z]

I like this bike park. Wish they had one in Tennessee and or Alabama and N. Georgia

[@scotthardesty]

Surely they have some great bike parks down there!

[@0321ReconMan]

Nice! I think for the Rambalas price point I would just go all out on a Giant Stance E+. That tariff sucks…IMO the Summit is a better value.

[@scotthardesty]

Also an option although all of those bike are over 3k. The Ramblas is still under 3k at $2899. The Stance E+ starts at $3200 and goes up from there.

[@jasonbanker1878]

The aventon is more expensive because of the name. I have a summit 1 and the low entry point allows for actual mtb upgrades like a new fork, a cassette more suitable to mtb, etc. With the high price of the aventon, you may as well get an entry full sus mtb (non-E) and have way more capability.

[@scotthardesty]

Thanks for your opinion. Although, the Aventon already has the upgrades you just mentioned.

[@mr.monitor.]

The aventon in this model is more expensive because it's a better bike than the voltric. Mid-drive, better paint, welds, battery, motor, controller, and it's already a bargin with decent specs. It's a bargain. Suggesting a non ebike instead of this is asinine.

[@jasonbanker1878]

@@scotthardesty But the upgrades are chosen by Aventon to fit the bell curve. If you're outside of the bell curve of ride-styles and body types, you'll need different components. Either way both bikes look fun! Good review!

[@jasonbanker1878]

@@mr.monitor. oh, you've inspected the welds and paint of each bike?

[@mr.monitor.]

@@jasonbanker1878 it takes 1 second to see the difference

[@davidmoore9385]

Cant find these in europe

[@scotthardesty]

Bummer

[@thrallingFRglory]

Aventon Ramblas all day!

[@scotthardesty]

It's my first choice between the 2 for mtb trails.

[@HullioGQ]

What's the difference? Same off the shelf Chinese parts just painted and badged differently!

[@scotthardesty]

different Chinese off the shelf parts on each of the bikes. Some parts are better than others.

[@tomolryify]

I don't think the Ramblas makes sense at the $3k price point - particularly if you start talking about upgrades. For $4k you have a ton of options for a real emtb - mid drive with full suspension.

[@scotthardesty]

The Summit is only 2k. Its the Ramblas that is 3k.

[@0321ReconMan]

Ya agreed that’s why I went with the Summit. If I was looking to spend 3k well that’s Giant, Trek, Specialized territory…

[@IHatePikeys]

they dropped the Canyon Strive CFR Underdog to 4900 at one point😂 full carbon, full suspension….makes no sense upgrading a Ramblas…😂

[@scotthardesty]

@@IHatePikeys Not everyone wants a full suspension.

[@IHatePikeys]

@@scotthardesty cool, whatever. After a certain point you can buy a real mountain bike. its like paying a lot of money for 2wd truck😂 an ugly car with a lot of truck space

[@davidmoore9385]

What you did on those bikes is way more abuse than what i would ever do , like to keep my wheels on the ground so i guess a hub motor would be ok

[@scotthardesty]

I would agree with you.

[@ts3871]

I feel the same way, and it’s why I’m, mostly, leaning towards the Summit. Problem is, I occasionally have to climb a steep, single-track, equestrian trail in the hills, and I don’t know how this thing will do on a long, steep climb. I’ve heard mixed reviews. I’m also a little concerned about the range on the Summit. From what I can gather, as long as you leave it in Eco mode, you’re fine, but boost it up to anything higher, and all bets are off.

[@scotthardesty]

@@ts3871 I did a full review on the summit that includes a distance test. I have recently did the firmware update and the motor had issues on black and double track trails. I don't think its gonna be a champ on long uphill climbs.

[@MHH3180]

These are not mtb's. Neither have a suspension you would find on a quality, traditionally powered mtb. The Velotric will not dig out of a hair pin because hub motors lose power under load (750 quickly becomes😮 100). nyou aren't achieving 90nm's under 60rpm cadence (more like 90). . The horrendous tail wagging on real air and that heavy motor landing on short, barely crossed, unlaced spokes is little short of a joke. On the road it won't climb a hill as well and certainly does not have the real world range of ANY mid-drive. I sell Velotric and can't wait for their coming mid-drives because their quality of construction makes them one of only three good economy bikes (still economy though). The fact that Velotric is coming out with mid-drives for a premium bike should be proof enough of mid-drive superiority. I do warrenty work for Aventon. They have made some major bone head moves with their rim choices and wheel building. There is no good reason for this price discrepancy. I have also had to wait a month now to get a response on a warrenty claim request. So, you can bet of I could give the nod to Velotric I would. Real mtb'ing, The Summit would not hold up and would dramatically under perform. Not that The Ramblus is going to whip any tails either, but for real world range, hillclimbing or technical terrain as well as reliability, it is going to be dramatically superior.

[@scotthardesty]

I agree with you that the Ramblas is built more for trails than the summit. In my opinion, the Summit is a great bike for in town and light trails. When it comes to me going out and hitting single tracks, I reach for my Giant Trance X E+3 and if I am taking someone else with me it will be the Ramblas. If I want to get rough and roudy, I will take both of my Ramblas's. I have done upgrades to the Summit (tubless setup, different forks) but the only time this bike will see the trails is when I do a video showing how it performs after the upgrades. The upgrades I have done to one of my ramblas's will handle any trail I throw at it. Both bikes are marketed at Entry Level eMTBs. So I do think the Ramblas is good bike for those who are wanting to explore the world of mountain biking without breaking the bank.

[@PriusTurbo]

What are the other brands you like besides Velotric? I agree that these things are not mtb’s even though they are dressed up to look like it.

[@scotthardesty]

@@PriusTurbo Actually, the Ramblas is legit hard tail emtb. The Summit is not. The only other emtb I have tested is my Giant Trance X E+3. It's a full suspension bike and I totally dig it but find myself grabbing my Ramblas first.