Commute EX Gents Electric Bike - PEN201-SOV

My 21″ frame Commute EX with the ‘400 Wh’ battery arrived a week ago.

The short version: It’s fantastic – get one!

The long version: This is my first electric bike. I requested a Saturday delivery and it arrived on the Saturday morning following my order in a HUGE box. The box was a little battered on one end, but the contents were in perfect condition. (I did need to use the car to take all the cardboard to the tip, though.). Only very minimal assembly was needed – attaching the pedals, putting some air in the tyres, straightening the handlebars, and charging the battery. A multi-spanner and good hex keys are included – although a good pedal spanner made it much easier (I already had one). You can also attach the included bell and front reflector if desired. There’s no pump included and you will need one with a Presta adapter.

It’s very easy to use. Turn on the battery switch, and press the power button on the left handlebar. Then you just use the + and – assistance button. Once turned on, it defaults to zero assistance but there are levels 1 to 5 above that. Level 1-2 are quite nice if you’re used to cycling, level 3 makes most gentle cycling really easy, and level 5 makes level cycling or shallow hills an absolute breeze and makes a 15-20% hill feel like a 5% slope. Pulling away from stationary, even at assistance level 1, is a pleasure. (There’s also a 4 mph ‘walk-assist’ accessed by holding down the ‘-‘ button, but I’ve had no occasion to use it.) The eight gears are changed using up/down paddles on the right handlebar; it’s not a system I’ve used before but it’s intuitive and takes seconds to adapt to. The disk brakes felt a little soft to start with – either as they were bedding in and/or I was getting used to how hard to apply them – but I’m now finding them very effective, and the one emergency stop I had to do was quick and safe.

The one downside of riding a UK-legal electric bike like this is that feeling when, on a slight to moderate uphill, you exceed the 15.5 mph speed and the assist ceases you suddenly become very aware of the 19 kg weight of the bike! In those situations, you have the choice of pottering along easily at 14ish mph, or working hard to keep building the speed. I’m certainly not super-fit and riding on the flat, I have no trouble keeping it at 17+ mph with no assistance. On steeper climbs, I’m more typically at 9-12 mph with assistance. Opinions will vary, but on steep downhills when the speed can build, it feels stable at speeds up to the high 20’s.

There’s a built-in kickstand. As this bike is worth a fair bit, I’ve bought separate cycle insurance, which has required me to invest in a more modern lock (Sold Secure Gold standard). The battery has its own lock (you get two keys for it), but when I can I take it off and bring it with me when I lock the bike up. The ‘luggage rack’ and mudguards do their job well. The handlebars do taper slightly meaning not all accessories fit well without gradually shifting themselves outward, plus there are limited options for where to put a rear light (I’ve fitted mine to the bottom of the saddle).

In the first week, I’ve already travelled almost 90 miles on the bike – 50 miles of that commuting, the rest for leisure. You still get exercise on it – there’s no throttle so you’re pedalling all the time you want the motor – but unless on a steep uphill, you can tweak the assistance level to make that exercise as hard or as gentle as you like. I weigh 100kg and it looks like the range from a full battery is around 35 miles on assistance 2-3 (occasionally 5) including plenty of hills. I’m enjoying it hugely, and getting plenty of extra exercises because I’m using it for many local journeys instead of the car. For Commuting it’s fantastic because, unlike my pushbike, I arrive composed and not at all out of breath or sweaty.