Compared three ebikes to death. Spreadsheets, torque curves, the whole thing. Then I got the invite to the trial and saw the matte carbon finish at the demo - debate over. Took it 45 miles along the river last Saturday- the frame rides lighter than the 58-pound spec has any right to, that was my real surprise. Battery charged back to full before I even finished lunch. Threw groceries on the rack and forgot they were there. By the way, my sourdough starter finally doubled. Small wins.
Okay so here's the thing. Saturday errands used to eat my whole day. Grocery run to Aldi, package drop at UPS, then the hardware store for whatever my husband broke this week. Three trips, half a tank of gas, and I'm wiped by 2 PM. When I got the invite to test this thing, I figured it might handle the light run, maybe the UPS drop. Not the Aldi trip not with groceries for four up that hill on Maple. Honestly I was wrong. The rear rack swallowed two full reusable bags and the motor didn't even change pitch on the climb. Did all three errands on one charge and still had bars left. The ride feels peppier on a full charge versus near empty, I think, but it doesn't quit on you. That first Saturday I was home by 11:30 with everything done. My daughter Kate looked at me like I'd grown a second head. She's already asking how to get in the trial program herself. We'll see how the battery holds up once I'm sharing it �� haven't had it long enough to know. Happy to answer questions about the rack setup. Ask if you want.
Three weeks and 140 miles testing this thing. Clicked a Facebook ad for the trial program, told myself I'd do the minimum and send it back haven't slowed down. When this launches, I'm buying one.
47 hours of research. Three spreadsheets. I could tell you the torque response time of every mid-drive motor under $8000. I was deep in it. Then the trial invite landed and my wife asked: can I ride it too? My top three candidates couldn't fit both of us. This one has a stem that adjusts 0 to 90 degrees, a seatpost with 127mm of travel. She dialed it in in 27 seconds. I timed it. The 80mm fork eats the gravel path to the school. Pavement? Lock it out and forget it's there. 672 miles on the Kendas, zero flats.Assembly took longer than the video, but the instructions were clear.
About 140 miles into the trial. Two things changed: 1) a rainy forecast went from groan to grin like finding money in an old jacket, 2) my commute stopped being a chore. Battery barely budges. The bell is silly but I kind of like it ??. If they let me keep this thing, I'm set.
About two weeks testing this bike. I thought the suspension was unnecessary for neighborhood paths then I rode that gravel stretch by the reservoir and the fork absorbed everything. My husband adjusted the seatpost to his height and I haven't gotten it back. It is what it is. If the launch price is reasonable I'd seriously consider buying one.
Signed up for the trial my husband took it over before I even got on. Nervous he'd find it complicated. We unboxed it in forty minutes, he took it down our gravel road, came back talking about the brakes solid hydraulic bite. The quiet motor hum pulling up, I knew applying was the right call. Would I buy one when it launches? For myself.
Coming from a regular hybrid, I signed up for the trial mostly to see if I could skip some car trips. Would it actually make me leave the keys on the hook? Took it up the Mill Street grade first day 7 percent, usually avoid it and the torque sensor just read my legs and matched the effort like it knew what I needed. Wasn't expecting that smoothness from a motor with this kind of power. Parked at the community mailbox Tuesday and three neighbors circled the carbon frame asking how to get in the program. I think eight commutes so far that would've been car rides is a decent start.
Doctor Liu prescribed cycling for my knee, so Jim got me into the Atom Carbon trial at 61 first ride on Chicago's Lakefront Trail, ten minutes and done. Does comfort help recovery? That 30mm suspension post and four assist levels carried me to Montrose Harbor by week three rebuilding slowly, but it's working.
Used to measure everything in splits and zones now I'm just happy to still be sweating. Would I trade it for running? Not a chance. Been testing the Atom as part of the trial for a few weeks now. Took it up to Point Reyes on the hitch rack last weekend. Did 38 miles of fire roads and the battery still showed a third when I racked it. Didn't expect the descent to be the best part those hydraulic brakes let me enjoy it instead of white-knuckling. Seat's a little firm but whatever. Now three guys from my swim team are asking how to get in the trial and I... anyway.
I don't usually write reviews but my neighbor Mike knocked Tuesday asking about the bike parked out front I've been testing it as part of the trial program. He'd seen it three days in a row. I walked him through the specs 802 watt-hours, LG M58 cells, UL-2271 certified and he just nodded. His wife came over ten minutes later. Two weeks in and I've given two sidewalk demos already. The spec I was most skeptical about was the 330-pound payload rating rated capacities on ebikes are often wishful thinking. I'm 210 plus a pannier of groceries, and the carbon frame with the 52-tooth chainring barely notices. Hauled a 35-pound bag of dog food on the rear rack last week didn't register. Torque sensor delivers 90 newton-meters without the lurch of cheaper cadence-sensor setups. My 18-mile test loop with 600 feet of climbing? Did it twice on one charge, 22 percent left. Bell's a bit anemic cars don't always clock it. Removable battery charges fine in the apartment though. Is it perfect? No. Does it deliver real-world 330-pound payload with range to spare? Yeah it does. If I'd known two weeks ago what I know now I'd probably have signed up for the trial sooner
Did I think ebikes were basically mopeds with pedals for show? Absolutely. Then I got the trial invite and rode this one along the coast last Saturday. The carbon frame turns heads I've started parking where cafe windows face the bike racks, and yes, I know how vain that sounds. But here's what got me: the motor doesn't announce itself. There's this paper-thin hum when you lean into a climb, like a refrigerator in the next room, and suddenly you're just a slightly stronger version of yourself. That's the torque sensor it reads your legs instead of shoving you forward. Full battery versus half-empty, the assist feels a touch different. Haven't tested it in a proper downpour yet. But if you want a 50-mile Saturday that feels like a stroll, on something that doesn't look like a spaceship, keep an eye on this one when it drops.
I spent months comparing Brompton, Dahon, Tern then bought the Urtopia for a reason no spreadsheet could capture. My building's elevator in downtown Chicago is cramped, and the step-through frame means I'm not doing gymnastics just getting on. At 14kg I can carry it up three flights when the elevator's out which happens more than I'd admit. My neighbor Tom saw it, asked questions, now there are four in the building. ?? Wish they offered more colors. Would I say buy it? For the right commute, I think so but it's not for everyone.
About three weeks into testing this bike for the trial. Coworker heard what they're saying it'll cost and said "bet it struggles on real hills." Didn't argue just rode it to work the next morning. Left early, streets still damp from the overnight rain, the motor giving off this faint electric whine that somehow became part of the quiet. Hit the long grade on Van Buren and opened the throttle maybe halfway. By the time I crested I was grinning like an idiot. Now the morning ride is just the best part of my day. Coffee in one hand at the red light, backpack loaded with laptop and lunch, and the bike just goes. Doesn't sag, doesn't slow down. I catch myself taking the long way home now past the park where the sprinklers run at dusk, that cool mist hitting your arms. For what they're saying this thing will cost, I still don't know what exactly I'm supposed to be missing.
About a month into testing this bike for the trial. Stopped at the coffee stand by the bridge Sunday morning. Marcus the barista came out, pointed, said it looks like a real bike he never glanced at my old hybrid. Did forty miles, battery barely noticed, though I had to aim the headlight up before leaving.
Two weeks into the trial, about 90 miles. I compared four or five models before applying honestly what sold me on signing up was the torque sensor response, not the spec sheet. Things I noticed: the 802Wh battery covers my 22-mile commute to the office off Baseline with capacity left, the assist feels natural and not jumpy, it hauls groceries fine. The 58 pounds shows when you wrestle it into a tight garage spot. Seat needs breaking in. For a carbon frame ebike at the price they're talking about, it's decent. Would I buy one when it launches? Probably.
Looked at what RadPower and Aventon had on the market for weeks , got into the trial for the color, staying for the ride. I hope they let me keep it when this is over.
Two weeks into the trial, about 80 miles, one Saturday group ride. Took about 15 minutes to get everything adjusted out of the box the adjustable stem means my husband and I can both ride it, which was the whole point. Three things I noticed: the motor pulls harder than I expected from a stoplight, the battery handles our 25-mile weekend routes with plenty to spare, and switching between riders takes about two minutes. The group ride is what won me over. We hit the hills east of town the kind where I'm usually last and that 750 watt motor just flattened them. I wasn't holding anyone up for once.
Three weeks into the trial and I've stopped dreading the Clayton Street overpass. You know the one that brutal half-mile climb that had me showing up to work looking like I'd run a marathon. Tuesday morning I just went up it. The suspension ate the broken pavement, the tires gripped like nothing, and I wasn't even breathing hard at the top. I sat there grinning like an idiot (yes, on the side of an overpass, at 8 AM). Charged it once that whole week. Would I buy one when it launches? Already told my coworker Mark to stop test-riding mine and sign up for the trial.
After my knee surgery the step-through frame was the only way I could get back on a bike. I just step through no lifting, no pain. The thumb throttle means I can start from a stop without pushing off. Six miles every other day now.
Been riding this to the office for about three months now. Morning routine: fold it in the lobby, carry it up to my desk on the fourth floor, tuck it under the workstation. Colleagues walk by and do a double take wait, is that a whole bike under there? By week two, three people from the engineering team had asked me where I got it.
That Glacier Blue color is what got me first——I figured a folding ebike would be some generic gray thing, but this actually looks like something. The step-through frame is low enough that I can swing a leg over without looking ridiculous in office clothes, a pleasant surprise at 5 foot 6. Battery hides in the seatpost so nobody even knows it's electric. App connection can be spotty but I just use the button controls so it doesn't... ??
My old bike had a screen that told me my cadence, my wattage, my battery percentage down to the decimal. I never looked at any of it. Tuesday morning the forecast said rain all day. Didn't check the bus schedule. Grabbed my jacket and went. Twelve minutes to the bridge at mile three. The bridge is where it usually gets sketchy metal grates, slick when wet, cars don't see you. Tuesday the rain was coming down hard enough that I could barely see the far side. Hit the turn signal. Car behind me actually slowed. The Kendas gripped the wet grate like it was dry pavement. I didn't think about the bike at all, just the ride. That's the thing about a bike that weighs 58 pounds and doesn't need an app. You stop thinking about the machine and start thinking about where you're going. I've been testing it two months now, rain or not. It just works.
I almost didn't buy it, but coasting the river path at dusk headlight cutting through I was glad I did. I wipe the Glacier Blue frame down after every ride, a quirk my husband finds amusing. The UL certification eases my mind, even if the charging port cover is loose.
Been testing this as part of the early access program. Hit Skyline descent Saturday, first time. Guy at the trailhead flagged me down, asked if I'd swapped the brakes didn't know it was a pre-production bike. Said I looked way too relaxed for stock. That got me. Cruised unfamiliar switchbacks all afternoon and didn't think about the stoppers once. Hoisting 58 pounds onto the rack still sucks. Hope they don't ask for it back. TLDR: brakes so good you forget they're there.
Been testing this for three weeks now. The handlebar stem slips - I'm out there with an Allen key every few rides. My husband and daughter swap in fine but I'm the one tightening it. Motor is fine, nothing wrong there. I'll keep riding it through the trial. If it launches and they fix the stem clamp though, I'd think about it
