Aventon’s electric bikes have always impressed me with their build quality and attention to detail. When the company launched an updated version of its popular Pace 500 e-bike, I knew to expect more of the same excellent qualities. Now that I’ve been able to spend some quality time testing the bike, I’m even more convinced of the brand’s commitment to giving its customers more than they anticipated.
A new Aventon Pace 500
The Pace 500 Next Gen was first announced this spring and offered upgraded parts compared to the first generation version of the Pace 500 that we previously tested.
From frame-integrated lights to a nicely hidden battery and even hydraulic disc brakes, the new Pace 500 is coming in hot with plenty of fancy parts to pique the interest of even the most seasoned urban e-bike rider.
To see this new e-bike put through its paces, check out my testing video below. Or keep reading (or both!) for an even deeper dive into the model.
Aventon Pace 500 Video Review
Aventon Pace 500 Tech Specs
- Motor: 500W continuous-rated rear geared hub motor
- Top speed: 45 km/h (28 mph)
- Throttle range: Up to 48 km (30 mi)
- Pedal assist range: Up to 76 km (47 miles)
- Battery: 48V 12.8Ah (614 Wh)
- Weight: 23.5 kg (52 lb)
- Max load: 136 kg (300 lb)
- Brakes: Two-piston Tektro hydraulic disc brakes
- Extras: Color LCD, LED head and taillights, left-side thumb throttle, kickstand, alloy pedals, 8-speed trigger shifter, Selle Royal saddle, 3A fast charger
- Price: $1,699
Designed for city riders
The Aventon Pace 500 Next Gen is the epitome of an urban e-bike. That means it’s designed for tackling both well-manicured and oft-neglected city streets thanks to a robust frame and moderately wide 27.5 by 2.2–inch tires.
Those tires complement the lack of suspension by retaining enough air volume to take the edge off of a bad pothole while still being narrow enough to reduce weight and maintain a nimble ride.
Comfortable touch points on the bars and saddle, when combined with the moderately relaxed riding position, help to make the bike a pleasure to ride.
It’s nowhere near as hunched forward as many urban e-bikes yet isn’t a totally upright cruiser-style bike either. The adjustable bars allow you to go further to either end of that spectrum as you see fit for your own comfort. Somewhere in the middle, the Pace 500 finds a happy compromise.
Other key urban features include the easy-to-read LCD screen and the built-in lighting that offers a powerful headlight and awesome frame-integrated taillights built directly into the seat stays. Those are becoming a staple of Aventon’s e-bikes, and I love them. You get bright, easy-to-see brake lights and taillights on either side of the bike, and you don’t have to worry about damaging them like other e-bikes with bolt-on lights since Aventon’s lights are buried into the frame itself.
I can’t tell you how many times on other e-bikes I’ve caught my lights on the brake and shifter cables of other bikes when I park at crowded bike racks, so anything that is built into the frame is a major advantage in my book.
Class 3 performance is where it’s at!
Class 3 e-bikes are kind of my jam; I love the ability to hit speeds of up to 28 mph (45 km/h) with a bit of pedal help. It means the bike feels like a superweapon designed to take on any urban commute and still keep up with traffic.
When operated on throttle-only, the Pace 500 can easily hit 20 mph (32 km/h) thanks to the peppy 500W continuous-rated motor in the rear wheel. But when you activate the pedal assist and crank it up to a higher level, 28 mph (45 km/h) speeds are possible. The 8-speed shifter helps you get up to those higher speeds without spinning your feet too terribly fast.
Back on the lower end of the pedal-assist range, the bike is a comfortable pedaler when you’re intending to do most of the work yourself. As much fun as it is to cruise fast, I also enjoy easing back on the power and having a bit of combined fitness/leisure ride on level 1 or 2 pedal assist.
The lower pedal assist levels also help make that battery last much longer.
Remember what I said about how much I love it when lights are built into the frame? Well, the same thing does for batteries. Frame-mounted batteries that get bolted on top of the frame are so 2019. These days, frame-integrated yet still easily removable batteries are where it’s at. And that’s exactly what the Pace 500 offers.
I will say that the 48V 12Ah battery is a bit smaller than average, offering just 614 Wh of capacity. Many companies are in the 650–750 Wh range these days, though Aventon is pretty darn close to that industry average. But going with a slightly smaller battery is also part of the bike’s sleek design as it doesn’t have a chunky downtube that tries to hide away a massive battery pack.
And I always have to give Aventon props for the brand’s fully-transparent range ratings. Other companies often give opaque range ratings or a simple “up to 50 miles” figure without context. But Aventon offers up every pedal assist level’s range rating from real-world testing, plus the throttle-only range (which many people who rarely pedal will care about).
The company comes right out and tells us we’ll get 30 miles (48 km) of range on throttle only, and that the range drops to 24 miles (38.6 km) on the highest pedal assist level at 28 mph (45 km/h), but that you can also eke out 47 miles (76 km) of range if you go slower on the lowest pedal assist level.
To me, the Aventon Pace 500 Next Gen feels like everything I need in an urban commuter e-bike. It’s a comfortable ride with a high top speed, good quality parts like hydraulic disc brakes, high-quality manufacturing, and even a great app for those that like extra data with their e-bikes.
The app integrates with the display and allows you to track rides, make parameter adjustments on the bike like speed and power, and you can even use it as a dashboard to control lights and other functions.
The $1,699 price feels fair to me, though if they’d included the rear rack and the fender set in the base price, then I’d be singing Aventon’s praises from the rooftops. Even so, riders that are interested in that extra gear can of course add it from the wide range of Aventon accessories.
Between the nice design, color options and multiple sizes of frames (and both step-through and step-over options), the Aventon Pace 500 Next Gen is a great-looking and great-riding e-bike that I’ll definitely be recommending to friends and family.
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