Envo Stax is a $2,000 almost-perfect e-bike that looks like a regular bike

Fred Lambert | Jul 25 2023 - 6:39 am PT

Today, we take a first look at the Envo Stax, a $2,000 almost-perfect e-bike that looks like a regular bike. It might have just become my new favorite electric bike.

I know that Micah generally does our e-bike reviews, as he should, he is the GOAT of e-bike reviewers after all. But I really wanted to do this one because when I first heard about the Stax, I felt like it was my perfect next bike.

For a quick background on my e-bike experience, I love them. I think e-bikes should take over a much larger market share of the overall mileage. I know it is doing just that for my own mileage.

Every time I can grab one of my e-bikes rather than my car, I do. It turns my travel into a fun activity. Obviously, regular bikes are great for that too, but e-bikes increase the opportunities by helping you find a balance between working out and covering distances.

You can also get to your destination using a stronger pedal assist and come back home without – or with less assist – to get a workout. It just offers some great opportunities like that.

My main e-bike has been the RadPower Radrover 6 Plus. It’s a great e-bike, and I love it, but it didn’t exactly match my needs.

With the power, front suspension, and fat tires, it is perfect for off-roading and that’s why I bought it. There’s a national park near where I live, and it is great to ride on the trails and dirt roads there.

But in practice, I found myself riding this bike on roads and bike paths about 90% of the time. And while the experience is still good there, it is not where the bike shines.

When I ride e-bikes, I like to find a balance between working out and using pedal assist. It is doable with the Radrover, but it is more difficult because of the weight and inefficiency of the fat tires.

So I started thinking about having a new daily rider that is more suited for road biking.

Enter the Envo Stax.

When I first learned about the Stax, I felt it might be the solution to my little problem.

First off, it looks great. You almost can’t tell that it is an electric bike. It is equipped with Envo’s own 500w motor that almost disappears behind the transmission system and brakes:

It can bring the speed of the Stax up to 32 km/h (20 mph) to fit most North American standards, but you can play in the settings of the beautiful color display if you want to change that – wink, wink.

As for the range, Envo is talking about 100 km or 62 miles range on the pedal assist level 1 (out of 5).

In my experience, that should be achievable and unlike many other e-bikes, the Stax feels great on level 1, or even without pedal assist, because it is so efficient.

My riding experience has been flawless so far with the Stax. I was able to set it up for a very comfortable riding position and customized the handle for effortless access to changing gear, pedal assist level, or pressing the optional throttle.

Where the Stax shines is its weight, which comes at just 42 lbs or 19 kg. It is very light for an e-bike, making it as usable as a regular bike without pedal assist.

It’s also useful to carry the bike around when you need to, like up the stairs if you live in a condo or apartment.

The only complaint I have about the Stax is its charge port. One of the reasons they managed to make it look like a normal non-electric bike is by seamlessly hiding the battery pack inside the the seat post.

The integration of the pack in the seat post is beautiful, but it limits the places where you can put the charge port. They decided to go with the top the seat post, which means that you have to manage to fit the connector between the post and the bike seat.