The Cafe Cruiser has a burlier rear rack with an optional kit to carry a kid (up to 130 lbs) and comes with more stylish and comfortable handlebars. As with traditional road bikes (and gravel bikes too), their motorized counterparts have sporty forward-leaning geometry, narrow tires, and lightweight frames, all with performance and efficiency in mind. Keeping that in mind, many analog road bikes can exceed the 20mph power cutoff of e-bike motors when on flats and downhills. E-road bikes are inevitably heavier due to the battery and motor, so you may end up hauling dead weight through these sections of your ride. However, if you ride in an area with many hills, you’ll probably appreciate a little pedal assist occasionally.
While this is undoubtedly one of our favorite electric bikes on the trail, there are a few areas where the Levo was not the top performer. The SRAM Code R hydraulic disc brakes on this bike are far from our favorite, and the non-e-bike specific Fox 36 Rhythm fork also leaves a bit to be desired. The only information immediately available to the rider are the LEDs on the frame’s top tube showing the current support setting and remaining battery life. If you value having lots of information available at a glance, more expensive versions of the Levo come with a digital display, or you can purchase one as a separate accessory.
The interior is padded, and the ATB material is durable enough not to chafe without leaving hard scratches. When encountering potholes, the shock forks huffy nighthawk respond to soft and stiff moisture. The rear shock absorbs the vast majority of the vibration when the rear wheel passes over rocks or roots.
Not surprisingly, a little leg power from the rider can add many miles to a bike’s range. Batteries are measured in Watt-hours, and the higher the Wh number, the more power storage and longer the range, but this also means increased weight and size, making for a heavier bike. They have a more relaxed and upright riding position and are made for long and slow outings down the neighborhood bike path or on the side street that leads to the beach.
Many brands also offer additional accessories like baskets and kids’ seats designed specifically to fit their models of bikes so you can customize your ride. Most bikes these days have a removable battery, which makes charging as simple as carrying the battery to the nearest outlet rather than having to haul the entire bike over. Class 2 e-bikes also have a top motor speed of 20mph (although it is possible to ride them faster huffy trail runner if your legs are strong enough). Like class 1, they also have a pedal assist option with different levels of power, depending on your preference. E-bikes that fall into the class 2 category are usually allowed in bike lanes and multi-use paths, but there are exceptions in certain states. While the Revv 1 impressed us in almost every way, the headlight mounted directly to the frame compromised its night riding abilities.
We recommend pricing out the exact accessory package you want for each bike and comparing which offers the better value. Whatever your preferred riding style, there is probably an e-bike version to fit; if you can’t find one, it’s probably in the making. As electric bikes become more popular, many people are adopting the term “analog” bike to differentiate between motorized and traditional bicycles. While many of the features found on particular styles of e-bikes are the same in the analog world, a few motor or battery-specific details are different. We have been testing different styles of bikes since 2017, but our team of bike experts has been riding for much longer. Kyle Smaine is a South Lake Tahoe native and has had access to some of the area’s best bike trails from a young age.