On the gravelly bits, the e-bike performed well, kicking in enough power to keep the momentum going on the climbs and cutting off on the downhills. Second, at $500 and with free shipping, these bikes are about half the price of every other similar brand. For pleasure, the commute, corporate use or ask about our bike part exchange service. Having not ridden Kent’s new e-bike (yet, but hopefully that changes), it’s hard for me to judge it too hard on the spec sheet alone.
The advantages of mid-drive motors, though, mean that you’ll usually find them on higher-end electric bikes, whereas low-cost electric bikes tend to favor hub motors. I started riding mountain bikes when I was a teenager in Augusta, Georgia. When I say mountain bikes, I really mean a 90s Huffy 18-speed I bought from Walmart for $60 without kent bike a front suspension. A group of us would carpool out to a lake trail, then ride with reckless abandon, flying over the handlebars multiple times each trip. The rest of Kent’s mid-drive e-bike fits more in line with the other budget models in its class. A 36V and 10.5 Ah battery claims a range of 20 miles (32 km) from its 378 Wh of capacity.
Popping a tube wouldn’t be so bad, except I had to walk the bike the remainder of the trail. Most days, one or more of us would be forced to walk our bikes back to the car due to a broken chain, flat tire or bent wheel. We never wore helmets, of course, because we were teenagers—and teenagers are invincible. All eBike and eScooter users need to follow the rules of the road. Kent State University supports alternative mobility options to best serve the needs of our campus community.
For our third eMTB trip, I chose a 16-mile gravel forest service road in nearby Helen, Georgia. The first half was mainly uphill and the bikes performed magnificently. The last 7 miles turned into an obscure, unmaintained dirt/gravel downhill road covered in sticks, pinecones, sharp rocks, and other precarious tire-popping rubbish (along with a wild turkey I almost ran over).
The bike comes about 75% pre-assembled, and I only needed to attach the front wheel and fender, handlebars and saddle. Things started off on the wrong foot when I realized some of the seat post assembly pieces were missing. (Luckily, my kent bike local bike co-op was able to hook me up with the needed parts!) But that was really the only major problem with assembly. Speaking of steps, the step-thru frame comes in only one size but should fit most riders five feet and taller.
Add in a bundle of accessories and it all means ‘you can dare to replace your second car with a Makki’ according to Gazelle. There is comfortable looking bench seating, storage drawer and a rain kent bike hood. Note that low power e-bikes like this are generally legal for children to ride in many US states and in most European countries, though in the UK you need to be 14 to ride an e-bike.