Cheaper mid-drive electric bikes tend to opt for Chinese-made mid-drive motors like those from Bafang, Truckrun, Tongsheng, and others. Kent’s Electric Cruiser has plenty of limitations, but it’s doubtful the people buying this bike will care too much. If that’s what you’re looking for, the Kent Electric Cruiser will make both you and your wallet happy. The Kent Electric Cruiser’s 350W rear-hub motor was more than capable on the flat roads and bike paths around my home, easily reaching and staying at 20 mph.
Everything was going great until I encountered a 11%, 6-degree incline. Even while pedaling and in the highest level of assist, the bike barely had enough torque to push me up the hill. At one point, I smelled burning plastic when it hit me that the smell came from the motor, which was burning hot from overuse.
That isn’t a bad thing, as many riders (including myself) have been very happy with lower-cost mid-drive motors. I have a Truckrun motor on my daily rider city e-bike, and it works wonderfully. Most of these buyers probably haven’t ridden a bicycle in decades and are looking for a cheap and non-intimidating way to get back on the bike. Retailing kent mountain bike for under $700 (around £515/AU$970), the Kent Electric Cruiser was created for them. There are numerous trails in North Georgia with large inclines and several over 15 miles long that we had intentionally avoided. I realized we could skip the gym to train a couple times a week specifically for these longer rides or we could buy e-bikes.
While the battery seems to last for a while on low power mode, high mode drains it quicker. I asked Kent Bicycles about the possibility of buying spare batteries to swap in and make for a longer ride, and they’re looking into offering them on their website. My 7-year-old nephew struggles to touch the ground while my nearly 9-year-old nephew fits on the bike easily. The fact that younger kids can’t fit on it is probably a good thing. Kids should be a certain age before they are mature enough to handle the extra power of an e-bike, even a low-power one like this. Its 24V 5.2Ah battery is adorably small yet provides up to 15 miles (25 km) of range if the kid keeps it in low power mode.
Just click on one of the many featured products and start your shopping experience. You can even filter your results by price, if you wish to stay on budget. To turn on the bike, you need to first hit a button underneath the battery, then another on the LED display. The battery’s on button isn’t in a highly visible place but is slightly raised so you can find it by touch. At this price point, you’re going to have to deal with some compromises.
The Kent Step-Through electric bike is made for riders who like a smooth and sleek ride. The e-bike has a very simple and minimalistic design that is suitable for both women and men. Kent bikes are also known as strong and sturdy bikes, so this is no exception when it comes to the 700C Step-Thru model. It has a powerful motor and a great battery that you can’t even see unless you know where it is placed. Anyone under 160 lbs will LOVE this bike—my wife (5’7 and 130 lbs) is one of those people who is a perfect fit for this e-bike. I started riding mountain bikes when I was a teenager in Augusta, Georgia.
But after going to the gym and completing several CrossFit workouts each week, the rides became harder and more tedious. Each hill burned out our already fatigued legs and around the 4-mile mark, we’d head back to the car with stiff, cramped muscles. 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.
(Luckily, my 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. We wisely dismounted on the steepest uphills and also walked one suicidal downhill. Other than my one crash in a deep washout, we survived the worst trail in the area and had a blast. Second, at $500 and with free shipping, these bikes are about half the price of every other similar brand.
We never wore helmets, of course, because we were teenagers—and teenagers are invincible. With a front suspension fork that isn’t much to write home about but still works just fine, the bike is somewhat sporty. We built a classic front yard ramp and had fun seeing who could get the most air. 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. If you are looking for a product from this brand, you are at the right place! Our Marketplace includes comparison pricing from all sorts of trusted manufacturers.
In the case of Kent’s mid-drive electric bike, seen above, it’s not clear exactly which 250W motor is used. Nicer (i.e., more expensive) e-bikes tend to use fancier mid-drive motors like those made by Brose, Bosch, Yamaha, and other major German or Japanese manufacturers. Mid-drive motors, on the other hand, are more costly to produce due to their more complicated design. That complication also makes them a bit more touchy, at least for new riders that aren’t used to shifting a bike.