Continuing their forward momentum of offering great eBikes that are safe, accessible, and affordable, Southern California’s Aventon Bikes launches its second mid-drive eBike, the Aventure M. I’ve been riding the Aventure M for the last month or so, and I like it a lot. We touched on it a bit when I saw it at the Sea Otter Classic last April.

(Photos / Ron Frazelle)

OK, let’s dive right into it.

The Aventure M

This is the second bike in Aventon’s line with a mid-drive motor. The first being their eMTB, the Ramblas. The big news here with the release of the new Aventure M is the addition of Aventon’s proprietary A100 mid-drive motor.

The mid-mounted A100 makes the Aventure M a Class 1 eBike with up to 85 miles of range. Additionally, the new E-Shift with autoshift capabilities has been added to the spec sheet. The Autoshift feature took some getting used to, but we’ll touch more on this later.

More cool tech/features have been added to the new Aventure M as well, like better geometry, great SRAM DB4 hydraulic brakes, and the addition of their ACU (Aventon Control Unit). Which makes security for your eBike effortless.

The Aventon Control Unit (ACU)

The Aventon Control Unit (ACU) can help keep you fully protected and always connected at the same time. The security features include GPS tracking, auto-lock, unusual movement detection, an alarm system, and additional features to keep your ride safe and secure. When tooling around, you can rely on GPS tracking, 4G connection, and cloud synchronization to get your bike stats in real-time.

Self-locking rear wheel mechanism

The smart remote locking lets you immobilize your bike from the Aventon App or set it to auto-lock when the bike is stopped and turned off. Geofencing lets you define the areas allowed and the distances prohibited. With the startup password and keyless battery, there is one less key on your key ring. Plus, you can activate the locking mechanism that keeps the rear wheel from rotating, adding yet another level of security.

Riding the Aventure M

For this review, I am riding the large size Aventure M in the very attractive Pacific color. The box that this bike came in was insanely large. But the bike is big, and it comes over 80% assembled, so the box size wasn’t that much of a surprise.

The geometry improvements were immediately evident when I hopped on the Aventure M. It rides and feels like a normal bike. Although it only comes in two “sizes”, the bike fits more like a conventional bike, and not like the typical “one-size-fits-most” frames of some other eBikes I’ve tried.

The waterproof A100 motor has a boatload of torque (claimed 100Nm). Combine that with the 250 watts of nominal power, and I felt I could climb anything.

I live in the mountains, and there are a lot of steep climbs around the house. The Aventure M handled it all with zero issues. The motor, when combined with Aventon’s torque sensors, gave me a natural and responsive ride feel. It’s a quiet motor as well.

Front lights

Rear lights

Rear turn signal

One of my favorite features on the Aventure M is the included integrated front and rear lights as well as easy-to-use turn signals. It made the occasional riding to pick up pizza in the dark safe and fun.

Aventure M Autoshifting

The autoshift feature on the Aventure M operates exactly as you would imagine it would. After playing around with it and trying different settings, the auto shift was a pleasant surprise.

Aventon told me that the E-Shifter button that comes on the Aventure M was developed in-house. It doesn’t use Bluetooth to shift, but instead is wired to the ACU that controls a little motor that pulls the rear derailleur cable. It can be programmed to use the button that you want for the upshifts and downshifts. Pretty neat, and it is as serviceable as any internally routed bike.

The autoshift itself uses the speed you are traveling and the cadence of your pedaling to automatically shift the bike using Aventon’s ACU technology. Even when you’re coasting, the ACU will spin the front chainring and shift to a gear that matches your coasting speed. So, when you start pedaling again, the bike is already in the appropriate gear.

Shifting on Steep Hills

It’s pretty cool tech. A few times on rides, I had a few issues with it taking a very long time to switch to an easier gear. This would happen when I would be riding on a flat section of road/trail, and I’d turn a corner to a sudden and steep hill. I’d still be in a harder gear from riding on the flat road, so I couldn’t keep the cadence high enough for a long enough time for the bike could find the right climbing gear.

This can be remedied in two ways: program the app to shift at a different cadence, or better yet, use the E-Shifter to manually override the auto shift. I didn’t realize that if you overrode the autoshift by using the shifter, the autoshift remains on. But starting to manually downshift when faced with a steep hill made everything better.

Another thing that took a lot of getting used to, and I’m still not sure I am used to it, is the motor power cut when shifting. When the bike is shifting, the ACU automatically cuts motor power to ease into the gear. At first, this comes across as very disruptive to the ride experience. But after a few hours, I got to where I was anticipating it, and it didn’t seem too bad.

Now, while out and about on the Aventure M, I don’t notice it all that much. Well, except for climbing… I don’t like how it feels when the power is cut so the bike can shift while climbing. But again, this can be remedied by turning off the autoshift. Then it’s a non-issue.

Remember, this bike can be customized to ride how you like. Most, if not all, of the little annoyances were gone once I customized it to shift the way I liked.

What About the Suspension?

While on some of the dirt trails around me, the front fork and suspension seat post managed to soak up some of the little trail chatter. But when going over some beefier obstacles, they both left me underwhelmed. I’ve adjusted the preload on both the fork and seatpost, and it’s a tad better now.

In Aventon’s defense, this bike is not made for serious MTB trail riding. Mostly because it’s not an MTB. They do offer the Ramblas, an eMTB for heavy trail riding.

Aventure M Geometry

Step-Trough Geo

Photo of the geo chart

Step-Over Geo

Adventure M Retail and Detail

Retail: $2699

• MOTOR 250W (750W peak)
• DISPLAY BC280 Display
• BRAKES SRAM DB4 Hydraulic Disc Brakes
• WEIGHT 73 lbs.
• DRIVETRAIN 10-Speed Shimano Cues with
• E-Shifting and Autoshift Capability
• FRAME TYPE 6061 Aluminum Alloy
• TIRES 26×4.0”
• SEATPOST Suspension Seatpost with Preload Adjustment
• INCLUDES Rear Rack and Fenders
• ASSISTANCE Pedal Assist with Ride Tune. Throttle compatible (sold separately)
• COLORS: Besalt, Camouflage, and Pacific (tested)

In Conclusion…

Full fenders

Overall, the Aventon Aventure M is a well-spec’d, feature-full fat tire eBike that is ready to be anything you want. Whether you use it to be a light trail explorer or an errand-running beast. It’s ready to tackle it all for you.

Although I had an overall positive experience with the unique autoshift system, I know the feature may not be for everyone. But, it’ll be great for the riders that don’t care about the nuances of shifting a bike and just want to get on, pedal, and go. Additionally, with the app and its vast amount of customization, you can find a setting that fits your style of riding. Finally, there are a lot of great value-added safety and anti-theft features with the addition of Aventon’s own ACU.

Stout integrated rear rack

For me, and my experience, the Aventure M’s sweetspot is when I lowered some of the air pressure in those big 4″ tires, and tooled around, exploring the fire roads in my area. For me, it will make finding new places to ride my analog MTBs easier. I also enjoy taking it out for an early evening spin with my wife to the local brewery, Taco Tuesday, or the grocery store.

I find the motor to be more than adequate in the power department. Plus, it’s quiet, so it doesn’t take anything away from the quiet rides up here in the mountains. It makes for a very pleasant all-around experience.

At $2699, you’ll be hard pressed to find a feature-packed eBike like the Aventure M. Kudos to Aventon for doing another stellar job on this bike!

Check out all they offer at the link below.

Aventon.com

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