Hard-tail eMTBs of course don’t have the same smooth ride as full-suspension e-bikes, but in addition to being less expensive, they are lighter and require less service, and often last longer. And while full-suspension designs are exciting, in much of the U.S., the downhills aren’t long enough to really enable a rider to make use of the rear suspension. So while a hard-tail eMTB will feature a bumpier ride than a full-suspension model, it tends to be more efficient when pedaling on flat ground.
There is a front fork to talk about though. With most all-terrain and fat-tire e-bikes that are billed as being suited to off-road riding, we generally see a suspension fork of between 60 and 120mm of travel; 100mm is common. Aventon chose the RockShox 35 Silver TK suspension fork with 130mm of travel. Performance wise, I thought it was great. It held up well over several rounds on our local trails. As a 235 lbs human, I thought I was getting the ideal sag at around 35%. Why point out what I saw on the scale the last time I was on it? Well, you can’t adjust the compression at all, so heavier than me and it might have to much sag. Aventon has a lot of good here so I don’t want to overblow this point, but it would have been nice to have a fork you could adjust.
Another great touch that Aventon gave the Ramblas was the dropper post. Dropper posts have become necessities on both mountain bikes and eMTBs. With the press of a lever, a rider can sit down on the seat and lower it, then release the lever and the seat stays down. This allows the rider to move around on descents, drop-offs and any technical terrain where the presence of the saddle can hamper the rider’s ability to move.
We often talk about how the one-size e-bikes can’t really fit everyone. The Aventon Ramblas comes in four sizes because riding on technical terrain calls for a well-fitting e-bike in a way that commuting to work doesn’t. If a cruiser doesn’t fit just right, it’s not a big deal, but if an eMTB doesn’t fit right, the rider’s balance and ability to control the e-bike can be compromised.
With four sizes, Aventon estimates that the Ramblas will fit riders from 5 feet 1 up to 6 feet 5, with each size accommodating about a 4-in. range of heights. We think they got this right.
Another nice move on Aventon’s part was the decision to give the small size 27.5-in. wheels rather than 29-in. wheels. The bigger the wheel, the more easily it rolls over things, but bigger wheels can be problematic for smaller riders. By going with 27.5-in. wheels on the small size of the Ramblas, the standover height is lowered, wheelbase is shorted, center of gravity lowered and the top tube can be shorter, all features that will enhance the experience of more diminutive riders.
One truism of bikes and e-bikes is that if you want something that’s light, you have to pay more. The Aventon Ramblas defies that in an impressive way. They claim that it weighs 54 lbs., but our test bike tipped the scales at just 50.2 lbs. That’s an excellent weight considering how affordable this e-bike is.